Deuteronomy 9:18

"I took hold of the two tablets, and threw them out of my two hands, and broke them before your eyes."

Key Reflection

This passage describes Moses breaking the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments when he descended from Mount Sinai to find the Israelites worshiping a golden calf. The act symbolizes the shattering of the old covenant and the need for a new, more sincere relationship with God, reflecting the depths of God's disappointment and Moses' commitment to renewing the people's faith.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

I fell down before the Lord, as at the first -Moses interceded for the people before he came down from the mountain the first timeExodus 32:11-13. This intercession is only briefly alluded to in this verse. Afterward he spent another 40 days on the mountain in fasting and prayer to obtain a complete restitution of the covenantExodus 34:28. It is this second forty days, and the intercession of Moses made therein (compareExodus 34:9), that is more particularly brought forward here and inDeuteronomy 9:25-29.

More from Deuteronomy 9

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