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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SPEAKING WITH THE CAPTAIN

September of this year (2018) marked the seventeenth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy which brought down the Twin Towers in New York, and reports say, almost three thousand people lost their lives. A lot has changed since that dark day, but one thing that hasn’t changed, even since the time of Moses, is the fact that when things get bad, many people turn to God. Then when things don’t look so gloomy anymore, he gets put back on the shelf, and it’s back to the same old grind; “Life as usual.”

That’s what appears to have happened concerning the 9/11 tragedy. For quite a while afterward, it was widely reported that the attack had brought America together in a way not heard of before. There were reports of church attendance shy-rocketing in a similar way that the Y2K scare had prompted so many to seek God. But, eventually, as time went by and the threat lessened, many of those newcomers went back to their old lives and put God back in storage until they need him again.

God is always there for us when we need him, but he’s also there when things are going great. Oftentimes, longing for our companionship. In tragedy, in happiness, in poverty, or in prosperity, there’s never a time when we don’t need God. Even Jesus relied on God. He said, “I can do nothing by myself” (John 5:30). 

How much less can we do without God? We must realize that we’re “only dust” (Genesis 18:27). It took God to make that dust become flesh, and it takes his power to maintain it. Sure, we can do it our way, and many do but look what God’s word says about that. “There is a way that seems right to men, but in the end, it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12). So what do we do? We must develop a close, personal relationship with God through Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). How do we do that? The answer is prayer.

First, we “must be born again” (John 3:1, 7). Without that new birth, humans don’t want to serve God. We don’t want to submit to authority. We don’t want someone telling us what to do. We want to be in control. We want to do what we want to do so that attitude has to go and God is the only one who can purge it from us. Hearing the word of God, and seeing our great need for his forgiveness is the first step. The next step is asking God to save us, and he will (Romans 10:13, Acts 2:21).

There’s an old English proverb that says, “Many things are lost for lack of asking.” James said the same thing in James 4:2; “You do not have because you do not ask.” Jesus said, “Ask and you will receive” (John 16:24). Prayer is the key to success in every situation. From being saved to being healed; From being able to forgive someone, to finding a spouse, or a job. Prayer is the breath of the soul. Prayer is two-way communion with the Creator. It’s not reserved for just asking him for help. 

We can come to him any time. He wants us to talk to him daily and he wants to talk to us. The more we communicate with him, the closer we’ll grow to him, and the closer we get to him, the better we’ll understand what he wants us to do, and how he wants us to act. The better we know him the more we love him, and the more we love him the more we want to obey. That’s how we grow as his followers.

The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that we should “pray without ceasing.” He’s not saying we should constantly be on our knees with our eyes closed. He’s simply telling us to stay in constant communication with God in our minds. God can hear what we are thinking and he can talk to us in our minds. We just need to listen. He’s always speaking to us and he’s always listening, so ask him for what you need, and yes, ask him for what you want as well. “He will not hold back any good thing from those who live right” (Psalm 84:11).

Be sure to pray for others daily as well, and don’t forget to thank God for all you have, and for every answered prayer. “…in everything, make your requests known to God by asking him in prayer, with thanksgiving.” (Phil 4:6b).

The Christian life is not all fun and games, but it’s a lot more simple than many think it is. Again, the key to a good relationship with God is prayer. So be sure to communicate with him daily.

In the Bible, life is sometimes compared to a ship sailing on the sea. As the old Ship of Zion sails these troubled waters, we all must realize that we’re not merely passengers along for the ride. We’re part of the crew. We have to remain in constant contact with the Captain. We can’t do it right on our own. We need that close, personal relationship to remain faithful, especially in the storms. 

Sometimes it seems easier to abandon ship, but in God’s word, we’re told that unless we remain in the ship we can’t be saved (Acts 27:31). So no matter how rough the waters ahead become, or how bad the storms are, remain faithful and don’t abandon the ship. In Matthew 24:13, Jesus says, “Those who endure until the end will be saved.”

