Why did God write his law...

on tablets of stone ... ?
In the Bible, God giving “the law” on tablets of stone (Exod 31:18; Deut 9:10) isn’t a decorative detail. It carries meaning on several levels:

1. Permanence and solidity
Stone says: “this is neither temporary nor negotiable.” In contrast to a perishable medium, it highlights the stability of God’s will (Ps 119). This is also why Moses breaks the first tablets after the idolatry: a forceful act showing that the covenant had been broken (Exod 32:19).

2. Covenant-treaty form
In the Ancient Near East, laws and treaties were often engraved on stone (as with the Code of Hammurabi). Israel receives the Torah within this covenant framework: “tablets of the testimony” deposited before God as the official document (Exod 25:16; 40:20). They go into the ark, at the heart of the sanctuary: the locus of the covenant is not a king’s palace, but the very presence of God (1 Kgs 8:9).

3. Divine, not human, origin
Scripture stresses: “written by the finger of God” (Exod 31:18; Deut 9:10). This is not merely wise legislation, but a revealed word. The stone functions like a seal : engraved by God, not dictated by a committee.

4. Publicness and witness
Stone makes the law “public,” verifiable, stable for the community. We see the same principle when Israel must write the law on stones upon entering Canaan (Deut 27:2–8; Josh 8:32). The law isn’t the preserve of specialists; it is displayed and placed in the community’s memory.

5. Spiritual pedagogy
The stone/heart contrast runs through Scripture. God first engraves on stone to form a people; but the ultimate goal is to write his law “in their hearts” (Jer 31:33), “not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, on hearts” (2 Cor 3:3). In other words : stone signals permanence and objectivity; the Spirit aims at internalization and loving obedience.

6. Rupture and renewal
Two sets of tablets: the first are broken (judgment), the second are given again (grace, covenant renewed: Exod 34). This tells both of God’s holiness and his mercy toward a stiff-necked people.

-- In short : stone signifies the permanence, authority, and public character of the covenant ; yet it also points forward to the next movement in the plan: the same law, no longer only engraved outside us, but inscribed within us.

However, the idea of God’s commandments written on stones also refers to the revelation of his will to his people.

The stone tablets symbolize the heart of stone of the ancient people, still in its fleshly state. Moses had to teach these laws so that all would understand the divine will.

Despite knowing God’s will, many persisted in rebellion. They knew what he required but chose to follow their own desires, preferring to please themselves rather than God. The promise of a heart of stone transformed into a heart of flesh is essential, as Ezekiel would later prophesy in 36:26: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you ; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

The baptism of the Holy Spirit brings about a new creation within us, in which the heart of stone is replaced by a heart of flesh, receptive to God’s will. Through the new birth, God’s nature and laws are written on our hearts. A transformed heart naturally obeys the divine will.

Thus the new creation loves God with all its heart, soul, and spirit, which enables it to live according to his law and to please God.

God, by his Spirit, writes his law in the believer’s heart, thus transforming a heart of stone into a heart of flesh, receptive to his will. The new creation receives a new heart, a heart of flesh replacing the heart of stone. This heart, receptive to God’s will, causes us to walk according to his commandments, thereby fulfilling his law through the love of God and living in accordance with his will.

Franz