Below are the quotes that were used in the video.
When Moses sees the bush that burns with fire he says, "I will not turn aside and see this great sight." Then "when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him." It is after Moses turns toward God and moves in His direction (or turns aside) that God speaks to him. In our lives, God does many things to get our attention. He wants us to turn to Him and move in his direction. In our lives, God is influencing us to “turn aside” and move towards Him so He can speak clearly to our hearts and minds.
The first half of the book is getting out of Egypt (chapters 1-15) and the second half is getting Egypt out of them (chapters 16-40). The feasts of ancient Israel are tied to this book. The book of Exodus will cover 360 years. It begins with the death of Joseph and ends with the building of the tabernacle. 360 was also the number of days in the Hebrew calendar.
Timeline (dates are approximate)
1898 BC Joseph Sold into Slavery Genesis 37
1859 BC Jacob's Blessing and Death Genesis 49
1859 BC The Burial of Jacob Genesis 50
1806 BC The Death of Joseph Genesis 50:26
1800 BC Jacob's Family Stays in Egypt Exodus 1
(Source: https://biblehub.com/timeline/old.htm)
The Hyksos were a Semitic race who once conquered Egypt and reigned from approximately 1720-1550 B.C. They assumed the throne and practices of the old Egyptian rulers and continued to follow the customs of the Egyptians but when the Hyksos were finally driven out by the Egyptians, the Egyptian government attempted to stamp out every piece of evidence that the Hyksos had ever lived. Indeed, we only know of the Hyksos rule from neighboring countries and their historical records but the Egyptian history tells us nothing of it until Manetho. They merely wished to pretend that it never happened. This is generally agreed to be the reason for the rise of a King "who did not know Joseph (Exodus 1:8)."
“No country in the ancient East has handed down its history so faithfully as Egypt. Right back to about 3000 BC we can trace the names of the Pharaohs practically without a break. We know the succession of dynasties in the Old, middle and New Kingdoms. No other people have recorded so meticulously their important events… the erection of temples and palaces, as well as their literature and poetry.
“But this time Egypt gave the scholars no answer. As if it were not enough that they found nothing about Joseph, they discovered neither documents nor monuments out of this whole period.” (Werner Keller, The Bible as History p 86)
“The new pharaoh, who was not a Smite Hyksos, but a native Egyptian, took no account of the service which Joseph had done to his country and was afraid that, with the Hebrew population increasing so swiftly, it might make common cause with the invaders. For the normal route of attack on Egypt was by way of the Delta, the region in which the Hebrews lived. So he put them to hard labour to build store cities. (William Neil, Bible Companion p 10).
Thutmose II (1479–1425 BC). Alfred Edersheim proposes in his "Old Testament Bible History"[10] that Thutmose II is best qualified to be the pharaoh of Exodus based on the fact that he had a brief, prosperous reign and then a sudden collapse with no son to succeed him. His widow Hatshepsut then became first Regent (for Thutmose III) then Pharaoh in her own right. Edersheim states that Thutmose II is the only Pharaoh's mummy to display cysts, possible evidence of plagues which spread through the Egyptian and Hittite Empires at that time.
Pithom is one of the cities which, according to Exodus 1:11, was built for the Pharaoh of the oppression by the forced labor of the Israelites. The other city was Ramses; and the Septuagint adds a third, "On, which is Heliopolis." The meaning of the term, rendered in the Authorized Version "treasure cities" and in the Revised Version "store cities," is not definitely known. The Septuagint renders πόλεις ὀχυραί "strong [or "fortified"] cities." The same term is used of certain cities of King Solomon in I Kings 9:19 (comp. also II Chronicles 16:4).
“Pharaoh’s daughter, Thermuthis, was walking along the river bank. Seeing a basket floating by, she called to her swimmers to retrieve it for her. When her servants came back with the basket, she was overjoyed to see the beautiful little infant inside . . . Thermuthis gave him the name Moses, which in Egyptian means saved from the water. . . Having no children of her own, she adopted him as her son.” - Josephus
In his Legends of the Jews, Ginzberg indicates that Moses' Hebrew birth name was Melkiel, which means "God is my King.“ It is said that, upon drawing him out of the waters of the Nile, the daughter of the pharaoh gave him the name Moses, which is traditionally interpreted to mean "to draw out" (see Exodus 2:10). The name Moses, in Egyptian, however, apparently means "son" or "savior." All three of these titles and interpretations seem highly applicable to one or more stages of the great prophet's life.
