Watch the video presentation on YouTube at: Exodus 14-17
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PILLARS AND PATHS
ICEBREAKER
Our icebreaker for the week is a class poll. Ask your students: “Of all the miracles of the Bible, which would you most like to witness? Why? Then have some share. Would you pick . . .
Noah’s Ark rising above the flood?
David defeating Goliath?
Moses parting the Red Sea?
Elijah calling down fire from heaven?
Jesus raising Lazarus from the Dead?
Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee?
Other: _________
Your class is sure to have a number of different answers. But I’m going to guess that there will be majority of the people in your class that will pick one of those answers. Which do you think it is? In all my years of teaching, guess which answer I’ve found to be the most common? The most popular answer? And it’s the parting of the Red Sea. Wouldn’t that have been quite the sight to see? I’m sure that Hollywood really hasn’t done that miracle justice. I mean, can you think of a more dramatic example of God’s miraculous power than that? What would it have been like to walk through the sea with a wall of water standing on your left hand and on your right. This was some miracle.
Well, if that’s the most common answer I get, guess what the most common follow up question I get asked after we’ve done that activity. Almost every time, without fail, I know that someone is going to say: “Why doesn’t God do things like that anymore? Why don’t we see things like that nowadays? Why doesn’t President Nelson come out and perform some similar feat of God’s miraculous power? Surely, he could do it if God willed it, right?
In today’s lesson, we’re going to study this miracle and why I think it even happened in the first place. Was it’s only purpose to help the Children of Israel out right of a tight spot? Is it so we’ll step back and say, “Wow, God is powerful. He can do anything.” I’m afraid that if that’s all we get from that story, then I think we’ve missed the point. We’ve missed the major message. An intriguing detail to consider is the route the children of Israel took that got them into that position. Just take a quick look at the Bible map describing the probable route of the Exodus to see what I’m talking about. Why didn’t the Lord just route the children of Israel this way? Then, they could have avoided the Red Sea problem altogether. What do you think about that? I’d love to your comments on that below. My thought? One, it does show us that the way God wants us to travel through life isn’t always the easiest or the most obvious way. And two, by doing this, it allowed God to teach the children of Israel, and all of us throughout history who read it, a great truth. By the end of our study of Exodus chapter 14, I hope you find yourself asking a very different kind of question regarding that miracle. So let’s take a look.
First, it may be helpful to just let your students hear that story. You can either read it together as a class, or sometimes I like to have them listen to it being read. The church website has a recording of every chapter of the Bible available for download. Sometimes I prefer this to having students take turns reading because it’s smoother, easier to follow, and allows everybody to focus on the text rather than the reader, or whose turn it is to read next. I also sometimes struggle with the level of enthusiasm some of my students read with at times. I think, come on, this is an incredible story, put some feeling into it. Do you think that’s how Moses said it? Without any emotion, as if he was about to fall asleep? And while they’re listening to it, encourage them to fill out the following handout as they go. This can serve as a vehicle to a great discussion afterwards.
SEARCH
In the first section here, find the words and phrases that describe the conditions the Children of Israel find themselves in, in the following verses. The scriptures tell us that they were:
:3 Entangled
:3 Shut them in
:8 “Pursued” by their enemies
:10 Sore afraid
Now, What instructions did God give to the people through Moses?
:13 Fear ye not
:13 Stand still
:14 Hold your peace
:15 Go forward
What were they promised would happen?
:13 See the salvation of the Lord
:14 The Lord shall fight for you
:16 the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea
And then finally: What were the results of their actions? There were actually two problems the children of Israel were facing. They had the Egyptian chariots, their enemies, bearing down on them on one side and the Red Sea, an impenetrable obstacle on the other. And there they stood, trapped in the middle.
So what did the Lord do to their enemies? :19-20
19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night
What did he do? He placed a barrier in their way. He protected the children of Israel from their enemies by placing a pillar of fire between them and their pursuers. They were not able to pass through. I also love the detail that the pillar of fire brought darkness to the Egyptians but provided light to the Israelites. It performed a dual purpose. And then later, in verses 26-28, what happened to the Egyptians? As they pursued them down into the sea, God closed the waters upon them and completely washed them way. He rid them from their lives.
And then, what did the Lord do with their obstacle?
:21-22
21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
He provided them with a path through their supposed impenetrable obstacle. He gave them an escape route.
