Exodus 1-14 - Bondage, Passover, Exodus

Introduction
Mormon Mouthful
    1. Mission
    2. Caption Moroni
    3. Primary
    4. How Firm a Foundation
    5. Joseph F. Smith
    6. Brigham Young University
    7. Mortal Body
    8. Singles Ward
    9. First Quorum of the Seventy
    10. I Love to See the Temple
    11. The Joseph Smith Translation
    12. Charity
    13. Church Basketball
    14. Adam-ondi-Ahman
    15. King Lamoni
    16. Two Thousand Stripling Warriors
    17. Tabernacle
    18. Temple President
    19. Hyrum Smith
    20. Salt Lake City
    21. Compassionate Service
 
Exodus 1–3
The children of Israel are made slaves by the Egyptians
Moses is born and is raised by Pharaoh’s daughter
The Lord appears to Moses at the burning bush and calls him to deliver Israel from bondage
   
Imagine your are the children of Israel living in Egypt. For generations you have been taught that you are God’s covenant people and that he will fulfill the promises he made to Abraham. Yet now you are slaves, living in oppression and bondage.
What can we learn from this circumstance that can help us when we experience adversity?
Sometimes God doesn't deliver us from trials immediately.
see D&C 90:24; 98:3; Mosiah 24:14–15
How have you received comfort and help from the Lord during times of adversity?
   
What did Moses say when the Lord called him to deliver Israel?
What assurances did the Lord give him?
Why might some feelings of inadequacy be good?
How has the Lord helped you in callings for which you felt inadequate?
   
Exodus 5–6
Moses approached Pharaoh many times and asked him to free Israel. Despite signs, wonders, and plagues, Pharaoh refused
After Pharaoh increased Israel’s burdens, the Lord repeated His promises to Moses.
   
How did the children of Israel respond when Moses reminded them of these promises? (v9)
Why do some of us stop listening to the prophets and believing God’s promises during times of trial?
   
Exodus 11–13
The Lord promises to send one more plague on Egypt in which the firstborn in every home will die.
The Lord instructs Moses in the preparation of the Passover, which will protect Israel from the plague.
Pharaoh tells Moses to take his people from Egypt, and the Israelites leave.
Moses tells the children of Israel to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the future as a memorial of their deliverance.
(Note that the titles “Feast of the Passover” and “Feast of Unleavened Bread” are often used synonymously; the Passover is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.)


How did the Passover symbolize the Atonement?
A) see Exodus 12:5 (The children of Israel were to use a firstborn male lamb without blemish)
B) The children of Israel were to sprinkle the blood of the lamb on their doorposts to save their firstborn from death - The Savior’s blood, which he shed in Gethsemane and on the cross, cleanses the faithful and saves them from spiritual death.
C) The children of Israel were to eat unleavened bread
Leaven, or yeast, was seen anciently as a symbol of corruption because it so easily spoiled and turned moldy
For the Israelites, eating the unleavened bread symbolized that they were partaking of the bread which had no corruption or impurity, namely, the Bread of Life
The removal of leaven also suggested repentance, or the removal of sin from a person’s life
D) The children of Israel were to eat the Passover meal in haste
Like the Israelites, we need to respond eagerly and immediately to the deliverance that the Savior offers us.



At the Last Supper, the Savior instituted the sacrament in place of the Passover
What similarities are there between the Passover and the sacrament?

Elder Howard W. Hunter taught that at the Passover meal that is now known as the Last Supper, “the bread and wine, rather than the animals and herbs, [became] emblems of the great Lamb’s body and blood, emblems to be eaten and drunk reverently and in remembrance of him forever.
“In this simple but impressive manner the Savior instituted the ordinance now known as the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. With the suffering of Gethsemane, the sacrifice of Calvary, and the resurrection from a garden tomb, Jesus fulfilled the ancient law and ushered in a new dispensation based on a higher, holier understanding of the law of sacrifice. No more would men be required to offer the firstborn lamb from their flock, because the Firstborn of God had come to offer himself as an ‘infinite and eternal sacrifice’”

Elder Howard W. Hunter said that just as the Passover was a covenant of protection for ancient Israel, the sacrament is a “new covenant of safety” for us.
How is the sacrament a covenant of safety for us?
The sacrament reminds us of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, which brings eternal safety by freeing us from the bonds of sin and death. The covenants we renew as we partake of the sacrament also help provide us eternal safety


Elder Jeffrey R. Holland asked:
“Do we see [the sacrament] as our passover, remembrance of our safety and deliverance and redemption?
“With so very much at stake, this ordinance commemorating our escape from the angel of darkness should be taken more seriously than it sometimes is. It should be a powerful, reverent, reflective moment. It should encourage spiritual feelings and impressions.
Exodus 14
Pharaoh and his army pursue the children of Israel.
The children of Israel are delivered from the army and cross the Red Sea on dry ground;

What did Moses tell the children of Israel when their faith faltered? (v.13-14)

Just as the Lord fulfilled his promise to deliver the Israelites from bondage, he will fulfill his promises to us. 
We should increase our appreciation for the Savior’s atoning sacrifice and partake of the sacrament worthily and thoughtfully, keeping the covenant to “always remember him.