Exodus 34 Summary: A Concise Overview in 5 Minutes

Exodus 34 Summary - A Quick Overview

WHEN:

• God delivered the Israelites from slavery in approximately 1491 B.C.

• Exodus 34 occurred shortly after God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, which would place these events approximately 4-6 months after the Hebrews left Egypt (19:1; 32:34).

CHARACTERS:

• God – The Lord spoke with Moses and gave Him direction for leading the nation of Israel.  

• Moses – God selected Moses to lead the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land (Canaan).

• Israelites (Hebrews) – The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God granted them freedom after several hundred years in slavery in Egypt. Unfortunately, they did not always honor God as He deserved. 

WHERE:

• Moses and the Israelites were camped at Mount Sinai.

OUTLINE:

• MOSES MEETS WITH GOD TO RECREATE THE STONE TABLETS (34:1-9):

  • The Lord told Moses to cut two new tablets of stone to replace the ones he broke after seeing the people worshipping the golden calf (32:19):

  • God met Moses on Mount Sinai “in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord.”

  • God described Himself as merciful, slow to anger, and forgiving, but also as one who would not allow the wicked and unrepentant to go unpunished.

  • Moses worshipped the Lord and begged him to accompany the Israelites as they entered the land of Canaan.

  • God wrote His laws on Moses’ two new stone tablets (34:1).

• GOD RENEWS HIS PROMISES (COVENANT) WITH ISRAEL (34:10-28):

  • God promised to go with the Israelites and to help them drive out the wicked inhabitants of Canaan.

  • They were not to make any peace treaties or intermarry with the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, or the Jebusites.

  • When the Hebrews entered Canaan, they were to tear down all the pagan altars and rid the land of idolatry.

  • They were to keep God’s special feast days: The Passover, The Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Ingathering.

  • They were to observe the Sabbath day of rest (7th day of every week).

  • The firstborn of animals and man were to be dedicated to the Lord.

  • Moses “was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.”

• MOSES’ SHINING FACE (34:29-35):

  • When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of stone, his face was shining because he had been talking with God.

  • Moses called the people to him and taught them all the laws of Lord.

  • Moses put a veil over his face when he finished talking to the people.

  • Every time Moses spoke with God, he lifted the veil.

  • When he brought God’s message to the people, they would know his message originated with God because of Moses’ shining face.

APPLICATION:

• A question for consideration…

• Who do you relate to most in this story?

• I would like to think I’m the Moses character, the man of constant faithfulness, who meets with God to advocate on the part of others.

• But truly, I can be a lot like the Israelites. I can be fickle, unfaithful, and in constant need of God’s mercy and forgiveness.

• As we read the Bible, let’s read it humbly. Jesus is the hero of this story, not us!

• We are all the Israelites from time-to-time.