2 Nephi 7

MDC Contents			Victor Ludlow notes of Isaiah chapter 50: "Chapter 50 [of Isaiah, the text of 2 Nephi 7] is divided into three main sections: verses 1-3, a call to Israel to return to the Lord and make him their strength; verses 4-9, the third servant song; and verses 10-11, an injunction to all people to follow the servant, including a message of encouragement to the faithful and of warning to the unfaithful." (Ludlow, Victor L. Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet. Deseret Book 1982, p. 419). 2 Ne. 7:1 1 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. Meaning for Isaiah's audience: Israel did not always enjoy unbridled prosperity. The Abrahamic Covenant may have placed them in the position of being the chosen of the one true God, but it did not ensure continued bliss. As with Job's wife who urged him to "curse God and die," (Job 2:9), Israel would often blame their woes on the absence of their God. Isaiah has the Lord clarify the matter of who left whom. In the matter of the relationship between God and Israel, the Lord reminds Israel that he has not gone anywhere. Thus the Lord asks if he has given Israel a bill of divorcement, or which of any legal means of separation he has enacted. The answer, of course, is none of them. In the last sentence the Lord clearly highlights the reason for the distance between Israel and God; their own transgressions have alienated them from their God - who remains faithful. "In the first verse, the Lord asks to see the bill of divorcement between him and Israel. Alluding to the law of divorce given in Deuteronomy 24:1-4, which requires a formal bill of divorcement when a man puts away his wicked wife, the Lord asks a rhetorical question because he knows he has never given such a bill to his beloved. Although they are separated, they are not divorced. (Hosea, a contemporary of Isaiah, used the same analogy in his prophecy; see Hosea 1.) Furthermore, the Lord avers that he has not sold Israel into bondage and captivity as some fathers did in times of severe economic hardship. In the time of Isaiah, if a man was pressed by his creditors, he had the possibility of relieving his debt by selling his children as slaves. (Ex. 21:7; Neh. 1-5; Matt. 18:25.) And if he died, a creditor might take his children as payment. (2 Kgs. 4:1.) This slavery was not permanent; the person was indentured to work for a fixed number of years. In answer to the question "To whom has the Lord ever been in debt?" Isaiah answers that the Lord is indebted to no one and therefore has not been forced to sell Israel; Israel's separation and captivity is her own fault." (Ludlow, Victor L. Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet. Deseret Book, 1982, p. 420.) Meaning for Jacob's audience: There is no evidence in the Book of Mormon that Nephi's people were in general apostasy at this time, so this particular verse does not have the immediate relevance that similar Isaiah verses did when Nephi cited them to Laman Lemuel. If the context of this sermon is a fairly recently formed community of gentiles who have been included in with the lineage of Israel, it may be that this serves as a reminder to them of the strength of the covenant with God, and covenant that Nephi would have expected to continue to be his birthright as a descendant of Israel. 2 Ne. 7:2 2 Wherefore, when I came, there was no man; when I called, yea, there was none to answer. O house of Israel, is my hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem, or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make their rivers a wilderness and their fish to stink because the waters are dried up, and they die because of thirst. 2 Ne. 7:3 3 I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering. The Lord continues his rebuke of Israel. Not only was it Israel who left the Lord, but the Lord was not passive on his end of the covenant. While Israel was distant from the Lord, the Lord yet called to them - but they did not hear and did not answer. Thus it is with the Lord. He is always there, always calling, and we have but to recognize his voice and answer. As part of the Lord's rebuke of Israel, he reminds them that they ought to turn to him, for he has the power to save: "have I no power to deliver?" After asking this rhetorical question, the Lord reminds Israel of his awesome control over the very elements. 2 Ne. 7:4 4 The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season unto thee, O house of Israel. When ye are weary he waketh morning by morning. He waketh mine ear to hear as the learned. One of the difficulties in Isaiah is the change of speaker. Where the chapter begins with the voice of the Lord, now we are presented with the voice of a servant of God. This servant can be considered the same as that discussed for 1 Nephi 20-21. With the clear Messianic foreshadowing in verse 6, the speaker is Jesus in his role of mediator. In this verse, the servant indicates that God has given him direction in his message to Israel. In this case, while Israel is distant from the Lord ("when ye are weary") the Lord nevertheless watches over Israel ("he waketh morning by morning") and has sent the servant to tell them what they need ("he waketh mine ear to hear as the learned.") 