Moses went up the mountain to receive the Word of God, the Ten Commandments, from God—twice.
Moses is a type of Jesus to come, Who brought the Word of God from heaven to earth at His first coming.
Moses remembered (Deuteronomy 9:9-17) :
“When I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with you, then I remained on the mountain for forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10 The Lord gave me the two tablets of stone written by the finger of God; and on them were all the words which the Lord had spoken with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. 11 It came about at the end of forty days and nights that the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go down from here quickly, because your people, whom you brought out of Egypt, have behaved corruptly. They have quickly turned aside from the way that I commanded them; they have made a cast metal image for themselves.’ 13 The Lord also said to me, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed, it is a stubborn people. 14 Leave Me alone, that I may destroy them and wipe out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’
15 “So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16 And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the Lord your God. You had made for yourselves a cast metal image of a calf; you had quickly turned aside from the way that the Lord had commanded you. 17 So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my two hands, and smashed them to pieces before your eyes!”
God the Father had given the direction for the Ten Commandments to be written. Jesus, the Word (John 1:1) spoke the Ten Commandments into being.
The Bible states that Jesus is the Word. John 1:1—“In the beginning was the Word (Jesus) and the Word (Jesus) was with God and the Word (Jesus) was God.” Jesus was with God His Father before the world was created. He came from heaven to show people Who God is and to take away the sins of the world (John 1:2).
The Holy Spirit wrote the Commandments upon the tablets of stone. He is the “finger of God” who works in the physical realm (Genesis 1:2).
The people at the foot of the mountain, a type of people on the earth, sinned by worshiping a false god of their own making. This brought about the destruction of the tablets by Moses.
The tablets too are a type of Jesus, the Word. They were smashed because of the sin of the people. The sin of people brought about the death of Jesus upon the cross as well. His body was punched, whipped, beaten beyond recognition and then they crucified Him.
The tablets were in two pieces. Jesus is both the Son of Man (flesh) (Matthew 12:32) and the Son of God (Spirit). (Luke 10:22) He gave up His own life on the cross (John 10:15); His Spirit became separate from His flesh while on the cross (John 19:30). At His resurrection, after three days, Jesus was raised from the grave. Many people saw Him and testified to His resurrection (1Corinthians 15:6). He is the only person to die, be resurrected and never die again (John 10:17).
Moses also destroyed the idol, the golden calf. “And I took your sinful thing which you had made, the calf, and burned it in the fire and crushed it, grinding it thoroughly until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the stream that came down from the mountain” (Deuteronomy 9:21).
This is a type of Jesus destroying sin.
On the cross, Jesus, a man who had never known sin, experienced the penalty of sin. He took the sins of the world—adultery, murder, deceit, theft, etc…upon Himself. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf…” (2Corinthians 5:21) Then, because He is the Son of God, He purified the sin (Isaiah 1:18) and cast it away from Himself (Psalm 103:12; Micah 7:19).
The penalty of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Jesus took the wrath of God upon Himself as the Savior of the world so that anyone who believes in Him will not undergo God’s wrath. Jesus died in your place. He Who the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36). He is free of sin. He is free of God’s wrath. You must only choose to believe in Jesus. This is the gift of God (Romans 6:23).
Moses went up the mountain again. This time he himself had to carve the tablets out of stone, but God engraved the Ten Commandments upon them.
“At that time the Lord said to me, ‘Cut out for yourself two tablets of stone like the first two, and come up to Me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood for yourself. 2 Then I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you smashed to pieces, and you shall put them in the ark.’ 3 So I made an ark of acacia wood and cut out two tablets of stone like the first two, and I went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4 Then He wrote on the tablets, like the first writing, the Ten Commandments which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them to me. 5 Then I turned and came down from the mountain, and I put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and they are there, just as the Lord commanded me” (Deuteronomy 10:1-5).
The two tablets have been remade. This is a type of the resurrection of Jesus, Who is the Word. Moses made the second set because Jesus Himself participated in the resurrection of His own body. God the Father gave the direction (Galatians 1:1), Lord Jesus (the Word) spoke to His body to “Get up!” (John 2:19) and the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the grave (Romans 8:11).
Moses was instructed to place the set of tablets, the Word of God, within the ark. They became hidden from view. The ark is a type of Jesus upon His throne in heaven. Many people saw Jesus ascend into the clouds. As He left, so He will return (Acts 1:9-11).
Each time Moses went up to meet God, he was as Jesus, interceding and praying for His people. The mountaintop burned but Moses did not get burned. The mountaintop is a type of God the Father’s throne. Fire is a symbol of purity. Heaven and God are pure, without sin. No one with sin may enter in. Jesus is without sin; therefore, only those who receive Jesus, their sins purged by His blood, may enter heaven and God’s presence. The blood of Jesus sprinkled on the believer is a witness that he belongs to Jesus and God.
