Speaker 1: Previously on the chosen people.
Speaker 2: Go down at once. Your people, whom you brought up
Speaker 2: from Egypt, have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned away
Speaker 2: from the way I commanded them, making an image of
Speaker 2: the golden calf. Whoever has sinned against me, I will
Speaker 2: erase from my book. Loud go lead the people to
Speaker 2: the place I told you about. Ah, he will go
Speaker 2: before you. But on the day I sit to the counts,
Speaker 2: Aari will hold them accountable for their sin.
Speaker 1: The plague had chipped away at their numbers significantly. There
Speaker 1: was scarcely a family to be found among them who
Speaker 1: had not been affected.
Speaker 3: Now spread the word among the camp. This place is
Speaker 3: to be called the Tent of Meeting. Any One who
Speaker 3: wants to consult Our God to seek spiritual council can
Speaker 3: do so here.
Speaker 1: The first time Aaron saw Moses enter the Tent of Meeting,
Speaker 1: hope was rekindled in his heart. He had never seen
Speaker 1: anything quite like it. Moses would walk out to the
Speaker 1: remote tent, away from the rest of the camp, and
Speaker 1: people would stand at the entryways to their own tents
Speaker 1: to observe. Moses would enter the tent, and the pillar
Speaker 1: of cloud, just like the one that guided them through
Speaker 1: the desert after they escaped from Egypt, would come down
Speaker 1: and remain at the entrance to the tent. Moses would
Speaker 1: speak with their God inside the tent, just as he
Speaker 1: had done on the mountain. Pees, let me see your glory.
Speaker 1: He just wanted to see what he looked like. He
Speaker 1: longed to understand. He wanted to know his God more fully.
Speaker 2: But I will make it so. My glory will pass
Speaker 2: before you. You will see my glory and know my name.
Speaker 2: Come to me tomorrow.
Speaker 1: On the mountain, Moses stared at the pillar before him
Speaker 1: in awe. Tomorrow he would see the glory of his God,
Speaker 1: and he would finally learn his name, his true name.
Speaker 4: Amidst the echoes of a shattered promise, a new covenant
Speaker 4: was about to be forged, a testament to grace, forgiveness
Speaker 4: and the enduring love of the Lord. Shelloh, my friends,
Speaker 4: from here in the holy Land of Israel, I'm l
Speaker 4: Extein with International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and welcome
Speaker 4: to the Chosen People. In each episode, we'll hear dramatic
Speaker 4: stories inspired by the Bible, stories filled with time tameless
Speaker 4: lessons of faith, love, and the meaning of life. Through
Speaker 4: Israel's story, we find this truth that we are all
Speaker 4: chosen for something great. Has this podcast blessed you? I
Speaker 4: want to ask you a favor to follow this podcast
Speaker 4: so that you never miss an episode. And if you're
Speaker 4: interested in hearing how the Fellowship is impacting millions of
Speaker 4: people around the world, saving lives, helping to bring biblical
Speaker 4: prophecy to fruition, visit IFCJ dot org. We find ourselves
Speaker 4: at the threshold of a profound moment in our ancestor's journey.
Speaker 4: The Israelites, free from the chains of Egypt, wander the wilderness.
Speaker 4: Their hearts are still heavy from the sin of their
Speaker 4: recent idolatry, a golden calf, a broken promise, and now
Speaker 4: Moses is about to ascend Mount Sinai once more to
Speaker 4: encounter the divine to receive the renewed covenant. This is
Speaker 4: the story of Exodus thirty four, a chapter of rebirth
Speaker 4: and divine revelation, and one that asks what does it
Speaker 4: mean to be given a second chance by God?
Speaker 1: Hoshier was sitting inside the tent of meeting, as he
Speaker 1: did every day. He sat in the back of the
Speaker 1: tent and was separated from the section where Moses held
Speaker 1: an audience with the Lord. He couldn't always make out
Speaker 1: the words of what they were saying, but the muffled
Speaker 1: tones of the Lord's voice never ceased to amaze him.
