New Stone Tablets
Study note
God told Moses to carve two new stone tablets and build a wooden chest to hold them. God wrote the Ten Commandments on these new tablets, and Moses placed them in the Ark of the Covenant.
1 "The Lord then told me, 'Carve out two stone tablets just like the first ones and come back up the mountain. Also build a wooden box. At that time the LORD said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood.
2 I will write on these new tablets the same words that were on the originals you broke. Then store them in the box.' And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.
3 "So I made a box out of acacia wood and carved two new stone tablets identical to the first ones. Then I carried them up the mountain. And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand.
4 The Lord wrote the same words on them that he had written before -- the Ten Commandments he had spoken to you from the fire on the day of the great assembly. He gave the tablets to me. And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me.
5 I came back down and placed the tablets inside the box I had built. They have been there ever since, just as the Lord told me. And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.
The Levites Set Apart
Study note
A brief note recalls Aaron's death and the appointment of his son Eleazar as priest. God set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the Ark, to serve God, and to bless the people in God's name. Because Levi served God, they received no land inheritance like the other tribes.
6 "The Israelites moved from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah. That is where Aaron died and was buried. His son Eleazar took over as priest after him. And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera: there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest's office in his stead.
7 From Moserah they went to Gudgodah. From Gudgodah they went to Jotbathah. Jotbathah had plenty of flowing streams. From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters.
8 That was when the Lord set the tribe of Levi apart for special service. Their job was to carry the Ark containing the Lord's covenant, to stand in the Lord's presence, to serve him, and to pronounce blessings in his name. They still do these things today. At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.
9 That explains why the Levites do not own any portion of land like the other tribes. The Lord himself is what they inherit, just as the Lord your God told them. Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised him.
10 "I stayed on the mountain for forty days and nights again, just like the first time. And once again, the Lord chose to listen to me. He decided not to destroy you. And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also, and the LORD would not destroy thee.
11 The Lord told me, 'Get going. Take the lead and get the people moving so they can enter and take over the land I promised to give their ancestors.' And the LORD said unto me, Arise, take thy journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give unto them.
What God Requires
Study note
Moses asked a powerful question: What does God really want from you? The answer was simple but sweeping -- respect God, walk in his ways, love him, and serve him with all your heart and soul. God owns the highest heavens and the whole earth, yet he chose Israel. Moses urged them to open their stubborn hearts, love foreigners, and cling to God.
12 "So now, Israel, what is it that the Lord your God wants from you? Simply this: honor the Lord your God, live the way he wants you to live, love him, and serve him wholeheartedly -- with everything you have. And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
13 Follow the Lord's commands and rules that I am sharing with you today. They are for your own benefit. To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
14 "Think about this. The heavens belong to the Lord your God. Even the highest heavens are his. The earth and everything in it belong to him too. Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
15 Yet out of everyone, the Lord chose to love your fathers. Then he selected you, their children, above every other nation. That is still true today. Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.
16 So soften your stubborn hearts and quit being so difficult. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
17 The Lord your God reigns above all gods and above all rulers. He is the great God, mighty and awe-inspiring, who never plays favorites and never takes bribes. For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
18 He stands up for orphans and widows and makes sure they are treated fairly. He shows kindness to foreigners by providing them with food and clothing. He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
19 So you must be kind to outsiders too. You know what it feels like. You were once outsiders yourselves in Egypt. Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
20 Honor the Lord your God and be devoted to him. Stay close to him and make all your promises in his name. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
21 He is the one you should praise -- your God who has done amazing, jaw-dropping things for you that you witnessed firsthand. He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.
22 When your ancestors first traveled down to Egypt, there were only seventy of them. But now the Lord your God has grown your numbers until you are as many as the stars in the sky." Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.