Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual

Contents
Title Page
Introduction to the Teacher Manual
Lessons 1–2
Welcome to the Old Testament
- Lessons 1–2
  Welcome to the Old Testament
- Lessons 3–6
  Moses 1; Abraham 3
- Lessons 7–9
  Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; Abraham 4–5
- Lessons 10–12
  Genesis 3–4; Moses 4–5
- Lessons 13–15
  Genesis 5; Moses 6
- Lessons 16–18
  Moses 7
- Lessons 19–21
  Genesis 6–11; Moses 8
- Lessons 22–24
  Genesis 12–17; Abraham 1–2
- Lessons 25–28
  Genesis 18–23
- Lessons 29–32
  Genesis 24–33
- Lessons 33–34
  Genesis 37–41
- Lessons 35–37
  Genesis 42–50
- Lessons 38–40
  Exodus 1–6
- Easter
- Lessons 41–44
  Exodus 7–13
- Lessons 45–47
  Exodus 14–18
- Lessons 48–51
  Exodus 19–20; 24; 31–34
- Lessons 52–55
  Exodus 35–40; Leviticus 1; 4; 16; 19
- Lessons 56–57
  Numbers 11–14; 20–24; 27
- Lessons 58–60
  Deuteronomy 6–8; 15; 18; 29–30; 34
- Lessons 61–64
  Joshua 1–8; 23–24
- Lessons 65–67
  Judges 2–4; 6–8; 13–16
- Lessons 68–70
  Ruth; 1 Samuel 1–7
- Lessons 71–73
  1 Samuel 8–10; 13; 15–16
- Lessons 74–76
  1 Samuel 17–18; 24–26; 2 Samuel 5–7
- Lessons 77–80
  2 Samuel 11–12; 1 Kings 3; 6–9; 11
- Lessons 81–82
  1 Kings 12–13; 17–22
- Lessons 83–85
  2 Kings 2–7
- Lessons 86–89
  2 Kings 16–25
- Lessons 90–91
  2 Chronicles 14–20; 26; 30
- Lessons 92–93
  Ezra 1, 3–7; Nehemiah 2; 4–6; 8
- Lessons 94–96
  Esther
- Lessons 97–99
  Job 1–3; 12–14; 19; 21–24; 38–40; 42
- Lessons 100–103
  Psalms 1–2; 8; 19–33; 40; 46
- Lessons 104–106
  Psalms 49–51; 61–66; 69–72; 77–78; 85–86
- Lessons 107–108
  Psalms 102–103; 110; 116–119; 127–128; 135–139; 146–150
- Lessons 109–112
  Proverbs 1–4; 15–16; 22; 31; Ecclesiastes 1–3; 11–12
- Lessons 113–116
  Isaiah 1–12
- Lessons 117–118
  Isaiah 13–14; 22; 24–30; 35
- Lessons 119–122
  Isaiah 40–49
- Lessons 123–125
  Isaiah 50–57
- Lessons 126–129
  Isaiah 58–66
- Lessons 130–133
  Jeremiah 1–3; 7; 16–18; 20
- Lessons 134–137
  Jeremiah 31–33; 36–38; Lamentations 1; 3
- Lessons 138–141
  Ezekiel 1–3; 33–34; 36–37; 47
- Lessons 142–145
  Daniel 1–7
- Lessons 146–148
  Hosea; Joel
- Lessons 149–151
  Amos; Obadiah; Jonah
- Lessons 152–154
  Micah; Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah
- Lessons 155–157
  Haggai 1–2; Zechariah 1–4; 7–14
- Lessons 158–160
  Malachi
Lessons 166–170
Life Preparation Lessons
- Doctrinal Mastery: Finding Answers to My Questions
- Lessons 166–170
  Scripture Study Skills
- Lessons 171–176
  For the Strength of Youth Guide
- Lessons 177–180
  Building Self–Reliance
- Lessons 181–187
  Physical and Emotional Health
- Lessons 188–191
  Preparing for Future Education and Employment
- Lessons 192–195
  Succeed in School
- Lessons 196–200
  Missionary Preparation
- Lessons 201–204
  Temple Preparation
- Lessons 205–208
  Teachings of Church Leaders
Appendix

Exodus 19: “A Peculiar Treasure unto Me”

“Exodus 19: ‘A Peculiar Treasure unto Me,’” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual (2026)

“Exodus 19: ‘A Peculiar Treasure unto Me,’” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual

Exodus 19–20; 24; 31–34: Lesson 48

Exodus 19

“A Peculiar Treasure unto Me”

A photograph of a mountain thought to be Mount Sinai, rising above a desert landscape on a clear day.

