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In Returning and Rest

Judah ran to Egypt for safety; Isaiah pointed to a God who waits to be gracious and makes deserts bloom

  • 📖 Adult Sunday School
  • Week 39
  • 📅 Sunday, September 27, 2026
🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

When we’re afraid we are tempted to run to our own “Egypts,” but the Lord waits to be gracious; as we return to Him in quiet trust, He heals what is broken and makes our deserts bloom.

I can turn to the Lord first when I’m afraid, trust His timing while I wait, and strengthen someone else who is waiting too.

Study it yourself firstRead Isaiah 13–14; 22; 24–30; 35 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Isaiah 13–14; 22; 24–30; 35)
Know the chapters

This week’s block is a tour of Isaiah’s whole message. Chapters 13–14 announce the fall of proud Babylon, and 14:12–15 turns to Lucifer, whose five “I will” boasts end in a fall (see Moses 4:1–4). Chapter 22 replaces a self-important steward with Eliakim, fastened “as a nail in a sure place” and given the key of the house of David, language later used of Jesus Christ (Revelation 3:7). Chapters 24–27 look toward the end of the world as we know it: the Lord as a refuge from the storm (25:4), death swallowed up in victory (25:8), perfect peace for the mind stayed on Him (26:3). Chapters 28–30 warn Jerusalem’s leaders, chapter 29 foresees the sealed book and “a marvellous work and a wonder,” and chapter 35 ends with the desert blossoming as the rose.

This lesson centers on Isaiah 30. The kingdom of Israel to the north had fallen to Assyria in 722 BC, and Judah now lived under Assyria’s shadow. Isaiah 30 fits the tense years before Assyria invaded Judah in 701 BC, when King Hezekiah’s court sent envoys and treasure south to buy Egypt’s protection. Isaiah called it trusting “the shadow of Egypt” (30:2). The Assyrian envoy later mocked the same hope, calling Egypt a “bruised reed” (2 Kings 18:21), and in the end Jerusalem was delivered by the Lord, not by Pharaoh (2 Kings 19:35).

Adults tend to love Isaiah’s paired images, so point them out. Two shadows: Egypt’s shadow (30:2) versus the Lord as “a shadow from the heat” (25:4). Two kinds of stillness: Egypt’s strength is “to sit still,” doing nothing (30:7), while Judah’s strength would be “in quietness and in confidence” (30:15), which is trust, not idleness. Two kinds of waiting: the Lord waits “that he may be gracious,” and blessed are those who wait for Him (30:18). And after the warnings, the Lord promises a guiding voice “behind thee” (30:21) and a day when He “bindeth up the breach of his people” (30:26).

Twenty-five minutes goes fast. Resist covering every chapter; one passage read well and discussed honestly will do more than a survey. The Restoration thread from Isaiah 29 (Joseph Smith received the plates on September 22, 1827, 199 years ago this week; see Joseph Smith—History 1:59, 63–65) is ready as a bonus step if you have time or a class that wants it.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Isaiah 30:1–21 and 35:1–7 once. Open by asking, “When something frightening happens, what do you reach for first?” Read Isaiah 30:15–18 together, ask who is waiting for whom in verse 18, then use the Our Egypts questions for most of the time. Close by reading 35:3–4, inviting one or two testimonies, and asking each person to strengthen one pair of “feeble knees” this week.

What to bring2 items

Tick what you have. Forgot something? Every step that needs a supply has a no-supplies version in the plan below.

Before class

  1. Read Isaiah 30 straight through, then Isaiah 35. Mark verses 2, 7, 15, 16, 18 and 21 in chapter 30; they carry the lesson.
  2. Ask two people ahead of time to read: one for the Envoy’s verse (30:6) and one for the Reader verses (30:13–14 and 30:19–21). A quick text on Saturday is plenty; don’t spring Isaiah on anyone cold.
  3. Find a chipped mug or cracked pot and something green to put in it. Leave the greenery out of sight until the testimony step.
  4. Decide your own honest answer to “What is my Egypt?” If the room is quiet, you’ll go first, and your honesty sets the tone.
  5. Pick the two or three discussion questions you most want to reach. You won’t have time for all of them, and that’s fine.

