34:1-3 God makes a plan to reestablish His law with Moses. He instructs Moses to cut two tablets out of stone, similar to the first, and to climb Mount Sinai to meet Him there. Moses is instructed to climb up to the mountain alone.
Never forget that you have the gift of this one-on-one time with God; something many generations of humans did not realize they could have.Moses' faith paved the way for our direct, clear, and constant communication with God.
34:4 Moses follows God's instructions exactly, and that is the key to all of Moses' and others prophets success. Moses rises early in the morning and gets to work, faith-work. He does not procrastinate or grumble. He is steadfastly passionate about following God's word. Moses understands that everything God speaks is for our benefit. The sooner we listen to Him, the sooner we walk into our blessings.
34:5 The presence of God meets Moses on the mountain and He declares Himself. God is honest and straight-forward with Moses: He wants Moses to know exactly who he has chosen to follow.
34:6-7 This is how the Lord proclaims Himself to be: merciful and gracious, long-suffering (able to endure and persevere), abounding in goodness and truth, a keeper of mercy for multitudes, forgiving, eternally and dutifully just. Let's unpack that in order to realize how fortunate we are to have a God who values and possesses the above-mentioned qualities:
- Merciful: As fallible and feeble humans, we should be especially grateful for this particular trait. God is merciful toward us even when we might not deserve it. He's always present and willing to support us and advocate for us. He will go beyond the distance to ensure that we receive the compassion He wants us to have.
- Gracious: Our Father is kind. He has respect for our lives even though His is so much mightier. He genuinely cares about our thoughts and feelings and with our permission, protects the sphere around us. This gives us time to heal and learn and grow.
- Long-Suffering: How fortunate for us that God is a divine-mixture of patience and strength! He endures so much of our mess. Generation after generation. Day after day. Although we make Him sad and even angry, He remains committed to us and our cause. He never quits out of frustration. He can bear it. He can bear us and all of the trouble we tend to bring to the table.
- Abounding in Goodness: God's sole intention is to promote, bring and ensure goodness. He has so much of it; goodness flows out of Him. Creative goodness. When good gives a good gift, it abounds. Like a tree, it continues to produce leaves and fruit. More and more can always be derived from Him. A blessing for one person leads to a blessing for another... for others. He has a comprehensive view and it enables Him to take care of all of us.
- Abounding in Truth: God is wisdom. We never have to worry about Him deceiving us. His plans are always honest. His intentions are always honest. He always reveals what is in His mind. He pours wisdom into us, as much as we ask for. Throughout the bible He scolds and thwarts deceivers. He shames deception. He passionately teaches that deception harms us.
- Keeper of Mercy for Multitudes: God includes every soul ever created. He expands His arms, His home, to every child who will accept Him. His mercy is more than abundant, it is boundless.
- Forgiving: We understand how hard it can be to forgive... which is why it is so beautiful that God constantly does forgive. Every time we go to Him in an earnest effort to be better, He helps us to grow. In wisdom, in character, in faith.
- Eternally + Dutifully Just: God is consistently focused on the restoration of justice. Every life, every soul is intricately loved by Him and He therefore seeks justice on our behalf. When we allow Him into our lives, justice comes through both blessing and discipline. For sometimes we are the ones obstructing justice... and sometimes we are the ones needing it.
34:8 Moses instantly bows. Of course he would, our spiritual-Father deserves our deference. How could we do anything but worship in the presence of such wisdom and kindness?
34:9 Moses' request is so beautiful: “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.”
Moses plea to God is for Him to continue to love and lead us even though we frequently do not deserve it. Moses does not deny that humans are flawed. He admits it. He claims the sin and the iniquity, he bears his raw self before God. Moses asks God to claim this people on behalf of his faith.
Moses acknowledges God. Moses believes God. Moses trusts God. Moses humbles himself before God. He is the living example of the formula that enables us to receive God's blessings.
34:10 God's gentle nature pours out: "Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you." This covenant is alive and strong even today. It was made for you. Know what God has offered you; He has claimed you, claim Him.
It is an awesome thing that He will do with you! Awe-some, the wonders that God will do for and with you will draw awe and wonder out of you and everyone around you. He is so generous. So creative. So able to work wonders.
34:11-12 As He always does, God outlines the plan. His plan is to rescue the children of Israel from their enemies. His warning is for them to remain separate from the people and ways of life that oppose Him. God cautions us not to be ensnared by people and ideas that tempt us away from God and goodness. Humans can be easily distracted; remember that the children of Israel had already abandoned God for the golden cow. Soon they will be surrounded by people who have different ideologies and they will need strong faith to remain separate. It is a symbol for life in this world: we are frequently surrounded by things, people and ideas that oppose our faith and values. If we are not vigilant, they weaken our faith little by little until we are lost.
