If you have ever listened to the way gold miners talk in the movies, they talk about finding the main or richest vein of gold within the rock. They chip away looking for good color until they run into a pure vein, where almost everything you pull out of the mine is more gold than rock. Well, 2 Nephi 10-24 is that kind of vein. It is dripping with doctrinal gold. It makes summarizing it or writing about it almost ridiculous. First, it is already a summary of some of the most important passages of Isaiah, and second, it is so rich that no matter what is said, 10 important things are left unsaid. However, that is the challenge before me, so here goes...
Jacob begins preaching on day two of conference and explains that the promises he has read them and the ones he is about to tell them are for them because they are members of the house of Israel, which also means it would apply to anyone that accepts the gospel because they are also considered part of the Tribes of Israel. He promises that although many people including their own children may die in unbelief, because of the savior their children will be restored to them. He tells them that an angel revealed unto him that the savior shall be called Christ and that he would be born among the jews and that they would crucify him. Now, I thought Christ was a title (so it makes sense that would be easily revealed). The saviors earthly name would have been Jesus Barjoseph, which actually would have been Joshua Barjoseph, since that is the hebrew. I think the title of Christ was actually greek, so it is interesting that the greek title is revealed to Jacob. Either that, or as it was translated, the more familiar name of Jesus the Christ is what Joseph Smith read as the translation. That makes sense to me as well. Either way, the saviors name and title is revealed to Jacob who teaches it to his people. This probably comes in handy later.
This chapter is largely about God fulfilling his promises of the covenant. Obedience is our end of the bargain, and his end of the bargain is gathering our posterity and not allowing them to be lost forever. Is this a driving force within us? I mean, it is a biological force to propagate the species, and particularly our own DNA. It seems that it is used as a spiritual force as well. It isn't so much, if you obey, life will be easy and all will be well. The promise is that our obedient posterity will be gathered and returned to the land of their inheritence. You may wander in the wilderness, but in the end, the family makes it to the promised land kind of thing.
Jacob consecrates the land they are on to their seed. Now in the BOM there are several different peoples brought there. All of them have lands in the western hemisphere consecrated to seed. I wonder how many are gathering here now? Trivia that makes you go hmmmm....
In the end we are told we have the freedom to choose, but I have to say that Jacob phrases it a bit funny. You can choose eternal life or everlasting death... bwah bwah bwah! While that is the logical juxtaposition in the end, and perhaps the eternal perspective we should keep, it is weird to think with each choice we make that it is actually life or death. Maybe that was too irreverent.
Nephi lets us know that Jacob preached a lot more and a lot longer, but that Nephi has recorded what he feels are the important highlights, and he has other things he wants to write into the record. He does testify that both he and Jacob have seen Christ. He also explains that the law of Moses is given to prepare people to receive Christ, at which time, the law will be fulfilled and the law of Moses will come to a close. (Side note- since Nephi is referring to the ordinances of animal sacrifice here, it is interesting that despite the disbelief of some that Christ was the Messiah, the animal sacrifice did end with the destruction of the temple around 70A.D. and isn't practiced) Nephi testifies that there is a Christ that will come and that he will be the fulfillment and beginning of all the promises that God had made, and that without a Christ there would be no God. And then he begins to copy verses of Isaiah.
I always wonder about this. Was Nephi worried that with the seperation from Jerusalem, their language was becoming to altered for all of them to understand the Isaiah records they already had, so he was transposing the ones he wanted to make sure to preserve to his posterity? OR was this purely for us? Did we need the repeat and clarification of Isaiah (although what is here isn't that much clearer than what we have of Isaiah)? Or both? Or neither and something else entirely? Too many questions.
Since many of the prophecies of Isaiah were of the Savior's mortal ministry, they have been fulfilled. Isaiah also prophesied about the last days before the Saviors return and I am just going to put a little + sign next to the things I think have been fulfilled.
+There will be a temple of the Lord built in the tops of the mountains and all nations shall flow into it.
He shall judge among the nations, and they will beat their swords into plow shares (seems to ebb and flow, but don't seem to get all the way there)
Lord has forsaken his people (+?) because they worship idols and the work of their own hands.
Mean man boweth not himself down, nor the great man humble himself (++++ doesn't this happen all the time?)
Lofty looks of men humbled and haughtiness of men bowed down. (still coming) Day of the Lord, idols abolished, the lord will appear and all people will know who he is.