Speaker 1: He wondered if the Lord would ever speak to him
Speaker 1: like that one day. On this day, one word seemed
Speaker 1: to cut through the fabric of the tent and pierce
Speaker 1: Hoshier straight in the heart. The words seemed and felt
Speaker 1: like breath itself, like life itself. He sensed a shift
Speaker 1: in the atmosphere around him, almost in response to this word.
Speaker 1: Maybe it was a place, a thing, or a person.
Speaker 1: Whatever it was, it was important. A few moments passed
Speaker 1: and there was quiet from the other end of the tent.
Speaker 1: Moses called for Hooshier as he began to exit the
Speaker 1: tent of meeting Hoshea.
Speaker 3: Come, I have a task to complete and we'll require
Speaker 3: your assistance.
Speaker 1: Hoshier jumped up and followed Moses.
Speaker 2: Here, I am whatever you need.
Speaker 3: Our God has asked that I have the new stone
Speaker 3: tablets cut to replace the ones I brought down from
Speaker 3: the mountain. We're to go see the stone workers.
Speaker 2: Stone workers, no one has used that craft since we
Speaker 2: left Egypt. There's no stone work to be done here.
Speaker 3: Do not worry, my son. Find the men who possessed
Speaker 3: the craft of hewing stone and send them to my tent.
Speaker 3: I'll supply the stone they need to dress.
Speaker 2: You can count on me.
Speaker 3: And yeah, once I have the new tablets made, I'll
Speaker 3: return to him on the mountain.
Speaker 2: Am I to go with you up the mountain again?
Speaker 3: No, not this time, my son. In fact, I'll need
Speaker 3: you to warn the people to stay away from the
Speaker 3: mountain again. Even the flocks and herds are not to
Speaker 3: graze in front of the mountain. Spread this news draft camp,
Speaker 3: and assemble the elders to enforce it. While I'm gone.
Speaker 1: Ho Sheer ran off in search of the men who
Speaker 1: were stone cutters and masons in Egypt. He brought them
Speaker 1: to MOSE's tent, and they found him on his hands
Speaker 1: and knees in the center of his tent, having thrown
Speaker 1: back the rugs and animals skins that served as his floor.
Speaker 1: He was digging into the very earth of the desert floor.
Speaker 1: He triumphantly cried out as they approached.
Speaker 3: Ah, perfect timing. Ah, It's just as our God said
Speaker 3: it would be. Look here, this is the stonewall cut
Speaker 3: to form the new tablets.
Speaker 1: Ho Sheer and the stone workers peered in over Moses's
Speaker 1: shoulder to find rough carving stone protruding from the dird
Speaker 1: floor of moses tent. The stone workers made quick work
Speaker 1: of removing the stone from the ground and hauling it
Speaker 1: over to their makeshift banker table to dress the stone.
Speaker 1: Moses oversaw the cutting, shaping, and surfacing of the tablets.
Speaker 1: The finished tablets were just as Hoshier remembered from the
Speaker 1: day they came down the mountain, about six handbreads wide
Speaker 1: and long and about three hand breads deep. Just before
Speaker 1: first light, Hoshier arose early, just in time to see
Speaker 1: his master take up the new stone tablets and depart
Speaker 1: in the direction of the mountain. Moses panted and stopped
Speaker 1: to catch his breath and readjust the heavy stone tablets
Speaker 1: in his arms. He wished that Hoshier had been permitted
Speaker 1: to join him, if for no other reason than to
Speaker 1: carry one of the tablets.
Speaker 3: Ah ha, I'm too old for this, Lord, This is
Speaker 3: a young man's work.