And if we wanted to add a few more results phrases, we could add that the Lord “fought for them that day” in verse 25, and “saved Israel” in verse 30.
TRUTH
So let’s summarize this story here and put it into a simple sentence. The Children of Israel were trapped by their enemies and the Red Sea. But, because they trusted God and followed their prophet, the Lord protected them from their enemies with a pillar of fire and opened a path for them through the Red Sea.
Now for the relevancy. Let’s compare ourselves to the children of Israel and liken the scriptures. For each of the questions above, let’s add a new one to make it more personal. Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? And how? Ever found yourself caught between a rock and a hard place. Between an enemy and an obstacle. Have you ever felt pursued by your enemies, the unrighteous influence of the world around you, or the wicked? Ever been pinned in by your persecutors or entangled by your enemies? Are there people around you that criticize or ridicule or seek to make your life difficult? An employer? A family member? Perhaps you’ve even felt Lucifer himself pursing you. Or maybe your enemy isn’t a person. Is your enemy your sins? Temptation? Fear? Depression? When have your enemies pursued you?
What about obstacles? What is the biggest obstacle you face in your life right now? What’s holding you back from fulfilling your God-given potential or experiencing the happiness that God wants for you as his child?
Maybe your obstacle is a trial, a situation with no apparent solution, your health, a difficult task, your finances, addiction, shame, or doubt.
Now to the next set of phrases. What is the Lord’s message to those who find themselves in these kinds of difficulties? Fear not, stand still, hold your peace, and go forward. Don’t allow your enemies or your obstacles to stand in the way of your faith. Put your trust in God and his prophets and then “what promises does God make to all who act in faith?
Then you will see the salvation of the Lord. Miracles can occur in your life. The Lord shall fight for you and save you and cause you to walk through the midst of your problems on dry ground. As long as you maintain your faith in God, all will be all right in the end.
So let’s change this truth to make it relevant. Now we can adjust the sentence to reflect our own situation.
When I am pursued by my enemies, when I entangled, or shut in (by sin, temptation, or trial), if I fear not, hold my peace, and move forward in faith, looking to the prophet, the Lord can protect me from my enemies and open a path through my obstacles.
CONCLUSION
This is the pillars and paths principle. When I view this story in that light, my questions regarding it change. I begin to realize that I actually have seen the Red Sea part . . . many times in my life. I’ve seen pillars of fire protect me. The Lord has been performing these same miracles over and over again for millennia in the lives of his faithful disciples. This was not a one-time miracle. This was not an isolated incident. It was a dramatic and visual way of teaching a great truth about our Heavenly Father’s power. That’s why I believe this story is in there! That’s why I believe the Lord even allowed the Children of Israel to get into that situation. The Lord is whispering something to you and me through the pages of his holy word. “I can protect you from your enemies! I can open a path for you through even impossible problems. I can bar their way with fire and open the waters for you. So the next time we find ourselves entangled, pursued, or sore afraid, rather than questioning why God let that happen to you, rather than beating yourself up, blaming others, doubting God, or panicking, I suggest that we hold our peace, stand still, move forward with faith, and see the salvation of the Lord’s pillars and paths.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
Now with that understanding, this might be a good time to allow your students to ponder that principle in their own life. I’m a big fan of the movie “Prince of Egypt” and I feel the parting of the Red Sea story is done particularly well. Perhaps you could show a short film clip from that movie but encourage them to see themselves in the story this time. To put themselves in the sandals of the children of Israel and to imagine their own Red Seas and Pharoah’s in that scene.
And after you’ve helped your students to see that principle. You can continue this discussion by moving into Exodus chapter 15. After the children of Israel pass through the Red Sea, what is the first thing they do? Scan that chapter or the chapter heading. They sing! They rejoice! They declare God’s power publicly for all to hear and see. Then look what Miriam and the women of Israel do in verses 20-21. They dance and praise God. It’s a celebration. If you would like, you could read verses 1-21 as a class. Some highlights:
2 The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.
11 Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
12 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.
13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.
The companion principle? When we’ve seen the pillars and the paths in our lives, what should we do?
We should rejoice, praise God, and thank him for his goodness and power in your life. Testify of that power!
So then I say as a teacher, “In the spirit of chapter 15, let’s do that right now as a class. Let’s testify, and praise, and rejoice. When have you seen a pillar of fire or the Red Sea part in your own life? And invite them to share an experience when God performed one of these wonders for them.
