Abigail

There are so many important stories in first Samuel. Stories of betrayal, loyalty, friendship, bravery and submission. We often are amazed by stories like David and Goliath, yet one of the most amazing and instructive stories in first Samuel is the story of Abigail. The narrative of her actions is found in 1 Samuel 25. Unfortunately, our Come Follow Me reading did not include this story. 

David has escaped the wrath of Saul through the help of Jonathon. He goes into hiding and collects a band of soldiers who were also disaffected. David has a couple of chances to end Saul's life but refuses because he knew it was wrong to take the life of the king. He uses his army to protect the southern flank of Israel from enemies approaching from the south. 

The story of Abigail begins with the explanation that David and his men have been living near the land owned by a wealthy man named Nabal. They protect Nabal's shepherds and flocks from enemies who would have raided Nabal's land. David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep and sent ten of his men to ask for Nabal's favor in providing some provisions and food for his army.  Nabal not only refuses, but he insults David. David reacted in anger and vowed to destroy Nabal, his family, and his entire household.

Some of the servants reported the incident to Nabal's wife, Abigail. She immediately took action. She gathered food and supplies and hurried out to meet David. 

(1 Sam. 25:24–27) She fell at his feet and said, “My lord, let the sin be upon me. Let your servant-woman speak to your ear and listen to the words of your servant-woman: “Let not my lord pay attention to this worthless man. “Nabal is his name and as his name, so is he. “His name is Nabal and nebalah (outrage) is with him. “I, your servant, did not see my lord’s lads whom you sent. “And now, my lord—by the life of YHWH and by your life, YHWH has indeed prevented you from coming into blood-guilt, has rescued you. “And now, may all your enemies who seek my lord’s evil be like Nabal. “And now, may this gift which your servant has brought to my lord be given to the lads who go at my lord’s feet.”

"Abigail knows that she has to convince David she is not acting as Nabal’s emissary, so she begins by insulting her husband. The insult strategy is familiar in Israel’s history. For example, the midwives in Egypt called the Hebrew women “animals,” ḥayyôt, to protect themselves. In the same way, Abigail distances herself from Nabal by declaring him a boor, and creates a bond between herself and David. This bond generates ethical demands. It distinguishes between the boor (nabal) who commits outrages (nebalah) and the man who would never commit a nebalah such as slaughtering an innocent household. Abigail herself took no part in Nabal’s rejection of David. Far from it, she reveals herself as God’s emissary. In the first of three 'And now' clauses, she avows that God is acting to prevent David’s bloodguilt. She is so certain of God’s actions that she can reveal them under oath, implying that she herself is acting as God’s agent. In her second 'And now' clause, she expresses her wish that all David’s enemies be as easily thwarted as Nabal, and in her third 'And now,' she offers her own gift to David’s men, which, like Jacob offering his gifts to Esau (Gen. 33:11), she calls a berakah, a gift-in-blessing. Abigail then turns to announcing David’s destiny and, in particular, his destiny from YHWH, whom she calls by name five times and 'your god' once."  Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. Reading the Women of the Bible (pp. 319-320). 

Through Abigail's actions and words, David saw the folly of his ways. He vows not attack Nabal and his household. There are so many parallels of this story and the story of Saul and others we have already studied. I hope you will ponder on past discussions and put into perspective these remarkable actions of a woman who submits to David in a dangerous situation. 

James Farrell draws several interesting insights from this narrative. The following are taken from his book, The Hidden Christ. He has written about Abigail in other places. 

"What amazing grace! Upon hearing of the wrong committed by another, Abigail raced to gather what the aggrieved—David and his men—had been denied by Nabal’s mistreatment. She then sought out David with her gift—to save him from avenging himself, wherewith he would begin to fight his own battles rather than the Lord’s, and commit an 'offence of heart' that would keep him from receiving 'all the good that [the Lord had] spoken concerning [him].' Upon delivering to David all that he needed and more, thereby atoning for Nabal’s sin, she then took Nabal’s sin on her own head when she pleaded, 'upon me let this iniquity be.' And then in an utterance that teaches us just what it means to take upon oneself the sins of another, she pleaded, 'forgive the trespass of thine handmaid.' Think of it: The one who had done no wrong asked for the mistreated person to forgive her—not Nabal, the actual perpetrator of the wrong, but her! In her mind, as she knelt before David, Nabal’s sin was now hers. She had taken it upon her, claiming it as her own. 'Forgive the trespass of thine handmaid.' No purer words have ever been spoken—except, that is, by Him in whose similitude she uttered them. Consider how closely Abigail’s story parallels the Savior’s: 

• She atoned for the wrong committed by another. 

• She provided all that was needed to him who was harmed. 

