DID MOSES WRITE THE 10 COMMANDMENTS ON THE 2ND SET OF STONE TABLETS?

Did Moses write the Ten Commandments on the second set of stone tablets, or did God? Some Bible disputers point out what they say are two contradictory scriptures. They claim that one account says God wrote the Commandments on the second set of tablets, and another says Moses did. There are also some Christians who believe and teach this. Let’s examine these claims and see if they’re correct.

In Exodus chapter 20, the LORD spoke the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel (Exodus 20:1-17). In Exodus chapter 24, the LORD told Moses to come up to the mountain and he would give him some tablets of stone with the words of the Ten Commandments which he had spoken to the children of Israel.

Exodus 24:12
12 And the LORD said to Moses, Come up to me on the mountain, and be there: and I will give you tablets of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that you may teach them.

So Moses went up the mountain to meet with God.

Exodus 31:18
18 And he (God) gave to Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him on Mount Sinai, two tablets of testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

Exodus 32:15-16
15 And Moses turned, and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the testimony were in his hand: the tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written.
16 And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

These verses tell us that God gave Moses two tablets of stone made by God, and written by God.

Moses was on the Mountain for more than 40 days. While he was gone, the people got tired of waiting, and they wondered if he was even coming back, so they pressured Aaron into making a golden calf for them to worship. When Moses came down from the mountain and saw the golden calf, and the people worshiping it, he threw the tablets down and broke them.

Later, God told Moses to cut two tablets out of stone like the first ones and to bring them up to him on the mountain. The LORD told Moses that He, (the LORD) would write the same words that He (the LORD) had written on the first set of tablets.

Exodus 34:1
1 And the LORD said to Moses, Cut two tablets of stone like the first: and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.

Exodus 34:4
4 And he (Moses) cut two tablets of stone like the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up to mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone.

Now, read the next two verses carefully.

Exodus 34:27-28
27 And the LORD said to Moses, Write these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.
28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote on the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

Ok. There’s the seeming contradiction. In verse 27, God told Moses to write these words. Then verse 28 says, He wrote on the tablets. This seems to say that Moses wrote the Ten Commandments on the second set of tablets, but is that what it says? The simple answer is No. Moses explains all the details to the Israelites later in Deuteronomy 10:1-4. Compare these verses with Exodus 34:1-4.

Deuteronomy 10:1-4
1 At that time the LORD said to me, Cut two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to me on the mountain; and make an ark of wood.
2 And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke, and you will put them in the ark.
3 And I made an ark of shittim wood and cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and went up into the mountain, with the two tablets in my hand.
4 And he (the LORD) wrote on the tablets, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spoke to you from the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them to me.
5 And I turned around and came down from the mountain, and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are, as the LORD commanded me.

Both of these accounts are pretty much the same. They tell us that God wrote the commandments on the first set of stone tablets, and the second set as well. So, what did God tell Moses to write? Let’s look at it a little closer.

Exodus 34:27
27 And the LORD said to Moses, Write these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.

Now look back at the verses before these. Namely verses 11-26 of chapter 34.

The LORD gave Moses some instructions for the time after they would come into the promised land. These are the words he told Moses to write (Exodus 34:1-26).

Then the Bible says Moses was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights and HE (the LORD) wrote the words of the covenant on the second set of tablets. No contradiction.

Many seeming contradictions can be cleared up with just a little Bible study. We shouldn’t be so quick to doubt or accept the criticisms of non-believers. The Bible was written a long time ago, in a different culture, and in a different language. Much has changed since then with the culture as well as grammar, and it’s not always easy to understand at first glance. We need the guidance of the Holy Spirit to truly understand his word. The more we read, and study the Bible, the more we will understand. So pray, read, and study God’s word every day. God will be with you as you do.

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DATE WITH DESTINY

I was Twenty years old and it was Summer. I was driving my dune buggy on the two-mile road that led to my house from the main highway. I hadn't had my toy long but I was driving it like I had always had it. It had been raining and I wanted to get home before it started again. One of my friends was with me and he said something about slowing down. I was driving faster than I should have been on that curvy, wet road.