Speaker 1: A Moses heaved and panted his way up. He finally
Speaker 1: reached the point on the mountain side where the clouds
Speaker 1: hung low creating an otherworldly misty divide between this world
Speaker 1: and the divine. Moses steeled his breath and pushed into
Speaker 1: the cloud. Moses noticed a crevice in the rock, and
Speaker 1: he carefully lowered himself within.
Speaker 2: The rock.
Speaker 1: Walls came up well above his head, but he could
Speaker 1: see the surrounding mountain side through the narrow opening within
Speaker 1: the aperture. He set the stone tablets down beside him
Speaker 1: and waited. A stillness crept over the mountainside, and Moses's
Speaker 1: heart began to race.
Speaker 2: This was it.
Speaker 1: He held his breath in anticipation as a booming voice
Speaker 1: began to speak. It rattled his heart in his chest
Speaker 1: and his teeth in his jaw. He felt as though
Speaker 1: his entire life had been leading to this moment. He
Speaker 1: had asked something mighty of his God, and he was
Speaker 1: about to answer.
Speaker 2: You have reminded me that I have called you and
Speaker 2: knowed you by your name. Now you will know me
Speaker 2: by my name, and you will see my glory. My
Speaker 2: name is Yahweh.
Speaker 1: With that, Moses sensed his God's hand cover him inside
Speaker 1: the rock, and he knew his God was passing in
Speaker 1: front of him. Yaheh's hand shielded him from the overwhelming
Speaker 1: glory that would strike him dead from behind the hand
Speaker 1: he continued to speak. He spoke the meaning of his name, Yahweh.
Speaker 1: Moses absorbed the name for a second time.
Speaker 2: I am a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger,
Speaker 2: and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love
Speaker 2: for a thousand generations, for giving iniquity, rebellion, and sin.
Speaker 2: But I will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the
Speaker 2: consequence of the father's iniquity on the children and the
Speaker 2: grown children to the third and fourth generation.
Speaker 1: When Yahoeh finished speaking, he lifted his hand from Moses'
Speaker 1: hiding place in the rock, and Moses saw his back,
Speaker 1: just as he had promised. As Moses took in his
Speaker 1: God's glory, he considered his name, the name that described
Speaker 1: his relationship to his people. He loved them, rescued them,
Speaker 1: was loyal to them, faithful to them, forgave them, and
Speaker 1: would judge and avenge them, disciplining and guiding them as
Speaker 1: a loving father. Tears of revelation sprang to Moses's eyes.
Speaker 1: His glory shone all around him. Moses had to squint
Speaker 1: his eyes and shield them from taking it all in
Speaker 1: the compassion and grace Yaheh spoke of. His very name
Speaker 1: was a palpable feeling in Moses's soul. His heart ached,
Speaker 1: ached with longing to know more, to see more, for
Speaker 1: the resolution of a broken world where he no longer
Speaker 1: had to hide in a cracked rock from his wondrous creator, God,
Speaker 1: the God Most High, the God Almighty Yahweh. Names and
Speaker 1: titles were a feeble human attempt to contain and describe
Speaker 1: something indescribable, so intangible, an unspoken groaning that came from
Speaker 1: deep within himself, a sensation of utter awe for which
Speaker 1: there was no interpreter. And who was this glorious and
Speaker 1: powerful God that he thought of Moses, of any human
Speaker 1: at all? But yet he loved them even though they
Speaker 1: had failed, and would continue to do so. This was
Speaker 1: unlike any god Moses had ever heard of in the
Speaker 1: known world. A god who would remain faithful to a
Speaker 1: people who rebelled against him betrayed him. A God who
Speaker 1: would choose a forgotten, downtrodden people to be his people.
Speaker 1: Absolutely unheard of, radical, and perhaps the most humbling revelation
Speaker 1: of all. He appointed Moses to lead his chosen people.
