Since Moses was up on the mountain with God for 40 days and 40 nights, the people grew restless, and demanded Aaron to make them gods, so he asked for their gold earrings, and he made them a golden calf. He made an altar and placed it in front of the calf, and they worshipped and partied. On the mountain, the Lord told Moses what the people were doing, and he wanted to kill the people for their sin, but Moses interceded.
When Moses arrived at the bottom and saw the calf, he was so angry that he threw the two stone tablets, and they broke at the base of the mountain. The Levites brought judgment on those who sinned. The Lord also brought punishment due to their sin by brining a plague. Moses set up a Tent of Meeting outside the camp, and here Moses would speak with God. Moses prayed to know the Lord, and to see His glory, so the Lord placed him in the cleft of the rock, covered him with His hand, and allowed Him to see His back. The Lord called Moses to carve out two more stone tablets, like the first, and to bring them up the mountain. He did, and Moses was there for 40 days and 40 nights. When he came down with the new stone tablets, his face glowed because he had been in the presence of God. This scared the people, so he veiled his face, but in the presence of God, he would remove it.