Discussion tips

  • Quiet class? Isaiah can feel intimidating. Give a minute of silence to scan the verses before asking anything, and use the pairs moment: people who won’t speak to the room will talk to a neighbor.
  • One voice filling every pause? Thank them warmly, then say, “Let’s hear from someone who hasn’t had a chance yet,” or send the next question to pairs first.
  • Someone in the room may be in a real desert right now: grief, illness, divorce, a child who has walked away, a faith crisis. Don’t make “returning and rest” sound like a quick fix. Isaiah 30:20 admits the Lord sometimes gives “the bread of adversity”; honor that before you testify of healing.
  • If someone says, “I did turn to the Lord first, and it still fell apart,” thank them. Point to verse 18: the Lord waits “that he may be gracious,” on His timeline, and many answers come after long waiting. You don’t need to resolve it; you can sit with it and testify.
  • Visitors and new members: say plainly that Isaiah is hard for everyone, give page numbers or tap the references on the shared screen, and never ask someone to read aloud without checking first.

The 25-minute plan25 min + bonus

Bonus steps are for when you have extra time. Each “On the screen” line is what the class sees on a shared screen in Teach Mode in the Gospel Sparks app; on paper, read it aloud or write it on the board. On the web you can play Scripture Showdown from this page.

1. Hook

The Crack in the Mug

3 min

Opens with a real-life question about where we turn under pressure, before anyone opens Isaiah.

  1. Hold up the chipped or cracked mug.
  2. SAY“Most things don’t break all at once. There’s a hairline crack for a long time, and then one morning it gives way.”
  3. Ask: “When something frightening happens (a diagnosis, a layoff, a phone call about a child), what do you instinctively reach for first?”
  4. Give 20 seconds of quiet to think, then take two or three answers. Accept every honest one: planning, research, calling someone, worrying, working harder.
  5. SAY“Isaiah watched his whole nation answer that question, and today we’ll see what they reached for, and what the Lord was offering instead.”

On the screen: 🏺 When trouble comes, what do you reach for first?

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A chipped or cracked mug or clay flower pot, plus a small sprig of greenery or a flower to tuck inside it at the end

The Crack You Can’t See

  1. SAY“Picture a hairline crack in a basement wall. For years it’s nothing. Then one spring the wall bows out, and suddenly it’s everything.”
  2. Ask: “When something frightening happens (a diagnosis, a layoff, a phone call about a child), what do you instinctively reach for first?”
  3. Give 20 seconds of quiet to think, then take two or three answers. Accept every honest one.
  4. SAY“Isaiah watched his whole nation answer that question. Let’s see what they reached for, and what the Lord was offering instead.”
2. Story

Read It in Context: The Caravan to Egypt

6 min

Reads Isaiah 30 as a real moment in history so its promises land with weight.

  1. Open Teach Mode to the scripture scene. The shared screen shows one scene at a time.
  2. Read each scene’s context yourself, then let the assigned voices read the verses. You read the Lord’s words; no one is assigned to speak as the Lord.
  3. Keep it moving: context, verses, next scene. Save comments for the discussion.
  4. After scene 6, let a few seconds of silence sit before moving on.

On the screen: 🐫 Isaiah 30: a frightened nation, a caravan to Egypt, and a God who waits · Follow along in Isaiah 30:1–21

3. Scripture

Two Kinds of Waiting

4 min

Studies one verse closely so class members discover for themselves how the Lord feels about them while they’re away.

  1. Put Isaiah 30:18 on the shared screen and read it slowly.
  2. SAY“The word ‘wait’ shows up twice. With the person next to you, find both. Who is waiting for whom?”
  3. After a minute, draw it out: the Lord waits for us “that he may be gracious,” and we are blessed when we wait for Him.
  4. Contrast verse 16: “We will flee upon horses.” Ask: “Why is waiting on the Lord so much harder for us than running?”
  5. Share Sister Amy A. Wright’s words about waiting upon the Lord (in “From general conference” below).