•  She took the sinner’s iniquity on her own head, even though she herself had done no wrong. 

• She pled for the avenger to give up vengeance. 

•  And she was the means of delivering peace. 

When we think of the Atonement, we most often think about how the Savior filled in the gaps for our own sins, which he surely did. That is, we are all sinners, and someone had to bridge for each of us the otherwise impassable chasm between us and eternal life that we have created through sin. So normally we think of the Atonement as something that Christ has done for us—for ourselves. But Abigail invites us to look at the Atonement from a different angle—not from the perspective of how Christ has atoned for our own sins, but rather from the equally true perspective that he has atoned for the sins of others. And part of that Atonement, Abigail suggests, is the idea that the Lord offers to those who have been harmed or potentially harmed by the sins of others the help and sustaining they need to be made whole. Those deprived of love can receive his love. The companionless can find a companion in him. Those with a cross to bear can find another who carries and makes it light."

"There is no more beautiful character in all the words ever written than the peacegiver Abigail. Her words and actions change everything—every interaction, every relationship, every feeling, every thought. They change everything because they teach us something extraordinary about the Lord’s Atonement. Those who see Abigail’s offering never see life the same way again. David and Jonathan saw it. Unfortunately, Saul never did. The question is, will we see it?" Ferrell, James L.. The Hidden Christ: Beneath the Surface of the Old Testament 

"The questions is, will we see it?" I hope we each see it! 

 

Daughters of Zelophehad and Rahab

I miss being in class with you! As I have studied the books of Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua, I have thought many times, "I would love to be discussing this material as a class." There is so much to learn. I know that in your homes and in your Sunday School discussions you will cover the great stories of Moses and Joshua. You will discuss the conquests of the Children of Israel along with the accompanying miracles. I don't want to miss two stories that might be easy to gloss over. Once again, we see women acting with great courage and foresight. 

DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD

The narrative of the daughters of Zelophehad is found in Numbers 27:1-11 and 36:1-13. These five women belonged to the tribe of Manasseh. Their father had died in the wilderness; they had no brother or husband. They requested to be given the land that would have been assigned to their father. Moses sought Jehovah and was told, "What Zelophehad's daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father's relatives and give their father's inheritance to them."                            (NIV, Numbers 27: 7) 

Insights from a Jewish website:

"Let’s analyze what this text reflects about these women. First, note that these women know their law and history. They use the fact that their father was not involved in Korach‘s rebellion (Numbers 16) as evidence to support his–and their–claim to the land. They know that the continuity of family name depends on inheritance of the land, and they realize that the current law is not adequate, for it does not take into account the unusual circumstances of a man without sons. They possess the acumen to recognize this omission in God’s law! But because they consider God’s law to be just, or to aim to be just, they show no hesitation in pointing out the unfair nature of the present situation with complete confidence and supporting their claim with compelling arguments.

According to the Talmud (BT Bava Batra 119b), Zelophehad’s daughters were wise (chachamot), astute interpreters (darshanyiot), and pious (rachmanyiot): “wise” because they spoke in the precise moment when the decision was issued; “interpreters” because they in essence said, “If our father had a son, we would not have spoken–because he would have the inheritance”; and “pious” because they did not want to marry men who were not worthy.

The achievement of Zelophehad’s daughters was a landmark in women’s rights regarding the inheritance of land, from those days up to now. In addition, however, the story of these five women offers a compelling lesson for all those who believe that their destiny is fixed or that divine justice has abandoned them. It encourages us to think differently— and provides a message of hope for all those faced with obstacles. Perhaps the most important legacy of Zelophehad’s daughters is their call to us to take hold of life with our own hands, to move from the place that the others have given us–or that we have decided to keep because we feel immobile–and to walk, even to the most holy center, to where nobody seems to be able to go.

After all, nothing is more sacred than life itself and the fight for what we believe is worthy. Thus, this parashah inspires us to discover that we too have the ability to know what is right for ourselves and what our rights ought to be. When we believe in our capacity to shape our history, to the point of being able to change even a law that came from the Revelation at Sinai, then we pay a tribute to Zelophehad’s daughters."

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-daughters-of-zelophehad-power-and-uniqueness/

Author and scholar Julie M. Smith draws some interesting conclusions about what this story might teach us: (Thanks to Kim for sending me the link)

"And here’s why this story is important:

(1) sustaining Church leaders is a difficult concept to teach and to live in a world where we don’t trust (and probably shouldn’t trust) any secular authority or experts. My generation gets on the net for a second opinion if a doctor tells us we are sick, we second guess teachers, politicians, lawyers, and everyone else who claims to any authority. This is probably for the best, except then we show up at Church with no experience whatsoever in sustaining leaders. How do we do it? Does it mean that we never question what they say?