As a teacher, you may even want to share one of your own pillar or path experiences. For me, I saw many pillars protecting me as a missionary. I served in some fairly rough neighborhoods in Brazil during my time there. And you know what, I never felt in danger. I always felt the comforting glow of God’s pillar protecting us. I’ve seen pillars protect me from sin and from worldliness and felt strength to stand up for what was right. I saw the Red Sea part when I sought to a get a job teaching seminary. I’ve seen the Red Sea part in moves that affected where my family would live. I’ve seen the Red Sea part when tempting circumstances have arisen and God has given me a path through that temptation and made a way for my escape. I’ve seen the Red Sea part when the path of repentance has freed me from the bondage of sin. When I think of all these miracles in my life, I too want to shout and praise my Heavenly Father for his goodness.
In fact a nice way to conclude this lesson would be to sing a hymn of praise. We have a few of them in our hymnbook. Here is a list of some possible suggestions.
62 All Creatures of our God and King
67 Glory to God on High
69 All Glory, Laud, and Honor
72 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
75 In Hymns of Praise
86 How Great Thou Art
WHAT WILL WE EAT? WHAT WILL WE DRINK?
ICEBREAKER
For an icebreaker, ask your students that if they had to choose only one thing to eat and one thing to drink for the rest of their lives, what would they want that to be. They could share their answer to this question with either the class or with a partner.
TRANSITION
Exodus chapters 16-17 are going to answer two of the very most important questions we must ask ourselves if we wish to travel through the wilderness of life successfully. Because truly, life is like a wilderness, isn’t it? There is not much that this world has to offer that is spiritually nourishing or life preserving. We live in a spiritual desert. Now as someone who does a lot of hiking and backpacking in the desert, I can personally testify that it is possible to survive, even thrive, and enjoy your journey through the desert safely. But you must take certain precautions and go prepared. Two questions in particular must be addressed before you take off on your journey. Neglect these two questions and you may find yourself quickly in a search and rescue situation. What are those two questions? What will we eat, and what will we drink? Food and drink are necessary for our survival. We can only survive about three weeks without food, and only three days without water. The children of Israel literally found themselves traveling through a desolate landscape and had to consider these questions for the sake of their physical survival. Yet, through their physical experience, the Lord taught them and will teach all of us the things that can and will sustain us spiritually in the wilderness of mortality. Exodus chapter 16 is going to answer the first question: what will we eat? And Exodus 17 will answer the second: what will we drink?
SEARCH
And let’s begin by answering those two questions, then we’ll dive a little deeper into the symbolism of each.
The answer to “what will we eat” can be found in 16:14-15
The answer to “what will we drink” can be found in 17:5-6
Find and mark the answers to those two questions.
And what are the Lord’s answers? What would the children of Israel eat as they journeyed through the wilderness? What is it. And that’s not a question. I actually just gave you the answer. They ate, “what is it”. The Hebrew word for “what is it” is manna. Look at the footnote for 15a. It tells us what the word manna means. I think that’s kind of funny. It’s a very original name. I can just picture the Israelites first finding this this strange bread and asking, “What is it? I don’t know. What should we call it? Let’s call it , uhhhh. . . what is it? Oh, OK, yeah, that’s a good name, let’s call it that.”
And what is the Lord’s answer to the second question?
They would drink water from the rock. Moses steps forth to a solid rock, strikes it with his staff and water begins to flow. The children of Israel would eat this bread and drink this water throughout their journey.
Now what do you think manna and this water from the rock symbolize? What can they represent spiritually? We’re going to answer those two questions in turn. First, manna. Let’s discover what it is that will feed us and nourish our souls on our journey through the wilderness of life. First task is to list everything we can learn about manna from the following verses. Number off your students from 1-10 and invite them to read their verses for any details they learn about manna. Then choose one of the students who read their verse to explain to the class what they learned about it while you write it up on the board. Here’s what your list may end up looking like?
:4 It is bread from heaven. We need it every day. We’re proved by it or judged by our obedience to the instructions regarding it.
:8 We need it in the morning and night.
:12 It can fill us.
:14 It is a small, round, or simple thing
:15 The Lord has given it to us.
:16 Parents should give it to their families
:18 You gathered it according to your need. Not the same for everybody
:19-20 Must gather every day, or it won’t be good.
:31 In this verse we discover the color of it. It was white, like coriander seed, and it tasted sweet, like honey
:35 Prepares us for the promised land/heaven.
