"Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets." (Exodus 32:15-16) We usually see the tablets depicted with writing only on one side, but no doubt that's so we can see all of the ten commandments at one time. But the Bible tells us that the tablets were inscribed on both sides. We are not told how large the tablets were but it appears they were small enough in size that it took both sides of both tablets to contain the ten commandments. This makes sense when we consider Moses had to trek down the mountain while holding a tablet in each hand. I don't believe the tablets were anywhere near as large as they are portrayed in movies, in television shows, or in artwork.
You'll recall that Joshua, Moses' intended successor, accompanied him at least part of the way up the mountain in Exodus 24:13. The Bible didn't say whether Joshua was present for Moses' meeting with God, but I tend to think he remained at a distance. Now Moses rejoins him on his way back down the mountain. "When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, 'There is the sound of war in the camp.'" (Exodus 32:17)
Joshua is a great military leader, as we learned in Exodus 17. When he hears the loud noise from the camp he thinks the people have been attacked. "Moses replied: 'It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing I hear.'" (Exodus 32:18) Moses, who was once the crown prince of Egypt and a general in the Egyptian army, knows well the sounds people make when they've defeated an enemy and he's familiar with the sounds people make when they've been defeated. What he's hearing isn't shouts of victory or cries of despair. It's singing---drunken singing.
The Lord warned Moses what was happening in the camp but now he sees it with his own eyes. Being warned ahead of time wasn't enough to prepare him for such a sight. The low spiritual level to which the people have quickly fallen has to be seen to be believed. "When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain." (Exodus 32:19)
Some scholars believe Moses sinned in breaking the tablets, stating that he did this because he was overwhelmed with unrighteous anger and that he did not have the authority to break the tablets. Other scholars disagree that Moses sinned and they point out that God issued no rebuke for Moses' behavior. We would expect the Lord to at least have a word of correction for Moses if Moses acted against His wishes. Breaking the tablets may have symbolized the people's breaking of their end of the covenant. We know for a fact they've broken the commandment that says, "You shall have no other gods besides Me," and the commandment that says, "You shall not make an idol," and the commandment that says, "You shall not commit adultery." It's possible they've broken all ten of the commandments while Moses has been gone.
If breaking the tablets represents the people's breaking of their end of the covenant, we must keep in mind that this action doesn't mean God is breaking His end of the covenant. God will provide a second set of tablets. God will give Israel another chance. Throughout the Bible we find God giving Israel---and mankind in general----chance after chance after chance. Aren't we thankful His mercy is so great? This doesn't mean we can ever treat the mercy of God casually; we aren't promised tomorrow. If you don't know the Lord as your Savior you mustn't turn Him away today on the assumption you'll have another opportunity tomorrow. But when we look back on our lives and think about the way we lived before we came to faith, we can easily see how many reasons we gave God to simply write us off and conclude that we were hopeless. We look back on the things we did and said in those days and we couldn't blame God if He'd washed His hands of us. But He didn't! And here we are today, studying the word of God together. Thank You, Lord, for Your mercy toward us!
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