Moses turned and went down the mountain. He had the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. Words were written on both sides of the tablets, front and back.
Aaron did exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses. He put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law. He put it there so it would be kept for all time to come.
The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay here. I will give you the stone tablets. They contain the law and commandments I have written to teach the people.”
The Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai. Then he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law. They were made out of stone. The words on them were written by the finger of God.
Moses came down from Mount Sinai. He had the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. His face was shining because he had spoken with the Lord. But he didn’t realize it.
He got the tablets of the covenant law. He placed them in the ark. He put the poles through its rings. And he put the cover on it. The cover was the place where sin is paid for.
You make it clear that you are a letter from Christ. You are the result of our work for God. You are a letter written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. You are a letter written not on tablets made out of stone but on human hearts.
The Law was written in letters on stone. Even though it was a way of serving God, it led to death. But even that way of serving God came with glory. The glory lasted for only a short time. Even so, the people of Israel couldn’t look at Moses’ face very long.
These are the commandments the Lord announced in a loud voice to your whole community. He gave them to you there on the mountain. He spoke out of the fire, cloud and deep darkness. He didn’t add anything else. Then he wrote the commandments on two stone tablets. And he gave them to me.
It had the golden altar for incense. It also had the wooden chest called the ark of the covenant. The ark was covered with gold. It held the gold jar of manna. It held Aaron’s walking stick that had budded. It also held the stone tablets. The words of the covenant were written on them.