The tablets of the Ten Commandments were the physical stones upon which God Himself inscribed His law. These commandments formed the moral foundation of the covenant between God and Israel. Exodus 31:18 says, “And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.”
The Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20:1-17 and repeated in Deuteronomy 5:6-21, were given to teach God’s people how to live in right relationship with Him and with one another. They address worship, reverence for God, honoring parents, and prohibitions against murder, adultery, theft, false witness, and coveting.
When Moses descended from Mount Sinai and saw the people worshiping the golden calf, he broke the original tablets in righteous anger (Exodus 32:19), symbolizing Israel’s breach of covenant. Yet God, in mercy, instructed Moses to cut new tablets, and He rewrote the commandments upon them (Exodus 34:1). These second tablets were placed in the Ark of the Covenant (Deuteronomy 10:5), signifying their central role in Israel’s life and worship.
In the New Testament, the law written on stone points forward to the greater covenant where God’s law is written on the heart. Hebrews 10:16 says, “I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them.”
The tablets reveal the holiness of God, the sinfulness of man, and the necessity of a Savior, Jesus Christ, who fulfilled the law and brings righteousness by faith (Romans 10:4).
