Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. (Exodus 35:15-16)
The two tablets were inscribed by the finger of God. God engraved His commandments “on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written.” Quoting the ancient Jewish sources, prominent rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz brings out a wonderful dimension about this, and I believe it because it makes too much sense to disregard.
Rabbi Tatz says that God’s handwriting went in through the front and all the way out through the back. This is why there was writing on both sides of each tablet. It's not like a piece of paper where God ran out of room at the bottom so He had to flip it over and continue on the back. That thinking totally misses the point! Rather, the depth of the inscription was such that it pierced the entire width of the stone. If Moses held up a tablet to read it, he would see daylight from the other side coming through each letter. Essentially, the commandments themselves were light!
Hold on to this thought as we consider our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the light of the world, the true light who gives light to every man. At His crucifixion, His body was nailed to a cross. Each nail went in through the front and all the way out through the back.
If we put the two images together, we see that, with regards to the ten commandments, light was driven through stone material. The eternal pressed into the finite. With regards to our Messiah, stone material was driven through Light. The finite pressed into the eternal.
If we put the two images together, we see that, with regards to the ten commandments, light was driven through stone material. The eternal pressed into the finite. With regards to our Messiah, stone material was driven through Light. The finite pressed into the eternal.
