Lesson 54.4-55 Thurs 11-5

Thurs 11-5     54.4-55            Exodus 33-34             Exodus 33-34

Commentary and Background Information
review

       ---Exodus 32:1–8. Why did the Israelites desire to worship a golden calf?

      “Growing impatient and hopeless concerning Moses' return, the Israelites demanded an image of a god that they could see—a golden calf. They knew about the holy Hathor cow or the sacred bulls involved in Egyptian religious observances. From the bull cult of the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties, we have the remains in Egypt of the Serapeum, long corridors under the sand with rooms containing huge granite coffins for embalmed apis bulls.

      “Aaron, whom Moses left in charge, tried to rationalize that it was a ‘feast to the Lord’ (Jehovah) whom they would celebrate by their offerings, their eating and drinking, and their ‘play’ before the calf. It may have been Aaron’s original intent to provide a visual image to try to turn the people’s faith back to the true and living God, but we really do not know why Aaron acted as he did. It was certainly not wholly out of righteousness. Apparently it was a far greater challenge to get Egypt out of Israel than to get Israel out of Egypt” (D. Kelly Ogden and Andrew C. Skinner, Verse by Verse: The Old Testament, 2 vols. [2013], 1:233–34).

IV. Exodus 32:30–35 Moses acts as a mediator between the Lord and the rebellious Israelites

---Display the pictures Jesus Praying in Gethsemane (Gospel Art Book [2009], no. 56; see also LDS.org) and The Ten Commandments (Gospel Art Book [2009], no. 14; see also LDS.org) side by side on the board.
---Because Moses was a “prophetic symbol of the Christ who was to come” (Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon [1997], 137), he would do things that would resemble things the Savior would do.
---(You may want to write the phrase “prophetic symbol of Christ” above the picture of Moses.)

---Exodus 32:30–32 aloud looking for words, phrases, or ideas that show similarities between Moses and Jesus Christ.
      ---Ask students to report their findings and list them on the board beneath the two pictures. (Students’ responses may include the fact that both Moses and Jesus Christ offered to make an atonement for others’ sin and were innocent of the sin for which they offered to make an atonement.)

• According to verse 32, what did Moses plead with the Lord to do?
• Why do you think Moses would offer to suffer the same fate as the Israelites, even though he was innocent?
• What doctrine can Moses’s words and actions teach us about Jesus Christ? (Students may identify a variety of principles, but make sure it is clear that Jesus Christ is our Mediator with the Father and Jesus Christ took our sins upon Him.)

---Exodus 32:33 aloud looking for the Lord’s response to Moses’s offer in behalf of the people.

• What did the Lord tell Moses about those who sinned against Him?

---Testify: When we repent, the Savior’s Atonement blots out, or erases, our sins. When we choose not to repent, we remain unworthy to dwell with God.

---Invite students to write Moses pleads for the people in the space next to number 10 on the handout.

---Exodus 32:34–35 aloud.
---While many of the people chose to repent and turn back to the Lord after worshipping the golden calf, they still had to endure many of the consequences of their sinful actions.

---Ponder the Savior’s willingness to take the punishment for our sins upon Himself.
---Share their feelings about what Jesus Christ has done for us.

 Lesson 55: Exodus 33–34

Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual, 2014

 https://www.lds.org/manual/old-testament-seminary-teacher-manual/introduction-to-the-book-of-exodus/lesson-55-exodus-33-34?lang=eng

I. Exodus 33 Because of Israel’s sins, the Lord declares that they cannot see His face

---Read aloud the following scenarios concerning two young men.
---Listen for differences in their attitudes and beliefs.

1. A young man transgresses a commandment. He experiences guilt and shame. He believes that Heavenly Father will never forgive him of his sin.
2. A different young man transgresses the same commandment. He thinks the sin he has committed is not a big deal. He believes that because he is generally a good person, God will not punish him for his sin.

• How would you summarize the differences between the attitudes and beliefs of these two young men?
• What error do you notice in the belief of each young man?
• What problems could arise from these false beliefs?
  
