8 And it shall come to pass that they shall be gathered
in from their long dispersion, from the isles of the sea, and from the four
parts of the earth; and the nations of the Gentiles shall be great in the eyes
of me, saith God, in carrying them forth to the lands of their inheritance.
9 Yea, the kings of the Gentiles shall be nursing fathers
unto them, and their queens shall become nursing mothers; wherefore, the
promises of the Lord are great unto the Gentiles, for he hath spoken it, and
who can dispute?
10 But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of
thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land.
11 And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the
Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto
the Gentiles.
12 And I will fortify this land against all other
nations.
13 And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith
God.
14 For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish,
for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light
unto them forever, that hear my words.
Jacob continues teaching about the gathering of the Jews.
When the Jews are scattered, they will be scattered throughout
the world. They will return “from the
isles of the sea, and from the four parts of the earth” (2 Nephi 10:8). Nephi taught Laman and Lemuel, “And behold,
there are many who are already lost from the knowledge of those who are at
Jerusalem. Yea, the more part of all the
tribes have been led away; and they are scattered to and fro upon the isles of
the sea; and whither they are none of us knoweth, save that we know that they
have been led away” (1 Nephi 22:4).
The gentiles will be involved in this return. Nephi said, “And after our seed is scattered
the Lord God will proceed to do a marvelous work among the Gentiles, which
shall be of great worth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their
being nourished by the Gentiles and being carried in their arms and upon their
shoulders” (1 Nephi 22:8).
The gentiles are a major support for the Jews. How does this apply to the Nephites? Alma2 told the people of
Ammonihah, “For behold, the promises of the Lord are extended to the Lamanites,
but they are not unto you if ye transgress; for has not the Lord expressly
promised and firmly decreed, that if ye will rebel against him that ye shall
utterly be destroyed from off the face of the earth” (Alma 9:24).
The Lord reiterated His promise to Lehi and Nephi that this
land would be the land of their inheritance.
The gentiles will also enjoy the blessings of the promised land. Jacob was restating his words of the day
before, “And blessed are the Gentiles, they of whom the prophet has written;
for behold, if it so be that they shall repent and fight not against Zion, and
do not unite themselves to that great and abominable church, they shall be
saved; for the Lord God will fulfil his covenants which he has made unto his
children; and for this cause the prophet has written these things” (2 Nephi
6:12).
This land will be a land of liberty for those who live in
the promised land. Lehi taught that the
promise was not limited to his posterity.
“Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him
according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of
liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity;
if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed
shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed
forever” (2 Nephi 1:7).
The Lord also promised “there shall be no kings upon the
land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles” (2 Nephi 10:11). What was meant by “no kings?” Kevin Christensen addressed this question.
Brant Gardner has observed of 2 Nephi 10:11 that Jacob's
statement makes more sense if the comma in “‘There shall be no kings upon the
land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles' is removed. The context is thus one
of conquering Gentile kings and the opposition that might rise up and defeat
them. In other words, Jacob is prophesying that no non-Gentile kings will
defeat the Gentiles, whose kings are the nursing fathers who will provide
salvation to this colony of Israelites.”[1]
This land will be strengthened and protected against all
other nations. Nephi said, “And every
nation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one
against another, and they shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare
the people of the Lord. And all that
fight against Zion shall be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath perverted
the right ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble
to the dust and great shall be the fall of it … For behold, the righteous shall
not perish; for the time surely must come that all they who fight against Zion
shall be cut off” (1 Nephi 22:14, 19).
The Lord will be our king and a light to us forever. Leslie Taylor wrote:
“The Book of Mormon also testifies that it is the word of
God that enlightens us and expands our minds (see Alma 32:34). This concept is
often conveyed through the images of light and darkness in which the word of
God is characterized as bringing people into the light and unto understanding.
Through Jacob, the Lord prophesies that he ‘will be a light unto them forever,
that hear my words’ (2 Nephi 10:14). In a speech to his brethren, Nephi makes a
similar point and then adds a warning about spiritual darkness: ‘After I have
spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not,
neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must
perish in the dark’ (2 Nephi 32:4).”[2]
[1] Hindsight on a Book of Mormon Historicity
Critique, Kevin Christensen, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.
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