THE SHATTERED TABLETS

After Moses received the Ten Commandments, he was told by God that Israel had grievously sinned by creating a Golden Calf to which they attributed their freedom from bondage. God's fury almost led to the destruction of the Israelite nation. But Moses intervened; God relented. When Moses brought down the tablets of the law and saw that Israel had violated the fundamental rule against idolatry, Moses in his fury cast the tablets down and they shattered at the foot of the mountain. But Moses knew that Israel had sinned before he came down the mountain. Why, then, did he bringt the tablets with him?