Exodus 5–6

Prepare your mind and heart to learn. Remember that studying the gospel prayerfully with a desire to learn will help you to be taught and edified by the Holy Ghost.

Begin your study with prayer.

As part of mortal life, each of us endures trials that bring grief and sorrow. Sometimes these burdens can feel unbearable. Watch this video about a young man who experienced grief and sorrow because one of his friends had died. What did he learn as he turned to Heavenly Father through prayer?

Suppose that a young woman has recently joined the Church. She believed that by joining the Church, she would no longer experience difficulties. Unfortunately, not only have her problems not gone away, but her family has become angry about her newfound faith, and that has created conflict in her home. She feels that the additional problems may indicate that she should not have joined the Church.

As you study Exodus 5, look for a truth that could help someone who, like this young woman, is surprised by opposition that comes from obeying the Lord.

You may remember that Moses received a commandment from the Lord to demand that Pharaoh free the Israelites from slavery. As recorded in Exodus 5:1–9, Moses obeyed the Lord’s command, but Pharaoh refused to let the people go.

Read Moses 5:6–9, looking for what else Pharaoh did in response to Moses and Aaron’s demand.

According to these verses, what may we experience even when we are following the Lord’s commands?

From Exodus 5:1–9, we can learn that even when we are following the Lord’s commands, we may experience opposition.

1. Why do you think we may experience opposition even when we are following the Lord’s commands?

2. Read the following three scenarios, and answer the question that follows.

• You choose to use clean language and ask others not to swear when they are around you. As a result, some of your classmates make fun of you.

• You choose to support traditional marriage. As a result, one of your friends calls you names and criticizes your religion.

• You tell your coach that you will not play sports on Sunday. As a result, you are kicked off the team.

Why would you choose to be obedient in situations like these even though you may experience opposition as a result?

From Exodus 5:10–21, we learn that Pharaoh’s taskmasters enforced his words, requiring the Israelite slaves to make the same number of bricks in the same amount of time as before while now also having to collect the straw needed to make the bricks. When the Israelites failed to make the same amount of bricks as before, the taskmasters beat them. The Israelites complained to Moses and Aaron that their lives were now harder because of what Moses and Aaron had done.

Read Exodus 5:22–23, looking for what Moses asked the Lord.

As you study Exodus 6, look for why the Lord does not always immediately solve our problems or remove our burdens.

As recorded in Exodus 6:1–5, the Lord explained to Moses that He would deliver Israel to fulfill the covenant He had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for their posterity to inherit the land of Canaan.

Read Exodus 6:6, looking for the message the Lord wanted Moses to deliver to the Israelites.

What truth can we learn from this verse?

From Exodus 6:6, we learn that the Lord has power to redeem us from bondage and to lighten or remove our burdens.

The word redeem as used in verse 6 means “to release from blame or debt,” “to free from the consequences of sin,” or “to free from captivity [or bondage] by payment of ransom” (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. [2003], “redeem”). Some things that can put us in bondage include ignorance, sin, addictive substances, pornography, hatred, guilt, or doubt.

As you read Exodus 6:7–8, think about burdens you may be experiencing. What promises does the Lord make that begin with the phrase “I will”? You may want to mark what you find.

3. Which “I will” statement is most meaningful to you? Why?

According to Exodus 6:7, what did the Lord say that the children of Israel would come to know when He delivered them from their difficulties?

What truth can we learn from the Lord’s promise in verse 7?

From Exodus 6:7, we can learn that as we experience the Lord’s help during our difficulties, we can come to know Him. Think about how being delivered by the Lord helps us come to know Him.

4. Please answer one of the following questions:

• What can we learn about the Lord as we experience His help during difficulties?

• Think of an experience when you (or someone you know) felt the Lord redeem you (or him or her) from bondage or lighten or remove burdens. How did that experience help you (or the person you are thinking of) come to know the Lord?

Be sure to not share anything that is too personal or private.

Think about burdens you may be carrying in your life or ways in which you may be in bondage. Which of these situations do you most want to be freed from?

What will you do to allow the Savior to deliver you from your bondage or to lighten your burdens? What actions could you take?

In Exodus 6:9–13, we learn that the Israelites still did not believe Moses’s message. Moses was discouraged and wondered how Pharaoh would ever listen to him if even the Israelites refused to listen to him. The Lord restated His promise that He would deliver the children of Israel from bondage through Moses and Aaron.

In Exodus 6:14–30, we learn about the genealogy of three of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord reiterated His instruction to Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go.

The following truths were identified in this lesson:

• Even when we are following the Lord’s commands, we may experience opposition.

• The Lord has power to redeem us from bondage and to lighten or remove our burdens.

• As we experience the Lord’s help during our difficulties, we can come to know Him.

As you continue to study Exodus, look for how the Lord delivered Israel from bondage and how this helped the Israelites come to know Him. Similarly, the Lord will deliver us from bondage or lighten or remove our burdens in His own way and time and according to His will.