Before Moses Spoke, He First Received
Exodus 31:18
“And when he had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he gave Moses two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.”
– Exodus 31:18 ESV
Exodus 31 ends with a single verse, but it brings us to the conclusion of a remarkable period in Moses’ life.
Moses had gone up Mount Sinai and remained there for forty days and forty nights. During this time, God gave him detailed instructions concerning the Tabernacle, the priesthood, worship, sacrifices, holy things, and the Sabbath. Moses was receiving God’s instructions before returning to the people.
Finally, when God had finished speaking with him, He gave Moses two tablets of stone – the tablets of the testimony – written with the finger of God.
Deuteronomy later makes clear that these tablets contained the Ten Commandments.
What struck me as I came to the end of this long section was simple:
Before Moses spoke to the people, he first received from God.
Before We Speak, Are We Willing to Listen?
Throughout these chapters, the emphasis is repeatedly on what God commanded.
Moses was not asked to design the Tabernacle according to his own imagination. Bezalel and Oholiab were given remarkable abilities, but even their skills had to be used according to what God had commanded.
Again and again, the principle was clear: God revealed. His people were to obey.
This made me examine myself.
We live in a world where everyone has something to say. We have opinions, experiences, ideas and advice. Even in ordinary conversations, I have noticed that I sometimes struggle simply to listen. While another person is still speaking, my mind may already be preparing what I want to say next.
But what about my relationship with God?
Am I willing to become quiet enough to listen?
Not merely to speak. Not merely to ask. Not merely to bring my needs before Him.
But to open His Word and allow Him to teach me, correct me and shape me.
We Must Not Live Only on What Others Have Heard
Listening to sermons is a blessing.
Learning from pastors, teachers and mature believers is a gift from God. The Church needs faithful teachers who rightly handle the Word of God.
But I cannot build my entire relationship with God only upon what someone else has learned from Scripture.
I must also personally come to God’s Word.
I need to read it. I need to listen carefully to what it actually says. I need to allow it to challenge my assumptions. I need to allow it to correct me when I am wrong.
A personal relationship with God cannot be limited to a Sunday service.
Sunday fellowship is precious. Gathering with God’s people, worshipping together and hearing God’s Word preached are important parts of Christian life.
But my relationship with God must continue beyond Sunday.
The God who speaks through His Word is not available to me only when someone stands behind a pulpit.
Every day, I can come to Him through Christ. Every day, I can open His Word. Every day, I can pray:
“Lord, teach me. Correct me. Help me to understand Your Word.”
A Special Responsibility for Those Who Teach Others
This passage also made me think particularly about those who teach and lead God’s people.
Before Moses came down the mountain and communicated God’s instructions to Israel, Moses first received those instructions from God.
His responsibility was not to change God’s design according to his own experience or preferences. He was repeatedly instructed to follow what God had revealed.
That is a serious reminder for anyone who teaches the Word of God.
Before standing before people, we must first sit under God’s Word.
Before teaching others, I must be willing to be taught. Before correcting others, I must allow Scripture to correct me. Before speaking confidently about God, I must carefully listen to what God has already revealed.
Experience can teach us many things. Wisdom can help us apply God’s Word in different situations. But neither experience nor personal preference has the authority to change what Scripture actually says.
The responsibility of a teacher is not to make God’s Word more acceptable according to personal opinion. It is to faithfully communicate what God has revealed.
This is why James warns that not many should become teachers, because those who teach carry a serious responsibility.
God’s Word is not something for us to reshape according to our convenience. We are the ones who must be shaped by it.
The Tablets Were Written by God
The final words of Exodus 31:18 are especially powerful:
“Written with the finger of God.”
The tablets were not Moses’ ideas. The commandments were not created by Israel. They came from God.
Exodus 32:16 later says that the tablets were the work of God and the writing was the writing of God.
Moses was the mediator who received the law, but he was not its author.
That distinction matters.
Moses had authority because he was faithfully communicating what God had revealed.
Perhaps this is something we must always remember when we speak about Scripture. Our opinions may be helpful. Our experiences may be meaningful. But they must remain under the authority of God’s Word.
Moses’ Experience Was Unique – But Our Access to God Is Real
There is something about Moses’ forty days on Mount Sinai that makes me stop and wonder. What an extraordinary privilege it must have been to receive God’s instructions in that way.
I find myself wishing I could have witnessed such a moment.
But Moses’ role was unique.
We should not assume that every Christian will experience God exactly as Moses did.
Moses was God’s appointed mediator for Israel and received revelation that would shape the covenant life of the nation.
Yet through Jesus Christ, we have something truly wonderful: We have access to God.
Through Christ, we can approach God with confidence. And God has given us His Word.
We do not need to wait for another tablet to come down from a mountain. God has already spoken.
The question is: Am I listening to what He has already said?
Sometimes I may be asking God to speak while leaving my Bible unopened. Sometimes I may be searching for direction while ignoring the truth God has already revealed.
Perhaps before asking for something new, I need to ask:
Have I faithfully listened to what God has already spoken?
A Journey Through the Life of Moses
As we continue through Exodus, I feel challenged to look more carefully at Moses himself.
Not merely at what Moses accomplished, but at the person God was shaping.
How did Moses respond when God spoke?
How did he lead people?
How did he handle pressure?
How did he intercede?
Where did he obey? Where did he fail?
How did God correct him?
Moses was an extraordinary servant of God, but he was not a perfect man. And that too is important.
His life ultimately reminds us that even the greatest human leader cannot be our final hope.
We need a greater Mediator. And that Mediator is Jesus Christ.
Moses received God’s law and brought God’s words to the people. Christ came as the perfect revelation of God and the One through whom we have access to the Father.
The Question This Verse Left With Me
Exodus 31:18 comes immediately before one of the most painful moments in Israel’s history.
While Moses was on the mountain receiving God’s commandments, the people below were preparing to turn away and worship a golden calf.
The contrast is striking.
Moses was receiving God’s Word. The people were preparing to follow their own desires.
Perhaps that contrast still challenges us today.
The question is not simply: Do I have access to God’s Word?
The question is: What am I doing with it?
Am I willing to listen before I speak?
Am I willing to learn before I teach?
Am I willing to be corrected before I correct others?
Am I willing to sit under God’s Word before trying to speak for God?
I may have many responsibilities. I may have family concerns, professional demands, ministry opportunities and countless distractions.
But I never want to become so busy speaking, working and doing that I forget to listen.
God has spoken. His Word is before me.
May I have a heart willing to receive it.
Lord, teach me to listen.
In a world filled with noise, opinions and distractions, help me to come quietly before Your Word with a humble heart.
Forgive me for the times when I am quick to speak but slow to listen. Teach me to receive Your Word before I try to speak about it to others.
Help me not to depend only on what others have learned about You, but to personally seek You through Your Word and grow in my relationship with You.
And if You ever give me the responsibility of teaching or leading others, keep me humble. May I never change Your Word to suit my opinions, experiences or preferences. Help me first to sit under Your Word before I ever stand to speak about it.
Shape me, correct me and teach me.
May I never become too busy to listen to You.
Amen.
Hineni