Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Ether 9:1-13

Chapter 9

The kingdom passes from one to another by descent, intrigue, and murder—Emer saw the Son of Righteousness—Many prophets cry repentance—A famine and poisonous serpents plague the people.

Having finished warning us how secret combinations are destructive to society, he returns to the Jaredite record.

Akish successfully took over Omer’s kingdom. But, they failed to assassinate king Omer.

The Lord warned him about the coup. He took his family and fled.

They arrived at the hill Shim. This is the area where the Nephites were wiped out in the final battle. They decided to continue and came to a place called Ablom, was on the seashore. They settled there.

Meanwhile, Jared was made king and Akish married his daughter.

In an ironic twist, having helped depose Omer, placing Jared on throne, Akish wanted to be king. He had kept his gang together. He went to them and had them make an oath they would assassinate the king. Jared was assassinated on his throne, placing Akish on the throne.

Akish became “jealous of his son” (Ether 9:7). “A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones” (Proverbs 14:30).

“For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men” (1 Corinthians 3:3).

“Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21).

“For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work” (James 3:16).

We are not given any reason why he was jealous, yet his concern was so great, he placed his son in prison and starved him to death.

Another son, Nimrah, was angry with his father. He gathered a small group of men and fled to the land where Omer was exiled.

Akish had other sons. These sons “won the hearts of the people.” They ignored the oath they had made “to do all manner of iniquity according to that which he desired” (Ether 9:10).

The people of Akish were committed to the accumulation of wealth. Akish only cared about power. Knowing this, his sons used the people’s desire for wealth to “buy” their support.

A war began between Akish and his sons. It lasted years, eventually leaving only thirty people alive. The survivors fled to join Omer and his people. Omer returned and reestablished his kingdom.


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