The Renewed Covenant

The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”  And he said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or 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. (Exodus 34: 5 to 10)

God renewed the covenant He made with the people of Israel because they didn't quite know about God. That's why Aaron and the Israelites made the golden calf and worshipped it as God Himself. Even Moses pleaded with God to reveal His glory to him. So, the merciful and gracious God claimed Himself as the father of the people of Israel to pardon and clear their guilt and iniquity then reassure His covenant with them even though they were stiff-necked people. God also promised to do marvels and awesome things for them in front of the world. That's how God wanted the Israelites to know about Him, not by the worldly vision but as the one and only God. At first, God told Moses to cut two new tablets for the ones he broke before as below.

So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. (Exodus 34: 4)

So, to know God began with His word. Then to obey it as God commanded below.

Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.You shall not make for yourself any gods of cast metal. (Exodus 34: 11 to 17)

Not only no worshiping other gods nor making covenant with inhabitants of the land, but also no ritual relationship with them of any form. Instead, the people of Israelites needed to observe God's Feast of Unleavened Bread in the month Abib and give their firstborn and the firstborn of cow and sheep to God. Then they needed to rest as described below.

Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year. (Exodus 34: 21 to 24)

God also reminded them to avoid anything leavened or overnight for the Passover sacrifice. Not to boil a young goat in its mother's milk, etc. Then God commanded Moses to write them down on the tablets. After 40 days and nights, Moses came down the mountain as described below.

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. (Exodus 34: 29 30)

Moses' face shines because he had been talking with God and knew God. Only he received the privilege. Yet for those who are saved by grace, we know God through Jesus Christ as described below.

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. (John 1: 16 to 18)

Nothing but grace upon grace. Immanuel.

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