Exodus 34: Group Study Handout

How to use: read Exodus 34 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.

Overview

Yahweh commands Moses to chisel two stone tablets like the first ones he broke. Moses is told to be ready in the morning and to present himself on Mount Sinai (vv. 1-4).

Key verse

“Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, “Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth, keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and disobedience and sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the children’s children, on the third and on the fourth generation.”
Exodus 34:6-7 (WEB)

Outline

Exodus 34:1–4 God Commands Moses to Chisel Tablets
Exodus 34:5–7 God Reveals His Nature
Exodus 34:8–10 Moses Worships and Seeks Favor
Exodus 34:11–17 Instructions on Covenantal Behavior
Exodus 34:18–26 Feasts and Firstborn Regulations
Exodus 34:27–28 Moses Writes the Covenant
Exodus 34:29–35 Moses' Shining Face and Veil

Discussion questions

In v6, what attributes of God does He proclaim to Moses?
What does Moses do in v8 after hearing God's proclamation?
God's declaration in v7 about visiting iniquity: how does it balance with His mercy?
Moses' action of writing the commandments in v28: what does it signify for the covenant?
When have you felt the need for forgiveness like Moses does in v9?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Exodus 34: Psalm 86, Deuteronomy 16, Psalm 103.

Before next time: read Exodus 35.