1. Introduction
a) Great Symbolism in the story of the Children of Israel
i) Their journey through the wilderness is symbolic of our own experiences in mortality.
ii) The solutions to the problems in the wilderness include powerful symbols of Christ's Atonement
iii) Egypt is, in some ways, a symbol of our premortal life
(1) Premortal life was not, of course, full of evil and idol worship
(2) On some occasions, premortal life seems much easier than living in mortality
(3) Sometimes, this whole mortality test may seem like something we should not have signed up for
iv) The solution for problems in the wilderness was always to turn unto the Lord and obey His commandments.
v) The solution for the problems we face in mortality is always to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and allow His Atonement to nourish us, heal us and protect us from the errors we make on our own journey through the wilderness.
vi) Our response to difficulties is always to turn to the Lord and move forward to complete our journey through mortality.
(1) Sometimes dangerous
(2) Frequently uncomfortable
(3) At the end of our journey through the wilderness, our Promised Land awaits, but we must cross the desert well, following our Lord and His prophets faithfully until we cross over the River Jordan to our land filled with milk and honey.
b) Continue today with the early weeks and months of the journey of the Children of Israel through the wilderness
i) This will, of course, take 40 years, but the actions of the Israelites during the early part of their journey had a great impact on the rest of their time in the wilderness and resulted in many of those who were adults at the beginning dying in the wilderness.
(1) Journey across the Sinai desert from Egypt to Canaan could have been completed in a few weeks
ii) Demonstration of the impact of some decisions over many years and even through the eternities.
c) Where Will It Lead?
i) Devotional address by Elder Dallin H. Oaks talks about the long-lasting impact of some decisions in our lives – good or bad
(1) http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=8570
ii) Whether a young man serves a mission
iii) Who we marry
iv) Patterns of Church activity established during the early years of marriage
v) For those of us who are converts, the decision to become members of the Church
vi) Story of the children of Israel in the wilderness is an excellent example of some people failing to consider where certain actions will lead.
2. Water, Quail and Manna in the Wilderness
a) Reading 1 – Exodus 15:22-26
22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
23 ¶ And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.
24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
25 And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,
26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.
i) Verse 23 - Water was bitter
ii) Verse 24 - the people murmured against Moses
iii) Verse 25 – Lord showed Moses a tree that purified the water if he would cast it in
(1) Possibly a barberry bush, which is used to this day to make brackish water drinkable
iv) Verse 25 - he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them
(1) Early part of the journey is a constant series of learning opportunities for the Children of Israel
(a) Had been in Egypt for over 400 years, been corrupted by Egyptian religion and lifestyle and needed to be retaught what it meant to be a true follower of Jehovah and a covenant people
v) Verse 26 - If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee
(1) Listen to the Lord's prophet
(2) Obey the Lord's commandments
(3) None of the dangers of the wilderness, none of the things that would affect other who are not obedient, including the Egyptians, will harm you
(4) The Lord is the source of their healing and strength
b) Reading 2 – Exodus 16:1-27, 35
1 And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.
2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
4 ¶ Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
6 And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:
7 And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord; for that he heareth your murmurings against the Lord: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?
8 And Moses said, This shall be, when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the Lord heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.
9 ¶ And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the Lord: for he hath heard your murmurings.
10 And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
11 ¶ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
12 I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.
13 And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.
14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.
15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.
16 ¶ This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.
17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
21 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
22 ¶ And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
23 And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.
25 And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the Lord: to day ye shall not find it in the field.
26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
27 ¶ And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.
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35 And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.
i) Go through underlined scriptures
ii) Verse 4 - I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no
(1) Manna was a way of feeding the Children of Israel
(2) It was also an instructional test – will the Children of Israel obey or not?
(a) Pretty elementary with immediate feedback
(b) If they didn't obey, the manna spoiled
(c) The manna didn't spoil on the Sabbath, teaching that it was a different day
iii) Manna would teach the people that they do not live “by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3).
iv) Manna is a powerful symbol of Christ
(1) Reading 3: John 6:48-51
48 I am that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
v) Manna was a dramatic illustration of how the Lord provided for them on a daily basis.
(1) Is Manna any different than the way the Lord provides for our needs by miraculously bringing seagulls to devour grasshoppers, causing the rain to fall on crops, allowing enough snow to fall on the mountains so we have water to drink for the coming year?
