The Renewed Covenant

 Exodus 34

            As Moses carves new tablets to replace the ones he broke, several key elements are repeated from the previous tablets. For example, the three annual festivals, the consecration of the firstborn, etc. There are also a few new elements. First, there is the Lord’s proclamation of His own character, that He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. This is a description that occurs in some form at least 8 times in the Old Testament. If you ask, what is the Lord’s most basic character like, what does He default to, what’s His essence—this is it.

            One of the questions people often ask me is, “If the Lord is gracious and compassionate, why does He hate the Canaanites so much?” as, for example, His harsh words about them in this very chapter! That’s the second thing that stands out: the Lord’s judgment on the Canaanites. The separation from the Canaanites, and later the command to exterminate them, finds its meaning in the third element: the warning against prostituting themselves. Israel’s purpose was to be a cocoon of sorts for the God’s promise of a Savior. The Canaanites with their false gods would be a danger to that promise, especially if they remained in close proximity to the Israelites. Maybe change the metaphor to a surgical one: the Lord knew He needed a clean field so as not to contaminate His promise, and the Canaanites with their idols were the “germs” that needed disinfecting. Another shift in metaphor: Israel was to be the Lord’s bride, completely faithful to Him and to Him alone, and worshiping other gods was equivalent to adultery or prostitution. The Lord’s apparent inconsistency in regard to being compassionate with the Canaanites actually serves the Lord’s much larger purpose of being compassionate to all humanity.

            Allow me one last comment. Moses reflected God’s glory. His radiant face was a glory not his own. Rather it was the Lord’s glory shining off of his face. Two things: first, when the Lord instructs Aaron how to bless the people, He says, “May the Lord’s face shine on you (Number 6:22-26). It is the Lord’s desire to see His people face to face, to undo the banishment of Genesis 3. It is a desire reflected throughout the Scriptures right up to the end of Revelation.  Second, since we are only a week removed from the liturgical celebration of Jesus’ transfiguration, in which Jesus appeared in glory and Moses was there with Him: that glory was Jesus’ own glory as the Son of God. Moses is blessed unlike any other to be in the presence of the Lord, but Jesus is the Lord Himself.