At this point, to add a little variety, I might even pull out a box of Honey Graham crackers or some sweet bread to eat while we study the symbolism of the manna. Not that this is exactly what manna was like, but they do have the qualities of being a sweet kind of bread. Hold a piece of the bread up as you ask the following question:
As you look at our list, what do you think the manna might represent? What is our bread? What is our daily nourishment? What can fill our souls?
Whatever their guesses are, send them to Deuteronomy 8:3 to check their answer. There, God himself is going to reveal the spiritual lesson.
3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
See. It was an object lesson all along. It is the word of the Lord that will nourish and sustain us through life. Jesus is going to quote that very verse when Satan tempts him to change stones into bread. Man does not live only by actual physical bread, but by God’s words. That’s what will keep us alive. The scriptures! The words of the living prophets! The promptings of the Holy Ghost! All the ways our Father in heaven communicates with us make up the ingredients of this bread. You may recall how Nephi charged us to “Feast upon the words of Christ” in 2 Nephi 32:3. Also, Jesus often referred to himself as the bread of life. He and his gospel are the bread that we must eat to gain eternal life. However, for simplicity in the rest of our discussion, I would like to narrow in on the comparison of manna to scripture because I find that to be a particularly effective way of approaching this lesson. But remember that it symbolizes all those other things as well, including Christ himself.
So let’s go back and see if that symbolism works. As a teacher you can just go through each description and ask your students how they apply to scripture.
:4 What is the source of scripture? Heaven. The scriptures are not written or inspired by the thoughts and ideas of men, but God.
:4 We should gather a certain rate every day.
Does that apply to scripture study? Yes! It must gathered. It requires work and effort to get the meal. It didn’t just appear in a bowl by their bedside every morning. They had to go out and gather it. Scripture study requires effort in order to be effective. We must dig deep to really be nourished. It should be gathered at a certain rate every day. The scriptures are not meant to just be studied one day a week, or ever so often, or when it’s convenient. We’ve got to eat! Eating isn’t something we just do if we happen to have the time. No matter how busy we got, no matter what we had to do, I’m pretty sure all of us would make sure we found or made the time to eat. So we should gather at a certain rate daily. What that certain rate is I imagine depends on a number of different factors. Personally, I would hope that we could all carve out at least 10 to 15 minutes a day for scripture study, but I don’t want to be prescriptive in my recommendation. More is even better and there may be circumstances were less is justified. But the point, is that we’ve got to take the time to gather and nourish our souls daily.
:4 It said that manna would prove or test them. This was a way for God to see if they would be obedient to his commands.
Scripture study also proves us. Whether we study or not would be a sign of our obedience and commitment to his gospel. Also, it is by the teachings of the scriptures that we will be proven or judged by in the end. We’ve got to study them closely so that we will know what is expected of us. They will teach us how to act.
:8 We need it morning and night. I’m not sure I would interpret that as a charge to make scripture study a twice a day kind of thing, but instead a charge to keep the word of God in mind at all times. Just like we are to pray always, we should keep God’s word in our hearts and minds always as well.
:12 It can fill us.
That’s the miracle of the scriptures. There is enough truth and light and spirit in them to fill us every time we feast on them. If you remember, that was the also message of miracle of the loaves and fishes that the Savior performed in Galilee. 5,000 people were filled by Jesus’s blessed bread, and there were still twelve baskets left over when they were done. The scriptures can fill us in this way and there will always be 12 baskets left over for future feasts. I’ve been studying and teaching the scriptures almost daily for over 20 years, and you know, sometimes I still feel like I have just scratched the surface. That I’ve just snacked on the appetizers. Whenever I go to a Mexican restaurant, and they serve bottomless chips and salsa as an appetizer I often have the same experience. I fill up so much on them, that I’m not even hungry by the time my meal actually arrives. Sometimes it’s like that with the scriptures. I can sense that there are bigger meals in there, but my spirit has already been filled by what I’ve discovered. If any of you listen to other Come Follow Me channels and podcasts too, you’ll probably notice that everybody finds different truths and principles in the very same scriptures. Isn’t that wonderful! That speaks to the power and depth of their truths. I’m always finding new things in my study. It’s a testament to the filling power of the word of God.
