Chapter 3
Joseph in Egypt saw
the Nephites in vision—He prophesied of Joseph Smith, the Latter-day seer; of
Moses, who would deliver Israel; and of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.
About 588–570 B.C.
Having completed Jacob’s blessing, he turns to Joseph. Joseph was “born in the wilderness of [Lehi’s] afflictions; yea, in the days of
[his] greatest sorrow did [Sariah] bear [Jacob]. (2 Nephi 3:1). S. Kent Brown Lehi’s comments.
When [Lehi] blessed his youngest
son Joseph, he called the years of his family's sojourn in the wilderness
"the wilderness of mine affliction" and "the days of my greatest
sorrow" (2 Nephi 3:1). For Lehi, it was the worst of times.34 Why? Although Lehi was well equipped for
desert travel and thus must have known the rigors of living in such a clime,35 there evidently was an event—or series of
events—that had soured him. As support, other indicators point to such an
occurrence or situation.
When Lehi speaks to his children
and grandchildren just before his death, he lifts to view the clashing concepts
of captivity and freedom. In language that recalls slavery, he pleads that his
sons "shake off the awful chains" by which they "are carried
away captive," being "led according to the ... captivity of the
devil" (2 Nephi 1:13, 18). He then urges them to "shake off the
chains ... and arise from the dust" (1:23). Further, Lehi's whole concern
with "redemption ... through the Holy Messiah ... to answer the ends of
the law" borrows language from the freeing of slaves (2:6–7), declaring
that the Messiah is to "redeem the children of men," making them
"free forever," terminology associated with ending servility (2:26).36 One naturally asks, does not the force of
these concepts gather strength at least partly from Lehi's shared experiences
with his children? In light of what we have so far reviewed, the answer seems
to be yes.[1]
This land, “a most
precious land” (2 Nephi 3:2), is for his inheritance. Then, he gives us the usual qualification, “if it so be that ye shall keep the
commandments of the Holy One of Israel” (2 Nephi 3:2).
Lehi promises Joseph that his seed will not be
destroyed. This is similar to a promise
the Lord made to another Jacob. “And God sent me before you to preserve you
a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance” (Genesis
45:7). Amos would prophesy that, “Behold,
the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the
sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving
that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD” (Amos 9:8).
[W]hen father Lehi addresses
"Joseph, my last-born, whom I have brought out of the wilderness of mine
afflictions" (2 Nephi 3:3), he is thinking of another last-born Joseph,
and he is thinking of another wilderness, but he is thinking of both because at
the moment little Joseph is his last-born and he is indeed in
the midst of a very real and tangible wilderness.[2]
During Nephi’s great revelation, the angel told him,
Nevertheless,
thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have gone forth out of captivity, and have
been lifted up by the power of God above all other nations, upon the face of
the land which is choice above all other lands, which is the land that the Lord
God hath covenanted with thy father that his seed should have for the land of
their inheritance; wherefore, thou seest that the Lord God will not suffer that
the Gentiles will utterly destroy the mixture of thy seed, which are among thy
brethren.
1 Nephi 13:30
Jacob would teach the Nephites: “And
behold how great the covenants of the Lord, and how great his condescensions
unto the children of men; and because of his greatness, and his grace and mercy,
he has promised unto us that our seed shall not utterly be destroyed, according
to the flesh, but that he would preserve them; and in future generations they
shall become a righteous branch unto the house of Israel” (2 Nephi 9:53).
Nephi would later write, “Wherefore,
for this cause hath the Lord God promised unto me that these things which I write
shall be kept and preserved, and handed down unto my seed, from generation to
generation, that the promise may be fulfilled unto Joseph, that his seed should
never perish as long as the earth should stand” (2 Nephi 25:21).
Nephi's wanderings in the
wilderness, undertaken in the fullest awareness that they continued the
traditions of the fathers, were resumed almost immediately upon arrival in the
New World. This is an extremely important aspect of Book of Mormon history
which is too often overlooked. These people did not regard their journey from
Jerusalem to America simply as a transportation project to carry them from one
settlement to another. They were travelers before they left Jerusalem, and they
remained so forever after. Lehi calls the deserts of Arabia "the
wilderness of mine afflictions" (2 Nephi 3:3), showing that to him the
wilderness was both figurative and real.[3]
[1] Refining
the Spotlight on Lehi and Sariah, S. Kent Brown, Provo, Utah:
Maxwell Institute, accessed July 6, 2013.
[2] Checking
on Long-Forgotten Lore, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed July 6, 2013.
[3] The
Flight into the Wilderness, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah:
Maxwell Institute, accessed July 6, 2013.
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