Chapter 6
The Lord shall recover
Israel in the last days—Then the world shall be burned with fire—Men must
follow Christ to avoid the lake of fire and brimstone. About 544–421 B.C.
1 AND now, behold, my brethren, as I said unto you that I
would prophesy, behold, this is my prophecy—that the things which this prophet
Zenos spake, concerning the house of Israel, in the which he likened them unto
a tame olive-tree, must surely come to pass.
2 And the day that he shall set his hand again the second
time to recover his people, is the day, yea, even the last time, that the
servants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune his
vineyard; and after that the fend soon cometh.
3 And how blessed are they who have labored diligently in
his vineyard; and how cursed are they who shall be cast out into their own
place! And the world shall be burned
with fire.
4 And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth
the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands
unto them all the day long; and they are a stiffnecked and a gainsaying people;
but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of
God.
Jacob 6:1-4
Jacob has completed telling the Allegory of the Tame and
Wild Olive Trees. He then begins to
comment and teach the people about the meaning of the allegory.
He tells the Nephites Zenos was speaking about the house of
Israel and used the tame olive tree to represent them. “After reading the full allegory to his
brethren, Jacob turns immediately to an extended interpretation in the form of
a prophecy of his own (Jacob 6:1). Unlike the more historically oriented
interpretations of Lehi and Nephi, Jacob moves directly to the implications for
individuals.”[1] Paul would use the olive tree in his epistle
to the Romans. “For if God spared not
the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee” (Romans
11:21).
Teaching the poor of the Zoramites, Alma2 would
refer to Zenos.
“Behold, if ye do, ye must believe what Zenos said; for,
behold he said: Thou hast turned away thy judgments because of thy Son.
“Now behold, my brethren, I would ask if ye have read the
scriptures? If ye have, how can ye
disbelieve on the Son of God?
“For it is not written that Zenos alone spake of these
things, but Zenock also spake of these things.” (Alma 33:13-15).
When the day comes that the Lord will, for the second time, to
recover Israel. For the last time, the
servants will go forth to nourish and prune the vineyard (Earth) and the end
will come soon. “A clause
from Jacob 6:2 serves as a good synopsis of the point Jacob and Paul
are making that the salvation of Israel is the Lord’s gracious work: ‘The Lord
shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune his vineyard.’ He will do
what is necessary to fulfill his covenant to Israel.”[2]
Those that work in the Lord’s vineyard will be most
blessed. The Lord told Joseph Smith and
the Church, “Hearken and hear, O ye my people, saith the Lord and your God, ye
whom I delight to bless with the greatest of all blessings, ye that hear me;
and ye that hear me not will I curse, that have professed my name, with the
heaviest of all cursings” (D&C 41:1) “[F]or Jacob the parable shows the
blessings that come to those who continue to work in the vineyard (Jacob 6:3) …
Jacob sees in it the message that Israel, including his audience, must be
faithful.”
Once the work is done, “the world shall be burned with fire.” The Savior told the Nephites, “For behold,
the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that
do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up,
saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch” (3
Nephi 25:1). Nephi wrote, “And when that
day shall come they shall be visited of the Lord of Hosts, with thunder and
with earthquake, and with a great noise, and with storm, and with tempest, and
with the flame of devouring fire” (2 Nephi 27:2).
John Welch and Stephen Ricks wrote:
“Chapter 5 follows as a promise to those who will labor in
the vineyard, as Jacob 6:3 makes clear. But every divine promise is also a
warning, as Jacob 6:3 also shows: ‘And how blessed are they who have
labored diligently in his vineyard; and how cursed are they who shall be cast
out into their own place!’”[3]
Later in the article, Welch and Ricks wrote:
“While Zenos’s allegory was addressed expressly to the house
of Israel (Jacob 5:1) and thus focuses on the central tree that symbolizes
Israel, the vineyard in this story represents the entire world (Jacob 6:3).
There are many trees in that vineyard. Only through their interdependence and
mutual support do the trees of the orchard become fruitful and pleasing to the
Lord. The central tree is preserved only by receiving grafts from other trees,
and vice versa.”[4]
God is merciful and remembers the house of Israel, “both
roots and branches.” “For thou hast
confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and
thou, LORD, art become their God” (2 Samuel 7:24). He stretches out his hands to Israel, “but
they are a stiffnecked people.” “Yet
thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar
of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither
the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they
should go” (Nehemiah 9:19).
Nephi wrote, “Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of
Hosts! For notwithstanding I shall
lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me;
nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will
repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith
the Lord God of Hosts” (2 Nephi 28:32).
M. Catherine Thomas explains God’s efforts.
“If God is seeking access to his children continually, what
is the meaning of the periods of divine absence in the allegory? The Lord
declares, ‘I have stretched forth mine hand almost all the day long’
(Jacob 5:47). Jacob drops the word almost when he reiterates: ‘He
stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long. . . . Come with
full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. . . . For
why will ye die? . . . For behold, . . . ye have been nourished by the good
word of God all the day long’ (Jacob 6:4–7). Cleave is atonement
language. It is not God who has ceased to cleave, but man who has rejected God’s
love. These periods in which we do not see divine activity signify not so much
the Master’s absence, but rather Israel’s voluntary withdrawal from
the true olive tree.”[5]
Noel Reynolds explains:
“In explaining the prophecies of Zenos, Jacob urged his
brethren to repent and come unto God with full purpose of heart and not harden
their hearts, for ‘as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in
the kingdom of God’ (Jacob 6:4; cf. 6:5). People harden their hearts because of
unbelief (Mosiah 26:1–3) or because their hearts are set on riches or other
things incompatible with God’s commands (see Alma 17:14).”[6]
[1]
Nephite Uses and Interpretations of Zenos, Noel B. Reynolds, Maxwell Institute.
[2]
The Olive Tree and the Work of God: Jacob 5 and Romans 11, James E. Faulconer,
Maxwell Institute.
[3]
The Allegory of the Olive Tree, John Welch and Stephen Ricks, Maxwell Institute.
[4]
Ibid.
[5]
Jacob’s Allegory: The Mystery of Christ, M. Catherine Thomas, Maxwell Institute.
[6]
The True Points of My Doctrine, Noel B. Reynolds, Maxwell Institute.
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