Numbers 27 provides an excellent example of handling disagreements with Church leaders, especially when you compare this story with Numbers 12, where Miriam is given leprosy for speaking against Moses. In each case, a person has a problem with the actions of a Church leader. But the outcome is so different. Why? Because Miriam spoke to others, the daughters of Z. spoke to Moses. Speaking behind or around is not helpful, open communication is. By the same token, the d. of Z. did not squelch, ignore, or ‘learn to live with’ their problem. They addressed it openly. Our model here is simple: when you have a problem with a Church leader, you speak to that person open and directly.

But this story is also a model for leaders. Did Moses tell them that the issue was already settled by the Law so go away? Did he castigate them for questioning the Lord? Did he chastize them for approaching a prophet? Read verse 5 again; he took their concern to the Lord. Moses recognized that he was not the head of the Church–he was the Lord’s mouthpiece. He sought the will of the Lord in prayer.

The story also teaches an important lesson about the Law: it is subject to change. The next time some hostile anti-Mormon asks why the WoW prohibits wine when Jesus began his ministry by turning water into wine, send ’em to Numbers 27."

https://www.timesandseasons.org/index.php/author/julie-m-smith/

RAHAB

Rahab's story is easy to dismiss and might be uncomfortable to discuss. She acts as a savior for Israel and is the first non-Israelite to declare that Jehovah has given this land to the Children of Israel. She is a Canaanite and Yael a Kenite. The scriptures paint her as a prostitute. Some Biblical scholars say she was an innkeeper. Whatever her position, she defies the orders of her king and hides the two Israelite spies who have come into her place of business. Her story can be found in Joshua 2, 6:17, 22-25, Hebrews 11: 31 and James 2:25. She asks for kindness to be shown to her family and protection when the armies invade. The word translated as kindness in Joshua 2:12 is the Hebrew word hesed. She is asking for covenantal love and acceptance. The spies promise to protect her and her family. They must stay in their home and hang a scarlet cord from the window. We see reflections to the story of the Passover in these arrangements. 

Author and Jewish scholar Tikva Fryer-Kensky provides greater understanding: 

"Rahab is a familiar anti-type in folklore, the prostitute with the heart of gold. She has faith in God’s might, adopts the Israelites as her own, and rescues them. But at the beginning, Rahab is a triply marginalized woman. From Israel’s point of view, she is an outsider; from Canaan’s point of view, she is a woman; and even from the Canaanite woman’s point of view, she is a prostitute, outside normal family life. Rahab is smart, proactive, tricky, and unafraid to disobey and deceive her king. Her allegiance to God and Israel make her one of Israel’s early saviors."

"Rahab begins by declaring her faith in God’s intentions and might, I know that YHWH has given you this land. With this statement, the would-be savior acknowledges God and becomes the oracle of Israel’s occupation of Canaan, the first of the female oracles who appear throughout the historical books. Rahab is also the first of the inhabitants of the land to declare her allegiance to God, and she is the first to join Israel."

"Rahab’s persona has many of Israel’s classic hero themes. She is a female savior, like the mothers of the Exodus. She is a trickster outsider, like Jacob in Laban’s house, one who survives by her wits and comes to God by her faith. Rahab the whore is also the outsider’s outsider, the most marginal of the marginal. She is the quintessential downtrodden with whom Israel identifies. Just as her pious behavior reverses expectations of how prostitutes act, so her elevation is a reversal of the normal expectations for a prostitute’s future. YHWH interrupts normative societal expectations by exalting the prostitute just as YHWH interrupted expectations by choosing the younger sons and freeing the slaves. The saving of Rahab is part of and an example of God’s nature and Israel’s mission."

Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. Reading the Women of the Bible (p. 44). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

There will be many more treasures to discover in our study of the Old Testament! 

Exodus 18-21

Thank you for attending class the last few months. You have brought curiosity and a desire to learn. Your efforts and insights have been instructive for all of us. We have enjoyed a remarkable process of understanding the Old Testament. 

Class will resume in the fall sometime. I will keep you updated here. Keep studying!

JETHRO

“Jethro, the priest of Midian is often overshadowed by others in the Hebrew Bible. He becomes more noteworthy when we see him in his roles as a father, a prophet, a priest, and a mentor. As a Father, he loved his family and stood as a leader of his clan. As a priest, he descended from a long line of righteous Midianite priests whose traditions and memories are interspersed throughout the Old Testament. As a Prophet, he foresaw the critical mission of Moses and instilled in him the necessary qualities of a leader. And finally as a Mentor, he instructed and trained Moses and the Levites in the proper priesthood government and worship of God. This examination of Jethro as the priestly mentor of Moses and instructor of the future priests of Israel is not meant to demean the position of Moses as prophet and leader of ancient Israel, but to show that Moses’ greatness is a result of the righteous example of Jethro the Midianite.