  
  
   
  
  
  

---The children of Israel sinned against God by worshiping the golden calf.
---As you study Exodus 33–34,  look for truths that can help you understand how God works with us when we sin.

---Exodus 33:1–4 aloud looking for why the children of Israel mourned.
             “evil tidings” = bad news.

• Why did the Israelites mourn?

---Exodus 33:7 aloud and look for what Moses did to show that Israel had lost the blessing of the Lord’s presence.
         ---Invite them to report what they find.

---The “tabernacle” spoken of in verse 7 was not the tabernacle they were to construct for the performance of priesthood ordinances (see Exodus 25:8–9). It was a different structure called the “tent of meeting” (see verse 7, footnote b).

• What does verse 7 teach us about the effect of sin on our relationship with the Lord?
   (Sin separates us from the Lord.)
• How do we usually experience this separation from the Lord when we sin?
   (Among other things, we feel a loss of the Holy Spirit.)

---Privately consider times when you have felt the Spirit of the Lord withdraw from you because of your choices.

---Read aloud the following statement by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. and listen for what we can learn from experiences when we feel the Lord’s Spirit withdraw from us.

     “The promised blessing for honoring [the] covenant [of baptism] is that we may always have His Spirit to be with us (see D&C 20:77). …

     “… Precisely because the promised blessing is that we may always have His Spirit to be with us, we should attend to and learn from the choices and influences that separate us from the Holy Spirit.

     “The standard is clear. If something we think, see, hear, or do distances us from the Holy Ghost, then we should stop thinking, seeing, hearing, or doing that thing. If that which is intended to entertain, for example, alienates us from the Holy Spirit, then certainly that type of entertainment is not for us. Because the Spirit cannot abide that which is vulgar, crude, or immodest, then clearly such things are not for us. Because we estrange the Spirit of the Lord when we engage in activities we know we should shun, then such things definitely are not for us” (“That We May Always Have His Spirit to Be with Us,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2006, 29–30).

• According to this statement by Elder Bednar, what can we learn from the choices and influences that separate us from the Holy Ghost?

---Because Moses had not participated in sin with the children of Israel, he was worthy to be in the Lord’s presence.

---Exodus 33:9–11 aloud looking for words or phrases that describe the relationship Moses had with the Lord.

• What words or phrases in these verses describe the relationship Moses had with the Lord?
• What do these descriptions imply about Moses’s worthiness and about his realationship with God?

---Ponder their own relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and consider whether there is anything you could do (or stop doing) to grow closer to Them.

---Summary of  Exodus 33:12–23:  Moses pleaded with the Lord to be with Israel as they journeyed toward the promised land. Because Moses found favor with the Lord, the Lord promised that He would be with the children of Israel. However, He also indicated that because of their sins, they would not be allowed to see His face at that time. He also added, “Neither shall there be any sinful man at any time, that shall see my face and live” (Joseph Smith Translation, Exodus 33:20 [in the Bible appendix]).

II. Exodus 34 The Lord writes His law on new stone tables

---Display the picture The Ten Commandments

---As a review, what happened to the set of tables Moses brought down from Mount Sinai as recorded in Exodus 32?

---The Lord commanded Moses to create another set of stone tables.
---Exodus 34:1–2 aloud and look for what the Lord said He would write on the second set.

          ---Report

---Using verse 1, footnote a, the Joseph Smith Translation adds an important clarification to Exodus 34:1–2.
---It helps us understand that the Lord said He would not write all of the same things on the second set of tables.

---Read aloud Joseph Smith Translation, Exodus 34:1–2 (in the Bible appendix) looking for what the Lord said He would withhold from the writings on the second set of tables.

     “And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two other tables of stone, like unto the first, and I will write upon them also, the words of the law, according as they were written at the first on the tables which thou brakest; but it shall not be according to the first, for I will take away the priesthood out of their midst; therefore my holy order, and the ordinances thereof, shall not go before them; for my presence shall not go up in their midst, lest I destroy them.