Heavenly Father loves all His children and desires a covenant relationship with each of us. Learning how He felt about the Israelites can help us understand how He feels about us. After leading the children of Israel out of Egypt, the Lord brought them to Mount Sinai to make covenants with Him. This lesson can help students feel in their hearts God’s desire to have a covenant relationship with them.

Student preparation: Invite students to reflect on what makes a relationship meaningful or important. They could think of someone whom they have a meaningful relationship with, and they could bring a picture of this person to share at the beginning of class.

Possible Learning Activities

Special relationships

Consider displaying a picture of someone you have a meaningful relationship with, such as a family member or a mentor. Share why your relationship with this person is important to you. Invite students to think about someone meaningful in their lives. If students brought a picture to class, they could share it now.

What makes your relationship with this person meaningful?

Invite students to ponder the following questions prayerfully. Ask them to record their thoughts and feelings in their study journals.
How meaningful to you is your relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
What makes the connection that you have with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ different from other relationships you have?
In what ways do you think your life might change as you continually strengthen your relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

Seek guidance from the Spirit to understand what you can do to strengthen your relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

“A peculiar treasure unto me”

After the children of Israel departed Egypt, the Lord led them to Mount Sinai (sometimes the scriptures refer to Mt. Sinai as Mt. Horeb; see Exodus 3:1), as He had promised (see Exodus 3:7–12; 19:1–4). For Moses and the children of Israel, Mount Sinai was like a temple: a place where they would make covenants with God.

Read Exodus 19:3–6, looking for words and phrases that teach about the kind of relationship Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want with us.

What did you find?

President Russell M. Nelson explained what it means to be God’s “peculiar treasure” (verse 5):

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew term from which peculiar was translated is segullah, which means “valued property,” or “treasure.” …

Thus, we see that the scriptural term peculiar signifies “valued treasure,” “made” or “selected by God.” For us to be identified by servants of the Lord as his peculiar people is a compliment of the highest order. (“Children of the Covenant,” Ensign, May 1995, 34)

To help students identify a principle, you may want to point out the words if and then in verse 5.

What principles can you identify from these verses?

Students may identify a variety of principles, including if we obey the Lord’s voice and keep our covenants with Him, we will become His holy people.

President Russell M. Nelson taught about the covenant relationship we can have with God:

Once you and I have made a covenant with God, our relationship with Him becomes much closer than before our covenant. Now we are bound together. Because of our covenant with God, He will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His merciful patience with us. Each of us has a special place in God’s heart. He has high hopes for us. (Russell M. Nelson, “The Everlasting Covenant,” Liahona, Oct. 2022, 6)

What stands out to you from this statement?

Read the following scripture passages, looking for evidence that God wants a covenant relationship with you. You may want to link or cross-reference these verses with Exodus 19:5–6.

Invite students to share words and phrases from these verses that show that God wants a covenant relationship with us. Students may mention that the Savior invites us to come unto Him so He can help us and give us rest (see Matthew 11:28–30). They might mention that the Savior gave Himself to redeem and purify us as His peculiar people (see Titus 2:14) or that we can be holy because the Savior is holy (see 1 Peter 1:16).

My relationship with God

To prepare students to answer the following questions in their study journals, you could share ways you have felt that God wants a covenant relationship with you. Invite students to reflect on their own experiences as you share.

You may also want to mention other evidence that God wants to have a covenant relationship with us. Examples might include feeling God’s love or receiving spiritual impressions that encourage us to do good and to become better.

Reflect on any impressions you have received from the Spirit, and respond to one or more of the following questions in your study journal:

What have you learned or felt that helps you want to make and keep covenants with God?
How does knowing that God wants a close covenant relationship with you affect your desire to come closer to Him?
How has God blessed you for striving to keep the covenants that you have made with Him?

After enough time, invite willing students to share their thoughts and feelings with the class. Consider sharing ways God has blessed you for making and keeping covenants with Him.