HEBREWBIBLE.INFO, ANTHONY RIVERA, JR.

 

SPIRITUALLY SELF-SUFFICIENT

“It's interesting because Jethro's suggesting one, you've got to have more help. Two, we've got to figure out how the people need to be spiritually self-sufficient. They need to know the principles. They need to be able to govern themselves and move forward that way. And that's just a principle that you see, I think across all dispensations; this idea that you cannot rely on the leadership alone. In the Book of Mormon Mosiah too, makes the changes to the governmental structure.

And you see this in Doctrine & Covenants. The idea that the more the Lord has to tell us, the more we lose out on some blessings or understandings. The more things have to be spelled out the less we have in terms of our own spiritual growth. And Paul talks about that in Corinthians, where he points out that they are suing one another and, [expecting the church to solve the issue,] but the truth is, they need to figure out how to resolve it themselves. It's just this idea over and over and over again, that we are ultimately responsible for our own spiritual welfare.”

Dr. Daniel Belnap, Follow Him Podcast, #17

ON EAGLES WINGS

“On eagles’ wings tells of the way Israel achieved freedom — all the way from slavery in Egypt to security in the land of promise, from death to life, from helplessness to the heart of God. It was not by fearless fighting and brilliant military maneuvering that they startled the nations of the world. Actually it was not by their own efforts at all. It was by what God did for them — God carried them ‘on eagles’ wings.’

Borne by wings is an apt symbol of God’s gracious deliverance. But why eagles’ wings? The eagle is admired and applauded for its exploits. It is the jet plane of the bird family. It soars the highest, goes the fastest, and is superior to all other birds in this respect. Its wings are given as a symbol of our God. By the strength of its great wings it is able to soar to the heights and perform unusual feats.

Another remarkable characteristic of the eagle is its tenderness toward its young. No member of the bird family is more gentle and attentive in watching over its young. It builds its nest high up on a mountain crag. Both parents bring food to the little eaglets, and when they teach them to fly, both parents are involved in the training program. As the little one takes off from that dizzy height and attempts to follow its parent in flight, the eagle swoops beneath it and bears the little fellow on its wings when he seems exhausted.

Thus the eagle is set before us as being a symbol of God’s dealing with His people.” https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mcgee_j_vernon/eBooks/on-eagles-wings.cfm

 RELATIONSHIP WITH JEHOVAH

“Bede the Venerable once said, ‘Carnal minded people who are content with the letter cannot ascend the mountain.’ I think there is this idea that when the Prophet speaks the thinking has been done. What’s happening here is God is saying, ‘I want more than that. I don’t want a kingdom of minions who follow every word from my leaders. I want people who want to know me.’ Hosea 6:6 reads ‘For I desired mercy and not sacrifice, a love of God more than burnt offering.’ The word there is hesed. I desire hesed not sacrifice. What God really wants is for us to engage Him. But the Israelites were scared. God sounded majestic and unapproachable. There are things that scare us today. A wise man once said to me, ‘The only question worth asking is the one that exposes you to risk.’ What are the risks of approaching God in a way that will help us to have hesed? What are the risks to doubting everything a leader says as right or true? What are the risks of having your own discipleship which is foundational on a relationship and knowledge of God. When we approach God with the possibility that anything is true, it is terrifying. When we approach God allowing Him to tell us who He is and approach God allowing Him to show us His nature, we are able to get the reward. We can see God for what He is. We can have a hesed relationship and we can have closeness with God, which is what He desires in the end.”

Aaron Gorner, Maxwell Podcast, Abide Exodus 18-20

 GRATITUDE

“The more you understand and see the Lord's hand in your life. And that's why gratitude, I think is an important principle. God doesn't need it because His self-esteem is so fragile. And if it's not for Him, then it's got to be for whom? And what I find interesting about gratitude is when you are engaged in true gratitude, prayer, whatever context it's going to be, it becomes revelatory. An example that I give is sometimes when you're hiking up a mountain, you can't see over the next ridge and the next set of switchbacks. And it's just exhausting. But if you turn around and look behind you to see how far you actually have come up the mountain, it gives you strength to go up that next set of switchbacks. You might not know what's ahead, but you do know what's behind. And so gratitude is revelatory in much the same way prophecy is. And it reveals to you what has been done and particularly the way in which the Lord's been involved in your life, which gives you the power and the strength to move forward into the future with that trust.”

