After being commanded by the Lord to depart from the valley
of Lemuel, they traveled many days.
They stopped and pitched their tents for a while. Hugh Nibley writes about traveling in the desert.
Lehi's party is described as moving
through the desert for a few days (three or four, one would estimate) and then
camping "for the space of a time" (1 Nephi 16:17). This is exactly
the way the Arabs move. Caravan speeds run between two and one-quarter and
three and nine-tenths miles an hour, thirty miles being, according to Cheesman,
"a good average" for the day, and sixty miles being the absolute
maximum. "The usual estimate for a good day's march is reckoned by
Arab writers at between twenty-eight and thirty miles: in special or favoured
circumstances it might be near forty." On the other hand, a day's
slow journey for an "ass-nomad," moving much slower than
camel-riders, is twenty miles.[1]
Nephi left to find food for the party. Unfortunately, Nephi broke his bow and was
not able to obtain food. His brethren were
angry with Nephi over the loss of his bow.
Nephi tells us his was a steel bow. What does this mean? John Tvedtnes and Matthew Roper respond to a
critic of the Book of Mormon and explain the steel bow.
The English word steel … did not originally denote
carburized iron as it does today. It originally denoted anything hard, and we
still use the verbal form "to steel" in the sense of "to
harden." Webster's 1828 dictionary, which reflects usage in Joseph Smith's
day, defines steel not only as iron mixed with carbon but notes that its
derivation is "probably from setting, fixing, hardness." One of the
four meanings of the noun is "extreme hardness; as heads or hearts of
steel," while it is used figuratively of "weapons; particularly, offensive
weapons, swords, spears and the like." One of the meanings of the verbal
form is "to make hard or extremely hard." So just like the
"bow of steel" in the KJV (2 Samuel 22:35; Job 20:24; Psalm 18:34),
Nephi's bow may have consisted of a copper alloy like bronze. However, it
is likely that the metal was only one component of the bow. Roland de Vaux
argued that the "bronze bow" in the biblical passages "refers to
the metal covering of certain bows," sometimes used to reinforce composite
bows.[2]
Laman and Lemuel, along with the sons of Ishmael, led the
complaining. Surprisingly, even Lehi murmured
against the Lord.
The other bows had lost their spring. “Now Saxton Pope in his classical work called Hunting
with the Bow and Arrow says the average bow is worth a hundred
thousand shots. After that it loses it spring and you can't use it anymore.
Lehi [Nephi], who seemed to be a very capable fellow, must have been using his
bow for years. It says that their bows had lost their springs, and that would
happen.”[3] They could not acquire food. Nephi spoke to his brethren as they had
hardened their hearts and complained about God.
Nephi took things into his own hands. He made a bow out of wood and an arrow. Nephi, the obedient son, went to his father
and asked him where he should go to find food.
Even though Lehi had complained, Nephi still recognized him as the head
of the family.
Lehi humbled himself and inquired of the Lord. The voice of the Lord came to Lehi. He was chastened by the Lord because of his
complaining.
After having been chastened by the Lord, Lehi as commanded
to look upon the Liahona to see the words that are written. When Lehi “beheld
the things which were written upon the ball, he did fear and tremble
exceedingly, and also my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and our wives” (1
Nephi 16:29).
Nephi learned the pointers worked based on their faith. Richard Rust explains:
Considered from this perspective,
the Book of Mormon is a Liahona. It provides heaven-sent direction
"according to the faith and diligence and heed" given to it (1 Nephi
16:28). Apparently some in Lehi's party accepted the ball too casually and
overlooked it because of its simplicity. For the Liahona to work properly, Alma
taught, it was necessary to take it seriously and diligently observe it with
faith (Alma 37). So too with the Book of Mormon. And in its literary dimension
as well, the Book of Mormon is like a Liahona … The Book of Mormon, too, gains
effectiveness and memorability by presenting doctrines and covenants through
figurative language, narratives, typology, and the like.[4]
We frequently think of the Liahona as a “compass,” guiding
Lehi’s party on their journey. But, I
believe the most important role the Liahona played was as a “message board”
used by the Lord to communicate with his people. Everything else was secondary. Nephi wrote, “there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be
read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it
was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence
which we gave unto it” (1 Nephi 16:29).
Nephi gives us a profound and powerful truth about how the
Lord works. “And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great
things” (1 Nephi 16:29).
[1] Into
the Desert, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute,
accessed March 20, 2013.
[2] One
Small Step, John A. Tvedtnes, and Matthew Roper, Provo,
Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 20, 2013.
[3] Lecture
14: 1 Nephi 15-16, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed March 20, 2013.
[4] "At
the Judgment-Seat of Christ" - Larger Perspectives, Richard Dilworth
Rust, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 20, 2013.
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