Great comments today from everyone so I have to be the one to make some stupid ones. I felt like a two year old reading this and found myself asking why why why. Why couldn't herds graze opposite the mountain? Why is God praising himself as he passes by Moses? Knowing the rest of the story, why does God bother advising Moses against heathens? What's so wrong with leavened stuff? What's significant about a metal idol vs a wood one? Why do males appear before God three times a year, and what does that even mean, is this like a men's retreat? Did the women have one? Boiling goats in mother's milk... 40 days Moses wrote on the stone so intense that he didn't eat. I know that feeling when you really want to finish a project... but... that's hard core. And makes me grateful for computers. Moses face turns to shiny stone. I kinda get it, at least I think so. God's glory rubbed off on him? But then he wears a veil when he's not speaking God's words I think is how I understood that, but didn't really get it. Don't get me wrong, plenty of meat and potatoes in there but lots of things that me glad I'm not a pastor getting ready to preach on this in the morning.

Moses makes a risky play leaving the people for another 40 days after the disaster that happened the last time. But he did what God commanded so there is some assurances there. Still must have been a trying time for the people of Israel waiting as their leader left again. Moses face shining after... I know God isn't bound by any physical laws, which means God purposefully put a shine on Moses face as a symbol. I wish so much that I could know the mind of God. He could have done so many things, like make the light diminish when Moses spoke to the people... but its almost like he leaves himself physically on the mountain other than a piece on Moses. Moses is then responsible for himself to shield the Israelites. Other things are so peculiar, he doesn't write the ten commandments in writing on the sky for all to see, but make Moses slave away on tablets while he's up in the mountains with no food or water. I'm sure there were reasons. As usual, I just wish I had some more info. For being a really long book, the Bible is actually really brisk in most of it's stories.