Dr. Daniel Belnap, Follow Him Podcast, #17

 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

“No document in world history so changed the world for the better as did the Ten Commandments. Western civilization, the civilization that developed universal rights, created women’s equality, ended slavery, created parliamentary democracy among other unique achievements would not have developed without them. These commandments are as relative today as when they were given over 3000 years ago. In fact, they are so relevant that they are all that is necessary to make a good world free of tyranny and cruelty.”

Dennis Prager, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih-AJB6D8WI&feature=youtu.be

 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Four lessons from “I am the Lord you God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

1. God is giving these commandments.

2. God is the one who delivered you from slavery—not Moses or anyone else.

3. God values freedom.

4. God cares deeply about human beings.

Dennis Prager, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih-AJB6D8WI&feature=youtu.be

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

“These are not part of the Law of Moses, these are not a punishment given to Israel. This is just simply the law. The Book of Mormon quotes the Ten Commandments, but you get a version of this in the Doctrine & Covenants, you get Christ reiterating the centrality of these commandments in the New Testament. And when you look at the commandments themselves, you can see how they divide out. They deal with your own personal relationship with God, and then they deal with your personal relationship with other beings, other people.

I describe it in terms of spiritual development, that we have two primary sets of relationships that we're developing. There's this vertical relationship that we have with God that is very personal, very private. Nobody else really has that relationship, it's just you and God, and that's got to grow and get stronger, and bigger and taller. But at the same time that's happening, this has got to be expanding outward as to who my brother is, who my neighbor is. And if these two things aren't happening at the same time, then one's not really experiencing spiritual growth. So when you look at the Ten Commandments, they really do govern both set of relationships. The relationship you have with God, the relationship you have with the larger community of humankind.”

Dr. Daniel Belnap, Follow Him Podcast, #17

Exodus 14-17

NEXT WEEK—LAST CLASS

Exodus 18-20 (21-23)

SYMBOL OF THE CROSS

“In contrast to the unchanging doctrinal importance of Christ’s Crucifixion, how Christians generally, and Latter-day Saints specifically, have viewed the image of the cross has varied over time. In other words, the meaning of the visual symbol of the cross is more cultural than doctrinal. Historically, some have viewed the cross as a symbol of death to be avoided. Others have seen it as a representation of Christ’s triumph over death, a symbol of love, or an image of suffering that comforts us in pain.”

“As Christians throughout America embraced the cross as a symbol of Christianity, the restored Church was largely isolated in the Intermountain West and did not participate in this near-universal adoption of the cross. However, the image of the cross was not forbidden among early Latter-day Saints. Although not as common as in other Christian traditions, Latter-day Saint marriage certificates, quilts, and funeral programs sometimes featured crosses, as did the 1852 European edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.”

“[Presiding] Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin called me by telephone and asked me the Church’s position on the following question: He stated that he had been asked today if it would be proper for L.D.S. girls to purchase crosses to wear. It is Bishop Wirthlin’s understanding that there is a company downtown which is pushing the selling of these crosses to girls. I told Bishop Wirthlin that this is purely Catholic and Latter-day Saint girls should not purchase and wear them. I stated further that this was a Catholic form of worship. They use images, crosses, etc. Our worship should be in our hearts.”

“I do not wish to give offense to any of my Christian brethren who use the cross on the steeples of their cathedrals and at the altars of their chapels, who wear it on their vestments, and imprint it on their books and other literature. But for us, the cross is the symbol of the dying Christ, while our message is a declaration of the living Christ. . . . The lives of our people must become the only meaningful expression of our faith and, in fact, therefore, the symbol of our worship.”

Hilton III, John. Considering the Cross: How Calvary Connects Us with Christ (p. 13). Deseret Book Co. Kindle Edition.

Y RELIGION PODCAST WITH JOHN HILTON III 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/y-religion/id1497439581?i=1000464341960

THE RESTORED GOSPEL’S RADICAL PERSPECTIVE ON ATONEMENT AND GRACE

“One does not come to a belief in Christ’s atonement because of any logical argumentation about agency, justice, or scriptural assertions of sin and salvation. We come, if we arrive at all, because of a felt need about our own deep insufficiency. The poet George Herbert prayed that “if goodness lead me not, yet weariness may toss me to thy breast.”

Even from the valleys of uncertainty, I am profoundly and deeply moved by the specter of a young, itinerant Galilean rabbi who two thousand years ago willingly offered himself up to barbaric execution, enduring unspeakable torment, because he believed that by so doing he was offering me, personally, respite from the pains and humiliations and failures and wounds of my life, whether inflicted by others or by my own deliberate, foolish choices. As the Book of Mormon testified would happen, I find myself “drawn” to this unparalleled act of grace and kindness to me. (2 Nephi: 26:24)

When I contemplate that this was no deluded Jewish peasant making this generous sacrifice, but a being of premortal glory and divinity, that sacrifice assumes a transformative power. If, as Augustine held, absolute love is the only irresistible force in the universe, the atonement of Christ is its most perfect manifestation.”