(2) We are always dependent on the Lord for our sustenance
(a) READ Deuteronomy 8:2-3
2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
(b) King Benjamin – "I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants." (Mosiah 2:21)
c) Murmuring
i) One of the recurring problems of the first generation of the Children of Israel was murmuring
(1) When Pharaoh showed up with his army on the banks of the Red Sea, they said "For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness." (Exodus 14:12)
(2) When the water was bitter at Marah, "the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?" (Exodus 15:24)
(3) When they were worried about food, the Children of Israel murmured again
(a) "And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. (Exodus 16:2-3)
ii) Reading 4 - President David O. McKay said: "Let us watch ourselves and be true to the examples set by the Church and the brethren and sisters who have sacrificed their lives, their all, to build the Church and to advance the principles taught therein. This warning is sometimes expressed in this way: 'Speak not against the authorities.' What does it mean. Be not a murmurer; that is what it means. It is one of the most poisonous things that can be introduced into the home of a Latter-day Saint--this murmuring against presidents of stakes, high councilors, Sunday school superintendents, presidents of high-priests' quorums, seventies, elders, priests, teachers and deacons.... and yet because of his weakness, because, perhaps, of some little fault that we see in an officer, we begin to murmur and find fault. Better stop murmuring, and build up. Remember that one of the worst means of tearing down an individual is slander. It is one of the most poisonous weapons that the evil one uses. Backbiting and evil speaking, throw us into the class of malefactors rather than the class of benefactors." (CR, Apr 1909, p67)
iii) The Children of Israel had seen miracle after miracle, but still they murmured
(1) Miracles do not build faith among the faithless
(2) Faith precedes the miracle
iv) Lesson Manual says, "Many of the people (the Children of Israel) lacked faith, complaining to the Lord instead of turning to him."
(1) ASK – What is the difference between complaining to the Lord instead of turning to Him?
v) In Proverbs we read, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Prov. 3:5,6)
3.
Battle with Amalek
a) Reading 5 – Exodus 17:8-13
8 ¶ Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
12 But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
i) The Amalekites were constant enemies to Israel
(1) Were of the people of Edom, who were descendants of Esau, who sold his birthright to Jacob
(2) Important to note that the Lord does not fight against a people, He fights against evil. In the Book of Mormon, we see several examples of Lamanites who give up evil and become people who are blessed of God and the Nephites fight them no more.
ii) Go through underlined portions
b) Sustaining
i) Sustaining is an interesting term that, to my knowledge, is unique to the Church
(1) We could use a different term
(a) Affirm that Pres. Monson is the prophet
(b) Agree that Pres. Monson is the prophet
(c) Proclaim that Pres. Monson is the prophet
ii) Sustain means something different
(1) Active support
(2) Obedience to counsel
(3) Not murmuring
(4) Sustaining those whom the Prophet has called down through the local ward leaders
iii) Reading 6 – Elder Boyd K. Packer has written: “Others among us are willing to sustain part of the leadership of the Church and question and criticize others of us.
Some of us suppose that if we were called to a high office in the Church immediately, we would be loyal and would show the dedication necessary. We would step forward and valiantly commit ourselves to this service.
But (you can put it down in your little black book) if you will not be loyal in the small things, you will not be loyal in the large things. If you will not respond to the so-called insignificant or menial tasks which need to be performed in the Church and kingdom, there will be no opportunity for service in the so-called greater challenges.
A man who says he will sustain the President of the Church or the General Authorities, but cannot sustain his own bishop is deceiving himself. The man who will not sustain the bishop of his ward and the president of his stake will not sustain the President of the Church.” (That All May Be Edified , p.238-239)
4. The Lord Meets Moses on Mt. Sinai
a) General Chronology
i) In the third month that Israel had been in the wilderness, they arrived at Mt. Sinai in the desert and camped near its base
ii) Moses goes up to the mountain and the Lord speaks with him
iii) The Lord instructs Moses to prepare the people so the Lord can be visible to them in three days.
iv) On the third day, the people are not ready, so the Lord only allows Moses on Mt. Sinai.
v) The Lord gives Moses the Ten Commandments and what has been called the Covenant Code or Covenant Book, additional laws for Israel found in Exodus chapters 21-23.
vi) After giving the people the Ten Commandments, Moses goes back up to the mountain with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. All of these men see the Lord, although only Moses is permitted to come near the Lord.
vii) After the others have seen the Lord, the Lord asks Moses to come alone to meet with Him. Moses receives additional laws given to Israel, written on stone tablets with the finger of the Lord. These tablets include Melchizedek Priesthood laws and its covenants.