On the screen: ⏳ The Lord waits to be gracious. Blessed are all they that wait for Him. · Isaiah 30:18 · Find both “waits.” Who is waiting for whom?

4. Talk it over

Our Egypts

6 min

Helps adults see where they’re tempted to trust something good in place of the Lord, and what returning looks like.

  1. Pick two or three questions; don’t try to cover all of them.
  2. Start the second question in pairs: give one minute to talk with a neighbor, then invite a few to share with the room.
  3. Let silence work. Count to seven in your head before rescuing a question.
  4. If the room is quiet, share your own honest answer first.
💬 Ask the class
  • Wanting safety wasn’t wicked. According to verses 1–2, what turned Judah’s plan into a spiritual problem?
  • What are the “Egypts” of our day: good things that can quietly take the Lord’s place? (Talk with a neighbor first.)
  • Egypt’s strength was “to sit still” (verse 7); ours is “in quietness and in confidence” (verse 15). What’s the difference between doing nothing and trusting God?
  • Verse 10: why might any of us sometimes prefer “smooth things” to right things? How do we stay open to counsel we don’t want to hear?
  • What does “returning and rest” look like in an ordinary, overloaded week?

On the screen: 🏜️ What are the “Egypts” we’re tempted to trust instead of the Lord? · Isaiah 30:2, 7, 10, 15

5. Talk it over

Streams in the Desert

4 min

Turns Isaiah’s promise of restoration into a charge to minister to people who are waiting.

  1. Ask a volunteer to read Isaiah 35:1–7 while the class follows along.
  2. SAY“After thirty chapters of warning, this is where Isaiah lands: dry ground turning into pools.”
  3. Read verses 3–4 again yourself and point out that the promise comes with an assignment.
  4. Ask one or two questions, then move to the testimony on time.
💬 Ask the class
  • Which image in Isaiah 35 speaks to a dry season you’ve lived through?
  • Who has strengthened your “feeble knees”? What did they actually do or say?
  • Who around us has a “fearful heart” right now, and what would “Be strong, fear not” sound like coming from us?

On the screen: 🌵 The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. · Isaiah 35:1–7 · “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.”

6. Testimony

He Binds Up the Breach

2 min

Ends with testimony of Jesus Christ as the Healer and a concrete invitation for the week.

  1. Read the end of Isaiah 30:26: the day “the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.”
  2. Tuck the greenery into the cracked mug and set it where everyone can see it.
  3. Invite one or two people to share, in a sentence or two, how the Lord has healed something broken or made a dry season bloom.
  4. Bear a short testimony that Jesus Christ waits to be gracious and that nothing broken is beyond His reach.
  5. Invite: “This week, when worry hits, make returning to the Lord your first move, and strengthen one pair of feeble knees.”

On the screen: 🌱 The Lord binds up the breach of His people and heals their wounds. · Isaiah 30:26 · This week: return first. Strengthen someone’s feeble knees.

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A chipped or cracked mug or clay flower pot, plus a small sprig of greenery or a flower to tuck inside it at the end

  1. Read the end of Isaiah 30:26: the day “the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.” Then read Isaiah 35:1.
  2. Invite one or two people to share, in a sentence or two, how the Lord has healed something broken or made a dry season bloom.
  3. Bear a short testimony that Jesus Christ waits to be gracious and that nothing broken is beyond His reach.
  4. Invite: “This week, when worry hits, make returning to the Lord your first move, and strengthen one pair of feeble knees.”
7. Talk it over

A Marvellous Work and a Wonder

5 minBONUS

Connects Isaiah 29 to the Restoration, 199 years after Joseph Smith received the plates.

  1. Read Isaiah 29:11–12, then Joseph Smith—History 1:63–65, where Martin Harris takes characters from the plates to Professor Charles Anthon.
  2. Read Isaiah 29:13 and point out that the Lord used similar words to Joseph in the First Vision (Joseph Smith—History 1:19).
  3. Read Isaiah 29:14 together.
  4. Ask one or two questions.
💬 Ask the class
  • Why do you think the Lord chose someone “not learned” to bring forth the Book of Mormon?
  • Isaiah 29:13 describes honoring God with our lips while our hearts are far away. What helps you keep your heart in your worship?
  • What part of the Restoration still feels “marvellous” to you, and why?