Terryl Givens, Faith Matters, March 2019

THE MULTITUDE ESCAPING EGYPT

“Evidence suggests that those who made up the Israelite host were not all direct descendants of Jacob’s twelve sons. The narrative reads, ‘A mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.’ (Exodus 12:38) In addition to the Israelites, the slaves conscripted by the Egyptians likely included other Semitic people from Canaan who came to Egypt at various times for numerous reasons such as famine and greater opportunities available under the Hyksos’ regime. Egyptian texts and art portray a variety of Semitic people among their enslaved groups.

Surprisingly, some Egyptians also appear to have been included in the Israelite camp. For example, Asenath, wife of Joseph, was likely an Egyptian though she may have been of Semite lineage. Undoubtedly, many converts to the camp of Israel were picked up after they encounter Moses’ people in the wilderness. Disenfranchised people, attracted by the stability, unity, religion and leadership in the Israelite camp would have contributed to the diversity and potential strength of the ‘mixed multitude.’ Lacking unifying beliefs and a strong tribal identity, this host of people began the transformation from a conglomeration of slaves to an organized covenant community led by Moses.”

“Logistical issues suggest that the number of people involved would have been closer to a few thousand men, women, and children rather than the six hundred thousand men of fighting age, plus women and children, noted in the biblical narrative (Exodus 12:37). It is difficult to imagine the area of Goshen and later Sinai supporting a population in the millions. Furthermore, an army of six hundred thousand could have overthrown any opposing force in that day, including the Egyptians. Instead of standing up to Pharaoh’s army, we see the Israelites cringe before them. Similarly, a caravan of two to three million people with their flocks and herds and other beings would extend over a greater distance than the miles between their starting place and the Red Sea, and yet the entire multitude crossed the Red Sea in one night, all the while staying out of the reach of an army of speeding chariots. More likely the recorded number of six hundred thousand men of fighting age is hyperbole, a scribal error, or an indication of Israel’s future numbers when they would become the great empire of the ancient Near East.”

Camille Fronk-Olsen, Women of the Old Testament, pg. 96

DR. KERRY MUHLESTEIN VIDEO ON EXODUS ROUTE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP0AwqZejcA&list=PL_oQcvVR477wAsp1XsOO-Ubyx8IC4y36T&index=13

THE DIVINE WARRIOR

“A savior is someone who saves you when you need saving and you cannot save yourself. And for Israel and many situations that means a man of war or a divine warrior, someone who will fight your battles for you. That gives us so much confidence and so much peace. We live in a society of anxiety and fear when we only have faith in a loving God, but not a saving God. We need a God who loves us enough to want to save us and who is powerful enough and willing to save us. Saving us sometimes means delivering us from oppression. We should be grateful that we have a God who will fight for us and will conquer.

If we don’t have faith in that kind of a God, we can’t have faith in salvation. We won’t find peace in this life; instead we will find fear. [If we do not have faith in a loving and divine warrior God] we find comfort from being loved and yet, fear because we aren’t sure of deliverance.”

Dr. Kerry Muhlestein, The Scriptures are Real Podcast, Episode #47

PROPHET

“Authors of the accounts in the Bible often use prophet in a more general sense that easily includes women. Biblical prophets and prophetesses poses the gift of prophecy, one of the numerous gifts of the Spirit, but are not authorized with keys to direct the affairs of God’s church. Prophetesses and prophets are endowed with the spiritual knowledge that Jesus is the Christ; they then bear that witness by the same Spirit. More than predicting future events, prophets and prophetesses deliver God’s message of warning or direction pertaining to current situations, a message that can have a profound effect on an entire population.

All Israelite women were not given the title of prophetess, nor was the title assigned because a woman was married to a prophet or other important man in society. Only one of the seven biblical women called ‘prophetess’ in the Bible was married to a prophet, as we use the term today. That woman was Isaiah’s wife. She must have received a personal witness of the Savior and may have been given a confirming witness to that of her husband’s. Thus the title of prophetess speaks more about the woman herself. Women were qualified as true prophetesses by their faith in the Savior’s atonement rather than by marriage to a righteous man.”

Camille Fronk-Olsen, Women of the Old Testament, pg. 83-85

MIRIAM

“The future is unknown. The wounds of slavery were still fresh, the journey to this moment had been filled with crushed hopes.

On the cusp of this new season in the life of the people of Israel, she leads her people in worship. Her song sits at the moment from being enslaved people to being a people of the covenant. Her song ushers in a new identity for the people of God. No longer bound by oppressive powers they would now be known as a people of a God of liberation.

