Friday, March 9, 2012
2 Nephi 15; 19 and 20
Right now I am reading scriptures from Isaiah. I have a hard time concentrating and understanding him but I'm trying. Something that struck me was a sentence that was repeated five times. "For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still." When I first read this my impression was he can be angry with you but he still wants you to come to him. Afterwards though I wondered if I was wrong because of all the talk of destruction around it. Does anybody have any thoughts that they can share with me?
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I would agree with the first thought you had on this scripture. But, I will think about it more. Beth
ReplyDeleteSorry, this is sort of a lot. I tried to read through it and pick out the parts that made it most clear to me.
ReplyDeleteIsaiah is difficult to understand, but I think I have this one. I'm going off the chapter heading, and reading the verses around it.
It talks about the woes that will come upon the apostate (unrighteous) Israel. In 2 Ne 15:25 he says, '...the anger of the Lord (is) kindled (like a fire started) against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and smitten...' and the verse ends, 'for all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.'
From this, I think it means he's using the image of a stretched out hand as a symbol of anger/destruction, and that's all over in the rest of the chapter, but this is the beginning of the image. I don't think he means he is being mean, I think this is the logical result of wickedness. These people are doing what's wrong and he won't put up with it any more.
In 19:12, he says, 'The Syrians before and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour (eat) Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.' Israel has been wicked, and even though at the beginning of the chapter, he's talking about Christ coming, still I think the fact that he says 'his anger is not turned away' and the fact that Israel is surrounded by enemies that will 'eat' them, that this is still a vengeful image, here.
Continuing in verse 13, they're not seeking the Lord of Hosts (they're not looking to God to help them. He says he will cut off Israel, head (ancient? not sure what that means) & tail(prophet that speaketh lies), branch and rush in one day, (cutting a tree down?) especially verse 16 about the leaders teaching them wrong (err, errors) and when they follow they are destroyed. The people that are leading Israel at the time are teaching them and encouraging them to be wicked. Things are not going well.
He goes on with wickedness and images of fire, and the people are fighting with each other (brothers) Ephraim & Manasseh against Judah (this is a reference to Isaac's son Jacob, who was renamed 'Israel' and his sons (many) from which we get the names of the 12 tribes of Israel, of which Ephraim, Manasseh & Judah are three), so I think this is still bad stuff & destruction--they're fighting with each other.
In chapter 20, He's still talking about unrighteous laws (decrees) and people not helping the poor & widows. In verse 6 he says I will send him against a 'hypocritical nation' & the footnote says 6a-against Israel. So Israel is still having trouble following the commandments--they are being hypocritical, saying they'll be righteous, but not actually doing it.
ReplyDeleteIt's not until the end of the chapter, where most of Israel is destroyed (verse 17--Israel is a fire & will be burned & devoured.) What's left (image in verse 19--there will be very few (a child may write them) I think he means to compare a whole forest, burned until there are only a handful of trees left (a number a child, like Emily, could write), to the huge nation of Israel, with only a few people or families left who will be the ones who are 'escaped of the house of Jacob' (verse 20). THEN they will start to turn to the Lord ('...shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel...' & verse 21) they'll return to God. After that, the images improve and seem to indicate that Israel's position will improve, and in chapter 21 he starts talking about Christ again.
Well, that's what I got out of it. He does still want us to come to him. I think of all the times he says how often he would gather us as a hen gathers her chicks (and he uses all the tenses--past, present, and future) He does want us to come to him, but if we consistently turn away from him, there will come a time when we will not want to be reclaimed and he will know it--just like the Nephites at the end of the Book of Mormon. They had sinned until they were 'fully ripe' (kind of a yucky comparison) And at that point, they don't want to come back, and when they have trials, they don't become humble, they only get more angry with God (from wickedness or pride). He won't put up with it anymore.
I don't think that's for anyone else to judge. We can't say when someone is never going to come back to God, we don't know their heart, only God does. So we go by what he says about repentence--he will forgive you EVERY time you repent. That option is always available.
So, that's how I understand it. So, tell me what you think.
I do appreciate your comment Valerie! I thought there must be another meaning. I was just confused because my first impression contradicted my second thoughts.
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