On the screen: 📜 “A marvellous work and a wonder”: Isaiah saw the Restoration coming. · Isaiah 29:11–14 · Joseph Smith—History 1:19, 63–65

8. Game

Scripture Showdown

5 minBONUS

A light, friendly review if you finish early.

  1. Split the room down the middle into two teams.
  2. Launch Scripture Showdown on your phone or tablet and read each question aloud.
  3. After each reveal, read the reference so people can mark it.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

On the screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown: how well do you know Isaiah 29, 30 and 35?

Read it together

The Caravan to Egypt

Isaiah 30:1–21 ↗

Reading parts

  • EnvoyReads Isaiah 30:6, the treasure caravan heading south through the desert.
  • ReaderReads Isaiah 30:13–14 (the bulging wall) and later 30:19–21 (the voice behind you).
  • The ClassEveryone reads the people’s own words together: 30:10–11 and 30:16.

Scenes

  1. ⚔️ Assyria is coming

    Around 700 BC, Assyria is the superpower. It has already swallowed the northern kingdom of Israel. Now Jerusalem’s leaders are frightened, and they come up with a plan that looks sensible on paper.

    🎬 The teacher reads this context. No scripture yet; let the class feel the fear.

  2. 🐫 Treasure on camels, headed for Egypt

    The plan is to buy protection from Egypt. Envoys load treasure onto donkeys and camels and cross a dangerous desert to pay Pharaoh. Isaiah’s message from the Lord: they made the plan, but they never asked Him.

    🎬 The teacher reads Isaiah 30:1–2. Then the Envoy reads verse 6.

  3. 🙉 “Speak unto us smooth things”

    Isaiah is told to write it down so it stands as a witness. Then the people’s real attitude comes out: they want prophets who only say comfortable things.

    🎬 The Class reads Isaiah 30:10–11 together. Pause and let the words land.

  4. 🧱 A wall with a bulge in it

    Isaiah pictures a tall wall with a bulge that slowly grows until it collapses all at once, and a clay pot smashed so thoroughly that not one piece is big enough to scoop water.

    🎬 The Reader reads Isaiah 30:13–14. The teacher can hold up the cracked mug.

  5. 🐎 “In returning and rest shall ye be saved”

    Here is the heart of the chapter. The Lord offers a different kind of strength: come back, rest, trust. And the people answer, “No, we’ll ride fast horses.”

    🎬 The teacher reads Isaiah 30:15. The Class answers with verse 16.

  6. 🌅 The Lord waits to be gracious

    After all that, the Lord doesn’t walk away. He waits, ready to be gracious the moment they cry to Him, and promises a voice behind them showing the way.

    🎬 The teacher reads Isaiah 30:18. The Reader reads verses 19–21. Let a few seconds of quiet follow.

Key verse

Isaiah 30:18 ↗
“And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.”
In plain words: The Lord isn’t waiting for a chance to punish; He is waiting for the moment we turn, so He can pour out grace and mercy. And there’s a blessing for those who wait on Him in return.

More verses

Isaiah 30:15 ↗
“For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.”
In plain words: Safety comes from turning back to God and trusting Him, not from frantic plans. The tragedy is in the last four words: they wouldn’t.
Isaiah 30:21 ↗
“And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.”
In plain words: The Lord promises guidance right at the forks in the road, like a voice just behind your shoulder.
Isaiah 35:3–4 ↗
“Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.”
In plain words: Isaiah’s promise comes with an assignment: steady the people around you who are worn out or afraid, and remind them that God will come and save them.
Isaiah 29:14 ↗
“Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.”
In plain words: God promised a restoration so remarkable that human wisdom couldn’t produce it or explain it away. We are living in it.

Scripture Showdown7 questions

  1. Where did Judah’s leaders turn for protection instead of asking the Lord?
    • A. Babylon
    • B. Egypt
    • C. Assyria
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Egypt Isaiah 30:2: they went to trust “in the shadow of Egypt.”