Then my friend asked me a good question. He said, “What would you do if you went over this hill going this fast and there was a car stopped in the road?” I said, “I’d do this,” and quickly bumped my brakes. When I did we started spinning on the wet pavement. As I desperately tried to regain control, we slid off the road into the ditch, but we didn’t stop or even slow down. That’s when I saw the light pole coming straight toward us. Just as we reached it, we quickly turned and missed the pole and started flying backward into a muddy field. As soon as we came to a complete stop, I shifted into first gear and stomped the gas to the floor, slinging mud everywhere. When we got back on the road, I drove quite a bit slower the rest of the way home. That was a scary experience but I was so thankful that God was watching over us.

I wish I had continued driving slower from then on, but I was young, but not quite as wise as I should have been at that age. You may think I’m exaggerating when I tell you this connected story, but I promise I’m not. Just a few months later it was winter and I made a spur-of-the-moment decision. I worked several miles from home and decided to try to make it to my house and back to work on my lunch break.

I was on that same road to my house where I had the dune buggy accident earlier in the Summer and once again, I was driving too fast. It had snowed earlier in the week and there had been ice on the roads for a couple of days, but the sun came out that morning and melted most of it. There were pine trees on the right side of the road casting a shadow on the pavement. Where the shade was, the road had not been exposed to the sun so the snow and ice had not melted there. 

Just as I was going over that same exact hill I saw the patch of ice. I hit my brakes in the same exact spot where I had on the dune buggy. The car began to spin out of control just like the dune buggy did. I tried to regain control just like before but I slid off the road into the same ditch at the same spot. Then I saw that same light pole coming straight toward me. Just like before, as I was just about to hit it, the car quickly turned and started rolling back into the same muddy field. It stopped almost in the same spot as the dune buggy. I’m not kidding. No exaggeration. It was eerie how similar those two incidents were, and I knew once again that God had been watching over me. That time, though, I had to walk to a neighbor’s house and get him to pull my car out with his tractor.

There was a famous philosopher and poet in the early twentieth century named George Santayana. He once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” I hadn’t forgotten the incident the previous Summer, but it wasn’t fresh in my mind either. I hadn’t learned anything from it, that’s for sure. There are many variations of Mr. Santayana’s famous quote. The one I like is, “Those who don’t learn from their mistakes are destined to repeat them.” I believe that one can better be applied to this situation.

The Children of Israel went through similar situations where they would serve God for many years and be prosperous. Then they would turn and serve other gods. Then God would send them into captivity. Later they would repent and turn back to God and he would deliver them, but the cycle continued.

Today, many of God’s followers are in the same situation. When we turn away from him and return to our old ways, we get into trouble. Then we call on God for help. He helps us but then we seem to forget and go our own way again. When will we learn? God will not bless us when we turn away from him and do our own thing.

A good relationship with Jesus is very important. Serving the God of heaven is very important. Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30). He also said, “No one can serve two masters” (Luke 16:13). In John 14:6, he said he is the Way. No one can come to the Father except through Jesus. He is the door (John 10:9).

Let’s not forget who he is. Let’s not forget where he brought us from. If we do, we may find ourselves back there in the same situation we were in before. We don’t have to live in the past or focus on it to learn from it. Sometimes, we do have to look back at where we were, to appreciate where we are now. I want to learn from my mistakes and be determined not to repeat them. Who’s with me?

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MODERN MANNA

In 1 Kings chapter 11, we learn that King Solomon had a servant named Jeroboam, who was a mighty man of valor. The king saw that this young man was industrious, so he made him ruler over all the affairs of the house of Joseph. Solomon sinned against God and did some things that God had said not to do, so God told him that he would take the kingdom from his house and give it to his servant. He would leave Solomon’s son one tribe for David’s sake. So God sent the prophet Ahijah to tell Jeroboam that he was going to make him king of Israel.