34:13-17 God reminds and implores the children of Israel to stop worshiping idols! We have our own idols in this generation: money, control, fame, power. We value possessions and status. Our idols are people rather than God. God stresses the importance of keeping our faith pure: we must not join in activities and families that are corrupt.
34:18-20 God reminds and implore the children of Israel to keep the traditions which represent to the ways in which God entered the lives of humanity and blessed them. He knows how forgetful we are. If the children of Israel are not persistent in faith, their children will have no relationship with God and the covenant will wither.
34:21 We must take the time to contemplate and meditate on faith. We need the space and time to focus on our faith in order for it to develop. If we are not firmly rooted, every day, in faith, we slip away. Every day in God's word strengthens the knot that keeps us moored to Him. Every day out of God's word loosens it.
34:22 This feast of the first-fruits is a reminder to God's children that He gives His best. He does not provide us with scraps or leftovers or incompleteness... from Him we receive His best. By gathering our first-fruit, we realize the generosity of God. We realize the strength and compassion required to give to another the best of what we have.
34:23 God instructs the children of Israel to meet with Him at a minimum of three times per year in complete meditation. He knows how distracted we get. We stray from Him; He knows that we need to do consistent maintenance on our faith in order to keep it and ensure its health.
34:24 If our faith is healthy, God is able to provide. For the children of Israel, this meant enlarged borders and protection from covetous enemies. When we communicate with Him, He is able to inform us of, and prepare us for, His plan. If we block Him out, how can He reach us?
34:25-26 Worship and sacrifice (no longer animal, Hosea 6:6) is meant to be focused and complete. Pure and traditional; God knows what is good for our faith and our health.
34:27 God instructs Moses to write His words, this covenant. God is bold and willing: He does not hesitate to make massive promises. He knows that He can and will fulfill His promises. He makes promises no man or thing could ever even hope to fulfill. Yet He makes them with ease and joy.
34:28 Moses remained and subsisted on God for forty days and forty nights. God's provisions supersede our biological needs; Moses experienced that. We are meant to understand that in a figurative sense. When are with Him spiritual, we will see its literal truth.
34:23 God instructs the children of Israel to meet with Him at a minimum of three times per year in complete meditation. He knows how distracted we get. We stray from Him; He knows that we need to do consistent maintenance on our faith in order to keep it and ensure its health.
34:24 If our faith is healthy, God is able to provide. For the children of Israel, this meant enlarged borders and protection from covetous enemies. When we communicate with Him, He is able to inform us of, and prepare us for, His plan. If we block Him out, how can He reach us?
34:25-26 Worship and sacrifice (no longer animal, Hosea 6:6) is meant to be focused and complete. Pure and traditional; God knows what is good for our faith and our health.
34:27 God instructs Moses to write His words, this covenant. God is bold and willing: He does not hesitate to make massive promises. He knows that He can and will fulfill His promises. He makes promises no man or thing could ever even hope to fulfill. Yet He makes them with ease and joy.
34:28 Moses remained and subsisted on God for forty days and forty nights. God's provisions supersede our biological needs; Moses experienced that. We are meant to understand that in a figurative sense. When are with Him spiritual, we will see its literal truth.
34:29-30 Moses returns from Mount Sinai to Aaron and the children of Israel. Moses has just spent quite some time solely focused on God and faith and receiving the promises of covenant that will last even through our generation. Having come out of deep solitude with God, Moses does not realize any changes in his appearance. His face is shining. God's love and impact is pouring out of Moses and because they have never experienced such a circumstance before, the people around Moses are shocked into timidity.
34:31-32 Moses immediately turns to his mission, his purpose ordained by God: he is there to relate God's message to the children of Israel. Everyone comes near Moses to listen and learn; Moses gives them the commandments from God. Remember that the commandments are given for our benefit. The commandments are guidelines on how to live a full, joyful and purposeful life through faith.
34:33-35 Moses continues to climb Mount Sinai to converse and receive instruction from God. Moses ensures that he is always raw and honest before God (literally and figuratively lifting every veil before appearing before Him). He always replaces the veil when he departs from Mount Sinai, however. Moses returns to the children of Israel with the veil on: its important that the children of Israel never mistake Moses for God or a god. He is a dutiful prophet but not a god. Moreover, Moses does not want to distract the children of Israel from God's message. He wants them (us) to focus on God rather than him.
34:33-35 Moses continues to climb Mount Sinai to converse and receive instruction from God. Moses ensures that he is always raw and honest before God (literally and figuratively lifting every veil before appearing before Him). He always replaces the veil when he departs from Mount Sinai, however. Moses returns to the children of Israel with the veil on: its important that the children of Israel never mistake Moses for God or a god. He is a dutiful prophet but not a god. Moreover, Moses does not want to distract the children of Israel from God's message. He wants them (us) to focus on God rather than him.
