John Calvin Commentary Exodus 24:12

"And Jehovah said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayest teach them." — Exodus 24:12 (ASV)

And the Lord said to Moses, Come up to me. Moses himself is now taken up higher; because it was sufficient for the elders to be admitted to that intermediate vision, from which they might certainly know that he would not proceed further except by God’s command, so that he might be received into familiar conversation.

Although Joshua began to go on with him, it is plain that he was only his companion for six days, until Moses left him behind and was gathered into the cloud. When God declares that He will give him “a law and commandment,” this must not be understood as any new instruction, but as the authentic writing (consignatione) of the Law: for, after speaking of the two tables, He immediately mentions, in apposition, the Law and Commandment, by way of explanation; as if He had said that He would give the tables, which were to be a divine monument³²⁰ of His covenant, so that a summary of doctrine should exist among the people, not written with ink and by the hand of man, but by the secret power of the Spirit.

I am afraid Augustine’s speculation—that the Law was written by the finger of God,³²¹ because only the Spirit of God engraves it on our hearts—is more subtle than correct; for, to pass over the fact that the hardness of the stones was not changed, what will their breaking mean, which will be spoken of later? Surely it is not consistent that, while the grace of regeneration endures to the end, the Law should be efficaciously engraved by the Spirit upon men’s hearts only for a moment.

What I have advanced, however, is beyond controversy: that the Law was inscribed upon these polished stones so that the perpetuity of the covenant might be testified in all ages.

³²⁰ “Un document celeste et infallible;” a celestial and infallible document. — Fr..

³²¹ See Augustine, Serm. 155: De verbo Apost. sect. 3, tom. 5, pp. 742, 743, (Edit. . Bened.) See also Serm. 8. .) See also Serm. 8. sect. 14, . 14, ibid., p. 48. See also Quaest. in ., p. 48. See also Quaest. in Exodus 25, tom. 3., p. 429; and Quaest. 166., , tom. 3., p. 429; and Quaest. 166., ibid., pp. 471, 472. “Proinde magna oritur quaestio, quomodo illae tabulae, quas erat Moyses Deo utique praesciente fractures, non hominis opus esse dicantur, sed Dei, nec ab homine scriptae, sed digito Dei: posteriores vero tabulae tamdiu mansurae, ac in tabernaculo et templo Dei futurae, jubente quidem Deo, tamen ab homine excisae sint, ab homine scriptae. An forte in illis prioribus gratia Dei significabatur, non hominis opus, qua gratia indigni facti sunt revertentes corde in Aegyptum, et facientes idolum; unde illo beneficio privati sunt, et propterea Moyses tabulas fregit: istis vero tabulis posterioribus significati sunt qui de suis operibus gloriantur; unde dicit Apostolus (., pp. 471, 472. “Proinde magna oritur quaestio, quomodo illae tabulae, quas erat Moyses Deo utique praesciente fractures, non hominis opus esse dicantur, sed Dei, nec ab homine scriptae, sed digito Dei: posteriores vero tabulae tamdiu mansurae, ac in tabernaculo et templo Dei futurae, jubente quidem Deo, tamen ab homine excisae sint, ab homine scriptae. An forte in illis prioribus gratia Dei significabatur, non hominis opus, qua gratia indigni facti sunt revertentes corde in Aegyptum, et facientes idolum; unde illo beneficio privati sunt, et propterea Moyses tabulas fregit: istis vero tabulis posterioribus significati sunt qui de suis operibus gloriantur; unde dicit Apostolus (Romans 10:3) Ignorantes Dei justitiam, et suam volentes constituere, justitiae Dei non sunt subjecti; et ideo tabulae humano opere exsculptae et humano opere conscriptae datae sunt, quae cum ipsis manerent, ad eos significandos de suis operibus gloriaturos, non de digito Dei hoc est de Spiritu Dei.”) Ignorantes Dei justitiam, et suam volentes constituere, justitiae Dei non sunt subjecti; et ideo tabulae humano opere exsculptae et humano opere conscriptae datae sunt, quae cum ipsis manerent, ad eos significandos de suis operibus gloriaturos, non de digito Dei hoc est de Spiritu Dei.”