Speaker 1: He knelt low and worshiped before his God. Inspired by
Speaker 1: the very name of his God and all that it represented,
Speaker 1: he again advocated on behalf of the people, my God,
Speaker 1: are we If I have indeed found favor with you,
Speaker 1: Please go with us. Though we are stiff necked people,
Speaker 1: Remember you rescued us from Egypt's iron smelting furnace. Be
Speaker 1: patient with us, as your name declares. Forive our nequity
Speaker 1: and our sin, and accept us as your own possession,
Speaker 1: your inheritance.
Speaker 2: Now and always take up the tablets. I will renew
Speaker 2: the covenant with you today in the presence of all
Speaker 2: your people. Aye, you will perform wonders that Heaven may
Speaker 2: have not been done mean the whole earth or in
Speaker 2: any nation. All the people you live among will see
Speaker 2: my work, for what I am doing with you is
Speaker 2: all inspired. Observe what I command you to day, and
Speaker 2: I will drive out your enemies before you.
Speaker 1: Moses listened as his God renewed the covenant. He recounted
Speaker 1: what was there before, but also added stern warnings of
Speaker 1: how his people should conduct themselves in the conquest and
Speaker 1: inhabitation of the promised land to come. It had been
Speaker 1: forty days and forty nights, and Moses had still not returned.
Speaker 1: He had not taken food or water with him. Just
Speaker 1: as before, Hosher returned each morning to wait at the
Speaker 1: edge of camp to see if that day would be
Speaker 1: the day Moses returned. He had done as his master
Speaker 1: had bid. The elders kept the people away from the
Speaker 1: mountain and the surrounding foothills. The herds had even been
Speaker 1: driven out to graze in the opposite direction. That morning,
Speaker 1: Hoshier sensed that something might be different. The last time
Speaker 1: Moses returned with the stone tablets was after forty days,
Speaker 1: and this morning was the fortieth day. Hoshier scanned the
Speaker 1: horizon and went up toward the clouded mountain. His heart
Speaker 1: caught as he saw a speck of movement in the foothills.
Speaker 1: He was right, it had to be Moses returning to
Speaker 1: them at last. He was about to turn and run
Speaker 1: to notify Aaron and the others when he noticed that
Speaker 1: the far away figure appeared to be emitting a soft glow.
Speaker 2: He frowned.
Speaker 1: Perhaps it was a strange reflection, he realized it must be.
Speaker 1: How else would he be able to see him against
Speaker 1: the darkness of the cloud cover. He shrugged and hurried
Speaker 1: to go find Aaron. The figure approaching camp was thought
Speaker 1: to be Moses. That was what the boy Hoshier had said,
Speaker 1: but Aaron was not so sure. As he drew closer,
Speaker 1: he called out to the figure from a safe distance.
Speaker 3: Stay back, Everyone stays back until we know who approaches.
Speaker 1: Aaron stood before the elders and many of the Israelites
Speaker 1: gathered at the edge of their camp. The figure approaching
Speaker 1: their camp was holding the same stone tablets Moses left with,
Speaker 1: and even dressed as Moses was usually dressed. But this
Speaker 1: being's face was radiant and shining. Aaron had never seen
Speaker 1: such a thing. He struggled to find the words to
Speaker 1: describe it. Beams of light radiated from the head and
Speaker 1: protruded outward, almost like horns, like some pagan symbol of divinity.
Speaker 1: The horns of light curled over the top of the
Speaker 1: figure's head and outward. So bright was the light from
Speaker 1: the face that Aaron had to avert his eyes. He
Speaker 1: could feel the elders around him doing the same as
Speaker 1: for the figure. He did not seem to realize that
Speaker 1: his face was a glow. He halted before the gathered
Speaker 1: elders and before the Israelites waiting behind them as if
Speaker 1: waiting for a greeting of some kind. Aaron felt obligated
Speaker 1: to speak.
Speaker 2: Who approaches you are not known to us?
Speaker 1: That gave the figure pause. He was still a ways
Speaker 1: off from the crowd.
Speaker 2: I think it's Moses. The glory of our God is
Speaker 2: clinging to his very face.
