Finding Christ in the Old Testament - Exodus 34

Finding Christ in the Old Testament
Exodus 34:1–28

When Moses shattered the first tablets, it was a symbol of Israel’s breaking of the covenant through idolatry. Yet in mercy, God commands Moses to carve new tablets—offering not a new law, but a renewed covenant. The LORD then reveals His Name and nature: “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” This is no mere abstract description; it is the very heart of the Gospel. Christ is the living embodiment of this divine character. He is the One who fulfills the Law perfectly and then offers Himself as the mediator of a better covenant, written not on tablets of stone but on hearts of flesh. In the shining face of Moses we glimpse the reflected glory that will later shine in the face of Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration. The covenant renewed at Sinai finds its fulfillment at Calvary, where Christ’s blood secures our forgiveness and communion with God.

Devotion
The Law, though broken, is not discarded. In Christ, it is fulfilled and transfigured into grace for sinners. He is the mercy of God written in flesh, dwelling among us with steadfast love.

New Testament Verse
2 Corinthians 3:7–8 (ESV)
"Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory... will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?"

Collect
O Lord, whose mercy renews what sin has broken, and who revealed Your Name to Moses as the God abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, grant that we, beholding the glory of Christ, may be transformed into His image from one degree of glory to another; through the same Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Hymn Verse
Swiftly pass the clouds of glory,
Heaven’s voice the dazzling light;
Moses and Elijah vanish;
Christ alone commands the height.
Peter, James, and John fall silent,
Turning from the summit’s rise
Downward toward the shadowed valley
Where their Lord has fixed His eyes.
— LSB 416:1, Swiftly Pass the Clouds of Glory

Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God, Now and Forever, Unto the Ages of Ages, AMEN!