  2. Finish Isaiah 30:15: “In returning and rest shall ye be…”
    • A. saved
    • B. strong
    • C. safe
    Show answer

    ✅ A. saved “In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.”

  3. In Isaiah 30:10, what did the people ask their prophets to speak?
    • A. Right things
    • B. Nothing at all
    • C. Smooth things
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Smooth things “Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things.”

  4. What did Isaiah compare the people’s iniquity to?
    • A. A leaky roof
    • B. A bulging wall ready to fall
    • C. A dry well
    Show answer

    ✅ B. A bulging wall ready to fall Isaiah 30:13: a breach “swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly.”

  5. According to Isaiah 30:18, why does the Lord wait?
    • A. That he may be gracious unto you
    • B. To see who deserves help
    • C. Because He is far away
    Show answer

    ✅ A. That he may be gracious unto you He waits to be gracious and to have mercy, and blesses all who wait for Him.

  6. In Isaiah 35, what will the desert do?
    • A. Swallow the cities
    • B. Stay dry forever
    • C. Blossom as the rose
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Blossom as the rose Isaiah 35:1: “the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.”

  7. What did Joseph Smith receive on September 22, 1827?
    • A. His first mission call
    • B. The gold plates
    • C. The Kirtland Temple keys
    Show answer

    ✅ B. The gold plates Joseph Smith—History 1:59. The sealed book of Isaiah 29 was about to come forth.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

From general conference

“Waiting upon the Lord can be a sacred place—a place of polishing and refining where we can come to know the Savior in a deeply personal way.”

— Sister Amy A. Wright, “Christ Heals That Which Is Broken,” April 2022

Share in Two Kinds of Waiting, after the class finds both “waits” in Isaiah 30:18.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • How Firm a Foundation Hymns, no. 85

    A hymn about the Lord’s sure protection, the answer to trusting Egypt. A strong opening hymn. Find it ↗

  • I Need Thee Every Hour Hymns, no. 98

    A quiet hymn of returning to the Lord and resting in Him. Find it ↗

This week’s invitation

Return First

This week, when worry hits, make turning to the Lord your first move: a prayer and a verse before the phone, the spreadsheet or the worst-case scenario. Then strengthen one pair of “feeble knees” (Isaiah 35:3) with a visit, a text or a meal.

Take it home

In Sunday School we read Isaiah 30: frightened leaders ran to Egypt for help, while the Lord promised, “In returning and rest shall ye be saved” (Isaiah 30:15) and waited to be gracious (30:18). Take it home: at dinner, ask what everyone reaches for first when they’re worried, and read Isaiah 35:1–4 together.

📝 After class

What worked? Who needs a check-in this week? Jot it here on a printed copy, or in the app’s private class notes.

Got extra time?

🌳 Two Shadows · 4 min

  1. Read Isaiah 30:2 (trusting “the shadow of Egypt”) and then Isaiah 25:4 (the Lord as “a shadow from the heat”).
  2. Ask: “Both are shade from danger. What makes one a trap and the other a refuge?”
  3. Add Isaiah 26:3 and ask what it looks like to keep a mind “stayed” on the Lord in a noisy season.

🌠 The Fall of the Morning Star · 5 min

  1. Read Isaiah 14:12–15 and count Lucifer’s “I will” statements.
  2. Read Moses 4:1–4 for the latter-day account of his rebellion, and contrast it with the Savior’s “Thy will be done.”
  3. Ask: “Where does ‘I will’ pride show up in ordinary adult life: work, marriage, callings?”
  4. Close by reading Isaiah 14:3, the rest the Lord gives from sorrow and fear.

🔩 A Nail in a Sure Place · 4 min

  1. Read Isaiah 22:20–23, where the Lord gives Eliakim the key of the house of David and fastens him “as a nail in a sure place.”
  2. Read Revelation 3:7, where the same key describes Jesus Christ.
  3. Ask: “What have you hung your peace on this year? What would it mean to hang it on Christ first?”

Sources

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, the Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tap or click a reference to open it in Gospel Library. Start with the official Come, Follow Me manual; these ideas are here to help it come alive.

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