Speaker 1: Mosks, do you think.
Speaker 2: I would not recognize my own brother?
Speaker 1: The figure interrupted Aaron's terse remarks with how sheer it is?
Speaker 3: I Moses, your leader? How is it you don't recognize me?
Speaker 3: It is your face. It shines with radiant light.
Speaker 1: Moses then set down the stone tablets and held his
Speaker 1: hands up to his face, as if to see the
Speaker 1: glow reflected on their surface.
Speaker 3: It is all right, don't be afraid. I've seen our God.
Speaker 3: My face shines with his glory.
Speaker 1: Moses stepped forward to close the distance between them all,
Speaker 1: but the elders and people shrank back in fear. They
Speaker 1: were still apprehensive to be so near to this strange site.
Speaker 3: Do not be afraid, I would relay the renewed, coveted
Speaker 3: treaty to you. All. Come, come, let us gather in
Speaker 3: the center of the camp where all can hear.
Speaker 1: Moses approached the people, and though he assured them, they
Speaker 1: still gave him a wide berth as he walked among them.
Speaker 1: Hoshier alone, confidently strode in his wake. As they made
Speaker 1: their way to the center of camp, Aaron overheard Moses
Speaker 1: ask Hoshier to fetch him a veil. Moses relaid the
Speaker 1: renewed covenant, as he said he would do. He then
Speaker 1: told them the name of their God. He only told
Speaker 1: them once. Hoshier's body thrummed with recognition. It was the
Speaker 1: word he heard in the the word that reminded him
Speaker 1: of life itself. That was their God's true name. How
Speaker 1: Sha was amazed. So glorious and reverent was the name
Speaker 1: that Moses deemed that it was not to be spoken
Speaker 1: or used lightly, for their God was more mighty than
Speaker 1: an earthly king, and even their true names were similarly
Speaker 1: used sparingly. From that day forward, they would commonly refer
Speaker 1: to their God as the Lord or just God, to
Speaker 1: remind themselves of the distance there was between themselves and
Speaker 1: their God. This was how they would show reverence and
Speaker 1: respect for the true name.
Speaker 4: What a profound story, and it actually makes me think
Speaker 4: of one of my favorite movies growing up. The Wizard
Speaker 4: of Oz. Let me explain. When I watched it as
Speaker 4: a kid, I was terrified of the wicked Witch. I
Speaker 4: was in chen by the magical land of Oz, and
Speaker 4: I loved Dorothy's ruby slippers. But then when I rewatched
Speaker 4: the movie with my own kids as an adult, I
Speaker 4: realized that it also holds some deep messages about life.
Speaker 4: At the end of the movie, Dorothy is asked what
Speaker 4: she's learned, and her reply is the true magic of
Speaker 4: the movie. This is what she says, If ever go
Speaker 4: back looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look
Speaker 4: any further than my own backyard, because if it isn't there,
Speaker 4: then I never really lost it to begin with. In
Speaker 4: other words, happiness isn't somewhere over the rainbow. It's right here,
Speaker 4: exactly where God has placed us. According to Jewish tradition,
Speaker 4: when God commanded Moses to carve out new tablets to
Speaker 4: replace the old ones that were broken, Moses had trouble
Speaker 4: finding stone from which to make them. He looked everywhere
Speaker 4: but couldn't find the right stone, And then God appeared
Speaker 4: to him and told Moses to look underground, right beneath
Speaker 4: his own tent. Moses had looked everywhere, but where he was.