Then King Solomon decided to kill his faithful servant to keep the whole kingdom for his son. To avoid this death sentence, Jeroboam fled to Egypt and remained there until he was told that King Solomon was dead.

In chapter 12, Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, became king of Israel, and Jeroboam returned from Egypt. Then, he and the people of Israel went to talk to the new king. They asked him to make their labor lighter than his father, Solomon, had, but he refused. In fact, he told them he was going to make things tougher for them than the former king had.

So, Israel decided to rebel against King Rehoboam, and they made Jeroboam king over the ten rebel tribes. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David, just as God had said. The ten tribes continued to travel back to Jerusalem to sacrifice in the temple there, but after a while, Jeroboam began to worry. He was afraid that if the people of his kingdom continued to go up to Jerusalem, to sacrifice in the house of God, they might rebel against him, and return to the house of David.

In order to prevent such a thing from happening, Jeroboam offered Israel some options. He set up two different places of worship in his kingdom; one at Bethel, and one at Dan. He set up a golden calf at each location, and encouraged the children of Israel to come, and worship at one or the other, instead of continuing to journey back and forth to Jerusalem. He told the people, “It’s too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” The people bought it. They started going to the place of worship at Dan. The Bible says this became a sin. Then, Jeroboam made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the tribe of Levi. Remember, God had given the Priesthood to the Levites.

1 Kings 12, verse 32, tells us that Jeroboam held a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast they have in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar to the calves that he had made, and he burnt incense as well.

Then in chapter 13, God sent a prophet from Judah with a message to King Jeroboam. God was not happy with the things he had done since becoming king. The prophet said a child, named Josiah, would be born into the house of David, and he would destroy the idols, and the groves, and the priests that Jeroboam had made.

When Jeroboam heard this, he stretched out his hand and gave the command for the prophet to be restrained. When he did this, his hand shriveled up and he couldn’t move it or pull it back to him. So he asked the prophet to pray and ask God to heal his hand. So he prayed for Jeroboam, and God restored his hand back to the way it was before.

The king was pleased, so he invited the man of God to come to his house and clean up and refresh himself, and he offered him a reward. The Prophet refused the offer and said, “If you would give me half your house, I will not go in with you, neither will I eat bread, nor drink water in this place. The LORD told me I should not eat bread, nor drink water, nor go back the same way I came.” So he left and went a different way than what he came.

Now, there was an old prophet in Bethel, and his sons came and told him what the man of God had said, and done to Jeroboam. After finding out from his sons which way to go, he headed out to catch up with this messenger and found him resting under an oak tree. He invited him to come to his house and eat bread, but the man of God told him what the LORD had said, and refused to go back with him. Then the old man said, “I’m also a prophet, just like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, and said, Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread, and drink water.” But he lied to him.

Notice that the man of God had the word of God. God had told him exactly what to do and what not to do. Why would he ever listen to someone telling him something contrary to what God had already clearly told him?

Look at Paul’s instructions in Galatians 1:8-10.

8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be cursed. 
9 As we said before, so I say again now, If anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be cursed. 
10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Friends, we have the word of God in our hands today, but unfortunately, many are still deceived by the lies of the enemy. Wake up, before it’s too late. Look in the Bible for instructions from God, and hold firmly to his words. Don’t be deceived by listening to the many things that contradict what God has already told us in his word.

So what do you think this man of God did when the old prophet lied to him? Look back at 1 Kings 13:19.

19 So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.

He disobeyed God. This reminds me of Eve in the garden of Eden when the serpent told her something different than what God had said, and she believed the lie. God had given her and Adam specific instructions, but the serpent came along with something new and different, and even though it contradicted the word of God, they still did it and disobeyed God. Now, this prophet of God has been lied to, and he believed the lie. Let’s continue reading on with verse 20.

20 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came to the prophet that brought him back: 
21 And he cried out to the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus says the LORD, Because you have disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you, 
22 But came back, and ate bread and drank water in the place which the LORD did say to you, Eat no bread, and drink no water, your carcass will not come to the tomb of your ancestors.

