Jacob continues teaching about the gathering of the Jews.
When the Jews are scattered, they will be scattered throughout
the world. They will return “from the isles of the sea, and from the
four parts of the earth” (2 Nephi 10:8).
Nephi taught Laman and Lemuel, “And
behold, there are many who are already lost from the knowledge of those who are
at Jerusalem. Yea, the more part of all
the tribes have been led away; and they are scattered to and fro upon the isles
of the sea; and whither they are none of us knoweth, save that we know that
they have been led away” (1 Nephi 22:4).
The gentiles will be involved in this return. Nephi said, “And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a
marvelous work among the Gentiles, which shall be of great worth unto our seed;
wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the Gentiles and being
carried in their arms and upon their shoulders” (1 Nephi 22:8).
The gentiles are a major support for the Jews. How does this apply to the Nephites? Alma2 told the people of
Ammonihah, “For behold, the promises of
the Lord are extended to the Lamanites, but they are not unto you if ye
transgress; for has not the Lord expressly promised and firmly decreed, that if
ye will rebel against him that ye shall utterly be destroyed from off the face
of the earth” (Alma 9:24).
The Lord reiterated His promise to Lehi and Nephi that this
land would be the land of their inheritance.
The gentiles will also enjoy the blessings of the promised land. Jacob was restating his words of the day
before, “And blessed are the Gentiles,
they of whom the prophet has written; for behold, if it so be that they shall
repent and fight not against Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great
and abominable church, they shall be saved; for the Lord God will fulfil his covenants
which he has made unto his children; and for this cause the prophet has written
these things” (2 Nephi 6:12).
This land will be a land of liberty for those who live in the
promised land. Lehi taught that the promise
was not limited to his posterity. “Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto
him whom he shall bring. And if it so be
that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it
shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought
down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity
shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous
it shall be blessed forever” (2 Nephi 1:7).
The Lord also promised “there
shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles” (2
Nephi 10:11). What was meant by “no
kings?” Kevin Christensen addressed this
question.
Brant Gardner has observed of 2
Nephi 10:11 that Jacob's statement makes more sense if the comma in “‘There
shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles' is
removed. The context is thus one of conquering Gentile kings and the opposition
that might rise up and defeat them. In other words, Jacob is prophesying that
no non-Gentile kings will defeat the Gentiles, whose kings are the nursing
fathers who will provide salvation to this colony of Israelites.[1]
This land will be strengthened and protected against all
other nations. Nephi said, “And every nation which shall war against
thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one against another, and they shall fall
into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord. And all that fight against Zion shall be
destroyed, and that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of the Lord,
yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the dust and great shall
be the fall of it … For behold, the righteous shall not perish; for the time
surely must come that all they who fight against Zion shall be cut off” (1
Nephi 22:14, 19).
The Lord will be our king and a light to us forever. Leslie Taylor wrote:
The Book of Mormon also testifies that it is the word of God
that enlightens us and expands our minds (see Alma 32:34). This concept is
often conveyed through the images of light and darkness in which the word of
God is characterized as bringing people into the light and unto understanding.
Through Jacob, the Lord prophesies that he "will be a light unto them
forever, that hear my words" (2 Nephi 10:14). In a speech to his brethren,
Nephi makes a similar point and then adds a warning about spiritual darkness:
"After I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be
because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the
light, but must perish in the dark" (2 Nephi 32:4).[2]
[1] Hindsight
on a Book of Mormon Historicity Critique, Kevin Christensen, Provo,
Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed September 26, 2013.
[2]The
Word of God, Leslie A. Taylor, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed September 26, 2013.
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