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By Mike Caton

Exodus 31:18, “When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.”

Moses has received a lot of information from the Lord while he is on the mountain this time. There are all the instructions about the tabernacle and all of its furnishings, there are the instructions about Aaron, the priests, their garments, and their ordination, there are the instructions about the offerings the people are to bring, and even some instructions about the sacrifices they are to make. When Moses comes back down, he has something very special with him, it is not just that he is going to tell the people what God said, he has something tangible to show them.

God sends down the mountain with Moses two stone tablets. We have all seen pictures of these tablets, but obviously they are just the artists’ ideas. God could have made them fancy, with all sorts of scrollwork and designs in them, he could have made them the double arched style we so often see, they might have been square or rectangles, the truth is, we just don’t know. Maybe they were simply natural shaped stones, probably flat since we think that would have been easier to engrave. But again, nothing is too hard for God. The important thing is not the shape of the stones but what is written on them. It is the covenant law.

I doubt everything God had said was engraved on them, though it could have been. We most often think of just the Ten Commandments on those tablets, and they do form the basis for the entire law. But maybe there was something else there, a different formula, an outline of the law, different sections – we just don’t know. But it was what God wanted the people to know, and it was the basis of the covenant they were making with the Lord.

But let’s not forget who wrote these laws, it was God himself, he inscribed the tablets with his finger. How cool would that be, to have something that God had touched himself?! Without getting ahead of the story, we know what happened to these tablets. But think about it. We are surrounded by things that God has touched. Lois Mckerinan said, “No matter where we look, life is bursting forth with incomparable beauty, and the fingerprints of God cover every inch of creation.” Just think about that, the things that are around us are evidence of God, they show his power, his presence, his creativity, and so forth. And even you are marked by God’s fingerprint. Paul said in Ephesians 2:10 we are God’s workmanship, he made us unique, for a task, with a purpose. And we need to be thankful to God for that, and we need to make sure we are fulfilling the purpose God has for us.

Father, help me live up to your plan. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Mike Caton is the preacher at Mount Olive Church of Christ in Belhaven. He volunteers at the Ponzer Fire Department and works as a full time AEMT with Hyde County EMS. Follow Mount Olive Church of Christ on Facebook for daily devotions.

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