viii) The Children of Israel grow impatient waiting for Moses
ix) Aaron permits the building of a golden calf which the people worship
x) On the mountain, the Lord informs Moses that the Children of Israel are behaving improperly
xi) Moses comes down from the mountain, sees what is happening and destroys the tablets containing the higher law.
xii) Moses goes back up the mountain and is commanded to create two new tablets. On these tablets, the Lord writes different laws, carnal commandments, and takes away the higher priesthood. The Aaronic Priesthood remained with the Children of Israel, while only the prophets held the Melchizedek Priesthood until the time of Malachi.
b) Details
i) In the first message to Israel after they arrive at Mt. Sinai, the Lord makes great promises to them, conditioned on their obedience
(1) Reading 7 – Exodus 19:3-6
3 And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.
5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
(a) Verse 4 – Reminds the people what He has already done - I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself
(b) Verse 5 - if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant – conditions of the blessings
(c) Verse 5 – Peculiar means special people or treasure, not odd or eccentric (Bible Dictionary, "Peculiar," 748)
(d) Verse 6 - ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests
(e) Verse 6 - an holy nation
(2) Obedience is the key to receiving blessings and the Children of Israel fail to understand this over and over.
(a) Children of Israel pledge over and over to be obedient
(i) READ – Exodus 24:3,7 (after Moses brought the Ten Commandments and the Covenant Code)
3 ¶ And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.
(b) Reading 8 - Brother Robert L Millet wrote: "As has been observed before, it was one thing to get Israel out of Egypt, and another thing entirely to get Egypt out of Israel! Indeed, the compelling drama of the deliverance, exodus, and wanderings of Israel proved to be a tragedy, a story of lost opportunities--a saga of things as they might have been." (Studies In Scripture, 3:109)
ii)
Ten Commandments
(1) In worshipping the golden calf, the Children of Israel broke the first two commandments, commandments they had just received and had pledged to obey.
(a) Reading 8 – Exodus 20:3-5
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
(b) I doubt that any of us can visualize ourselves bowing down to worship a golden calf, so is there any way that we can relate to idolatry – putting another god before our Heavenly Father and Savior – or serving some graven image.
(c) Reading 9 - President Spencer W. Kimball said: “Idolatry is among the most serious of sins. … Modern idols or false gods can take such forms as clothes, homes, businesses, machines, automobiles, pleasure boats, and numerous other material deflectors from the path to godhood. …
“Intangible things make just as ready gods. Degrees and letters and titles can become idols. …
“Many people build and furnish a home and buy the automobile first—and then they ‘cannot afford’ to pay tithing. Whom do they worship? Certainly not the Lord of heaven and earth. …
“Many worship the hunt, the fishing trip, the vacation, the weekend picnics and outings. Others have as their idols the games of sport, baseball, football, the bullfight, or golf. …
“Still another image men worship is that of power and prestige. … These gods of power, wealth, and influence are most demanding and are quite as real as the golden calves of the children of Israel in the wilderness” (The Miracle of Forgiveness [1969], 40–42).
iii)
Loss of Melchizedek Priesthood
(1) READ – Doctrine and Covenants 84:19-27
19 And this greater priesthood (the Melchizedek Priesthood) administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.
20 Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.
21 And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;
22 For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.
23 Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God;
24 But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory.
25 Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also;
26 And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel;
27 Which gospel is the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins, and the law of carnal commandments, which the Lord in his wrath caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the children of Israel until John, whom God raised up, being filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb.
(2) Think what might have been if the people had been worthy for the Lord to establish a "kingdom of priests, and an holy nation" (Exodus 19:6)
(3) In lieu of the higher law, the Lord gave them a lesser law, the Law of Moses
(a) “a law of performances and of ordinances, a law which they were to observe strictly from day to day, to keep them in remembrance of God and their duty towards him” (Mosiah 13:30)
(b) The fact that this was a lesser law did not mean that it was easier for the Jews to live
(i) The law of Moses encompasses hundreds of laws, rules, and regulations.
(ii) The Jews have identified 613 particular laws as recorded by Moses in the Torah or Pentateuch.
(c) For all mortals at all times on the earth, this life is a test.
(i) Discussing this truth, Ted Gibbons has written, " "Harder Versions of the Test are Available."
(ii) Failure to obey commandments always results in more difficult and painful tests.
5. Conclusion
