Jacob 1 - That We Might Persuade Them to Come Unto Christ I'm taking an online economics class right now, which prompted me to think of the definition of economics in the context of the scriptures. Economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources. In the case of Nephi and his successor Jacob, the plates upon which they engraved their record was a scarce resource. They were costly to make and difficult to engrave, and instilling a tradition of passing them through generations was surely cumbersome. Recognizing the great importance of spiritual things and the challenge of maintaining records, Nephi instructed Jacob to prioritize religious instruction saying, " if there were preaching which was sacred, or revelation which was great, or prophesying, that I should engraven the heads of them upon these plates, and touch upon them as much as it were possible, for Christ’s sake, and for the sake of our people" (Jacob 1:4). This priority was not only reflecte
Isaiah prophesies of the coming of the Lord in words famously set to music in Handel's Messiah, Unto Us a Child is Born (performed here by the London Symphony Orchestra).
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (2 Nephi 19:6).
This time reading this chapter, though, I decided to try to understand the first five verses, which I have glossed over in the past to get to the "good part." Many of the comments below are taken from Verse by Verse - The Book of Mormon (Ogden, Skinner. pg. 195), but I tried to add a few thoughts of my own, too (italicized below):
1 Nevertheless, the dimness [captivity and apostasy] shall not be such as was in her [the tribes of Israel's] vexation, when at first he [the Lord] lightly afflicted [allowed the Assryian invasion] the land of Zebulun [Nazareth], and the land of Naphtali [sea of Galilee region], and afterwards did more grievously afflict by the way of the Red Sea beyond Jordan in Galilee of the nations.
2 The people that walked in darkness [the gentiles who displaced the Jews in in Nazareth and Galilee) have seen a great light [the coming of the Messiah]; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death [literally, Galilee, which is covered in black volcanic stone from a dormant volcano; figuratively mortality], upon them hath the light [the Messiah] shined.
3 Thou hast multiplied the nation [expanded the kingdom of God, in terms of numbers and glory], and increased the joy—they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest [the peace and confidence found in righteousness; the righteous works of God's children are frequently referred to as wheat, olives, and fruit. The Messiah makes our righteousness or "the harvest" possible (Matthew 6:27), and increases our joy], and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil [enjoy the blessings of God].
4 For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden [freed from literal bondage and sin], and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor [enemy armies and sin].
5 For every battle of the warrior [the hosts of Israel, God's people] is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. [This last phrase still confuses me. I get the sense that Isaiah is drawing a contrast between the battles fought by humans, e.g. the hosts of Israel, which are chaotic a tumultuous, and the cleansing fire of the Lord that will purge the world of sin, which is swift and powerful. I also see personal application as the Spirit can cleanse and purify us through the baptism of fire in a way that is far more elegant and effective than our own efforts to change our attitudes and behavior]
Image Credit: © 2017 Harvest Church Plainfield
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