Old Testament # 13
Bondage, Passover, and Exodus
Exodus 1–3; 5–6; 11–14
Last week’s Challenge—What one thing are you going to do differently as a result of General Conference? Please record it in your journal and come next week ready to share it, if you like.
Introduction
The next two weeks lessons focus on Moses and basically what it means to be called as a prophet. Since we have just sustained a new prophet and seen what an impact his prophetic vision can have on our Church, perhaps this is a good lens to view these lessons through.
Have you ever been in a situation where you have enjoyed a good relationship with an employer or even a Church leader and suddenly that person is moved somewhere else and now you answer to someone you don’t know and who definitely doesn’t know (or perhaps appreciate) you? So much is contained in Exodus 1:8: “Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.” One senses an abrupt halt to the prosperity and general thriving of the children of Israel during more than 400 years in Egypt. Suddenly they are reduced to the status of slaves.
By commanding the midwives to kill any Hebrew boy babies at birth (Exodus 1:16), the Egyptians were trying to effectively put a halt to the perpetuation of God’s covenant people. This brings to mind both the plague visited upon all the inhabitants of Egypt—with the exception of the Hebrews who had the blood painted on their lintels—and Herod’s decree to kill all babies under the age of two (Matthew 2:16). But mere man cannot thwart God’s plans.
The story of Moses’s miraculous rescue and subsequent placement in the royal palace is taught to children all over the world. But think about the irony of the one person that Pharaoh would not want alive, the eventual savior of the children of Israel (and yet another type and parallel to the Savior) being brought up in his own household and, as Stephen tells us “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds” (Acts 7:22). . . . “And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. … For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.” (Acts 7:23, 25.) This perhaps implies that Moses knew what his foreordination was.
But it was not until he slew an Egyptian while defending a Hebrew and was therefore forced to flee a death sentence, that the Lord called him to be a prophet and gave him his mission.
1. The Lord calls Moses to deliver Israel from bondage. Exodus 3
Once again the Joseph Smith Translation clarifies something vital for us: The Joseph Smith Translation of Exodus 3:2reads, “And again the presenceof the Lord appeared unto him” (emphasis added). This is surely an example of personal revelation for which Moses had been prepared. In ways that are not recorded, while he was living in exile, in President Nelson’s words, Moses had “stretch[ed] beyond [his] current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation.”[1]Surely Moses’s father-in-law helped him in this as he helps him later on.
2. The Lord sends plagues upon Egypt. Exodus 5–6
Here’s what the Institute Manual has to say about the plagues:
There have been numerous attempts through the ages to explain the plagues described in these chapters of Exodus. Some have tried to show that the various plagues were the result of some natural phenomenon such as passing meteorites or the explosion of a volcanic island in the Mediterranean Sea. While there is some degree of logical progression in the plagues (the river’s pollution could have driven the frogs out of the marshes to die, and this situation would then have bred lice, flies, and disease), it is not possible at present to explain how the Lord brought about these miraculous events. The fact that the plagues were selective (that is, sent upon the Egyptians but not the Israelites) adds to their miraculous nature. God often works through natural means to bring about His purposes, but that fact does not lessen the miraculous nature of His work. In the plagues and eventual deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt is a record of remarkable and miraculous intervention by God in behalf of His children. HowHe actually intervened is not nearly so significant as that He didintervene.
3. The Lord instructs Moses in the preparation of the Passover.Exodus 11–13.
Until I started looking at this lesson, I had not linked the Word of Wisdom with the Passover, yet D&C 89:21 says, “And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them.” Which surely must refer to Exodus 12:23. So should we now look at President Monson’s exhortation in October 2016, which Br. Tom Sant referred to last Sunday, in a different light? “May we care for our bodies and our minds by observing the principles set forth in the Word of Wisdom, a divinely provided plan. With all my heart and soul, I testify of the glorious blessings which await us as we do.”[2]
Another parallel is, of course, the sacrament and I know Sis. Sorenson will have some great quotes for us. But basically, we do not have to wait a year to celebrate deliverance from the bondage of sin, we can do that daily as we adhere to the Word of Wisdom and weekly as we take the sacrament.
4. The children of Israel cross the Red Sea.Exodus 14.
Cecil B. DeMille notwithstanding! A miracle is a miracle, big or small. Is it any different for the Lord to whisper to a child where to find it’s lost toy, or to turn water into wine, or even part a raging sea? With God nothing is impossible. But hang on, because from now on we are not going to hear songs of gratitude for the deliverance, at least not from the general population in the desert.
Additional Material
No comments:
Post a Comment