Chapter 25
Nephi glories in
plainness—Isaiah's prophecies shall be understood in the last days—The Jews
shall return from Babylon, crucify the Messiah, and be scattered and
scourged—They shall be restored when they believe in the Messiah—He shall first
come six hundred years after Lehi left Jerusalem—Nephites keep the law of Moses
and believe in Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel. About 559–545 B.C.
1 Now I, Nephi, do speak somewhat concerning the words
which I have written, which have been spoken by the mouth of Isaiah. For
behold, Isaiah spake many things which were hard for many of my people to
understand; for they know not concerning the manner of prophesying among the
Jews.
2 For I, Nephi, have not taught them many things
concerning the manner of the Jews; for their works were works of darkness, and
their doings were doings of abominations.
3 Wherefore, I write unto my people, unto all those that
shall receive hereafter these things which I write, that they may know the
judgments of God, that they come upon all nations, according to the word which
he hath spoken.
4 Wherefore, hearken, O my people, which are of the house
of Israel, and give ear unto my words; for because the words of Isaiah are not
plain unto you, nevertheless they are plain unto all those that are filled with
the spirit of prophecy. But I give unto you a prophecy, according to the spirit
which is in me; wherefore I shall prophesy according to the plainness which
hath been with me from the time that I came out from Jerusalem with my father;
for behold, my soul delighteth in plainness unto my people, that they may
learn.
After Jacob finished his sermons, Nephi introduces the teachings of Isaiah. He did so because “Isaiah spake many things which were hard for many of my people to understand; for they know not concerning the manner of prophesying among the Jews” (2 Nephi 25:1).
Towards the end of his life, Jacob would explain, “But
behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of
plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not
understand. Wherefore, because of their
blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs
fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them
many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it God hath done it,
that they may stumble” (Jacob 4:14).
.
Much of Jacob’s sermon dealt with the gentiles and their
relationship to the Jews and house of Israel.
Nephi’s writing also contains teachings on the same subject. Why?
One reason is most certainly that he knew his writings and
teachings would be preserved for us today.
Of course, God’s dealings with the gentiles would be most relevant and
important to us today. But, why was it a
topic of sermons given to the people? Granted,
the ways of the Jews would be alien to his people because they had never lived
in Jerusalem or known the ways of the Jews.
There may also be another reason. Matthew Roper speculates, “If there were
others in the land, it would also help explain why many of Nephi's people had
difficulty understanding Isaiah, although not all of them did (2 Nephi 25:1-6).
Converts who had never lived in the ancient Near East would have lacked the
historical and cultural background that made the words of Isaiah ‘plain’ to
Nephi.”[1]
Nephi refused to teach his people the ways of the Jews, “for
their works were works of darkness” (2 Nephi 25:2). “Lehi's flight from Jerusalem was more than
an escape; it was a conscious and deliberate renunciation of a whole way of
life: "I have charity for the Jew," Nephi announces, "I say Jew,
because I mean them from whence I came" (2 Nephi 33:8); yet he will not
teach his people the ways of the Jews as he knows them…”[2]
Alan Goff expanded on this topic:
“Nephi said that he had ‘not taught [the Nephites] many
things concerning the manner of the Jews’ (2 Nephi 25:2). This lack of
knowledge of the way Jews prophesied and phrased the revelations did have the
advantage of keeping the Nephites free of the Jews' ‘works of darkness, and
their doings’ (2 Nephi 25:2). But it also made more difficult the Nephites'
task of understanding Isaiah and the other Hebrew prophets because ‘there is
none other people that understand the things which were spoken unto the Jews
like unto them’ (2 Nephi 25:5).”
Nephi's writings, though "plain," still rely on
his knowledge of the manner of Jewish prophecy and the meanings of the Hebrew
expressions he used. The brief narrative of what happened at Nahom turns out to
be deeper in meaning than we might have thought. The narrative is far richer if
we take into account Nephi's background when he wrote his record. At the same
time, it points to a great many more complexities that await our probings as we
continue to focus on this keystone scripture.[3]
Nephi addresses his people and all those who will receive
his words. Here is another indication
that Nephi knew his writings would be preserved and go forth to the world in
the last days. His intent is that we “may
know the judgments of God, that they come upon all nations, according to the
word which he hath spoken” (2 Nephi 25:3).
Nephi realizes that Isaiah’s words are not plain to his
people (and those of us today). Alan
Goff explains:
What Nephi wrote for us about his life and his relations
with his family is a complex account. Merely reading the text may not be enough
to allow us to understand it fully. If the Book of Mormon was written as a
sophisticated text, then we must be sophisticated readers to understand it.
This situation in trying to understand Nephi may be similar
to the Nephites' situation as they tried to understand Hebrew prophets. The
Nephites had difficulty understanding Isaiah, so Nephi gave them two rules: (1)
be filled with the spirit of prophecy as they read and (2) try to understand
the symbolic meanings of the text "after the manner of the things of the
Jews" (2 Nephi 25:4-5).[4]
So, we cannot simply read the words of Isaiah (and, I would contend,
almost any scripture) and understand it without the “spirit of prophecy.” Those who wrote our scripture did so under
the inspiration and direction of the Lord.
When we have the “spirit of prophecy,” we can learn that the scriptures
are plain and simple to understand. Nephi
prophesied “ according to the plainness which [had] been with [him] from the
time I came out from Jerusalem” (2 Nephi 25:4).
Nephi’s soul “delighteth in plainness unto [his] people that they may
learn” (2 Nephi 25:4).
Towards the end of his record, Nephi would write:
“For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner
doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the
understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their
understanding” (2 Nephi 31:3).
“And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for
the gain of my people. And the words
which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it
persuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it
speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the
end, which is life eternal.
“And it speaketh harshly against sin, according to the
plainness of the truth; wherefore, no man will be angry at the words which I
have written save he shall be of the spirit of the devil” (2 Nephi 33:4-5).
Nephi’s desire for plainness influenced his brother, Jacob.
“Wherefore, I must tell you the truth according to the
plainness of the word of God. For
behold, as I inquired of the Lord, thus came the word unto me, saying: Jacob,
get thou up into the temple on the morrow, and declare the word which I shall
give thee unto this people” (Jacob 2:11).
“Behold, my brethren, he that prophesieth, let him prophesy
to the understanding of men; for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth
not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as
they really care, and of things as they really will be; wherefore,
these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our
souls. But behold, we are not witnesses
alone in these things; for God also spake them unto prophets of old” (Jacob
4:13).
[1] Nephi's Neighbors: Book of Mormon Peoples and
Pre-Columbian Populations, Matthew Roper, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute.
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