“Lesson 45: Exodus 1–4,” Old Testament Seminary Student Material (2018)
“Lesson 45: Exodus 1–4”
Lesson 45
Exodus 1–4
Prepare to Learn
Prepare your mind and heart to learn. Remember that the way you choose to participate in this lesson influences how much you will be taught by the Holy Ghost as you study. Demonstrate your desire to be taught by the Spirit by actively participating in this lesson.
Begin your study with prayer.
Think of a time when you struggled to keep a commandment. What made it difficult in that circumstance to obey the Lord?
Listen to President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018) as he relates a story of a basketball player who had to decide whether to keep a commandment. What did this young man learn from his experience?
Doing Something Difficult
Think of situations you have been in when others have wanted you to do something that was contrary to God’s commandments.
Why is it sometimes difficult or frightening to keep the commandments when others want you to do something different?
As you study Exodus 1, look for a principle that will help you understand the blessings of following God’s commandments, even when it is difficult to do so.
A New Pharaoh
You may remember the circumstances that led to the children of Israel living in Egypt (see Genesis 37–47). Exodus 1:1–14 explains that eventually Joseph and his generation died and a new pharaoh rose to power. By this time the children of Israel had greatly increased in number. Fearing the Israelites’ growing power, the new pharaoh placed taskmasters over them and “made their lives bitter with hard bondage” (Exodus 1:14). When the Israelites continued to multiply, Pharaoh sought to destroy the Hebrew children.
Read Exodus 1:15–21, looking for what Pharaoh commanded the midwives to do and how the midwives responded. (A midwife is a woman who assists in childbirth.)
Quiz 1
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What do you think it means that the midwives “feared God” (verse 17; see also verse 21, footnote a)?
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They were afraid or terrified of God.
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They revered or had great respect for Him.
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They did not believe in the existence of God.
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By not obeying Pharaoh and by choosing to revere God more than Pharaoh, what might the midwives have risked?
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Their friends
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Their lives
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Their profession
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How did the Lord “[deal] well” (verse 20) with the midwives? (See verse 21, footnote b.)
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The Lord blessed the midwives with households, or descendants.
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The Lord took them out of Egypt.
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The Lord blessed them with good health.
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The Will of the Lord
From the account recorded in Exodus 1:15–21, we can identify the following principle: As we revere God by putting His will above that of others, He will bless us.
1. Answer the following questions:
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What are some examples of having to choose between God’s will and the will of others in our day?
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When have you or someone you know chosen to revere God by putting His will above the will of others? How did God “[deal] well with” you or this person?
Preserved by God
Because Pharaoh was unable to convince the midwives to kill the newborn Hebrew males, he issued a decree that every son born to the Hebrews would be slain (see Exodus 1:22).
As recorded in Exodus 2:1–4, one Hebrew mother took steps to preserve the life of her son. She placed her son in a small ark in a river.
Read Exodus 2:5–10, looking for who discovered the child. How did this affect the course of the child’s life?
Moses
Exodus 2:11–25 explains that when Moses was grown, he defended a Hebrew slave by killing an Egyptian who was attempting to beat or kill the slave. When Pharaoh learned about the Egyptian’s death, he sought to kill Moses, but Moses fled to Midian. While there, he married a woman named Zipporah, with whom he had a son. The children of Israel in Egypt continued petitioning the Lord for deliverance from bondage.
The Burning Bush
This picture depicts Moses’s discovery of a burning bush on top of a mountain (see Exodus 3:1–3). Notice how the Joseph Smith Translation changes the phrase “angel of the Lord” to “presence of the Lord” in verse 2, footnote a. Rather than an angel, it was the premortal Jesus Christ (Jehovah) who appeared to Moses.
Read Exodus 3:4–7, looking for why the Lord appeared to Moses.
Quiz 2
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Fill in the blanks. Based on verse 7, how would you complete the following statement of truth? God sees our , hears our , and knows our .
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happiness, prayers, desires
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afflictions, prayers, sorrows
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successes, prayers, needs
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Afflictions, Prayers, and Sorrows
From Exodus 3:7 we can identify this truth: God sees our afflictions, hears our prayers, and knows our sorrows.
What experiences have you had in which you knew that God was aware of your afflictions or sorrows?
The Children of Israel
As recorded in Exodus 3:8, 10, the Lord explained that He would deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt by raising up Moses to deliver them.
Moses expressed a number of concerns to the Lord about his ability to deliver Israel as the Lord had called him to do (see Exodus 3:11–4:17). You will see in these verses that the Lord referred to Himself as “I AM” (see, for example, Exodus 3:14). “I AM” is a form of Jehovah, one of the names of Jesus Christ. Whenever the name “I AM” or Jehovah occurs in the Old Testament’s Hebrew text, it is almost always rendered as LORD.
Quiz 3
1. Match Moses’s concerns with the Lord’s responses.
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Accomplishing His Work
From Exodus 3:11–4:17 we can identify the truth that the Lord is with those He calls, and He gives them power to accomplish His work.
President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018) explained why we should not be afraid to do anything that is according to the Lord’s will.
“Now, some of you may be shy by nature or consider yourselves inadequate to respond affirmatively to a calling. Remember that this work is not yours and mine alone. It is the Lord’s work, and when we are on the Lord’s errand, we are entitled to the Lord’s help. Remember that whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies” (Thomas S. Monson, “Duty Calls,” Ensign, May 1996, 44).
2. Answer one or both of the following questions:
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How will the Lord bless you as you seek to do His work according to His will?
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What experiences in your life have shown you that the Lord gives His servants, including you, power to accomplish His work?
In His Similitude
We read in Exodus 4:18–31 that after his encounter with the Lord, Moses left Midian, met Aaron, and traveled with him to Egypt. Together they told the elders of Israel all that the Lord had commanded. The children of Israel believed Moses and Aaron and worshipped the Lord.
When Moses was called to be a prophet, the Lord told him, “Thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten” (Moses 1:6).
Some similarities between Moses and Jesus Christ were that they both escaped death in infancy (see Exodus 1:15–16, 22; 2:1–3; Matthew 2:13–16); both were called to deliver Israel (see Exodus 3:7–10; 2 Nephi 6:17); and both remained in exile until the kings who sought to kill them had died (see Exodus 4:19; Matthew 2:19–20). As you learn about Moses’s life, look for other ways in which Moses is a type, or symbol, of Christ.
Doing His Work
The following truths were identified in this lesson:
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As we revere God by putting His will above that of others, He will bless us.
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God sees our afflictions, hears our prayers, and knows our sorrows.
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The Lord is with those He calls, and He gives them power to accomplish His work.
Just as the Lord promised to be with and strengthen Moses, He will be with and strengthen us as we seek to do His work according to His will. Think of some ways you can better assist in His work.
Doctrinal Mastery Review: Isaiah 1:18
Read Isaiah 1:18, and look for words that can help you remember this doctrinal mastery passage. You may want to mark these words in your scriptures.
Consider reading Isaiah 1:18 aloud multiple times as your time permits.
Answer Key
Quiz 1: (1) b; (2) b; (3) a
Quiz 2: (1) b
Quiz 3: (1) 1-c, 2-e, 3-d, 4-a, 5-b