Okay, I have to say here, that I am not unappreciative of some of the works of man and I wonder how to watch myself in that. I am one of those people that cringes in disaster movies because there is a penchant for destroying some of the worlds most beautiful and meaningful buildings. I don't like it. I love art, culture, and many things that are man made. Some would say that all things of worth including art and culture are inspired by god, and therefore unjustly credited to man. I am not sure where I lie in this sometimes.
Jacob begins preaching on day two of conference and explains that the promises he has read them and the ones he is about to tell them are for them because they are members of the house of Israel, which also means it would apply to anyone that accepts the gospel because they are also considered part of the Tribes of Israel. He promises that although many people including their own children may die in unbelief, because of the savior their children will be restored to them. He tells them that an angel revealed unto him that the savior shall be called Christ and that he would be born among the jews and that they would crucify him. Now, I thought Christ was a title (so it makes sense that would be easily revealed). The saviors earthly name would have been Jesus Barjoseph, which actually would have been Joshua Barjoseph, since that is the hebrew. I think the title of Christ was actually greek, so it is interesting that the greek title is revealed to Jacob. Either that, or as it was translated, the more familiar name of Jesus the Christ is what Joseph Smith read as the translation. That makes sense to me as well. Either way, the saviors name and title is revealed to Jacob who teaches it to his people. This probably comes in handy later.
This chapter is largely about God fulfilling his promises of the covenant. Obedience is our end of the bargain, and his end of the bargain is gathering our posterity and not allowing them to be lost forever. Is this a driving force within us? I mean, it is a biological force to propagate the species, and particularly our own DNA. It seems that it is used as a spiritual force as well. It isn't so much, if you obey, life will be easy and all will be well. The promise is that our obedient posterity will be gathered and returned to the land of their inheritence. You may wander in the wilderness, but in the end, the family makes it to the promised land kind of thing.
Jacob consecrates the land they are on to their seed. Now in the BOM there are several different peoples brought there. All of them have lands in the western hemisphere consecrated to seed. I wonder how many are gathering here now? Trivia that makes you go hmmmm....
In the end we are told we have the freedom to choose, but I have to say that Jacob phrases it a bit funny. You can choose eternal life or everlasting death... bwah bwah bwah! While that is the logical juxtaposition in the end, and perhaps the eternal perspective we should keep, it is weird to think with each choice we make that it is actually life or death. Maybe that was too irreverent.
Nephi lets us know that Jacob preached a lot more and a lot longer, but that Nephi has recorded what he feels are the important highlights, and he has other things he wants to write into the record. He does testify that both he and Jacob have seen Christ. He also explains that the law of Moses is given to prepare people to receive Christ, at which time, the law will be fulfilled and the law of Moses will come to a close. (Side note- since Nephi is referring to the ordinances of animal sacrifice here, it is interesting that despite the disbelief of some that Christ was the Messiah, the animal sacrifice did end with the destruction of the temple around 70A.D. and isn't practiced) Nephi testifies that there is a Christ that will come and that he will be the fulfillment and beginning of all the promises that God had made, and that without a Christ there would be no God. And then he begins to copy verses of Isaiah.
I always wonder about this. Was Nephi worried that with the seperation from Jerusalem, their language was becoming to altered for all of them to understand the Isaiah records they already had, so he was transposing the ones he wanted to make sure to preserve to his posterity? OR was this purely for us? Did we need the repeat and clarification of Isaiah (although what is here isn't that much clearer than what we have of Isaiah)? Or both? Or neither and something else entirely? Too many questions.
Since many of the prophecies of Isaiah were of the Savior's mortal ministry, they have been fulfilled. Isaiah also prophesied about the last days before the Saviors return and I am just going to put a little + sign next to the things I think have been fulfilled.
+There will be a temple of the Lord built in the tops of the mountains and all nations shall flow into it.
He shall judge among the nations, and they will beat their swords into plow shares (seems to ebb and flow, but don't seem to get all the way there)
Lord has forsaken his people (+?) because they worship idols and the work of their own hands.
Mean man boweth not himself down, nor the great man humble himself (++++ doesn't this happen all the time?)
Lofty looks of men humbled and haughtiness of men bowed down. (still coming) Day of the Lord, idols abolished, the lord will appear and all people will know who he is.
Okay, I have to say here, that I am not unappreciative of some of the works of man and I wonder how to watch myself in that. I am one of those people that cringes in disaster movies because there is a penchant for destroying some of the worlds most beautiful and meaningful buildings. I don't like it. I love art, culture, and many things that are man made. Some would say that all things of worth including art and culture are inspired by god, and therefore unjustly credited to man. I am not sure where I lie in this sometimes.
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