     “But I will give unto them the law as at the first, but it shall be after the law of a carnal commandment; for I have sworn in my wrath, that they shall not enter into my presence, into my rest, in the days of their pilgrimage. Therefore do as I have commanded thee, and be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me, in the top of the mount” (Joseph Smith Translation, Exodus 34:1–2 [in the Bible appendix]).

• What did the Lord say He would withhold from the children of Israel?
  (The priesthood and its ordinances.)

---Joseph Smith Translation, Exodus 34:1–2 (in the Bible appendix) refers to the Melchizedek Priesthood. Although the children of Israel at this time were not given the ordinances and covenants of the Melchizedek Priesthood (which are necessary for us to become like God and dwell in His presence), the Lord allowed the Aaronic Priesthood to continue with them (see D&C 84:25–26).

• According to Joseph Smith Translation, Exodus 34:2 (in the Bible appendix), what law did the Lord say He would give to the Israelites?
  (“The law of a carnal commandment.”)

---“The law of a carnal commandment” refers to what is known as the preparatory gospel, which includes the principles of obedience and sacrifice. This law came to be known as the law of Moses. The preparatory gospel administered through the Aaronic Priesthood—meaning “the gospel of repentance and of baptism” (D&C 84:27)—also continued with the children of Israel.

• Why do you think it was important at this time for the children of Israel to focus on the principles and ordinances of the Aaronic Priesthood, such as repentance and baptism?
  (We must be faithful to the ordinances and covenants of the Aaronic Priesthood to be prepared to receive the ordinances and covenants of the Melchizedek Priesthood.)

(click to view larger)

---Refer to the handout “Moses’s and Israel’s Experiences with Jehovah at Mount Sinai”
---In the space next to number 11 on the handout write:  
        God writes His law on new stone tables but withholds the higher priesthood and its ordinances.

---Exodus 34:3–4 records that Moses made two stone tables and again ascended Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded.

---Exodus 34:5–7 aloud and look for what the Lord taught Moses about His attributes.
---In this context the word longsuffering refers to the Lord’s patience with and mercy for His children, and the phrase “by no means clear the guilty” means the Lord is perfectly just and will hold the rebellious accountable for their actions (see verse 7, footnote e).

• What can we learn about the Lord from His teachings in verses 6–7?
  (The Lord is merciful and forgiving. He is also perfectly just and will hold us accountable for our sins.)
• How is it possible for God to be both just and merciful?
  (Help students understand that because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ [His suffering and death for us], we can repent and experience God’s mercy. However, if we choose not to repent, then we must suffer for our sins [see Alma 42:13–15; D&C 19:16–19].)

---Read again the two scenarios discussed at the beginning of class.

• How could the young men in these scenarios benefit from knowing the truths about God that we identified in verses 6–7?

Exodus 34:6–7. God’s character and attributes

The Prophet Joseph Smith declared:

     “I want you all to know [God], and to be familiar with Him. …

     “… It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God” (in History of the Church, 6:305).

In addition, the Lectures on Faith state:

     “Three things are necessary in order that any rational and intelligent being may exercise faith unto life and salvation.

     “First, the idea that [God] actually exists.

     “Secondly, a correct idea of [God’s] character, perfections, and attributes.

     “Thirdly, an actual knowledge that the course of life which [the person] is pursuing is according to [God’s] will” (Lectures on Faith [1985], 38).

---Ponder how the truths in Exodus 34:6–7 can help you as you seek to repent of the things you have done wrong.

---Exodus 34:8–9 aloud and look for what Moses asked the Lord on behalf of the children of Israel. ---Mark what you find.

• What did Moses ask the Lord?

---When Moses used the phrase “take us for thine inheritance” in verse 9, he was asking that the children of Israel might again be the Lord’s covenant people—His “peculiar treasure” [Exodus 19:5].)

---Summary of  Exodus 34:10–35 : The Lord responded to Moses’s request by declaring that Israel would be His people if they would cease from making and worshipping idols and would keep His covenant by obeying the commandments. Moses then descended Mount Sinai and taught the Lord’s words to the people.

 ---Testify of the love God has for the students in your class. You may also want to testify of other principles identified in the lesson.

---You might ask if students would like to testify of some of the principles they learned.