God gave further directions to Moses regarding His people, the 12 tribes of Israel:
“At that time the Lord singled out the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to serve Him and to bless in His name, until this day” (Deuteronomy 10:8).
The Word is hidden in the ark. Jesus is hidden in heaven. The Levites, the tribe of priests, are instructed to carry the ark of the covenant. They are a type of the church, a kingdom of priests (Revelation 5:10), who are to carry the Gospel, Jesus, and news of the New Covenant to the ends of the world. As they walk, believers are to minister and give blessings in Jesus’ name.
How does a believer carry the risen savior? Within himself. The Holy Spirit was given to men after Lord Jesus ascended. The Holy Spirit is God living within man.
How does the Spirit of God live within a believer? The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus living within the human spirit that each person has. He fills it up, bringing it to life, just as a balloon can be filled with air. The Holy Spirit does this work when a person comes to believe in Jesus as his Savior. The Holy Spirit gives believers the power to overcome evil. This is the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life.
After Moses burned and ground the idol he poured its dust into the water that came down from the mountain. The water is a type of the Holy Spirit which descends from heaven after Jesus died and was resurrected from the grave.
The Holy Spirit descended from heaven as flames of fire upon the first believers. The fire is a symbol of God’s purity. God helps believers remain sin-free (Acts 2:1-4). The Holy Spirit is the tool in the toolbox that will keep a man or woman out of prison, off drugs and free from living in sin. Without His power within, a man will return to his sinful ways. A man will return to prison. As the water (the Holy Spirit) carried away the dust, so does the Holy Spirit remove repented sin.
The ark of the covenant—Lord Jesus, will reappear.
“Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.’ 16 And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,
‘We give You thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. 18 And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.’
19 And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and a great hailstorm” (Revelation 11:15-19).
Heaven will open and Jesus will return. He will come with wrath against sin and enemies. He will arrive to reward believers. He will call the bodies of saints out of the earth and the seas to be like Him.
The Lord Jesus is the Word of God. His Word is law. His law is love. He will rule the world by His law. His people, glorified believers, will rule with Him (Revelation 20:4). The kingdom of the world will be the Kingdom of the Lord. He will reign forever and ever.
The tablets of the Law, the Ten Commandments, were given by God out of His love for His people. They were directives in how to live according to God’s way, avoiding sin. The wages of sin is death. God is life. In like manner, God, out of His great love for man, sent His only Son, Jesus, that all the world would be saved and have life, not just now, but forever. (John 3:16).
Loving God and obedience to Him go together. Jesus demonstrated this in His obedience to go to the cross and be executed. He asked His Father three times if the cross could be avoided. But He also agreed to submit to His Father’s will three times. “Not My will but Yours be done” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus endured physical torment and death and spiritual torment when He took the wrath of God upon Himself.
Once again, obedience and love go together.
Moses spoke to the Israelites, “You shall therefore love the Lord your God, and always keep His directive, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments” (Deuteronomy 11:1).
Obedience to God is strength.
“You shall therefore keep every commandment which I am commanding you today, so that you may be strong and go in and take possession of the land into which you are about to cross to possess it” (Deuteronomy 11:8).
Obedience to God is blessing.
“And it shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, 14 that He will provide rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, so that you may gather your grain, your new wine, and your oil. 15 He will also provide grass in your field for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied” (Deuteronomy 11:13-15).
There is a choice. Obedience and the blessing or disobedience and a curse.
“See, I am placing before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today; 28 and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known” (Deuteronomy 11:26-28).
Obedience to God includes worshiping only the one true God. Yahweh. The Name of His Son, Jesus, means “Yahweh is Salvation.”
Jesus became a curse so that no man need be cursed and experience God’s wrath. (Galatians 3:13)
How can you avoid God’s wrath? Flee from it. Repent of sin. Moses warned of sin and its punishment. John the Baptist warned about coming judgment and the need for repentance.
“His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12).
Jesus Himself warned, “But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers” (Luke 12:45-46).
The two sets of tablets had the same commands of obedience written on them: the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:12).
(Exodus 20:3-17) Keep God first. Do not worship anything other than God. Don’t take God’s name in vain. Keep the Sabbath day holy. Honor your father and your mother. Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Don’t give false testimony against a neighbor. Don’t covet anything belonging to a neighbor.
Jesus summed them up this way: “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).
These commandments have not changed. God has not changed (Hebrews 13:8).
God’s love sent His only Son 2,000 years ago to save many. God’s love will send Him again. God is good. One must worship only Jesus. No other will come and save you. “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord [Jesus] will be saved” (Acts 2:21).
(C) Kelly Jadon, 2023