by Rinah Shalom
"Go down, for your people have become corrupt, they have made them a
molten calf and Moses cast out of his hand the tablets and he broke
them." Exodus 32:7,8,19
The shattering of the tablets is probably the most impressive act
performed by Moses during his tenure as the leader of Israel. The last
verse in the Torah, in which Yahveh portrays the climax of Moses' life,
mentions the "mighty hand and great awe," which Moses wrought in the
sight of all Israel. Moses act of might and awe was his shattering
of the tablets. It would seem that this is his greatest epitaph.
The two tablets symbolized the two major categories of commandments.
The first focuses upon man's obligations to Yahveh, while the second
focuses upon man's relationship with his fellow man.
When Moses heard from Yahveh that the people sinned with the Golden
Calf, breaching their relationship with Yahveh, he felt this act alone
did not warrant the breaking of the tablets. His rationale was that the
second tablet, which represented man's relationship with his fellow
man, did not 'incur' this liability. But when Moses descended the
mountain and saw Israel's debasement, he personally saw their
immorality, incest and murder, and broke the tablets. Only when they
trespassed both boundaries, evidencing a disdain for both tablets,
Moses broke them.
The lesson - when there is a breakdown in man's relationship with
Yahveh, his perspective towards his fellow man will ultimately be
affected as well.
Rinah Shalom
Hope Of Israel Websites:
Torah Studies:
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Times of Refreshing:
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Step By Step:
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Moadim - Jewish Holidays:
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His Word
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2 Corinthians 6:2 "He says, 'In the time of my
favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.' I tell
you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation."
On a phone-in radio program dealing with
alcoholism, a caller said, "I pray the good Lord to keep me from
driving while drinking." To this the show host replied, "Why don't you
ask the Lord to keep you from drinking?"
Many people seemingly enjoy sin so much that they
refuse to go to the root of their problem. They say, "Someday, Lord,
I'm going to get out of this dishonest business I'm in, but not for the
present; I'm enjoying the money I'm making." Similar reasoning is
brought to other vices: using drugs, living in sinful sexual
relationships, cheating on one's income taxes, stealing, and the like.
People who think and speak this way are a variety
of "tomorrow Christians" -- tomorrow they will repent and make their
peace with God; tomorrow they will give their heart to God. Right now,
however, sinning is too much fun to quit.
The Lord takes a dim view of such reasoning. He
reminds us that for many there is no tomorrow, no opportunity to set
one's house in order. Therefore His urgent invitation to listen to his
voice today! He declares through the holy writer, "Now is the time of
God's favor, now is the day of salvation."
True enjoyment and happiness are not found in
sinning but in serving Jesus Christ, who in love died on a cross to
save us. Angels might well envy us the opportunity to choose the ways
we serve the Savior. There is perhaps only one regret on the part of
those who have turned to Christ, and that is this: "Alas, that I so
late have known Thee, Who are the Fairest and the Best."
PRAYER: O Lord Jesus Christ, help me so that here and now I can turn my life around and serve You more. Amen.