34 Do ye suppose that our fathers would have been more
choice than they if they had been righteous? I say unto you, Nay.
35 Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that
is righteous is favored of God. But behold, this people had rejected every word
of God, and they were ripe in iniquity; and the fulness of the wrath of God was
upon them; and the Lord did curse the land against them, and bless it unto our
fathers; yea, he did curse it against them unto their destruction, and he did
bless it unto our fathers unto their obtaining power over it.
36 Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should
be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it.
37 And he raiseth up a righteous nation, and destroyeth
the nations of the wicked.
38 And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands,
and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land unto them for their sakes.
39 He ruleth high in the heavens, for it is his throne,
and this earth is his footstool.
40 And he loveth those who will have him to be their God.
Behold, he loved our fathers, and he covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob; and he remembered the covenants which he had made; wherefore,
he did bring them out of the land of Egypt.
41 And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his
rod; for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened
them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them; and
after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the
labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of
the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.
42 And they did harden their hearts from time to time,
and they did revile against Moses, and also against God; nevertheless, ye know
that they were led forth by his matchless power into the land of promise.
43 And now, after all these things, the time has come
that they have become wicked, yea, nearly unto ripeness; and I know not but
they are at this day about to be destroyed; for I know that the day must surely
come that they must be destroyed, save a few only, who shall be led away into
captivity.
44 Wherefore, the Lord commanded my father that he should
depart into the wilderness; and the Jews also sought to take away his life;
yea, and ye also have sought to take away his life; wherefore, ye are murderers
in your hearts and ye are like unto them.
45 Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the
Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard
his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small
voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore,
he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the
earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder.
46 And ye also know that by the power of his almighty
word he can cause the earth that it shall pass away; yea, and ye know that by
his word he can cause the rough places to be made smooth, and smooth places
shall be broken up. O, then, why is it, that ye can be so hard in your hearts?
47 Behold, my soul is rent with anguish because of you,
and my heart is pained; I fear lest ye shall be cast off forever. Behold, I am
full of the Spirit of God, insomuch that my frame has no strength.
Continuing his discussion of the children of Israel, he
tells his brethren that the Lord raises a righteous nation and the Lord
destroys wicked nations. He will lead
the righteous to lands before the wicked are destroyed. He curses the land for their sake.
Heaven is His throne and Earth is His footstool. “[H]e loveth those who will have him to be
their God” (1 Nephi 17:38). The Lord
will covenant with those that love Him.
He will remember these covenants.
This, Nephi explains, is why “he did bring them out of the land of
Egypt” (1 Nephi 17:40). Jennifer Clark
Lane explains:
“The Book of Mormon explains that ‘the Lord's people’ are
not arbitrarily chosen to be saved while others are chosen to be damned.
Instead, it stresses that ‘the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one,’ but ‘he that
is righteous is favored of God’ (1 Nephi 17:35). This emphasis on righteousness
clarifies the adoption of Israel. Because they were righteous and willing to
enter into covenants with the Lord, they became ‘the people of the Lord’ (see
Exodus 6:7).”[1]
As the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, they whined,
complained, and criticized Moses.
Because of their iniquity:
“And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea
[HEB Reed Sea], to compass [OR go around] the land of Edom: and the soul of the
people was much discouraged because of the way.
“And the people spake against God, and against Moses,
Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any
water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.
“And the LORD sent fiery [OR poisonous] serpents among the
people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
“Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have
sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the
LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.
And Moses prayed for the people.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent,
and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is
bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole,
and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the
serpent of brass, he lived” (Numbers 21:4-9).
The lifting up of the serpent represented the death of
Christ. Christ said, “And as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted
up:” (John 3:14). Nephi would later
write: “And now, my brethren, I have spoken plainly that ye cannot err. And as the Lord God liveth that brought
Israel up out of the land of Egypt, and gave unto Moses power that he should
heal the nations after they had been bitten by the poisonous serpents, if they
would cast their eyes unto the serpent which he did raise up before them” (2
Nephi 25:20).
Moses required them to do a simple thing. There were those who refused to look (because
it was so easy), and they paid the ultimate price for their unwillingness to follow
the commands of the Lord.
So, after all the things the Lord had done for them, the
Jews are now a wicked people, ripe for destruction. For all I know, Nephi tells them, they are
about to be destroyed as I speak.
Nephi returns to their experiences. Lehi was commanded to leave Jerusalem. The Jews sought to kill him. You, he reminds his brethren, have also
sought to kill him. This makes them
murderers in their heart, just like the Jews.
Nephi makes it personal.
I wonder if his frustration over their continued wickedness hadn’t been
building up, and the time was right to be blunt in his words.
They are quick to sin but slow to remember God. (Abinadi would reminded Noah and his priests,
“it was expedient that there should be a law given to the children of Israel,
yea, even a very strict law; for they were a stiffnecked people, quick to do
iniquity, and slow to remember the Lord their God” (Mosiah 13:29).)
You have seen an angel; he spoke directly to you. From time-to-time, he spoke to you in a still
small voice. But, because of your
wickedness, you would no longer recognize his words. Paul’s words to the Ephesians could have been
addressed to Laman and Lemuel.
“This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye
henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
“Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the
life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness [GR
hardness] of their heart:
“Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto
lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness” (Ephesians 4:17-19).
Lindon Robinson explains:
“[T]here was a selfish craving for things among the wicked.
Loving things instead of God and his children produced a spiritual condition
described as hardheartedness, the opposite of a tender heart that cares. For
example, Nephi chastised his brothers because their hearts were hard (1 Nephi
17:19), so much so that they were past feeling the words of God that lead one
to caring (1 Nephi 17:45). Hardheartedness
is not only a lack of caring, but also an antipathy that produces unrighteous
satisfaction when others suffer.”[2]
You know the power of God; you have experienced the power of
God. “O, then, why is it, that ye can be
so hard in your hearts” (1 Nephi 17:46).
Nephi tells them “my soul is rent with anguish because of you” (1 Nephi
17:47). If you don’t get your act
together, Nephi tells them, you will be cast off forever.
This powerful experience, being filled with the Spirit of
God, took almost all Nephi’s strength.
[1] The Lord Will Redeem His People: Adoptive
Covenant and Redemption in the Old Testament and Book of Mormon, Jennifer Clark
Lane, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute
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