Today's Bible Lesson..

We're on holiday once again here in Holy Land Central (HLC) . Shavuot - a multi-tasking sort of celebratory day. It marks the harvest, the end of Omer counting (a spiritual prep for receiving the Torah or Jewish law), receiving of first fruits, and Moses getting the Torah up on Mt. Sinai. There are a few other things but I'm too lazy to look them up. It's hot outside.

I got to thinking about that Mt. Sinai bit and Moses and all and I have to say I'm just a hair confused. Based upon the little I gleaned from Rabbi Barzwan's Hebrew school teachings back in 4th grade, Moses was given the 10 Commandments from God up there on the mount and then he hiked all the way back down, bearing the burden of those cumbersome slates on behalf of his people.

He gets back to camp and there are those crazy Israelites indulging in idolatry and general moral mayhem. Angry he was, indeed. Moses had anger management issues. In fact, he smashed the two tablets to bits to prove just how very put off he was by his people's behavior.

God's reaction: Okay, now you're on your own, Big M. Get yee to the nearest engraver and remake the tablets solo. Go on with yourself. Scoot! And so Moses had to re-do the tablets on his own and then re-present them to his people.

Now I know that the Torah and the 10 Commandments are separate chapters. But it all being the same setting, the same mountain and the same timeframe I figure my observation/question is legit:

Why in the heck did big G (that would be God) wait until Moses hit the rock, much later on in the saga, to banish him from Canaan? (that would be Holy Land Central). In other words, when Moses hit the rock with his staff to draw water instead of talking to it, as God had instructed, God blew: Final Straw Big M. You're out. No Canaan. No glory. Joshua, you're up. Get dressed and let's go!

Now had I been Big G at the time, my inclination definitely would've been to cut off the pass to Canaan at the first juncture when Moses threw the tablets. Think about it: Smash tablets with moral codes to be handed down for millennia versus hit a rock with your cane to get a sip of water...Hmmm??? Am I right or am I right?

Yes, this is the Cliff's Notes version. But as always, you get the point.

Chag Sameach (happy holiday)