Chapter 7
Lehi’s sons return to
Jerusalem and enlist Ishmael and his household in their cause—Laman and others
rebel—Nephi exhorts his brethren to have faith in the Lord—They bind him with
cords and plan his destruction—He is freed by the power of faith—His brethren
ask forgiveness—Lehi and his company offer sacrifice and burnt offerings. About
600–592 B.C.
Sometime after their return with the brass plates, Lehi went
to his sons and told them they needed wives “that they might raise up seed unto
the Lord in the land of promise” (1 Nephi 7:1).
He may have remembered David’s words, “Lo, children are an heritage of
the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward” (Psalms 127:3). The Lord had commanded him to send them to
the land of Jerusalem to bring Ishmael and his family.
The four sons returned to the land of Jerusalem. (Laman and Lemuel probably didn’t murmur after
receiving this task!). They went into
the house of Ishmael and they “we did speak unto him the words of the
Lord. And it came to pass that the Lord
did soften the heart of Ishmael, and also his household, insomuch that they
took their journey with us down into the wilderness to the tent of our father”
(1 Nephi 7:4-5).
Why did the Lord command them to approach Ishmael? While we don’t know the reasons, there are
possibilities.
Ishmael and his family may have been poor. They did not live in the city of Jerusalem;
they lived outside of the city. It was
not unusual for poorer families to do this.
The possibility of becoming a part of Lehi’s wealthier family may have
been a motivation.[1]
There may have been a family tie. We know Nephi had sisters (see 2 Nephi
5:6). These sisters may have been
married to the sons of Ishmael. He may
have been Lehi’s daughters’ sons-in-law.
This would explain why they went so willingly.[2]
As they returned to Lehi’s camp, Laman and Lemuel, two of Ishmael’s
daughters (most likely the daughters who would marry Laman and Lemuel), and two
of Ishmael’s sons rebelled against Nephi, Sam, Ishmael and his wife, and three
daughters. Their complaint was one we
have heard before - they wanted to return to Jerusalem. Hugh Nibley explains what may have eventually
led to an end of their rebellion.
“Why, then, if there was no power to compel them, did not
Laman and Lemuel simply desert the camp and go off on their own, as
discontented Arabs sometimes do? As a matter of fact, they tried to do
just that (1 Nephi 7:7), and in the end were prevented by the two things which,
according to Philby, keep any wandering Bedouin party together-fear and greed.
For they were greedy.”[3]
Nephi was saddened by their rebellion. He began to speak to them, asking them how,
as the elder brethren, they harden their hearts and are so blind, that he, the
younger brother must be their example.
Why don’t they listen to the Lord, he asks. They’ve seen an angel. Laban had been delivered into their hands so
they could obtain the brass plates.
They have forgotten that the Lord can do “all things
according to his will” (1 Nephi 7:12).
This will be done through our faith.
Through their faithfulness, they will obtain a land of promise.
In the future, the will learn that the Lord fulfilled his
words and Jerusalem was destroyed because of the wickedness of the people.
The reason the Spirit will soon cease to strive with them is
because they have rejected the prophets and cast Jeremiah into prison. He also reminded them Lehi’s life had been
threatened and he was forced to leave the land.
How serious was the threat to Lehi’s life. Jeffrey Chadwick believes it has been
overstated.
“While it is true that some in Jerusalem had sought to take
Lehi’s life (1 Nephi 1:20; 2:1), these may have been spontaneous attempts
of individuals angry with his prophecies, not necessarily a conspiracy in which
Zedekiah or the government was involved. Once outside the big city, on the
wilderness paths to either Jericho or Ein Gedi, Lehi was probably as secure as
anyone else traveling the byways of Judah.
