see also: The Purpose & Heart of the Law

fter the rebellion had been put down, Moses went up into Mount Sinai again. Moses previously had broken the Covenant tablets. They lay in fragments at the foot of the mountain. After Moses had pleaded with God, the Lord spoke again to Moses about the Covenant:

Exod 34:1-2 And the LORD said to Moses, "Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke.

So there Moses received the Ten Commandments a second time: Exod 34:1-4 And the LORD said to Moses, "Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. ...Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone...28 So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And the LORD wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.

"Moses showing the tables of the law" by Rembrandt 1659 Staatliche Museen Berlin. The Ten Commandments are depicted as engraved in gold letters on black stone, and a glowing radiance comes from Moses' face. The Hebrew word krn is translated as "shone" as with beams or rays of light. The Latin Vulgate translates the word krn as horned. This led medieval artists like Michelangelo to represent Moses as having animal horns protruding from his forehead.

Jewish Tradition

According to Rabbinic tradition the first Commandments referring to God were placed on the right side of the tablet rather than on the left as most assume, since Hebrew is written from right to left. In the Jewish tradition five commandments are placed on both sides of the tablet rather than for example the Catholic tradition where the division is three and seven.

It is also interesting to note that in Jewish tradition the First Commandment is "I am the LORD your God" rather than what is usually taught in the Roman Catholic and Christian traditions, "Thou shalt not have other gods before me."

There was also given hundreds of laws divided into three phases:

Moral Laws (10 Commandments written by the finger of God),

Civil Laws (Dietary and Judicial also), and

Ceremonial Laws (Sacrifices, Feast Days, etc.).

On Hebrew government . . .

"Some nations place the sovereignty of their land in the hands of a single ruler (monarchy), some in the hands of a small number of rulers (oligarchy), and some in the hands of the people (democracy). Moses our Teacher taught us to place our faith in none of these forms of government. He taught us to obey the rule of God, for to God alone did he accord kingship and power. He commanded the people always to raise their eyes to God, for He is the source of all good for mankind in general and for each person in particular and in Him will people find help when they pray to Him in their time of suffering, for no act is hidden from His understanding and no hidden thought of man's heart is hidden from Him."

- Josephus Flavius,

Contra Apion, Volume One

In giving the Law to the Hebrew people, Moses taught the Israelites what the Lord expected of them-- that they were to be a holy people separated from the pagan immorality and idolatry of their surroundings. Here the foundation of Judaism was laid. A God given religious system all centering around the Tabernacle (the place where the blood was sprinkled on the ark), the Sacrifices, and the Priesthood. The Levites were the priestly tribe, and Aaron (Moses' brother) was the first High Priest.

Israel was numbered and organized for war. The 12 Tribes were established (Sons of Jacob) and leaders were appointed for each tribe.

Jewish Tradition

Why was the holy mountain where the Torah was given called Sinai? It is because at this mountain that Moses (Heb. Mosheh) met the Lord. The Lord appeared to him out of the midst of a bush that burned with fire but was not consumed. The word bush in Hebrew is "sneh." According to Jewish tradition the word sinai comes from sneh and would be the name given to the mountain because of the sneh. On this mountain the torah was given through the sneh, a bush that burned but was not consumed just as the Torah would be lit aflame by many and yet never consumed.

Exod 3:2 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.

The Offering for the Tabernacle

Exod 25:1-8 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: "Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats' hair; ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them."

(See also The Holy Materials)

God was calling the people to give from their hearts to His work. These words echo in the words of Jesus Christ:

Matt 10:8 "Freely you have received, freely give."

This revealed that their God would not be distant from His people as with all the gods of the gentiles. The God who spoke to Moses was a personal God immensely concerned with the lives of his people and always seeking their involvement in His worship and desiring their material offerings in a work that would provide a tent for the living God.

God asked them to give in this great work according to their ability. From some the gift of gold, from others simply bronze. Form one the fine linen of Egypt while from another a gift of goat's hair. One man might have silver while another only has some olive oil. He is a gracious God and their gifts were exemplifying an attribute that they saw in Him. Really this time of giving truly revealed what was in their hearts just as the old woman in the time of Jesus:

Mark 12:43-44 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."

So the people who had been stricked with terror at God's Presence were learning that their God was now their husband and was indeed married to His people and He would take his place in the very center of the camp and would lay out a pattern of worship by which they could be in relationship with Him.

Hundreds of years later King Solomon stood amazed at the thought that God has prepared in some way a place by which He could be approached. He asked:

2 Chr 6:18 "But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!"

When God said to Moses that they would be constructing a sanctuary for almighty God He did not leave it to Moses or Aaron or the council of seventy elders to devise a temple worthy of His Presence:

Exod 25:9 "According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it."

It was not left to any of man's imaginations. God's people might provide the materials but the plan would belong entirely to God himself. Man can not think up or institute his own way of approach to a holy God. Nevertheless, God in his grace was willing to make a way by which man in all his sinful ways might approach God and have the assurance that God dwelt with him and the were in relationship because God's Covenant would exist because God cannot fail.

Vash'kanti - mikdash - li - v'assoo - b'tocham

"And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them" (may be in them).