The man of God saddled his donkey and left, but he didn’t get far before a lion met him and killed him. Then, the lion and the donkey both just stood there by the dead body.

So Sad. This account shows that there are consequences to disobeying God. Look at all Adam and Eve lost by disobeying God, all because of a lie. Look what this prophet of God lost by listening to a lie. We have a lot to lose if we listen to lies. Eternal life is at stake if we don’t obey God. We have to be on our toes and refuse to listen to lies.

How can we recognize a lie? By knowing the truth. Jesus said, “God’s word is truth” (John 17:17). The word of God is a “lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32).

We have the word of God recorded in the Bible. If anyone tells you something contrary to God’s word, don’t believe them. How will we know if they’re lying or not? We have to know the Bible. To know it, we have to prayerfully read it, and study it every day. It should be our daily bread. It’s like the manna that God sent down to feed the children of Israel in the wilderness. This is manna from heaven for us. Modern Manna. Heavenly food to nourish our spiritual bodies.

God has protected and preserved his word for thousands of years so we can have it today. Satan has always attacked God’s word, and he will never stop. He’s always trying to get us to disobey God’s word. He’ll try anything, but he seems to favor lying to get us to disobey God. Many of the modern Bible translations are full of lies, in addition to deleting many entire verses. We need to be very careful about which versions we read. Do some research on your own and see where each translation originated from.

Satan not only uses these false Bibles to deceive people, but he uses those who read them to sow seeds of doubt in others. Only by knowing the truth can we be sure we won’t be deceived. If you just listen to some Christians talk, you’ll notice that there are many contradictions in their beliefs.

Many are starving because they never even pick up God’s word to read it. Many are only eating this modern manna once or twice a week as the preacher feeds it to them. We do need that, but we also need to learn to feed ourselves. We need it daily. How long can our physical bodies live without physical food? Not long. The same is true of our spiritual bodies. They can’t live long without spiritual food.

In like manner, if someone puts poison in our food we will most likely die. When we receive spiritual food that is laced with poison we will most likely die, spiritually. If you’re one of those who think there’s no way a preacher will lie to you, then you are very mistaken. The Apostle Paul said they would (2 Corinthians 11:2-4). The Bible also says that Satan has ministers pretending to be ministers of God (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). That old prophet lied to this young man of God, and yes, there are preachers today who lie. Again, we can only spot a lie if we know the truth.

Isaiah 8:20 says, “if they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Our creator has prepared this manna for us, and we need to fill ourselves with it every day and know the truth so we won’t be deceived. It’s the only way. Know the truth, and you will recognize a lie when it comes along.

2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to show yourself approved to God, a worker that does not need to be ashamed, RIGHTLY dividing the word of truth.” So, does that mean God’s word can be wrongly divided? Sure it can, and it often is. Many Christians believe the old testament is irrelevant, and many even refuse to read it. That’s not “rightly dividing” the word.

Isaiah 28:10 says, “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:..” That’s the way to rightly divide the word of God. Reading the Bible is fine, and very important, but we must also study it. Meditate on it. The best way is to study subjects. If you want to know what the Bible says about grace, first, use a concordance or Bible software, and find out the definition of grace. Then, search for the word grace, anything that relates to grace. When you have finished, you will know what the Bible actually says about grace. That’s how you rightly divide the word of truth. It’s very dangerous to build a doctrine on one verse of scripture. Many have done just that and have led others astray because they didn’t study the Bible for themselves.

1 Peter 3:15 says, “Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you.” We have to know the word of God in order to properly obey God, and teach our children to obey him. How will we know it if we don’t study it? Acts 17:11 says the men of Berea were noble and received the word with all readiness of mind, AND they “searched the scriptures daily,” to see if what they were being told was true. That’s what we must do. We need to be sure what our preachers and teachers are telling us is true. That’s the way we benefit from this modern manna; this daily bread that feeds our spiritual bodies.

