The Children of Israel - 3 Principles

Reading this week about the children of Israel; after they are freed from the Egyptians, hear the word of God and accept it, then regress to worshipping a golden calf - three principles stood out to me. The first is overarching with the whole story and the other two are within. Those I have marked parenthetically after the example given.

Principle 1 - A latter-day warning: We aren't saved just by making covenants. 

The Lord, Jesus Christ, spoke the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai so that all the children of Israel heard.

Exodus 20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

22 And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

(Principle 2 – The Lord speaks to his children, but they have to be prepared to listen)

They were then given the Mosaic Law (Exodus 21), and covenanted with the Lord to keep the Mosaic Law.

Exodus 24:7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.

8 and Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.

When Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the tablets, the children of Israel saw the glory of the Lord on the mountain.

Exodus 24:17: And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.

Moses is gone for 40 days; a little over a month. While still being able to see the glory of the Lord on the mountain, they become impatient, start murmuring that Moses hasn’t returned, and fall back on old habits.

The Lord tells Moses what is happening.

Exodus 32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.

(Principle 3 – We can’t hide sin from the Lord. He knows what we are doing even when he is engaged with something else. He knows us and is aware of us.)

Why, I wondered; would the children of Israel, after all the miracles they had witnessed and experienced; after being freed from hundreds of years of bondage; after accepting the gospel and covenanting with the Lord; would they – in less than 40 days – revert back to idol worship?

David Ridges has some interesting insight into this that helps me answer that question and apply the situation more to my life:

“It seems [the children of Israel] were afflicted with what might be called the “re-deciding syndrome.” They had trouble with long-term loyalty to the Lord, and kept “re-deciding” whether or not to keep the covenants … Sometimes, members of the Church find themselves similarly afflicted. They keep “re-deciding” whether or not to attend church, pay tithing, keep the word of wisdom, and so forth. Such lack of complete commitment takes a heavy toll on spirituality and peace of mind.”[1]

Put in modern terms, it makes what the children of Israel did seem easier to understand and even sympathize with. It takes work to keep covenants we make with the Lord in order to maintain that complete commitment required.

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[1] The Old Testament Made Easier, David J. Ridges, pg. 36

Satan will not support his followers

The translation in Moses adds something, missing from the version in Genesis, very critical to this story:

Genesis 4:5

 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 

Moses 5:21

21 But unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect. Now Satan knew this, and it pleased him. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

Satan will entice people to follow him and then be happy when they fall. Satan was happy with the fact that Cain’s offering received no respect from the Lord.

As it tells us in 2 Nephi 28:

21 And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

22 And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.

This makes me think about how important commandments and sacred ordinances are. We must treat them with the respect and care they deserve - that of something coming from the Lord and that of something being presented to the Lord. 

I want to please the Lord and not Satan.

Gathered into Garners

I just had an amazing aha moment!

“Behold, the field was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust in the sickle, and did reap with your might, yea, all the day long did ye labor; and behold the number of your sheaves! And they shall be gathered into the garners, that they are not wasted” (Alma 26:5).

I always thought the garners were just a continuation of the metaphor, the place where sheaves are naturally placed, because you don’t want to waste what has been gathered. Elder Bednar tells us “the garners are holy temples.”[1] This brings such amazing meaning to the next verse!

“Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the storm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them” (Alma 26:6).

I pulled out my scriptures to read the next verse:

“But behold, they are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, and they are his; and he will raise them up at the last day.” (Alma 26:7) [2]

Although this was referring to new converts, it applies to us all. When we gather in the temples, we make and keep sacred covenants, which protect us from the storms at the last day. We are in those storms. Living our covenants will not only protect us from the storms, but will put us in “the hands of the Lord of the harvest . . . and he will raise [us] up at the last day.”

In my Book of Mormon class, the manual gave the definition of “listeth” - meaning leaning or tilting to one side or another. It said to think of ourselves as the employee of whomever we follow. Thinking of leaning towards one side, one wouldn’t necessarily think they were employed by that being; however, they are also leaning away from the other.

Making and keeping covenants, leaning towards the Lord, will help to prevent ourselves from being “driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry [us].”

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[1] Honorably Hold a Name and a Standing, David A. Bednar, Ensign May 2009

[2] The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ

Justification by the Holy Spirit

In a podcast we watched in my class "The Eternal Family," this is what it says about justification:

If a couple is not automatically sealed when they participate in the ordinance of marriage according to Elder Hales then what are the requirements beyond simply performing the ordinance? Elder McConkie explains that all gospel ordinances are made binding through the process of Justification.

“All covenants, contracts, bonds obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, [D&C 132] in which men must abide to be saved and exalted must be entered into and performed in righteousness so that the Holy Spirit can justify the candidate for salvation in what has been done. [Justification] is the Lord’s way of assuring that no unauthorized acts or ordinances are binding in the hereafter.” (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 408)

To me, this makes me think of when you have to "justify your actions" to someone. "Why do you have to bring the frog home, son? Well mom, he wanted to come home. He will be sad if he doesn't get to stay with me."

In heaven, that won't work. If we haven't been baptized, or received temple ordinances, or a temple sealing, we can't approach the pearly gates and say "I couldn't do it. My family members would be sad if I left them. They wanted me to stay with them" and be a "candidate for salvation." 

This is an interesting concept for me in that "the Holy Spirit can justify the candidate for salvation." It sounds to me like the Holy Ghost (Spirit) will talk to the Lord and say, in effect, "They did all you asked them to do. They made covenants, with those who had proper authority, and lived up to those covenants. They are worthy of salvation." 

He will "justify" our actions to the Lord.

Isn't that cool!