:14 It is a small, round, simple thing
It was Alma who taught us that “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass” in Alma 37:6. Interestingly enough, he was specifically referring to the scriptures when he said that. Keeping a record of what was happening to him, and his people may have seemed a simple practice, but he knew the profound effect they would have on those who read it in the future. Now the danger with small and simple things is that they can be easily dismissed by the unwise or the careless. Maybe that’s why many don’t make time for daily scripture study. They see it as a chore, or something unimportant, or something that’s nice to do if you can find the time to do it. But those who sup daily from their pages will most certainly see the “great things” they can do for them day by day.
:15 The Lord has given them to us. Again, he’s the source, not man.
:16 I like in this verse that is says every man should gather for himself AND those which are in his tents A nod to family scripture study? Perhaps. For sure though, parents who are make time to feed their children from the scriptures will see a greater likelihood that those children will remain on the path of righteousness.
:18 They gathered every man according to his eating. So you gathered it according to your need. It wasn’t the same rate for everybody. I think that’s the Lord’s way of saying that different people will have different divine dietary needs. Perhaps there will be times in your life where 15 minutes a day just isn’t enough to satisfy you. I don’t believe that there is a “one size fits all” approach to feasting on the word. In seminary, that truth has been recognized. In the past, in order to receive credit for seminary, there was a specific amount of time that needed to be spent in the scriptures or a certain amount of pages that needed to be covered. Now, the standard is not measured by any specific quantity of time or text but a measure of daily feasting. The amount of time spent daily in the scriptures is a decision made between the student and God.
:19-20 We learned that the manna had to be gathered every day or it wouldn’t be good the next day.
I find that very fascinating. The children of Israel were told not to try and save the manna until the next morning. But, as mankind is always looking for shortcuts and efficiency, some said to themselves, “Hey, this manna gathering is a little tedious every single day. Why not just gather more one day and then I don’t have to go out and do this daily chore. So they ignored Moses’ counsel and tried it out. But by the next morning, the manna had gone bad and was full of worms. Manna gathering was something they needed to do every day. Do we ever try the same kind of shortcut when it comes to our scripture study? Do we neglect it all week and then plan to just read extra on Sunday? Or do we read the Book of Mormon once through and figure we’re good for the rest of our lives? Sometimes I’ll do the following object lesson with my students. I invite a student to come up and I provide them with a bowl of water, a toothbrush, and a tube of toothpaste. I ask them to demonstrate how much toothpaste they typically use when they brush their teeth, and they show me. I then say, “What if we just decided to brush our teeth once a week, but to compensate, we would use the same amount of toothpaste that we would have used throughout the week. So then I start piling on the toothpaste, seven days’ worth on the brush and ask them to demonstrate how brushing would be. It’s hilarious, and toothpaste drips everywhere. I ask them what they think of my idea. Of course they say it’s a horrible idea. And if they decided to do that for months (only brush on Sunday, but use a week’s worth of toothpaste each time) how would their next dental checkup go? It would be terrible. Their mouth would be full of cavities. Why? Because when it comes to brushing your teeth, it’s not the amount of toothpaste you use that really makes the difference, it’s the consistency that does it. It’s something that’s only effective when done every day. Scripture study is the same thing. We can’t expect to have good spiritual health if we’re only sporadically feasting on occasion.
:31 Manna was white in color.
The color white in the scriptures most often represents innocence, purity, and holiness. The contents of the scriptures are pure and holy.
:31 The taste of manna was sweet
I like this one. That’s just like the word of God. It goes down easy and is enjoyable. There is sweetness in the word of God. It shouldn’t be a chore to consume. It’s something we look forward to and relish. The word of God is a feast that defies a common dietary phenomenon. Haven’t you found that the foods that taste the best and that we crave most often, usually aren’t the healthiest for us. But the word of God, is both delicious and nutritious.
:35 The children of Israel fed on manna during all their travels in the wilderness. They ate it until they came to the land of Canaan. The promised land. Well, it is the word of God that will feed and prepare us for heaven or celestial glory.
TRUTH
So what scriptural truth have we learned here? Maybe we could just quote Deuteronomy 8:3. Man shall not LIVE by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
How’s your scripture study going? How often do you feast on it? OR How would you describe your spiritual diet lately?
Do you need to make any changes in your “feasting” habits?