1 Corinthians 3:18 says, “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this world, let them become a fool so they may be wise.” When we study God’s word, we need to put away our preconceived ideas and be open-minded so we can see what the Bible really says. Then, we need to be willing to reject what we thought was the truth when we discover we were wrong. That’s how we grow and become wise in the word. Holding on to preconceived ideas has kept many people from understanding the truth. Jesus said God’s word is Truth (John 17:17).

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, 
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. 
6 Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will direct your paths.

Trust the Lord. Trust his word. Don’t trust your own understanding. Allow the Holy Spirit to help you understand his word. We have to get our doctrine straight from the Bible.

Deuteronomy 8:3 says, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”

Jesus quoted this scripture when Satan tempted him in the wilderness (Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4) and we need to be able to do that as well. We need to fill our minds with God’s word because we won’t always have a copy of it with us.

In conclusion, God's Holy Book, the Bible, is Modern Manna, sent down from God out of heaven. It is spiritual food for our spiritual bodies. We need to eat it daily. Learn it. Memorize it. Get to know it so you won’t be deceived. Pray without ceasing. Invite the Holy Spirit to help you understand his word, and read it AND study it EVERY day. Your life depends on it.

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WAS JESUS A NAZARITE?

Was Jesus a Nazarite? Many people believe he was but the word of God doesn’t support that. In fact, it shows the opposite to be true. He was a Nazarene, which simply means he was from Nazareth of Galilee, a little town in Northern Israel. Maybe that’s where the confusion comes from; Nazarene, Nazarite. A Nazarite is someone who has taken the Nazarite vow. Being a Nazarite was not necessarily a lifetime commitment. It appears to be only for a limited time. Jesus was NOT a Nazarite, at least not after he was baptized and began his ministry. Let’s look at a few Bible verses starting with Numbers chapter 6.

Numbers 6:1-8 

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD: 

3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, nor vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes nor dried. 

4 All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. 

5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in which he separates himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. 

6 All the days that he separates himself unto the LORD, he shall come near no dead body. 

7 He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head. 

8 All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.

According to the Bible, the Nazarite vow included three restrictions.

1) A Nazarite could not drink or eat anything that was made from any part of the grapevine, including fresh grape juice, wine of any kind, strong drink, and grapes, and raisins.

2) A Nazarite could not cut their hair.

3) A Nazarite could not touch a dead body.

This is how we know Jesus was not a Nazarite.

1a) Jesus drank the fruit of the vine. Whether it was grape juice or alcoholic wine is debatable, but the fact remains, he did not keep the first rule of the Nazarite vow.

Luke 7:34

34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, Behold, a glutton, and a drunkard.

1 Cor. 11:25

25 After the same manner also he took the cup when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

2a) Did Jesus have long hair? Many believe he did, probably from the many paintings of him with long hair, but we don’t really know what he looked like. We know from one of the many prophecies of his death that he had a beard when he was crucified (Is. 50:6), but the Apostle Paul says, “it is a shame for a man to have long hair” (1 Cor. 11:14). Hair length is subjective, though, like a big dog, or a tall tree. The tallest tree in Mississippi is a Spruce Pine which was 154 feet at the time it was measured. To me, that’s a tall tree, but it’s not tall at all compared to the tallest Giant Redwood ever measured, which was 379 feet tall. The fact is we just can’t be sure what length the Lord’s hair was.

3a) Did Jesus touch a dead body? Yes, he did. In Matthew 9:21-43. A ruler of the synagogue named Jairus came to Jesus begging him to come and heal his daughter who was dying. When they arrived she was already dead, but Jesus went in and took her by the hand, and brought her back to life (Mark 5:22-43, Luke 8:41-56). Numbers 6:11 says it is a SIN for a Nazarite to touch a dead body, and we know Jesus never sinned (Heb. 4:15, 1 John 3:5 1 Pet. 1:18-19 & 2:22).

In, conclusion, Jesus drank the fruit of the vine, and he touched at least one dead body. So, we can say with confidence that Jesus was NOT a Nazarite. He was from Nazareth, which made him a Nazarene.

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My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
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