The Israelites prepare to make a covenant

The following summary can help students understand what Israel did to prepare to make a covenant with God. You might want to mention that after this, the Lord revealed the Ten Commandments, which students will study in the next two lessons. As you conclude the lesson, you might also share your thoughts and feelings about how God wants to make covenants with us.

The Israelites agreed to make a covenant with God to become His holy people. The Lord then indicated He would come and speak to the people (see Exodus 19:7–9). The Lord commanded Moses to sanctify the people, or make them holy, and for the people to cleanse their garments in preparation for when the Lord would “come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai” (Exodus 19:11). The people prepared themselves and gathered to Mount Sinai “to meet with God” (Exodus 19:17). There, they saw evidence of the Lord’s presence on the mountain. The Lord called Moses up the mountain to speak with Him and to reveal His will for the people (see Exodus 19:18–25).

Additional Resources

How is making a covenant with God different than a contract?

President Emily Belle Freeman, Young Women General President, spoke about the covenant path we walk as we make covenants with God:

10:24

We call this walking the covenant path—a path that begins with the covenant of baptism and leads to deeper covenants we make in the temple. Perhaps you hear those words and think of checkboxes. Maybe all you see is a path of requirements. A closer look reveals something more compelling. A covenant is not only about a contract, although that is important. It’s about a relationship. President Russell M. Nelson taught, “The covenant path is all about our relationship with God” [Russell M. Nelson, “The Everlasting Covenant,” Liahona, Oct. 2022, 11]. (Walking in Covenant Relationship with Christ,” Liahona, Nov. 2023, 77–78)

How can making and keeping covenants with God bless my life?

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles testified:

I testify that the covenant people of the Lord today indeed are armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory. I have witnessed faith, courage, perspective, persistence, and joy that extend far beyond mortal capacity—and that only God could provide. (“With the Power of God in Great Glory,” Liahona, Nov. 2021, 29–30)

How can making and keeping covenants influence the way we live?

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said:

15:3

Shining as a light to those around us, we consciously shape our desires, thoughts, choices, and actions. Seeking with all our heart to know and love the Savior, we separate ourselves from the world through covenants with God, being distinct, uncommon, and special, as we honor Him and His teachings without isolating ourselves from others who believe differently. (“Drawing Closer to the Savior,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 76)

Sister Becky Craven, formerly of the Young Women General Presidency, taught about the Lord’s expectation for us as His “peculiar treasure”:

12:24

As a covenant people, we are not meant to blend in with the rest of the world. We have been called “a peculiar people” [1 Peter 2:9]—what a compliment! As the influences of the world increasingly embrace the evil, we must strive with all diligence to stay firmly on the path that leads us safely to our Savior, widening the distance between our covenant living and worldly influences. (“Careful versus Casual,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 10)

Supplemental Learning Activities

“Holiness to the Lord”

You could use the following to discuss how we can become a holy nation. Show students an image of the words “Holiness to the Lord” on the outside of a temple. Help students discover what it means to be holy. One way they could do this is by searching “Holiness” and “Holy” in the Guide to the Scriptures.

Discuss why striving to be holy is an important part of preparing to attend the temple. You can also discuss how making and keeping temple covenants can help us become holy.

Different from the world

You can use the following to help students understand how a covenant relationship with God helps us be different from the world. You could discuss how the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai can symbolize leaving the world behind to make covenants with God.

Discuss how being “a peculiar treasure” (Exodus 19:5) and “an holy nation” (Exodus 19:6) would make the children of Israel different from the surrounding nations. You could also read the statement from Elder Neil L. Andersen or the statement from Sister Becky Craven in Additional Resources. Consider discussing one or more of the following questions:

How does keeping our covenants with God help us be different from the world?
How can we be different from the world without isolating ourselves from the world?
What effect can a young person who keeps their covenants have on people around them?

Nephi saw the Lord’s covenant people in the last days

The following can help students feel the power the Lord gives to His covenant people in the last days. You could invite students to study 1 Nephi 14:12–14, looking for how the Lord will bless His covenant people. Discuss how students have seen these blessings in their lives or in the lives of people they know. Consider reading the statement from Elder David A. Bednar in Additional Resources.

Moses’s and Israel’s experiences with Jehovah at Mount Sinai

Moses had multiple visits with the Lord on Mount Sinai as the Israelites made covenants with Jehovah. The following graphics can help students understand those visits. You could display the blank form, and use the completed form to help students discover what happened on each visit.