Exodus 34:1-4 Stone Hewing

Exo 34:1  And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. 2  And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. 3  And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.
Exo 34:4  And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.

Eze 11:19  And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 


Have you ever wondered why Moses had to cut the stones himself for God to re-write the Ten Commandments? God had done the whole job the first time, why didn't He do it all again? Well, I have wondered this, and I asked God why. This is what He showed me: The stone tablets represent our hearts. They have become hard, like stone, through sin. And the only way we can become right with Him is if we bring our hard hearts to Him in humility, admitting our sin. It is hard work, like chiseling stone, but it is the only way. Then, when we turn to Him in this way, He graciously gives us hearts of flesh instead of stone, and writes His law on our hearts, as He promised He would.

Exodus 20:24-25 Altar Building

Exo 20:24  An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. 25  And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.


In verse 24 God instructs Moses to make an altar of earth. The Hebrew word translated "earth" is from the root adam which means "to show blood, be red, ruddy." Adam is also the root of the word translated "man" in Genesis. So when Paul, in Romans 12:1, says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." he is telling them, in essence, to make themselves into an altar of earth, to sacrifice their self-centeredness to God. And God, in Exodus, promises to bless them if they do.

Then in verse 25 God speaks of an altar of stone. The Hebrew word here is eben, which is nearly identical with the word for son, ben. This is an allusion to Jesus the Son (ben) of God, who is often represented by a stone or rock in Scripture. God is saying to us that if we trust in Jesus but try to change Him at all, chipping some off because we don't like it, or adding our work to His, then we have polluted it. We cannot be saved by our own work, but only by the work Jesus did during His death, burial, and resurrection.

Exodus 4:19-20 Take Them and Go

Exo 4:19  And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.
20  And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

This prefigures Joseph, Mary, and Jesus returning to Israel from Egypt:

Mat 2:19  But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20  Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.
21  And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.