Exodus — Chapter 34

Cut thee two tables of stone like unto the first. The second tablets are cut by Moses, whereas the first were made by God alone. Lapide notes this distinction with theological care: the first tablets of the covenant (made entirely by God) correspond to the integrity of original justice, given to man pure and perfect by God alone; the second tablets (stone cut by man, writing by God) correspond to the restored covenant of redemption, in which human cooperation (the penitent soul's effort, signified by the stone) is united with divine grace (the divine writing) to restore what sin destroyed.

Moses cut two stone tablets like the first and went up to Sinai carrying them. The double action—Moses cuts the stone, God writes the word—is the pattern of all cooperation between grace and nature. Lapide notes that Moses could not receive the divine writing without doing his part first; grace builds on nature and requires human cooperation, but the divine writing is infinitely beyond what the human cutting alone could achieve. He cites Aquinas (I-II, q. 109, a. 6): we can prepare for grace but cannot merit the first grace; God must take the first step.

The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. This is the divine name of mercy proclaimed to Moses as he hides in the rock. Lapide calls this the greatest Old Testament revelation of the divine attributes of mercy, and notes that it is cited or echoed more times in the Old Testament than any other text (Ps. 86:15; 103:8; Joel 2:13; Jon. 4:2). He follows Aquinas (I, q. 21, a. 3): mercy is the greatest of God's external works, for it presupposes and exceeds justice.

Behold, I will make a covenant. Before all thy people I will do signs, such as have not been created in the whole earth, nor in all nations: and all the people in the midst of whom thou art shall see the terrible work of the Lord that I will do with thee. The renewal of the covenant after the golden calf apostasy reveals the structure of divine mercy. Lapide notes that the second covenant is made with a people more severely conscious of their weakness—and precisely for this reason is more firmly grounded in divine initiative. He cites Bernard (Serm. in Cant. I, 1): \"God's mercy is from everlasting to everlasting, and His covenant cannot be annulled by human sin.\"

The Lord's name is jealous, he is a jealous God. Lapide explains the divine jealousy (zelus): it is not a passionate emotion but the vehemence of divine love that cannot tolerate the soul's infidelity. He cites Chrysostom: \"When God says He is jealous, He means that He loves us so intensely that He cannot bear to share us with another.\" This is the language of spousal love: God's covenant with Israel is a marriage, and idolatry is adultery (a metaphor developed throughout Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel). The divine jealousy is thus an attribute of infinite love, not of insecurity.

Moses was with the Lord forty days and forty nights, eating no bread and drinking no water. Lapide notes that Moses's second fast of forty days repeats and deepens the first: this is not merely natural endurance but supernatural sustenance. He follows Chrysostom: just as the angels do not eat because they are sustained by the divine contemplation, Moses during his ecstatic communion with God needed no bodily food. He applies this to the Eucharist: the soul that feeds frequently and devoutly on the Bread of Life gradually lessens its need for the bread of earthly pleasure.

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he did not know that his face was radiant from his conversation with God. Lapide notes the moral lesson: the saint is always the last to know his own sanctity. He cites Chrysostom: Moses did not seek the glory; it was given unsought. He draws the analogy with the Transfiguration (Mt. 17:2) and with the Christian soul transformed by grace: those in a state of grace are luminous to the angels though they do not see their own light.

The Israelites were afraid to come near Moses because of the brilliance on his face. Lapide notes that those who have been in close communion with God bear a supernatural quality that others find both attractive and alarming. He cites Chrysostom (Hom. in 2 Cor. III, 7): the Mosaic veil is the figure of all that remains hidden in the Law; in Christ the veil is removed and all who behold the glory with unveiled faces are transformed from glory to glory. The shining face of Moses is a pledge of the transforming glory of grace that Christ makes permanently available.

When Moses had finished speaking with the Israelites, he put a veil over his face. Lapide follows St. Paul's allegory (2 Cor. 3:13-14): Moses covered the glory on his face with a veil because the Israelites could not bear the full brightness. Paul applies this to the reading of the Old Testament: a veil lies over the heart of those who read Moses without recognizing Christ. In Christ the veil is removed; the glory of the New Covenant is unveiled and permanent, not fading like Moses's reflected glory. He cites Augustine (Quaest. in Ex. 169): \"The Law shines with the light of Christ hidden within it.\"