Speaker 4: What he had searched high and low for was right
Speaker 4: there with him all along. Like Moses, many of us
Speaker 4: make that same mistake. We look for the fulfillment of
Speaker 4: our soul's desire everywhere, but where we are. We think
Speaker 4: that we'll find happiness in a new car, or a
Speaker 4: different house, or an exotic vacation. We think, if only
Speaker 4: my spouse were different, if my child were easier, or
Speaker 4: my job was better, then everything would be great. But
Speaker 4: the truth is that everything we need for fulfillment in
Speaker 4: our lives is within us. Every time I travel for
Speaker 4: work and leave my family, my country, and my daily routine,
Speaker 4: I'm reminded that, truly there's no place like home. My
Speaker 4: greatest treasures are in my own backyard. God has given
Speaker 4: me everything I need, challenges and all to be truly
Speaker 4: happy and complete. In this story, Moses is given the
Speaker 4: amazing privilege of glimpsing God's glory, the closest any human
Speaker 4: being can come to seeing God, who is, of course unseeable.
Speaker 4: And as God passes in front of Moses, God calls
Speaker 4: out his own attributes, proclaiming the Lord, the Lord, the
Speaker 4: compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love
Speaker 4: and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion,
Speaker 4: and sin. Now, Jewish tradition asks a very important question
Speaker 4: about this verse. It asks, why must we know who
Speaker 4: God is? Or even what right do we as human
Speaker 4: beings have to expect God to list his attributes for us? Amazingly,
Speaker 4: the Jewish sagees answer, just as he is, so must
Speaker 4: you be? Why does God list his attributes so that
Speaker 4: we can follow them, so that we can emulate them,
Speaker 4: so we can.
Speaker 1: Be like them?
Speaker 4: Wow? What the sages are saying is this, God is compassionate,
Speaker 4: so we must be compassionate. God is gracious, so we
Speaker 4: must be gracious. God forgives, so we must forgive others.
Speaker 4: Isn't that amazing?
Speaker 3: Now?
Speaker 4: Of course, we can never become exactly like God, but
Speaker 4: we can try to take some of his characteristics that
Speaker 4: could make us holy. What a gold to set for
Speaker 4: the chosen people, We flesh and blood humans get to
Speaker 4: model ourselves after the God of the universe. After the
Speaker 4: Sin of the Golden Calf, Moses ascended Mount Sinai again,
Speaker 4: but this time it was different. This time, God revealed
Speaker 4: something deeper, something far more intimate. He didn't just give
Speaker 4: Moses the law, but God revealed his very nature. I
Speaker 4: want to repeat again what God told Moses. God said,
Speaker 4: I am the Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God,
Speaker 4: slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Here God
Speaker 4: showed that even after betrayal, his love and patience endured.
Speaker 4: He's slow to anger. But this isn't just a description
Speaker 4: of God's character, My friends, we too are called to
Speaker 4: be slow to anger, to emulate this patience and grace
Speaker 4: that was shown to our ancestors. In Proverbs, we read this,
Speaker 4: a person's wisdom yields patience. It is to one's glory
Speaker 4: to overlook an offense. But in the original Hebrew, the
Speaker 4: opening word of this verse literally says, a person's wisdom
Speaker 4: makes him slow to anger. The verse uses the same
Speaker 4: words as Exodus third. And this ancient wisdom isn't just
Speaker 4: about controlling our tempers. It's about aligning our hearts with God.
Speaker 4: Like Moses, we have to find the precious stones of
Speaker 4: patience and wisdom in our own hearts. Then we can
Speaker 4: share it with the world. When we do find these
Speaker 4: precious stones, that emulate God. We'll be able to reflect
Speaker 4: a little bit more of God's glory, bringing peace and
Speaker 4: understanding to a world that's too often full of anger
Speaker 4: and hate.
Speaker 1: You can listen to The Chosen People with Isle Egstein
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Speaker 1: made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina,
Speaker 1: Max bod Zach Shellabaga and Ben Gammon are the executive
Speaker 1: producers of The Chosen People with Yile Egstein, edited by
Speaker 1: Alberto a Venue narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced
Speaker 1: by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold,
Speaker 1: Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore.
Speaker 1: Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Bree Rosalie and
Speaker 1: Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin,
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