Chapter 6
The Lord shall recover
Israel in the last days—Then the world shall be burned with fire—Men must
follow Christ to avoid the lake of fire and brimstone. About 544–421 B.C.
1 AND now, behold, my brethren, as I said unto you that I
would prophesy, behold, this is my prophecy—that the things which this prophet Zenos
spake, concerning the house of Israel, in the which he likened them unto a tame
olive-tree, must surely come to pass.
2 And the day that he shall set his hand again the second
time to recover his people, is the day, yea, even the last time, that the servants
of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune his vineyard; and
after that the fend soon
cometh.
3 And how blessed are they who have labored diligently in
his vineyard; and how cursed are they who shall be cast out into their own
place! And the world shall be burned
with fire.
4 And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth
the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands
unto them all the day long; and they are a stiffnecked and a gainsaying people;
but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of
God.
Jacob 6:1-4
Jacob has completed telling the Allegory of the Tame and
Wild Olive Trees. He then begins to comment
and teach the people about the meaning of the allegory.
He tells the Nephites Zenos was speaking about the house of
Israel and used the tame olive tree to represent them. “After reading the full allegory to his
brethren, Jacob turns immediately to an extended interpretation in the form of
a prophecy of his own (Jacob 6:1). Unlike the more historically oriented
interpretations of Lehi and Nephi, Jacob moves directly to the implications for
individuals.”[1] Paul would use the olive tree in his epistle
to the Romans. “For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare
not thee” (Romans 11:21).
Teaching the poor of the Zoramites, Alma2 would
refer to Zenos.
13
Behold, if ye do, ye must believe what Zenos said; for, behold he said: Thou
hast turned away thy judgments because of thy Son.
14
Now behold, my brethren, I would ask if ye have read the scriptures? If ye have, how can ye disbelieve on the Son
of God?
15
For it is not written that Zenos alone spake of these things, but Zenock also
spake of these things—
Alma 33:13-15
When the day comes that the Lord will, for the second time, to
recover Israel. For the last time, the
servants will go forth to nourish and prune the vineyard (Earth) and the end
will come soon. “A clause from Jacob
6:2 serves as a good synopsis of the point Jacob and Paul are making that
the salvation of Israel is the Lord's gracious work: "The Lord shall go
forth in his power, to nourish and prune his vineyard." He will do what is
necessary to fulfill his covenant to Israel.”[2]
Those that work in the Lord’s vineyard will be most
blessed. The Lord told Joseph Smith and
the Church, “Hearken and hear, O ye my
people, saith the Lord and your God, ye whom I delight to bless with the
greatest of all blessings, ye that hear me; and ye that hear me not will I curse,
that have professed my name, with the heaviest of all cursings” (D&C 41:1)
“[F]or Jacob the parable shows the blessings that come to those who continue to
work in the vineyard (Jacob 6:3) … Jacob sees in it the message that Israel,
including his audience, must be faithful.”
Once the work is done, “the
world shall be burned with fire.” The
Savior told the Nephites, “For behold,
the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that
do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith
the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch” (3
Nephi 25:1). Nephi wrote, “And when that day shall come they shall be visited
of the Lord of Hosts, with thunder and with earthquake, and with a great noise,
and with storm, and with tempest, and with the flame of devouring fire” (2
Nephi 27:2).
John Welch and Stephen Ricks wrote:
Chapter 5 follows as a promise to
those who will labor in the vineyard, as Jacob 6:3 makes clear. But every
divine promise is also a warning, as Jacob 6:3 also shows: "And
how blessed are they who have labored diligently in his vineyard; and how
cursed are they who shall be cast out into their own place!"[3]
Later in the article, Welch and Ricks wrote:
While Zenos's allegory was addressed
expressly to the house of Israel (Jacob 5:1) and thus focuses on the central
tree that symbolizes Israel, the vineyard in this story represents the entire
world (Jacob 6:3). There are many trees in that vineyard. Only through their
interdependence and mutual support do the trees of the orchard become fruitful
and pleasing to the Lord. The central tree is preserved only by receiving
grafts from other trees, and vice versa.[4]
God is merciful and remembers the house of Israel, “both roots and branches.” “For
thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for
ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God” (2 Samuel 7:24). He stretches out his hands to Israel, “but they are a stiffnecked people.” “Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest
them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by
day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them
light, and the way wherein they should go” (Nehemiah 9:19).
Nephi wrote, “Wo be
unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts!
For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to
day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the
Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out
all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts” (2 Nephi 28:32).
M. Catherine Thomas explains God’s efforts.
If God is seeking access to his
children continually, what is the meaning of the periods of divine absence in
the allegory? The Lord declares, "I have stretched forth mine hand almost all
the day long" (Jacob 5:47). Jacob drops the word almost when
he reiterates: "He stretches forth his hands unto them all the
day long. . . . Come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he
cleaveth unto you. . . . For why will ye die? . . . For behold, . . . ye have
been nourished by the good word of God all the day long" (Jacob
6:4–7). Cleave is atonement language. It is not God who has
ceased to cleave, but man who has rejected God's love. These periods in which
we do not see divine activity signify not so much the Master's absence, but
rather Israel's voluntary withdrawal from the true olive tree.[5]
Noel Reynolds explains:
In explaining the prophecies of
Zenos, Jacob urged his brethren to repent and come unto God with full purpose
of heart and not harden their hearts, for "as many as will not harden
their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God" (Jacob 6:4; cf. 6:5).
People harden their hearts because of unbelief (Mosiah 26:1–3) or because their
hearts are set on riches or other things incompatible with God's commands (see
Alma 17:14).[6]
[1]
Nephite
Uses and Interpretations of Zenos, Noel B. Reynolds, Maxwell Institute,
accessed April 30, 2014.
[2]
The
Olive Tree and the Work of God: Jacob 5 and Romans 11, James E. Faulconer,
Maxwell Institute, accessed April 30, 2014.
[3]
The
Allegory of the Olive Tree, John Welch and Stephen Ricks, Maxwell
Institute, accessed April 30, 2014.
[5]
Jacob's
Allegory: The Mystery of Christ, M. Catherine Thomas, Maxwell Institute,
accessed April 30, 2014.
[6]
The
True Points of My Doctrine, Noel B. Reynolds, Maxwell Institute, accessed April
30, 2014.
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