All right, all right, join the Journey family, friends, and guests. You're listening to Join the Journey

podcast with your host, Emma Daughter. Thanks for joining. Today, we're reading Exodus 34 through 37,

which includes this month's memory verse Exodus 34 through 6. But all that said, we're answering the question,

what is the old covenant? And to better understand the old covenant, I want us to look at Exodus 34 and some other passages from Exodus.

After Israel's grievous sin of worshipping the golden calf, God, in his mercy, renews his covenant with them. And this renewal underscores God's unwavering

commitment to his people despite their failures. The old covenant refers to the agreement God made

with Israel at Mount Sinai, first given in Exodus 19 through 20, which included the 10 commandments and other laws that were

meant to set Israel apart as a holy nation and kingdom of priests. It was a covenant based on obedience.

God would bless Israel if they followed his commands, but disobedience would bring consequences.

And if you want to fast forward, look ahead, flip to Deuteronomy

28, and you can see a long list of blessings for obedience, but an even longer list of curses

for disobedience. As we see and will see throughout Israel's history, they repeatedly failed to keep

their end of the covenant. But Exodus 34 is a turning point because

after Israel's blatant rebellion with the golden calf, God graciously renews the covenant with them

instead of abandoning them, which shows us a key aspect of God's character. He is a God of mercy and grace. John Piper highlights this

moment by stating the sheer fact that Exodus 34 exists is proof that God is a God of mercy. He

emphasizes that God's willingness to renew the covenant after Israel's rebellion showcases his profound grace.

So even though Israel sinned, God's love and patience toward them is seemingly unwavering.

In Exodus 34, Moses ascends Mount Sinai once again, and God commands him to cut two new stone

tablets to replace the ones he had shattered earlier

in anger. Then in verses 6 through 7, we see one of the most important and explicitly clear revelations

of God's character in the Bible. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, the Lord, God merciful and

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