{Word Study} For Yourself “Leka”

WORD STUDY: FOR YOURSELF
Exodus 34:1: “And the Lord God  said unto Moses, Hew thee two tablets of stone like unto the first and I will write upon these tablets the words that I wrote on the first tablets which thou breakest.”

For Yourself – Hebrew: Leka – combination of the preposition “for or to” and the 3rd person, singular pronoun, “yourself.”
We are familiar with the story of Moses descending from the mountain top with the two tablets of the law and in a fit of righteous indignation over the children of Israel worshipping a golden calf, he broke the tablets.  Now God is arranging to replace the tablets.

There is a word in the Hebrew that is rarely translated in this verse because many translators ignore the Lamed or the preposition and simply translate the pronoun, “you” because it makes more sense, “You carve two tablets.”  To render it literally what you are saying is “Carve for yourself two tablets” but that just does not fit the context so it is felt that the proper exegesis would be to leave the preposition off.  Yet the Jewish sages recognized this preposition and have come up with some suggestions as to how it might fit. Then leave it to some Gentile Christian like myself to make a big deal out of that little preposition and turn it into something Messianic.

That word used is “leka” which is spelled “Lamed, Kaf.”  The Lamed is the preposition “to or for” and the Kaf is your 3rd person singular pronoun “you or yourself.”  That preposition is there in plain sight and begging not to be ignored.  To be fair there are some translations which will recognize this word and translate it as “for yourself” rendering this as “carve for yourself two tablets.

The people of Israel had started worshipping the golden calf before they were even given the written law which says: “Thou shalt have no other god before Me.”   In fact they were engaged in this sin as Moses was bringing the law down to the people.   The fact that they did not have the written law was no excuse for worshipping another god, and clearly the people were sinning.  The question really harkens back to the reason why Moses broke the tablets.  Jewish Literature gives a parable of a King who was betrothed to a woman and left on a journey during the betrothal period.   While on the journey the woman committed immoral acts and a maidservant of the king tore up the marriage contract declaring that the woman would not be punished because she was not the king’s wife.   In other words Moses sort of tore up the contract so God would not destroy the people of Israel for their sin.

Another reason, which is I like because of its Messianic implication, is that Moses realizing that he was not a part of the sin the people were committing broke the tablets in order to discourage God from implementing his plan to destroy the people for their sin and make Moses the father of a new nation (Exodus 32:10).   By breaking the tablets Moses was saying: “I am now a sinner just like them, if you destroy them you must destroy me as well.”   This would then have prompted God to instruct Moses to carve two tablets “for himself.”   In other words by destroying the tablets with the written law he had taken upon himself the sin of the nation.  What does that sound like?
Well, there is something else the rabbis say about this word “leka” that is inserted in this verse.   When you stand ready to condemn another brother or sister who is engaged in some sin, stop and consider the fact that, like Moses, you are just as guilty as they are.  You need “the tablets” just as much as they do.  My father helped start a rescue mission in a rundown neighborhood of Chicago.  When I asked him why he spent so much time and resources helping these men on the streets he said: “But for the grace of God go I.” Moses would not condemn the people because he knew he was no different than they were, but for the grace of God, he too would commit such a sin.

When the woman taken in adultery was brought to Jesus and Jesus told her accusers “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone,”   he was basically said: “You are sinners just like her, but for the grace of God, you too should be stoned, how about extending the grace God gave you to this poor woman who is bound by her passions just as you are.”

It is so easy to look upon another brother or sister and condemn them for their lifestyle, or some sin that they may be committing.  We have the same choice Moses had, we can stand there in judgment and condemn them or we can turn and face God and break the tablets and say: “God, I am just as much a sinner as they are, you want to condemn them, then you have to condemn me first.”