CONCLUSION
Now before we go on to our next symbol, I want you to just imagine something. What if scripture study really did affect our physical appearance like food? What do you think you would look like? Would you be starving to death, malnourished, healthy, pleasantly plump. When looked at in that light, maybe we can understand Nephi’s plea to “Let your soul delight in fatness!” The more manna you munch on the more magnificent your life will be. I’m sometimes frustrated with trying to get my children to expand their palate a little and eat new things. If we have the chance to eat out, it seems like all they ever want is McDonalds. Now McDonalds is fine, but it’s nothing compared to a nice steak dinner or Brazilian Barbeque or a gourmet burger even. But all they want is the simple, easy calories of fast food. You, as an adult know how much better real food can be compared to cheap fast food. Sometimes I feel like that with my students. I wish they would expand their scriptural palate a bit. I sometimes hear them say things like, “the scriptures are boring” or “can’t we just play a game or something”. And I say, oooh, my friends, you just don’t get it. I’m not trying to be offensive here, but if you think that the scriptures are boring, it’s not the scriptures that are the problem.
Maybe you’ve eating too much junk food. When the children of Israel were starving, look what they say in 16:3
3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
What did they desire to eat from? The flesh pots of Egypt. Ooo, that’s such a good term for the nourishment of the world—the flesh pots. Sounds so wicked. But here’s the surprising thing that the children of Israel seem to be forgetting. What goes with the eating from the flesh pots? Slavery! Bondage! Hard labor! It’s just not worth it. The nourishment of the world cannot satisfy. It cannot fill. And it brings with it the spiritual stomachaches and dietary diseases of the world. No, rather, eat manna, bread from heaven, not the flesh pots of the world.
SEARCH
Now for our second big question. This one is a little shorter, but just as applicable. The next concern the children of Israel had was what they were to drink! They’re thirsty. You can’t survive in the wilderness without water. I’ve actually been severely dehydrated before. One time I was climbing Lone Peak near my home, and I didn’t bring enough water, and on the way down I ran out and it was very hot out. And I’ll tell you, it’s scary. It’s incredible how quickly you begin to feel sick and exhausted. Dehydration can do you in very quickly.
And what did we decide the Lord would provide the children of Israel with to drink? Exodus 17:5-6
Water from the rock.
Now, what do you think the water from the Rock might symbolize? To check your answer on this one, I invite you to study the following verses to see what they could add to your understanding of this symbol. You could do this is a simple handout and have them make some notes as they study.
The Rock:
1 Corinthians 10:3
Helaman 5:12
The Water:
1 Nephi 11:25
John 4:10-14
And what do these verses teach us?
1 Corinthians 10:3
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
Helaman 5:12
12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.
So the Rock is Jesus. I like that title for Him, don’t you? As a rock climber and canyoneer, I always feel safe when I’m tied into the rock. There is safety and security in attaching yourself to it. It’s the same with Christ.
And the water that flows from Him?
1 Nephi 11:25
25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.
And then, John 4:10-14
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
So what flows from the Rock of Christ? The living water of his love and his gospel. That, my friends is water. We need that water in our lives. If we forget Christ’s love for us, we’ll begin to die spiritually. If we ever conclude that he doesn’t love us, that can be a condition difficult to recover from. Spiritual death can come quickly when we get to that point. Please, all of you who are listening right now, no matter what has happened in your life, remember that God and Christ love you. You are everything to them. It doesn’t matter how the world treats you, or what it says about you, or how it evaluates your worth. You are loved. Don’t forget that. Drink that love deeply and often. And drink the living water of Christ’s gospel and his promise of everlasting life. These are the only things that can sustain us on our journey through the wilderness of mortality.
TRUTH
Maybe I’d put it like this. Man shall not live by water alone, but by the love and gospel of Jesus Christ.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
Are you drinking from the Rock?
What experiences have you had that have helped you to know of and feel Christ’s love?
CONCLUSION
So, instead of eating from the flesh pots of Egypt, we can eat the manna that falls from heaven! Instead of drinking from the waters of the Nile, we can drink the waters of love that flow from the Savior, from the Rock! The scriptures and the love of Christ can fill a deep need within each of us. They are as essential as food and water. So once again, we would do well to frequently assess our spiritual health. Don’t allow your spirit to become malnourished or dehydrated. Feast and drink. Feast and drink. And just as I find great joy and fulfillment hiking in the beauty of the deserts of Southern Utah, I can promise that you will find joy and fulfillment on your mortal journey.
The story that we find in the last verses of chapter 17 I’m going to save until next week. Thematically, I feel it goes really well with the principles in our next block of scripture. So stay tuned for that.
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