Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - THE TABLETS

 THE TABLETS

Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD) is reported to have said: “The sacred text (Bible) has more than one meaning. The literal sense ought not to be set aside. But…beyond the literal sense of the text there are other meanings.”* This is because Scripture is written allegorically.

One such place this appears to be so is in the relating of the Ten Commandments and the details commented upon in Scripture. In Exodus 24, the Lord said to Moses, “…Come up to Me on the mountain…and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written…” (Exodus 24:12). Moses was there 40 days and nights before coming down again with the two tablets, and by that time the people had already persuaded Arron to make a golden calf to be worshiped. So as Moses descended and saw this He became angry and the tablets which “…were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets…”(Exodus 32:16), “…he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain” (Exodus 32:19). And under God’s direction, Moses gathered the sons of Levi to himself and “…the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day”(Exodus 32:28).

So the Tablets were broken and many died because of the actions of the Israelites that day. But God called Moses back to the mountain a second time. He told Moses to “…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” (Exodus 34:1). Moses did what God told him and was on the mountain 40 more days after which he descended with the new tablets and he himself was a changed man. “…when Moses came down from Mount Sinai…the skin of his face shone, and they (the Israelites) were afraid to come near him” (Exodus 34:29-30).

This briefly is the event of the giving of the Ten Commandments. So where’s the allegorical part? Well, Christ himself said: “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27). On one of the tablets of Moses was written the Laws of loving God and on the other were written the laws of man loving each other.

The two tablets broken due to the sins of the Israelites, and their lack of belief, were the same as Christ being broken (crucified), dying for the sin of the world. And as God gave Moses a second chance but told him to cut out the tablets himself this time, so do we all have second (and more) chances and we are told to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). Furthermore, when Moses broke the first set if tablets, fighting broke out “…and about three thousand men of the people died that day”(Exodus 32:28). Acts 2 states that “…those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them”(Acts 2:41).

Jewish tradition states that the words on the first tablets were removed back to heaven after 40 days. Christ returned to heaven 40 days after the crucifixion. Moses was transformed after his second meeting with God; all who believe will be transformed after the Second Coming of Christ. And at that time, just as the second set of tablets were kept whole, so will Jesus remain unscathed as He returns as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

In addition, when God appeared to Moses on the Mount, “…there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and the sound of the trumpet was very loud; so that all the people who were in the camp trembled” (Exodus 19:16). This was the same God that the people complained against and criticized during the trek in the desert up to that time. In the same vein, Revelation states that “ there was a great earthquake…and the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains”(Revelations 6:12,15) “and there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake” (Revelation 8:5).

There is so much more in the Bible that we don’t appreciate or understand because none of us study it the way we should. That is probably why we are told to “meditate on Your precepts” (Psalm 119:15), “meditate on Your wonderful works” (Psalm 119:27), “meditate on Your statutes” (Psalm 119:48), “meditate on Your word” (Psalm 119:148), “meditate on the glorious splendour of Your majesty” (Psalm 145:5), “meditate on His name” (Malachi 3:16), “meditate in it (The Book of the Law) day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it” (Joshua 1:8). “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all” (1Timothy 4:15).

It’s a lot to take in and certainly something to think about