Why did Moses break the tablets,
and why didn’t God respond by punishing him?
Exodus 32:19 : It came about, as soon as Moses came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain.
It was the finger of God that wrote those words. Why then would Moses break the tablets? Moses himself explains why later, in Deuteronomy 9:19. After breaking the tablets, he said, “For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the Lord was wrathful against you in order to destroy you, but the Lord listened to me that time also.” He was afraid that the Lord would respond by wiping them out as He said He wanted to do. (see Exodus 32:10, “Now leave Me alone so that My anger may burn against them and I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation”.)
If the Israelites had accepted the tablets because they represented the final document of the Mosaic Covenant between Israel and God, then the judgment contained in the document would have been poured out on them. So Moses’ action was one of great grace and love. He had the heart of a true prophet of God. He didn’t know how the Lord would react to the breaking of the tablets, but he took a chance for the sake of his flock.
How did God respond to Moses breaking the tablets? It’s easy to see, just look at His reaction afterward. He wasn’t angry at Moses; instead, He told him to come back up and get another set of tablets. In fact, He even allows Moses to participate in making the second set of tablets: God told him to carve out the new tablets, and that the Lord would once again write the Law with His finger. They became partners in the same cause.
Ultimately, it is possible that the LORD expected Moses to break the tablets, as both shared a great love for the people. This is just the start of understanding why the Lord spoke so highly of Moses at the end of the account.