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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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THAT I AM

In Exodus chapter 3, we read the story of Moses and the burning bush. God told him to go to Egypt and rescue the children of Israel from slavery. Moses asked God, “when I come to the children of Israel, and tell them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they will say to me, What is his name? What shall I tell them?”

Exodus 3:14 
14 And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, This is what you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.

I remember reading this when I was young and thinking it just didn’t sound right. It sounded like it was written wrong. When I got older and had access to different versions of the Bible I noticed a lot of them replaced THAT with WHO so it read “I AM WHO I AM.” Well, that doesn’t sound any better to me.

At the end of verse 14, God says “Tell them I AM has sent you.” He said his name is I AM. Looking back at the first part then, we can see “I AM WHO I AM” is not a good translation. In fact, it changes the whole meaning of the verse.

He was saying, I am THAT “I AM” who your ancestors knew and served. (Exodus 3:6, 15)

Suppose there is a famous man named Rocky Alverson, and we have never seen him before, but we’ve heard a lot about him. When we meet him, and he tells us he is Rocky Alverson, we might ask him this famous question, “THE Rocky Alverson?” That’s what God was telling Moses. “I am THAT I AM who they have heard of. I AM is my name. I am That I AM, or The I AM.” That’s why we sing songs about The great I AM. That’s his name.

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THAT PROPHET

For hundreds of years, people had been waiting for the promised Messiah to come. Daniel chapter 9 was a time prophecy about the Messiah, and everyone who was familiar with the prophecy knew it was about time for him to appear. When John started preaching and baptizing in Jordan, many wondered if he was the Messiah (Luke 3:15). So the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him if he was (John 1:19).

John 1:20-21
20.  And he confessed, and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Messiah. 
21.  And they asked, What then? Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not. Are you that prophet? And he answered, No. 

What did they mean by THAT PROPHET? In the book of Deuteronomy, God told Moses this.

Deuteronomy 18:18
18.  I will raise up a Prophet for them, from among their brothers, like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall tell them all that I shall command him. 

So the people of Israel were looking for THAT PROPHET that God said would come, and now they thought he had. But, John told them he was not him, but he told them this;

John 1:23
23.  He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said (Isaiah 40:3).

John said he was sent to prepare the way of the Lord, in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. Through the prophet Malachi, God adds more detail to this prophecy.

Malachi 3:1
1.  Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom you look for, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in: behold, he shall come, says the LORD of hosts.

In John 1:25, after John the Baptist told the priests and Levites that he was the messenger crying in the wilderness that God had sent to prepare the way of the Lord, they asked him, “If you are not that Messiah, nor Elijah, nor THAT PROPHET, then why are you baptizing?” (John 1:25)

John 1:26-27
26.  John answered them, saying, I baptize with water, but there is one among you, whom you do not know. 
27.  It is he, who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose shoe latches I am not worthy to loosen. 

It’s interesting that John says “There is one AMONG you” to describe the One he was preparing the way for. In Isaiah’s prophecy, God had said he would raise up a prophet from AMONG them. Now, years later, the time had finally come and this generation was about to encounter THAT PROPHET.

John 1:29-34
29.  The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. 
30.  This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who is preferred before me, because he was before me. 
31.  And I knew him not: only that he should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water. 
32.  And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 
33.  And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, said to me, “Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” 
34.  And I saw, and testify that this is the Son of God.

John identified Jesus as the One he was sent to prepare the way for, and as THAT PROPHET God had raised up from AMONG them, and as the Son of God. 

Remember when Jesus fed the five thousand with only five loaves and two fish? Look what they said about him then.  

John 6:14
14.  Then, when those men had seen the miracle that Jesus did, they said, Truly this is THAT PROPHET that should come into the world.  

