Deuteronomy 10:1

“At that time the Lord said unto me, etc.] On the fortieth day, mentioned in the preceding chapter, as Aben Ezra, or at the end of forty days, as Jarchi; not of the first forty, for then were given him the first two tables of stone, with the law written on them, which he broke when he came down; but at the end of the second forty days, as some think, when he had fallen before the Lord, and entreated him for the people, and, as a token of his reconciliation to them, gave the following order: hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, etc. Of the same sort of stone, of the same size and form with those God gave him in the mount the first time he was there, and which he broke in his…”

“GOD'S MERCY IN RESTORING THE TWO TABLES. (Deu. 10:1-22) At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first--It was when God had been pacified through the intercessions of Moses with the people who had so greatly offended Him by the worship of the golden calf. The obedient leader executed the orders he had received as to the preparation both of the hewn stones, and the ark or chest in which those sacred archives were to be laid.”

“These verses are closely connected with the preceding chapter, and state very briefly the results of the intercession of Moses recorded in Deuteronomy 9:25-29. The people are reminded that all their blessings and privileges, forfeited by apostasy as soon as bestowed, were only now their own by a new and most unmerited act of grace on the part of God, won from Him by the self-sacrificing mediation of Moses himself Deuteronomy 10:10. Deuteronomy 10:1-5. The order for making the ark and tabernacle was evidently given before the apostasy of the people (Exo. 25ff); but the tables were not put in the ark until the completion and dedication of the tabernacle Exodus 40:0. But here as elsewhere…”

“10:1 The Ark was a gold-plated wooden chest that contained the stone tablets; it was kept in the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle or Temple (Exod 25:10). Later, a pot of manna and Aaron’s flowering rod were also placed in the Ark (Heb 9:4). The Ark was the throne upon which the invisible Lord sat on earth among his people (see study notes on Exod 25:22 and Lev 16:2).”

“Hew: Deu 10:4; Exo 34:1, Exo 34:2, Exo 34:4 make thee: Deu 10:3; Exo 25:10-15; Heb 9:4 Deuteronomy 10:2”

“In Deu 10:1-5 Moses briefly relates the success of his earnest intercession. "At that time," of his intercession, God commanded him to hew out new tables, and prepare an ark in which to keep them (cf. Exo 34:1.). Here again Moses links together such things as were substantially connected, without strictly confining himself to the chronological order, which was already well known from the historical account, inasmuch as this was not required by the general object of his address. God had already given directions for the preparation of the ark of the covenant, before the apostasy of the nation ( Exo 25:10.); but it was not made till after the tabernacle had been built, and the tables were only…”