Old Testament: Deu 9.17

To read the Bible in a year, read Deuteronomy 8–10 on March 9, In the year of our Lord Christ 2023

By Don Ruhl 

Moses reminded Israel of the time that they sinned while he was up in the mountain with God, receiving the Ten Commandments. Then he reminded them that when he came down from the mountain and saw them worshiping the golden calf, he reacted strongly: 

“Then I took the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes.”

– Deuteronomy 9.17 

They broke the Ten Commandments, but he broke them by destroying the stone tablets upon which they were written. 

They should not have broken the Ten Commandments, but Moses should not have thrown them down to the ground. However, in his anger he did what we often do when we become angry at someone: We fly into a rage and do not control ourselves physically. 

Let us, therefore, always exercise self-control that we may not let someone else’s sin lead us to do something that we will regret later. 

Questions: 

• Can you think of someone else who destroyed the document upon which was written the word of God? (See Jeremiah 36.) 
• Did Moses and King Jehoiakim destroy the word of God for the same reason? 
• What was the difference between the two? 

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Don preaches with the Savage Street Church of Christ in Grants Pass, Oregon. 

Listen to his sermons here: GrantsPassChurchOfChrist.com