Based on the testimony of John the Baptist and others in holy scripture we can safely say that Jesus Christ is THAT PROPHET. But here it is, plainly spelled out for us, by Luke and the Apostle Paul. 

Acts 3:22-26
22.  For Moses truly said to the fathers, the Lord your God will raise up a prophet unto you of your brothers, like me; and you shall hear him in all things whatsoever he shall say to you. 
23.  And it shall come to pass, that every soul, who will not hear THAT PROPHET, shall be destroyed from among the people. 
24.  Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those that followed after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. 
25.  You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, “And in your seed, all the people of the earth shall be blessed” 
26.  Unto you first, God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from their sins. 

Act 19:4
4.  Then Paul said, John truly baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people, that they should believe in him who should come after him, that is, in Christ Jesus. 

After careful study of the scriptures, there can be no doubt that John the Baptist was the one sent to prepare the way for the Messiah. The angel Gabriel had told John’s father, Zachariah, what he would do even before his miraculous conception (Luke 1:5-17). 

Careful study of the scriptures also leaves no doubt that Jesus is the Messiah. This study shows that Jesus is the One that God raised up in fulfillment of the prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:15-18. JESUS is THAT PROPHET.

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PHARAOH DROWNED IN THE RED SEA

There are at least three movies called The Ten Commandments, and countless other movies, and TV shows about Moses and the exodus from Egypt. Most of us have probably heard or seen the story in one form or another, but do we really know what happened? I’ve been watching “Bible movies” all my life, and I’ve never seen one that was 100% accurate. There may be some out there because I’m sure I haven’t seen them all, but in the ones I have seen, there’s always something that doesn’t go along with what the Bible says. In everything I have seen about this particular story, Pharaoh usually lives and goes back to Egypt a broken man, to rule a broken kingdom, but, that’s NOT what happened. God’s word says that Pharaoh died in the Red Sea along with his army. Let’s take a look at what the Bible says.

Exodus 14: 5-6
5. And the king of Egypt was told that the people fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and the hearts of his servants were turned against the people, and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 
6. And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:

Pharaoh himself went after Moses and the Hebrews, and he took his people with him.

Exodus 14: 9-10 
9. But the Egyptians pursued after them, ALL the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, AND his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon. 
10. And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid, and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.

Notice who all went with Pharaoh: ALL the Horses and Chariots, AND his Horsemen AND his Army. Then God spoke to Moses…

Exodus 14:18 
18. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD when I have gotten myself honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

Exodus 14:21-23
21. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 
22. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. 
23. And the Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea. All Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

Exodus 14:28
28. And the waters returned and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. There remained not so much as one of them.

Notice, they ALL went into the sea. This is reaffirmed in Exodus chapter 15, and in the book of Psalms.

Psalm 106:9-11
9. He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up. So he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness. 
10. And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. 
11. And the waters covered their enemies. There was not one of them left.

There was Not One Left. None of them. They ALL drowned.

Exodus 15:19 
19. For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea,…

Would Pharaoh’s horse go into the sea without Pharaoh? Maybe. But the next verse shows Pharaoh went in, too.

Psalm 136:15
15. But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea.

There it is in plain English.

1. Pharaoh Followed the Hebrews (Exod. 14:6-10).
2. Pharaoh took ALL the Horses and Chariots, AND his Horsemen AND his Army with him (Exod. 14:9, 23).
3. Pharaoh and All his horses, his chariots, and his horsemen went into the Red Sea (Exod. 14:23, 15:19).
4. Pharaoh drowned in the Red Sea with his army (Ps. 136:15, 106:9-11, Exod. 14:18, 28).

The Bible is clear about it. We should trust God’s word, no matter what Science and History may say. Time and time again, archaeology has proven the events recorded in the Bible are true, though Science and History said for years that it was wrong. I would like to suggest that we believe the Bible, and stop trying to make God’s word fit into the mold of what men say happened in history. When we have a question, we need to ask ourselves, What Does The Bible Say?

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