written on hearts of stone

In Exodus 20 the Israelites hear God speak the 10 commandments. And then after the 10th commandment is spoken:

Exodus 20:18 "When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, "'Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.'"

20 Moses said to the people, "'Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.'"

And so Moses goes off to talk with God alone. Imagine what that would be like! And the first thing God says:
Exodus 20: 22 "Then the LORD said to Moses, "'Tell the Israelites this: 'You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.'"

Moses returns to the people after talking with God:
Exodus 24:3 "When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "'Everything the LORD has said we will do.'" 4 Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said."

And then the LORD said to Moses: Exodus 24:12 "'Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction.'"

Moses receives more details about the commandments, which simply put is a Godly way of life, as well as specifics as to how to build the tabernacle. And then...

Exodus 31:18 "When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God."

But...
Exodus 32:1 "When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "'Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him.'"

2 Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me." 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."

How quickly they forgot their agreement in Exodus 24:3 and Exodus 24:7. (How quickly do I forget my holy proclamations? "Yes of course I will do that or won't do that, God.")

Exodus 32:7 "Then the LORD said to Moses, "'Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ''These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.''

9 "'I have seen these people,'" the LORD said to Moses, "'and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.'"

And then
Exodus32:19 "When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it."

And after Moses' continued repenting for the people and offering his own life for the Israelites' salvation, God told Moses to return to the mountain to receive the commandments again.

Exodus 34:4 "So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the LORD had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands."

And there Moses received the second set of commandments, written on stone, front and back. Interesting that while Moses is with God receiving the first tablets, the people, having hearts of stone, or as God refers to them: a stiff-necked people, beg Aaron to make for them a god that they might worship. And still God gave His people a second chance. and more than that, He promises to write His Word on our hearts, our very own hearts of stone that are only truly softened and made whole by His love and mercy and grace.

Jeremiah 31:33 "'This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,' declares the LORD. 'I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.'"

Hebrews 10:16 "'This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.'17Then he adds: 'Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.'"

Much of these details are found in last week's torah portion: Ki Tisa
Exodus 30:11-34:35. Read the story of Moses receiving the Commandments: Exodus chapters 20-35