Elder Mark E. Petersen: “Although the Bible mentions that Moses killed an Egyptian for "smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren," no further detail is given. (Ex. 2:11.)
“However, the historian Eusebius says that the slaying was the result of a court intrigue in which certain men plotted to assassinate Moses. In the encounter it is said that Moses successfully warded off the attacker and killed him. (Eusebius IX:27.)
“In the Midrash Rabbah, the traditional Jewish commentary on the Old Testament, it is asserted that Moses, with his bare fists, killed an Egyptian taskmaster who was in the act of seducing a Hebrew woman. This is confirmed in the Koran.
“Certainly there must have been good reason for Moses' act, and most assuredly the Lord would not have called a murderer to the high office of prophet and liberator for his people Israel.” (Moses: Man of Miracles , p.42).
Elder Boyd K. Packer: “For the past several years we have watched patterns of reverence and irreverence in the Church. While many are to be highly commended, we are drifting. We have reason to be deeply concerned.
“The world grows increasingly noisy.
“This trend to more noise, more excitement, more contention, less restraint, less dignity, less formality is not coincidental nor innocent nor harmless.
“The first order issued by a commander mounting a military invasion is the jamming of the channels of communication of those he intends to conquer.
“Irreverence suits the purposes of the adversary by obstructing the delicate channels of revelation in both mind and spirit.
“Leaders sometimes wonder why so many active members get themselves into such predicaments in life. Could it be that they do not feel what they need to feel because our meetings are less than they might be spiritually?
“The reverence we speak of does not equate with absolute silence.
“No one of us can survive in the world of today, much less in what it soon will become, without personal inspiration. The spirit of reverence can and should be evident in every organization in the Church and in the lives of every member.” (General Conference Oct 1991)
Elder James E. Talmage: “The Hebrew Ehyeh, signifying I AM, is related in meaning through derivation with the term Yahveh or Jehovah; and herein lies the significance of this term by which the Lord revealed himself to Moses when the latter received the commission to go into Egypt and deliver the children of Israel from bondage….The central fact connoted by this name, I AM, or JEHOVAH, the two having essentially the same meaning, is that of existence or duration that shall have no end, and which, judged by all human standards of reckoning, could have had no beginning; the name is related to such other titles as Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." (Jesus The Christ, pp. 36-37)
President Thomas S. Monson: “Now, some of you may be shy by nature or consider yourselves inadequate to respond affirmatively to a calling. Remember that this work is not yours and mine alone. It is the Lord’s work, and when we are on the Lord’s errand, we are entitled to the Lord’s help. Remember that whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies” (“Duty Calls,” Ensign, May 1996, 44).
Straw “played a critical role in the brick making process. Its function was not just to act as a binding element. Through the course of the acid in the vegetable matter that was released in the course of chemical delay, the strength and plasticity of the brick were greatly enhanced. Without the addition of chopped straw the bricks would shrink, develop cracks, and lose their shape. That is why the story of straw looms so large in our story. (Sarna, Exodus, 65). It also symbolizes that Israel was no longer to rely on Pharaoh to shape their destiny.
What are the ‘bricks’ in our lives?
- Difficult to make.
- We have to do extra effort to make them.
- We make them after we have turned to God, and show some trust in Him…
- And we make them when we really want to be golfing.
Elder Richard G. Scott: “I believe that you can leave the most precious, personal direction of the Spirit unheard because you do not respond to, record, and apply the first promptings that come to you.” (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/to-acquire-spiritual-guidance?lang=eng)"
Teaching Thoughts:
- How can we ‘turn aside’ and move closer to God?
- How does the Lord help Moses, and us, when we feel unqualified like Moses felt in Exodus 4?
- What are the “bricks” in our lives? What do they teach us?
- “I AM” comes from the ancient Hebrew wordאֶֽהְיֶ֖ה (hāyâ) meaning to exist, be or become. God exists, and invites us to be, or become like Him.