But, God, I Don't Even Like to Chisel!

This morning as as I was reading in the Book of Exodus, I read a passage that, for some reason, kept nagging at me....

Then the Lord told Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones. I will write on them the same words that were on the tablets you smashed.” ... So Moses chiseled out two tablets of stone like the first ones. Early in the morning he climbed Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded him, and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. (Exodus 34:1 & 4)

I don't know why I couldn't seem to get past those verses. After all, there was nothing really significant about them. They were just ordinary little verses on the way to something really amazing... weren't they?

Since I couldn't seem to move on, I kept going back and re-reading that passage. I finally asked, "God, why did You have Moses chisel out the stone tablets? How long must that have taken? I mean, really, God, why didn't You just create something to write the terms of the covenant on? Surely Moses had enough on his plate managing six million people without having to stop and spend several hours chiseling out stone tablets?!"

In my mind, I envisioned Moses--the great man of God, honored and revered by millions--with a hammer and chisel, sweat dripping off his brow, chipping away at a boulder.... And I thought again, "Why didn't God just have one of the 'common people' do the mundane?"

Probably after the fourth or fifth time I read it, I understood: We are pleased with the results. God is pleased with the process. Then I wondered how many times God has asked me to do things that I felt were mundane or even beneath me. I read those verses one last time, this time very slowly. Wow, God... Moses. Really??