Exodus 34:10-28

Renewing the broken covenant

10 The LORD said: I now make a covenant. In front of all your people, I'll perform dramatic displays of power that have never been done before anywhere on earth or in any nation. All the people who are around you will see what the LORD does, because I will do an awesome thing with you.

11 Be sure to obey what I command you today. I'm about to drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

12 Be careful that you don't make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, or it will become a dangerous trap for you.

13 You must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stone pillars, and cut down their sacred poles.

14 You must not bow down to another god, because the LORD is passionate: the LORD's name means "a passionate God."

15 Don't make a covenant with those who live in the land. When they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, they may invite you and you may end up eating some of the sacrifice.

16 Then you might go and choose their daughters as wives for your sons. And their daughters who prostitute themselves with their gods might lead your sons to prostitute themselves with their gods.

17 Don't make metal gods for yourself.

18 Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. You should eat unleavened bread for seven days, as I commanded you, at the set time in the month of Abib, because it was in the month of Abib that you came out of Egypt.

19 Every first offspring is mine. That includes all your male livestock, the oldest offspring of cows and sheep.

20 But a donkey's oldest offspring you may ransom with a sheep. Or if you don't ransom it, you must break its neck. You should ransom all of your oldest sons. No one should appear before me empty-handed.

21 You should do your work for six days, but on the seventh day you should rest. Even during plowing or harvesttime you should rest.

22 You should observe the Festival of Weeks, for the early produce of the wheat harvest, and the Gathering Festival at the end of the year.

23 All your males should appear three times a year before the LORD God, Israel's God.

24 I will drive out nations before you and extend your borders. No one will desire and try to take your land if you go up and appear before the LORD your God three times a year.

25 Don't slaughter the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened. The sacrifice of the Passover Festival shouldn't be left over until the morning.

26 Bring the best of the early produce of your farmland to the LORD your God's temple. Don't boil a young goat in its mother's milk.

27 The LORD said to Moses: "Write down these words because by these words I hereby make a covenant with you and with Israel."

28 Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He didn't eat any bread or drink any water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten words.

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Exodus 34:10-28 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 34

In this chapter Moses has orders to hew two tables of stone, that God might write on them the ten commands, and bring them up with him to the mount, Ex 34:1-4 where the Lord proclaimed his name, and caused his glory and his goodness to pass before him, Ex 34:5-7 when Moses took this favourable opportunity that offered to pray for the people, that God would forgive their sin, and go along with them, Ex 34:8,9 upon which he made a covenant with them, which on his part was to do wonders for them, and drive out the inhabitants of Canaan before them; and on their part, that they should have no confederacy and communion with these nations, and shun their idolatry, and everything that might lead unto it, Ex 34:10-17 and he repeated several laws before given, and urged the observance of them, which Moses was to acquaint the people with, Ex 34:18-27 and after a stay of forty days and forty nights on the mount, he came down with the two tables of the law; and the skin of his face shone so bright, that the people of Israel were afraid to come nigh him, and therefore he put a vail over his face while he conversed with them, Ex 34:28-35.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Footnotes 1

[a]. March–April, named Nisan after the exile