Chapter 3
Joseph in Egypt saw the Nephites in vision—He prophesied
of Joseph Smith, the latter-day seer; of Moses, who would deliver Israel; and
of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. About 588–570 B.C.
1 And now I speak unto you, Joseph, my last-born. Thou
wast born in the wilderness of mine afflictions; yea, in the days of my
greatest sorrow did thy mother bear thee.
2 And may the Lord consecrate also unto thee this land,
which is a most precious land, for thine inheritance and the inheritance of thy
seed with thy brethren, for thy security forever, if it so be that ye shall
keep the commandments of the Holy One of Israel.
3 And now, Joseph, my last-born, whom I have brought out
of the wilderness of mine afflictions, may the Lord bless thee forever, for thy
seed shall not utterly be destroyed.
Having completed Jacob’s blessing, he turns to Joseph. Joseph was “born in the wilderness of
[Lehi’s] afflictions; yea, in the days of [his] greatest sorrow did [Sariah]
bear [Jacob]. (2 Nephi 3:1). .
“When [Lehi] blessed his youngest son Joseph, he called the
years of his family's sojourn in the wilderness ‘the wilderness of mine
affliction’ and ‘the days of my greatest sorrow’ (2 Nephi 3:1). For Lehi, it
was the worst of times. Why? Although Lehi was well equipped for
desert travel and thus must have known the rigors of living in such a clime, there
evidently was an event—or series of events—that had soured him. As support,
other indicators point to such an occurrence or situation.
“When Lehi speaks to his children and grandchildren just
before his death, he lifts to view the clashing concepts of captivity and
freedom. In language that recalls slavery, he pleads that his sons ‘shake off
the awful chains’ by which they ‘are carried away captive,’ being ‘led
according to the ... captivity of the devil’ (2 Nephi 1:13, 18). He then
urges them to ‘shake off the chains ... and arise from the dust’ (1:23).
Further, Lehi's whole concern with ‘redemption ... through the Holy Messiah ...
to answer the ends of the law’ borrows language from the freeing of slaves
(2:6–7), declaring that the Messiah is to ‘redeem the children of men,’ making
them ‘free forever,’ terminology associated with ending servility (2:26). One
naturally asks, does not the force of these concepts gather strength at least
partly from Lehi's shared experiences with his children? In light of what we
have so far reviewed, the answer seems to be yes.”[1]
This land, “a most precious land” (2 Nephi 3:2), is for his
inheritance. Then, he gives us the usual
qualification, “if it so be that ye shall keep the commandments of the Holy One
of Israel” (2 Nephi 3:2).
Lehi promises Joseph that his seed will not be
destroyed. This is similar to a promise
the Lord made to another Jacob. “And God
sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your
lives by a great deliverance” (Genesis 45:7).
Amos would prophesy that, “Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the
sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving
that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD” (Amos 9:8).
“[W]hen father Lehi addresses ‘Joseph, my last-born, whom I
have brought out of the wilderness of mine afflictions’ (2 Nephi 3:3), he is
thinking of another last-born Joseph, and he is thinking of another wilderness,
but he is thinking of both because at the moment little Joseph is his last-born
and he is indeed in the midst of a very real and tangible wilderness.”[2]
During Nephi’s great revelation, the angel told him,
“Nevertheless, thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have
gone forth out of captivity, and have been lifted up by the power of God above
all other nations, upon the face of the land which is choice above all other
lands, which is the land that the Lord God hath covenanted with thy father that
his seed should have for the land of their inheritance; wherefore, thou seest
that the Lord God will not suffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy the
mixture of thy seed, which are among thy brethren” (1 Nephi 13:30).
Jacob would teach the Nephites: “And behold how great the covenants of the
Lord, and how great his condescensions unto the children of men; and because of
his greatness, and his grace and mercy, he has promised unto us that our seed
shall not utterly be destroyed, according to the flesh, but that he would
preserve them; and in future generations they shall become a righteous branch
unto the house of Israel” (2 Nephi 9:53).
Nephi would later write, “Wherefore, for this cause hath the
Lord God promised unto me that these things which I write shall be kept and
preserved, and handed down unto my seed, from generation to generation, that
the promise may be fulfilled unto Joseph, that his seed should never perish as
long as the earth should stand” (2 Nephi 25:21).
“Nephi's wanderings in the wilderness, undertaken in the
fullest awareness that they continued the traditions of the fathers, were
resumed almost immediately upon arrival in the New World. This is an extremely
important aspect of Book of Mormon history which is too often overlooked. These
people did not regard their journey from Jerusalem to America simply as a transportation
project to carry them from one settlement to another. They were travelers
before they left Jerusalem, and they remained so forever after. Lehi calls the
deserts of Arabia ‘the wilderness of mine afflictions’ (2 Nephi 3:3), showing
that to him the wilderness was both figurative and real.”[3]
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