5 Wherefore, my
beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent,
and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto
you. And while his arm of mercy is
extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts.
6 Yea, today, if ye
will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die?
7 For behold, after ye
have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long, will ye bring
forth evil fruit, that ye must be hewn down and cast into the fire?
8 Behold, will ye
reject these words? Will ye reject the
words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken
concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good
word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and
quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which
hath been laid for you?
Jacob 6:5-8
Jacob continues to preach to the Nephites. He called on them to repent and cleave to
God. Moses taught the Israelites, “Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt
thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear [OR make an oath in] by his
name” (Deuteronomy 10:20). Joshua
taught, “But cleave unto the LORD your
God, as ye have done unto this day” (Joshua 23:8). Mormon would write about the situation with
the Nephites. “Therefore the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and
matchless power, for they had fallen into a state of unbelief and awful
wickedness; and they saw that the Lamanites were exceedingly more numerous than
they, and except they should cleave unto the Lord their God they must
unavoidably perish” (Helaman 4:25).
John Tvedtnes explains:
Jacob continued his explanation by
using elements also found in Lehi's vision of the tree of life (1 Nephi 8). He
noted the invitation to come to God (Jacob 6:5), similar to Lehi's invitation
to his family (1 Nephi 8:15–18). He exhorted his audience to cleave to God (Jacob
6:5); Lehi had seen people clinging to the rod of iron (1 Nephi 8:24, 30),
which Nephi identified as the word of God (1 Nephi 15:23–24).[1]
God’s “arms of mercy” is
extended to the Nephites if they don’t harden their hearts. Lehi would teach his family in the New World,
“But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my
soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in
the arms of his love” (2 Nephi 1:15).
The voice of the Lord would tell the Nephites that survived the calamities,
“Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come
unto me ye shall have eternal life.
Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will
come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me” (3 Nephi 9:14).
It’s apparent Jacob’s teachings are influenced by his
father, Lehi.
Both Lehi (2 Nephi 2:12) and Jacob
(2 Nephi 9:12, 19, 25—26, 46, 53; Jacob 4:10; 6:5, 10) spoke of the
"power" and the "mercy" and the "justice" of God.
Each spoke of God as creator (2 Nephi 2:14—15; 9:26) and noted that those who "believe"
in him will be saved (2 Nephi 2:9; 9:18). Lehi spoke of God's "arms of
love" (2 Nephi 1:15), while Jacob spoke of his "arm of mercy" (Jacob
6:5).[2]
Jacob tells them when they “have been nourished by the good word of God,” why would they “bring forth evil fruit” and “be hewn down and cast into the fire?” Alma2 would refer to this when
teaching the people of Zarahemla. “And again I say unto you, the Spirit saith:
Behold, the ax is laid at the root of the tree; therefore every tree that
bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire, yea, a
fire which cannot be consumed, even an unquenchable fire. Behold, and remember, the Holy One hath
spoken it” (Alma 5:52).
The Savior would tell the Nephites, “But if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of
men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto you they have joy in
their works for a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are hewn down
and cast into the fire, from whence there is no return” (3 Nephi 27:11).
Paul Hoskisson writes:
The roots of the main natural tree,
I believe, represent the scriptural heritage revealed by the God of Israel.10 (By
scriptural heritage I mean not just canonized scripture, but also all other
truths that this particular heritage might have received and does receive
through inspiration; see D&C 68:4 and Alma 29:8.) If roots are conceived of
as providing the nourishment of the word of God to the tree, Jacob 6:7 suggests
this correlation of the roots with scripture. If this correlation of roots with
scriptural heritage is accurate, it would explain why the roots remain good
throughout the allegory, that is, throughout the history of the house of
Israel. The branches on the other hand can alternate between good and bad, tame
and wild. Perhaps the branches then represent the various cultures that draw on
the scriptural heritage of Israel.[3]
Jacob asks the Nephites if they would reject his words. Would the reject the words of the prophets
and all the words that have been spoken about Christ. Will they deny the word of Christ “and the power of God, and the gift of the
Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit and make a mock of the great plan of
redemption, which hath been laid for you?”
Louis Midgley writes:
God is carrying out a plan (see 2
Nephi 9:6, 13; Jacob 6:8) that includes the testing of his people
Israel—they are on probation (see 1 Nephi 10:21; Mormon 9:28). Part of the plan
is to provide a way for their redemption from sin and darkness. But they must
trust God, repent, and keep the commandments, or the plan fails. The importance
of memory, in the Book of Mormon sense, is to bring about their obedience and
so allow them to claim the promised blessings and avoid the cursings.[4]
[1]
Borrowings
from the Parable of Zenos, John Tvedtnes, Maxwell Institute, accessed May
2, 2014.
[2]
The
Influence of Lehi's Admonitions on the Teachings of His Son Jacob, John A.
Tvedtnes, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 2, 2014.
[3]
The
Allegory of the Olive Tree in Jacob, Paul Hoskisson, Maxwell Institute, accessed
May 2, 2014
[4]
The
Ways of Remembrance, Louis Midgley, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 2, 2014
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