Miriam’s leadership was birthed out of liminal moments. The in-between moments of life and death. Oppression and deliverance. From being silenced by a system to breaking out in song. She was also a witness to God’s covenantal love and provision, the ways in which God whispered affirmations of God’s love over the people of God.

She was a prophetic voice who was part of God’s plan for deliverance. 

Jennifer Geurra-Aldana, She Is...Biblical Reflections on Vocation, Fuller De Pree Center

ELDER D. TODD CHRISTOFFERSON VIDEO 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJKmXtoMI5s

Easter

NEXT WEEK

Exodus 14-17

TRIUMPHAL ENTRY

“The story of the triumphal entry is one of contrasts, and those contrasts contain applications to believers. It is the story of the King who came as a lowly servant on a donkey, not a prancing steed, not in royal robes, but on the clothes of the poor and humble. Jesus Christ comes not to conquer by force as earthly kings but by love, grace, mercy, and His own sacrifice for His people. His is not a kingdom of armies and splendor but of lowliness and servanthood. He conquers not nations but hearts and minds. His message is one of peace with God, not of temporal peace. If Jesus has made a triumphal entry into our hearts, He reigns there in peace and love. As His followers, we exhibit those same qualities, and the world sees the true King living and reigning in triumph in us.”

https://www.gotquestions.org/triumphal-entry.html

THE LORD’S PASSOVER

“Why, then, did Jesus institute the Lord’s Supper on the Passover the night before His crucifixion? In the first place, it is because He is the fulfillment of all that was foreshadowed by the Passover lamb. His blood, the blood of the new covenant, averts the destruction for those who place their faith in Him. Second, it is because the Last Supper was the eve of the prophesied greater new covenant act of redemption—the promised act of redemption that the prophets described in terms of a new exodus—and just as the first exodus was preceded by the institution of the Passover, the greater new exodus was preceded by the institution of the Lord’s Supper. Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper on this night to signify that this new exodus was about to begin. This act indicated that the time of redemption had come.”

Dr. Keith Mathison, https://www.ligonier.org/learn/teachers/keith-mathison

ISAIAH 53 (Oxford NRSV Translation)

1 Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account.

4 Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

8 By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people.

9 They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

GETHSEMANE AND CALVARY 

“John G. Turner, a Protestant scholar, explained that for Latter-day Saints, ‘the principal scene of Christ’s suffering and, thus, his atonement, was at Gethsemane rather than on the cross.’ Anglican theologian Douglas J. Davies wrote that ‘Mormonism relocates the centre of gravity of Christ’s passion in Gethsemane rather than upon the cross and Calvary.’ Scholars within the Church have made similar observations; Robert Millet wrote, ‘It is probably the case that if one hundred Protestants were asked where the atonement of Christ took place, those one hundred persons would answer: At Golgotha, on the cross. It is also no doubt true that if one hundred Latter-day Saints were asked the same question, a large percentage would respond: In Gethsemane, in the garden.’” 

“Professor Anthony Sweat and I asked 752 BYU students in an online class survey, ‘Where would you say Christ’s Atonement mostly took place? A. In the Garden of Gethsemane, or B. On the Cross at Calvary.’ Eighty-eight percent responded, ‘In the Garden of Gethsemane,’ and only 12 percent said, ‘On the Cross at Calvary.’ When I shared this result with Scott Esplin, a BYU religion professor, he observed, ‘You forced people into a false choice. You should have given people a third option of “Christ atoned for our sins equally in Gethsemane and Calvary.’ Anthony and I acted on this suggestion by surveying an additional 792 BYU students on where Christ mostly atoned for our sins, asking the same question we had previously. Even with a third option of 'Equally in Gethsemane and Calvary,’ a majority (58 percent) chose ‘Gethsemane only.’ Additional, less-formal surveys of Latter-day Saint adults inside and outside of the United States yielded similar results.”

Hilton III, John. Considering the Cross: How Calvary Connects Us with Christ (pp. 42-43).  

“I have been asked to speak on ‘Christ’s Crucifixion: The Reclamation of the Cross.’ Before turning to this subject, I would like to make two caveat statements. First, I want to say that the nature of my topic means that I will not be discussing much about Gethsemane. Even so, I want to make it clear that I recognize that the events that took place in the Garden of Gethsemane are absolutely seminal to our understanding of the Atonement. Second, I want to be clear that in this paper I am not advocating that the Church should start putting up crosses on our chapels or temples. That is certainly not my place. What I do want to argue, however, is that if we fail to appreciate or if we minimize the importance of the cross and what it stands for, then we ignore a very significant part of our scriptural texts: both in the Bible and in our Restoration scriptures, the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants.”

