The invitation to live in Egypt literally saved Jacob’s family. But after hundreds of years, their descendants were enslaved and terrorized by a new pharaoh “who knew not Joseph” (Exodus 1:8). It would have been natural for the Israelites to wonder why God allowed this to happen to them, His covenant people. Did He remember the covenant He had made with them? Were they still His people? Could He see how much they were suffering?
There may be times when you’ve felt like asking similar questions. You might wonder, Does God know what I’m going through? Can He hear my pleas for help? The story in Exodus of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt answers such questions clearly: God does not forget His people. He remembers His covenants with us and will fulfill them in His own time and way (see Doctrine and Covenants 88:68). “I will redeem you with a stretched out arm,” He declares. “I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under [your] burdens” (Exodus 6:6–7).
The Lord’s concern for His chosen people can be seen in the call of Moses. So great was Moses that forever after the Lord and His people have used him as a standard, or model, of a prophet. Even Jesus Christ was called a prophet like unto Moses (see Acts 3:22; 7:37; Deuteronomy 18:15, 18–19; 1 Nephi 22:20–21; 3 Nephi 20:23–24). Indeed, Moses was a similitude or living symbol of Jesus Christ (see Moses 1:6).
Moses was a man who, like us, possessed both weaknesses and strengths. The key to Moses’ character is his meekness, the capacity to be molded by the Lord and His Spirit. “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3).
In this chapter you will learn of Moses’ foreordination, his youthful preparation, the patient tempering of his character in the desert, his call from God, and his assumption of prophetic leadership. Perhaps it will encourage you to analyze your life so that, like Moses, you can identify your weaknesses, purge yourself of them, and take up the assignment the Lord has for you in this life. Like Nephi, you may be led to say “let us be strong like unto Moses” (1 Nephi 4:2). Elder Mark E. Petersen testified:
“The true Moses was one of the mightiest men of God in all time. …
“He walked and talked with God, received of divine glory while yet in mortality, was called a son of God, and was in the similitude of the Only Begotten.
“He saw the mysteries of the heavens and much of creation, and received laws from God beyond any other ancient man of whom we have record.” (Moses, p. 49.)
Jesus Christ is our Deliverer.
Exodus 1–2, this account can help class members build faith in His mission to deliver us from captivity.
). How do we draw on God’s power when we need deliverance? How does God answer our pleas for help?
One of the central themes in the book of Exodus is that God has power to free His people from oppression. The enslavement of the Israelites as described in Exodus 1 could be seen as a symbol of the captivity we all face because of sin and death (see 2 Nephi 2:26–27; 9:10; Alma 36:28). And Moses, the Israelites’ deliverer, can be seen as a type, or representation, of Jesus Christ (see Deuteronomy 18:18–19; 1 Nephi 22:20–21). Read Exodus 1–2 with these comparisons in mind. You might notice, for example, that both Moses and Jesus were preserved from death as small children (see Exodus 1:22–2:10; Matthew 2:13–16) and that both spent time in the wilderness before beginning their ministry (see Exodus 2:15–22; Matthew 4:1–2). What other insights do you learn from Exodus about spiritual captivity? about the Savior’s deliverance?
As we do the Lord’s work, we can have the Lord’s power.
How the Lord responded to Moses’s concerns about the task of delivering the Israelites from bondage.
Today we know Moses as a great prophet and leader. But Moses did not see himself that way when the Lord first called him. “Who am I,” Moses wondered, “that I should go unto Pharaoh?” (Exodus 3:11). The Lord, however, knew who Moses really was—and who he could become. As you read Exodus 3–4, note how the Lord assured Moses and responded to his concerns.
We should show reverence for holy things and places.
How can you use Moses’s example to inspire a discussion about how we should treat sacred things?
The Lord’s purposes will be fulfilled in His own time.
How did the Lord help Moses overcome his feelings of discouragement?
Although Moses courageously went before Pharaoh, just as God had commanded, and told him to release the Israelites, Pharaoh refused. In fact, he made the Israelites’ lives harder. Moses and the Israelites may have wondered why things weren’t working out even when Moses was doing what God asked him to do (see Exodus 5:22–23).
Who is Jehovah?
Jehovah is one of the names of Jesus Christ and refers to the premortal Savior. The Joseph Smith Translation clarifies that the prophets Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob knew the Lord by this name (see Exodus 6:3, footnote c). Usually, when the phrase “the Lord” appears in the Old Testament, it refers to Jehovah. In Exodus 3:13–15, the title “I AM” is also a reference to Jehovah (see also Doctrine and Covenants 38:1; 39:1).
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