“In any case, that there was probably no plot against the
family of Lehi seems obvious from the fact that when his sons returned to
Jerusalem to get the plates of brass, they had no trouble obtaining an initial
audience with Laban (see 1 Nephi 3:4-12). Nor was any danger reported in
returning to Jerusalem to convince Ishmael’s family to join Lehi’s party (see
1 Nephi 7:2-5). Judah was probably not the wholesale hotbed of hostility
to Lehi and his family that many commentaries have assumed.”[4]
If they return to Jerusalem, they will die when the city is
destroyed. If they believe his words,
they will return to Lehi’s camp and be saved,
“for thus the Spirit of the Lord
constraineth me that I should speak” (1 Nephi 7:15). Hugh Nibley explains the importance of the
family to Lehi’s group.
“Nephi pointed out to them the danger of returning to
Jerusalem (1 Nephi 7:15), and where would they go if they deserted their
father? As we have seen, with these people, family was everything, and the Arab
or Jew will stick to ‘his own people’ because they are all he has in the world.
The family is the basic social organization, civil and religious, with the
father at its head. To be without tribe or family is to forfeit one’s identity
in the earth; nothing is more terrible than to be ‘cut off from [among the
people],’ and that is exactly the fate that is promised Laman and Lemuel if
they rebel (1 Nephi 2:21; Genesis 17:14). ‘Within his own country,’ says an
Arab proverb, ‘the Bedouin is a lion; outside of it he is a dog.’”[5]
Nephi’s words angered them even more. They took him and bound him with rope. Their intention was to leave him in the
wilderness to die.
Nephi prayed, asking to the Lord to burst the cords and free
himself. No sooner had he said these
words, than he broke the cords and spoke to his brothers.
They were still upset with him and were ready to try
something else when one of Ishmael’s daughters and her mother pleaded with them
to spare him. A son of Ishmael also
pleaded with them. They softened their
hearts and stopped their efforts.
In this situation, we see the influence of two women. Camille Frank explains.
“When their anger reached its climax, Laman and Lemuel bound
Nephi and threatened his life. Nephi’s physical strength and fervent prayers
loosened his bands but could not calm his brothers’ wrath. Rather, women in the
company succeeded in softening the contentious brothers. Nephi reported that
first a daughter of Ishmael, next Ishmael’s wife, and then one of Ishmael’s
sons assuaged Laman and Lemuel’s anger. The order of those listed implies that
the two women were the more effective in reestablishing peace and harmony (see
1 Nephi 7:19).”[6]
Hugh Nibley explains the effect of women in the Arab culture.
“All that saved Nephi’s life on one occasion was the
intervention of ‘one of the daughters of Ishmael, yea, and also her mother, and
one of the sons of Ishmael’ (1 Nephi 7:19), for while ‘the Arab can only be
persuaded by his own relations,’ he can only yield to the entreaties of women
without losing face, and indeed is expected to yield to them, even robbers
sparing a victim who appeals to them in the name of his wife, the daughter of
his uncle. If a courageous woman demands that a raiding sheikh give back
something so that her people will not starve, he is in honor bound to give her
a camel.”[7]
After agreeing to spare Nephi, they begged Nephi’s
forgiveness for their actions. Nephi
forgave them and told them to pray for God’s forgiveness. This they did. They resumed their journey and returned to
Lehi’s camp.
Lehi offered a sacrifice.
S. Kent Brown explains the purpose of the sacrifice.
“Lehi offered burnt offerings on two occasions. The second
occurred after the sons had returned from Jerusalem with the family of Ishmael
in tow (see 1 Nephi 7:22). Had there been sin? Yes. The older sons had sought
to bind Nephi and leave him in the desert to die (see 7:6–16). Even though they
repented and sought Nephi’s forgiveness (see 7:20–21), Lehi felt the need to
offer burnt offerings for atonement.”[8]
[2] Did Father Lehi Have Daughters Who Married
the Sons of Ishmael? Sidney B. Sperry, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute.
[4] The Wrong Place for Lehi’s Trail and the
Valley of Lemuel, Jeffrey R. Chadwick, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute.
[6] Desert Epiphany: Sariah and the Women in 1
Nephi, Camille Fronk, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.
[7] Man Versus Man, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo,
Utah: Maxwell Institute.
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