My friends we have a high calling. Forget Moses. Follow Paul. Follow Jesus. Seek the wisdom of the mature.
2 Corinthians 3:6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
The 2 Corinthians 3 passage-discourse is about the Exodus 34 changes to the covenant after Yisrael had committed adultery and worshiped the golden calf. The content, which Paul calls in his discourse "the old covenant" is only the few following verses from the passage. It is unfortunate that very few translations render certain key statements for what they actually say in the Hebrew text, so I am forced herein to offer the YLT, (Young's Literal Translation), which is unfortunately a little difficult to understand: but I will highlight several key points with bold and underlining.
Exodus 34:11-27 YLT (Young's Literal Translation)
11 'Observe
for thyself that which I am commanding thee to-day: lo, I am casting out from before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite;
12 take heed
to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitant of the land into which thou art going, lest it become a snare in thy midst;
13 for their altars ye break down, and their standing pillars ye shiver, and its shrines ye cut down;
14 for ye do not bow yourselves to another god--for Jehovah, whose name is Zealous, is a zealous God.
15 'Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitant of the land, and they have gone a-whoring after their gods, and have sacrificed to their gods, and one hath called to thee, and thou hast eaten of his sacrifice,
16 and thou hast taken of their daughters to thy sons, and their daughters have gone a-whoring after their gods, and have caused thy sons to go a-whoring after their gods;
17 a molten god thou dost not make to thyself.
18 'The feast of unleavened things thou dost keep; seven days thou dost eat unleavened things, as I have commanded thee, at an appointed time, the month of Abib: for in the month of Abib thou didst come out from Egypt.
19 'All opening a womb are Mine, and every firstling of thy cattle born a male, ox or sheep;
20 and the firstling of an ass thou dost ransom with a lamb; and if thou dost not ransom, then thou hast beheaded it; every first-born of thy sons thou dost ransom, and they do not appear before Me empty.
21 'Six days thou dost work, and on the seventh day thou dost rest; in ploughing-time and in harvest thou dost rest.
22 'And a feast of weeks thou dost observe
for thyself; first-fruits of wheat-harvest; and the feast of in-gathering, at the revolution of the year.
23 'Three times in a year do all thy males appear before the Lord Jehovah, God of Israel;
24 for I dispossess nations from before thee, and have enlarged thy border, and no man doth desire thy land in thy going up to appear before Jehovah thy God three times in a year.
25 'Thou dost not slaughter with a fermented thing the blood of My sacrifice; and the sacrifice of the feast of the passover doth not remain till morning:
26 the first of the first-fruits of the land thou dost bring into the house of Jehovah thy God; thou dost not boil a kid in its mother's milk.'
27 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Write
for thyself these words, for, according to the tenor of these words I have made with thee a covenant, and with Israel.'
The Most High has essentially turned them over to themselves because of their rebellion. The above feasts and festivals are to be observed for themselves rather than what is stated in the first covenant, "unto Me", (Exodus 23:14).
Before the golden calf incident:
Exodus 23:14-17 YLT
14 'Three times thou dost keep a feast
to Me in a year;
15 the Feast of Unleavened things thou dost keep; seven days thou dost eat unleavened things, as I have commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month of Abib; for in it thou hast come forth out of Egypt, and ye do not appear in My presence empty;
16 and the Feast of Harvest, the first fruits of thy works which thou sowest in the field; and the Feast of the In-Gathering, in the outgoing of the year, in thy gathering thy works out of the field.
17 'Three times in a year do all thy males appear before the face of the Lord Jehovah.
This is surely not the same and the Prophets see, perceive, and understand this, and expound on it.
Isaiah 1:10-15 KJV
10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?
13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
14
Your new moons and
your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
