Speed Scripture Dig for Wednesday

During today’s lesson, consider reasons why the Lord does not immediately solve all of our difficulties.

1. Read Exodus 6:1–5 aloud. (notice JST Exodus 6:3, footnote c).
    ---What did the Lord say in verse 1 that might have been reassuring to Moses?”?   

    ---According to verses 4–5, why would the Lord deliver Israel?

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2. Read Exodus 6:6–8 aloud.

---Mark the phrase “I will” each time you find it in the text.
    ---What did the Lord say He would do for the children of Israel?
    ---If you had been in the Israelites’ position, which “I will” statement might have been most meaningful to you?
    ---What truth do you see in verse 6 that can apply to us as well as the ancient Israelites? What does the Lord have power to do?

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3. Exodus 6:6. “I will redeem you”  

Elder D. Todd Christofferson gave examples of what the word redeem means:

“The word redeem means to pay off an obligation or a debt. Redeem can also mean to rescue or set free as by paying a ransom. If someone commits a mistake and then corrects it or makes amends, we say he has redeemed himself. Each of these meanings suggests different facets of the great Redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ through His Atonement, which includes, in the words of the dictionary, ‘to deliver from sin and its penalties, as by a sacrifice made for the sinner.’”

      ---What are some things that can put us in bondage?

      ---In addition to freeing us from bondage, what types of burdens can the Savior lighten or remove from our lives?

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4. Reread Exodus 6:7 silently
    ---What would the children of Israel come to know as the Lord delivered them from their difficulties?
    ---Finish the following sentence about what truth can we learn from the Lord’s promise in verse 7?

As we experience the Lord’s help during our difficulties…

    ---How can being delivered by the Lord help us come to know Him?

Ponder about any bondage or burdens you have been delivered from (or have seen others delivered from) and how that experience helped them come to know the Lord.

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5. Read Exodus 6:9 aloud.

---How did the children of Israel respond to Moses’s message?
                ---Why do you think they reacted that way? What might have caused them to have “anguish of spirit”?

Remember that the Israelites had been in bondage for approximately 400 years. During that time, they were influenced by idol worship and beliefs about Egyptian gods. The Israelites responded negatively to Moses because they did not know the Lord and had been in bondage and suffering for a long time. It was one thing to take the Israelites out of Egypt but quite another to get Egypt out of the Israelites.

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6. Read Exodus 6:10–12 aloud

---What does the phrase “uncircumcised lips” mean? [see Exodus 6:12, footnote a and also Exodus 6:30, footnote a]
                ---Why do you think Moses was concerned about doing what the Lord asked?

---Read Exodus 6:13 aloud.
    ---How did the Lord respond to Moses’ concern?

The Lord’s response required Moses to exercise faith in the promises the Lord had just made to him. As he followed the Lord’s commands, Moses would receive the Lord’s help. We need to exercise faith in the Lord and be willing to do difficult, even seemingly impossible, things so we can see the Lord’s hand in our lives and have our testimonies and faith strengthened.

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7. True or False.
    1.    Pharaoh said he was willing to let the children of Israel go free, because he respected the Lord’s power. (See Exodus 5:1–2.)

    2.    After Moses and Aaron asked Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go, the Israelites were eager to listen to Moses and follow his leadership. (See Exodus 5:19–21.)

    3.    Moses was confident in his abilities and excited about his responsibility to free the children of Israel from bondage. (See Exodus 3:11.)

    4.    Moses was slow of speech and wondered why the Lord had sent him to free the children of Israel. (See Exodus 4:10; 5:22–23; 6:12, 30.)

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8. Summary of Exodus 7:1–5:  The Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to return to Pharaoh and tell him again to free the children of Israel.
    ---If you had been in Moses’s position, do you think you might have been reluctant to return to speak with Pharaoh? Why or why not?

---What are some situations in which you might be reluctant to follow counsel from the Lord, their parents, or Church leaders?

---Read Exodus 7:6 aloud.

    ---As you consider the challenges Moses and Aaron faced, what stands out to you about their obedience to the Lord’s direction?

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9. Read Exodus 7:8–10 aloud.

---How do you think you might have responded if you had been in Pharaoh’s position and had just seen Aaron’s rod turn into a serpent?

---Read Exodus 7:11–12 aloud.

---What do you think Aaron’s rod swallowing the rods of the magicians symbolized?
                ---How do you think this experience might have influenced Moses and Aaron?

---How might you complete the following statement based on what Moses and Aaron experienced as they were obedient to the Lord.

If we act in faith and obey the Lord, then …

---Read Exodus 7:13

---What was Pharaoh’s response after Aaron’s rod swallowed the magicians’ rods?

---Look at verse 13, footnote a, to see an important clarification from the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. It explains that the Lord did not harden Pharaoh’s heart but that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. As the Prophet Joseph Smith was working on his inspired translation of the King James Version of the Bible, he corrected each indication that the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, because in each case, Pharaoh had hardened his own heart.
             ---Why do you think it is important to know that Pharaoh, not the Lord, hardened Pharaoh’s heart?

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10. Read Exodus 5:2 aloud.

---What question did Pharaoh ask when Moses first told him to let the children of Israel go?

---The Lord answered Pharaoh’s question by performing miracles and sending plagues as a witness of His power. Each of the following scripture references describes one of the 10 plagues the Lord sent upon Egypt. List them.

    What were the 10 Plagues (you might want to mark them in your scriptures):
    1.     Exodus 7:14–25
    2.    Exodus 8:1–15
    3.    Exodus 8:16–19
    4.    Exodus 8:20–32
    5.    Exodus 9:1–7
    6.    Exodus 9:8–12
    7.    Exodus 9:13–35
    8.    Exodus 10:1–20
    9.    Exodus 10:21–29
    10.  Exodus 11:4–10; 12:29–33

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11. The Lord’s power is far greater than the power of mankind, the devil, and the false gods mankind worships. Pharaoh continued to harden his heart and refused to let the children of Israel go.
         ---Why do you think the Lord gave Pharaoh so many opportunities to soften his heart, repent, and obey the command to let the children of Israel go instead of forcing Pharaoh to let them go?

---Read aloud the following statement by Elder Gerald N. Lund of the Seventy:

“Individual agency is so sacred that Heavenly Father will never force the human heart, even with all His infinite power. Man may try to do so, but God does not. To put it another way, God allows us to be the guardians, or the gatekeepers, of our own hearts. We must, of our own free will, open our hearts to the Spirit, for He will not force Himself upon us.”

The Lord allows us opportunities to soften our hearts and repent, but He will not force us to repent.

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12. Therefore, what?

                ---Discuss how this lesson can help us today. What applications are there for our lives?