EXODUS 34 RENEWAL, RELATIONSHIP, RESPONSIBILITY Moses carefully hewed two stone tablets like the ones the Lord wrote the commandments on the first time he was on Mount Sinai and met the Lord there. As the sound of his careful work was heard by the people around, word would pass through the camp, "Moses is making stone tablets! He is going up to God again!"
The instructions given to the people were the same as before, and as Moses carried those stones with him there would likely have been a quietness and reverential fear over the camp. Three thousand graves testified to the seriousness of doing what God says and only that - and in God's way. God again came and "stood" with Moses. Moses would be assured by His closeness that the terms of the covenant and the intercessory work he had been engaged in on behalf of the people, had allowed the renewal of God's dealing with His people. God again wrote the words on the stones that would go in the ark with the children of Israel as they journeyed. The laws had not changed. The standards of God's holiness remain the same no matter what people may say or claim. No votes by a congress of men can change the standards of righteousness established by the Holy, Righteous, Unchangeable God.
In this meeting with the Lord, God makes declaration as to His name and His Person that establishes the seriousness of the covenant made. He is the Lord, He is Jehovah - the Self-Existent One. He is the eternal "I AM." He is the Source of Life and being, from everlasting to everlasting. The relationship He has formed with His people is of His choosing. He only is the Source of life and the Originator of every blessing that has come to us. Seven different titles identify Jehovah as the "One with whom we have to do." His mercy is part of His character. Compassion, love and interest in us is part of His essential being. He is full of compassion and His mercies fail not. "Gracious" and "merciful" are words generally closely linked because we deserve neither.
The Lord Jesus when He was here was "full of grace and truth." The work of grace is the reason salvation is offered to all mankind. God is a gracious God, not vengeful and antagonistic. His longsuffering reminds us that the Lord God does not have a quick temper. Longsuffering is really a characteristic best described as a "long temper" contrasted with a short temper. In His forbearance He looks for real repentance in those who sin, and is ready to pardon - not because He is weak in any way or His judgment is compromised by an inconsistent character trait. In His grace He waits for the sinner to repent and the wanderer to return.
The acts of kindness - "goodness," that have been shown towards us are like the pouring out of blessing from the endless supply of His loving nature. The liberality of God's goodness has been experienced by all mankind down through the ages, and yet most people take all He gives without a thought towards the Giver of "every good and perfect gift." The abundance of His truth teaches us that every part of Jehovah is enduring, steadfast and permanent. "We change He changes not." His Word is settled forever, it remains unchanged and unchangeable. His nature is truth. God cannot lie. That abundant truth was embodied in the Lord Jesus Christ when He was here as "The Way, The Truth and The Life." He guards what He initiates. His mercy is not limited and He guards that mercy by virtue of His own Person regardless of the many complaints people may make. He is a merciful God to all who call upon Him in faith and will accept His offer of mercy.
Forgiveness that is genuine means another person is willing to assume the responsibility for the guilt of another, and paid the cost incurred. Whether it is the basic nature of man that sins in thought as well as word and deed, God's forgiveness reaches to the extent that "He was bruised for our iniquities." The legal claims against the transgressor, the rebellious, the law breaker comes against us from the highest possible authority - the Lord God. Yet he is able and willing to forgive the transgressor and the one who is disobedient to God.
Those who refuse to repent and turn in faith to Christ are not cleared from their guilt. Release from punishment and guilt because of sin, but without "repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ," will not take place. In fact, the consequences of such high-minded rejection will be felt by those who come after us. Our children and grandchildren will feel the sting of sin we have refused to acknowledge and face in the light of God's holiness. The response of Moses to quickly bow and worship makes it plain he was grateful for God's mercy to him. He wanted God "among" them all the time so the people of God would remember who they were and who they served.
God's covenant with Israel was reaffirmed and the responsibilities of His people were restated lest they forget the terms under which fellowship with God is maintained. We are not able to take or leave our commitment to God because of how we feel or what it might cost us. When a person enjoys covenant relationship with God, it doesn't only affect us but has an effect on others. Moses' time with God was evident to those who saw his shining face. Our time with God will impact not only us, but those who see us in our daily walk and listen to our words. A conscious and continual awareness of our Holy God will make us conscious and aware of the fact we need to be holy people.