2 Ne. 7:5 5 The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. The servant hears the call of God and willingly responds. 2 Ne. 7:6 6 I gave my back to the smiter, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For the mission he performs the servant will suffer. In these prescient verses, Isaiah shows that he has had a vision of the future, and while not nearly as clear as Nephi's descriptions of the mission of the Savior, Isaiah yet knew and had seen. These verses find all too apt fulfillment in the events of the Passion. 2 Ne. 7:7 7 For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. Apart from the prophetic description of events in Christ's life, verse 6 sets up a suffering servant - one who must withstand abuse for the calling he has been given. Where verse 6 describes the stripes of the world (and notes an associated shame that would be attached to such events) verse 7 gives the servant's reason for enduring. The Lord God is with him. The Lord's guidance will assure that the servant will speak with the learned and not be confounded (Jesus as a boy in the temple?) and because of the Lord, he will not feel shame. The matching of "shame" in the two verses is significant. In verse 6 the servant undergoes treatment which ought to shame him. Nevertheless, he not only withstands, but "I shall not be ashamed." There is a message for all listeners here. While following the Lord may not always be the way of the world (is seldom the way of the world?) nevertheless we may be confident and unashamed if we know that we are following God. We need not take our personal satisfaction from the accolades of men if we are attuned to God. 2 Ne. 7:8 8 And the Lord is near, and he justifieth me. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is mine adversary? Let him come near me, and I will smite him with the strength of my mouth. 2 Ne. 7:9 9 For the Lord God will help me. And all they who shall condemn me, behold, all they shall wax old as a garment, and the moth shall eat them up. The imagery in these two verses is one of contention. While it might be any contention, the specific context of these verses is not military, but verbal. In verse 8 the servant says of his adversary "let him come near me, and I will smite him with the strength of my mouth." This is not necessarily a physical battle that is being fought, but a battle nevertheless. The servant is reminding us that not all attacks on our souls are physical, and that the war of words contents for our minds which can guide our hearts. Even in this arena, the servant is confident. As he noted in verse 4, God has awakened his ear to understand the "learned" and he is equal to the task. Meaning for Jacob's audience: Once again, the possible context of a newly formed group highlights a subtext in Isaiah. If there is a conjoining of peoples, it is certain that the newly entered group would have come from a different religious system. While they were adopted into Israel from all indications (or at least from the lack of contrary indications) they would nevertheless have had a history of understanding the world from a very different world view. Later in the Book of Mormon we will encounter Nehor, who preaches convincingly another philosophy. Perhaps in these verses we have a context where some of the same was present in Nephi's young group. Perhaps these verses serve as a reminder that the Lord God is equal to philosophical debates? 2 Ne. 7:10 10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light? Isaiah sets up a contrasting set with verses 10 and 11. The image is darkness versus light. As with most of the darkness/light images, the context is one in which an individual will either be in darkness or light. Also as usual, light is connected with obedience to the gospel. The King James language of these verses is not as clear as it might be. Gileadi's translation of verse 10 is: "Who among you fears the Lord and heeds the voice of his servant, who, though he walk in darkness and have no light, trusts in the name of the Lord and relies on his God?" (Gileadi, Avraham. The Book of Isaiah. Deseret Book 1988, p. 196). The servant is setting up Israel as hypocrites. That while they profess to follow the Lord, yet they do not. Thus the servant addresses one who might proclaim to fear the Lord, yet walks in darkness. 2 Ne. 7:11 11 Behold all ye that kindle fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks which ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand--ye shall lie down in sorrow. As with verse 10, verse 11 could be clearer in the contrast between the true follower and the hypocrite: "But you are lighters of fires, all of you, who illuminate with mere sparks. Walk then by the light of your fires and by the sparks you have kindled. This shall you have from my hand: you shall lie down in agony." (Gileadi pl 197). Because the hypocrites are walking in darkness they "light fires." They have no natural light, so the attempt to make their own. As a result, they walk not in daylight, but by "sparks." The word of the servant is clear to such, they are not on the path to glory, but to hell.
			by Brant Gardner. Copyright 1998