Gaye Strathearn, https://rsc.byu.edu/healing-his-wings/christs-crucifixion-reclamation-cross

THE DOCTRINE OF THE CROSS

“The events on the cross are an integral part of the Atonement. The most important reason that we should consider the cross is that both doctrinally and functionally, it is part of Christ’s Atonement. 

I am struck by the number of times that the teachings on the Atonement and redemption in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants specifically include Christ’s death in the equation.

For the Book of Mormon, the cross is not a marginal footnote to the Atonement. Rather, the phrase “sufferings and death” is at the very heart of some important sermons.

Many passages from our Restoration scripture support the biblical message of Paul that the Crucifixion of our Lord was an essential part of the Atonement, and thus that it is an essential part of our personal and collective redemption. Elder Holland described Easter Friday as ‘atoning Friday with its cross.’ I like that description because it reminds me of why Easter Friday should be an important part of the Easter season.”

“The scriptural metaphor that we can be ‘lifted up’ because Christ was lifted up on the cross is a symbol of God’s great love for us. The phrase ‘lifted up’ thus becomes in the scriptures a frequent way to describe salvation. Nephi teaches his brothers, “The righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day” (1 Nephi 16:2). In the Doctrine and Covenants we find this image used frequently. The Lord tells Martin Harris, “And if thou art faithful in keeping my commandments, thou shalt be lifted up at the last day” (D&C 5:35). Oliver Cowdery is instructed, ‘Stand fast in the work wherewith I have called you, and a hair of your head shall not be lost, and you shall be lifted up at the last day’ (D&C 9:14). Likewise, the Three Witnesses, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, are all promised, 'And if you do these last commandments of mine, which I have given you, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; for my grace is sufficient for you, and you shall be lifted up at the last day’ (D&C 17:8).”

“In the New Testament the invitation to take up our cross was the symbol of discipleship. In the synoptic Gospels, just after Jesus had promised Peter that he would give to him the sealing keys, Jesus began to speak openly about his destiny to go to Jerusalem, where he would ‘suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day' (Matthew 16:21; see Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22). What does it mean for us to ‘take up our cross’? It means to deny ourselves. Both Matthew and Mark use the Greek word aparneomai. It suggests that discipleship entails the breaking of every link that ties a person even to themselves. It is about being able, like the Savior, to submit our will to the will of the Father. As Elder Maxwell taught, ‘That is the only truly unique thing that we have to offer.’ Just as there was a cost for the Savior on Calvary, there is also a cost to be a disciple. Thus the symbol of the cross is not a postbiblical symbol adopted by Christians; rather it is a symbol identified by the Savior himself, and emphasized by Paul. The symbol of the cross is important because in the New Testament it is the symbol of our discipleship and commitment to leave behind the allurements of the world and dedicate ourselves to the Lord and his kingdom.”

“The signs of the Crucifixion were so important for Christ that he kept them even after he received a glorified, resurrected body. When Jesus first came to the temple in Bountiful, the people were not initially sure who appeared to them. The signs of the Crucifixion did not cause mourning but were a reason to rejoice. Here stood the Son of God in a glorified, resurrected body; a body that was perfect in every way, except for the fact that, as prophesied by Zechariah (see Zechariah 13:6), he chose to retain the marks of his Crucifixion. For the people of 3 Nephi, this retention was one of the tangible proofs that this being was not an angel but was in fact the Savior of the world. I wonder how many of those present at that supernal time might have remembered what Jehovah had said to the prophet Isaiah, and what had been recorded in the Nephite records, “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:15–16; 1 Nephi 21:16). In this instance, the signs of the Crucifixion did not cause mourning but were a reason to rejoice!”

Gaye Strathearn, https://rsc.byu.edu/healing-his-wings/christs-crucifixion-reclamation-cross

GOOD FRIDAY

“Good Friday is celebrated throughout much of Christendom as a solemn day commemorating Jesus’ trial before Pilate, his abuse at the hands of the Roman soldiers, his suffering and death on the cross, and finally his burial in a borrowed tomb. The heaviness and sadness of the events that this day recalls often makes many, including Latter-day Saints, wonder, ‘What is so good about Good Friday?’ The customary understanding that Good Friday is ‘holy' Friday is certainly appropriate, for it recalls how on the last day of his life, Jesus Christ, our great high priest, offered himself as a sacrifice for our sakes: ‘Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us’ (Heb 9:12).

While formally commemorating the sad events of Good Friday is not a regular part of Latter-day Saint practice, marking the day as individuals or as families can be a powerful experience that can deepen our appreciation for all the Lord has done for us”

Eric Huntsman, https://huntsmanseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/good-friday.html

VIDEO: JESUS CHRIST, THE PASSOVER LAMB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7lewy22t4M&feature=youtu.be