Week of February 19 - 25 Come, Follow M3
1 Nephi 6-- 10
The words of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, which he spoke unto the people of Nephi:
Behold, my beloved brethren, I, Jacob,
having been called of God, and ordained after the manner of his holy order, and
having been consecrated by my brother Nephi, unto whom ye look as a king [leader] or a protector, and on whom ye depend for
safety, behold ye know that I have spoken unto you exceedingly many
things. Nevertheless, I speak unto you
again; for I am desirous for the welfare of your souls. (2 Nephi 6: 1-3)
The Welfare of Your Souls
It had been forty
years since Lehi and his family had left Jerusalem.[1]
This would mean that Jacob must have been over thirty years old. Nephi had
called him and his younger brother, Joseph, and ordained them to assist the
work of the ministry. Jacob had been
consecrated by his brother who understood that leadership could only occur
under principles of righteousness, and that people would accept a leader’s
guidance when they knew they were loved.
Hence, Jacob’s concern for the welfare of the people’s souls. He loved
them. He was desirous that none of them
should be lost to sin.
Jacob also loved
Isaiah and studied his words from the Brass Plates. In these verses, Jacob touched on the
writings of Isaiah as he taught about the gathering of Israel in the last days;
the role the Gentiles would play in the gathering; the coming of the Messiah in
the meridian of time; the promise that He would come again at the last day.
Though the world would be evil in that day with great tribulation, Jacob
invites us to wait for Him. He will surely come. In that day, all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Savior and
thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of
Jacob. (v. 18)
[1] See 2 Nephi 5: 34
Yea, for thus saith the Lord: Have I put thee away, or
have I cast thee off forever? For thus saith the Lord: Where is the
bill of your mother’s divorcement?
To whom have I put thee away, or to which of my creditors have I sold you? Yea, to whom have I sold you? Behold, for your iniquities
have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.[1] (2
Nephi 7: 1)
You
Have Sold Yourselves
Jacob taught the people some of the history
of Israel. Most of the Nephites, by
then, had never known Jerusalem or the manner of prophesying among the Jews
(2 Nephi 25:
1) so Nephi and Jacob had to teach them their
own history. Jacob taught them, among other things, about the times when the
God of Israel had stepped away from the people because they had stepped away
from Him. When that happened, the people
tended to complain that God had forsaken them, as if it were His fault and none
of their own. They failed to understand
that no parent can reward a child for deliberate disobedience and during much
of the history, Israel had been openly disobedient. Many of the family of Lehi
had likewise been rebellious and disobedient, primary the offspring of Laman
and Lemuel, and as a result, they, too, had been cut off from God. The Nephites themselves faced that
potentiality if they ever were to turn from God.
Isaiah frequently used the metaphor of the
Lord being the husband and Israel, the unfaithful wife. He used that image in describing Israel’s
estrangement from God by pointing out that He had not divorced them,
though He had withdrawn for a time. In
ancient Israel, it was all too common that people sold their wives and children
into slavery to pay their debts.
Apparently, ancient Israel accused the Lord of having done that. Isaiah taught that Israel had sold herself by
sin.
Do we ever sometimes try to blame God for
our mistakes? God will never force
anyone. We do what we choose to do
because of our agency. If we fail, it is
our failure, not God’s.
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