Thursday, February 20, 2020

2 Nephi 3:21-25


21 Because of their faith their words shall proceed forth out of my mouth unto their brethren who are the fruit of thy loins; and the weakness of their words will I make strong in their faith, unto the remembering of my covenant which I made unto thy fathers.
22 And now, behold, my son Joseph, after this manner did my father of old prophesy.
23 Wherefore, because of this covenant thou art blessed; for thy seed shall not be destroyed, for they shall hearken unto the words of the book.
24 And there shall rise up one mighty among them, who shall do much good, both in word and in deed, being an instrument in the hands of God, with exceeding faith, to work mighty wonders, and do that thing which is great in the sight of God, unto the bringing to pass much restoration unto the house of Israel, and unto the seed of thy brethren.
25 And now, blessed art thou, Joseph. Behold, thou art little; wherefore hearken unto the words of thy brother, Nephi, and it shall be done unto thee even according to the words which I have spoken. Remember the words of thy dying father. Amen.

Lehi continues Joseph2’s blessing, resuming his discussion of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.

The word of the Lord will go out to the people based on their faith.  They will be made strong in faith and remember the Lord’s covenants He made with their fathers.

About the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, Nephi would write:

“BUT behold, there shall be many—at that day when I shall proceed to do a marvelous work among them, that I may remember my covenants which I have made unto the children of men, that I may set my hand again the second time to recover my people, which are of the house of Israel;
“And also, that I may remember the promises which I have made unto thee, Nephi, and also unto thy father, that I would remember your seed; and that the words of your seed should proceed forth out of my mouth unto your seed; and my words shall hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, for a standard unto my people, which are of the house of Israel” (2 Nephi 29:1-2).

It is not unusual for the Lord to describe His word as hissing forth (“my words shall hiss forth unto the ends of the earth” 2 Nephi 29:2).  This is an interesting word.  I’ve always heard or thought of the word “hiss” in a negative context.  (“My cats hiss when they are threatened;” “The audience hissed their disapproval.”) 

Dictionary.com defines hiss – “to make or emit a sharp sound.”[1]  So, Nephi is telling us that world of the Lord will forcefully and sharply go forth, making it hard for us to miss His important message to us.

Lehi’s blessings contain an interesting feature.  Victor Ludlow explains:

“One interesting feature of the covenant references in 2 Nephi is that almost one-half of them are attributed directly to the Lord. That is, the writer introduces a covenant passage with ‘thus saith the Lord unto me’ (2 Nephi 3:7; compare 2 Nephi 6:17; 10:7; and 29:4), completes the passage with ‘saith the Lord’ (2 Nephi 3:12), or quotes the passage in the first-person singular with God as the speaker (see 2 Nephi 3:21; 10:15; and 29:1, 5, 14). In these passages, the Lord, as a premortal spirit being, reveals important covenant teachings to various ancient prophets as recorded in the Book of Mormon. Thus an important feature in 2 Nephi is the recognition of how the premortal Lord amplifies important covenant teachings. Most of these pronouncements of the Savior are found in chapters 3, 10, and 29 as Joseph of Egypt, Jacob (Lehi's son), and Nephi receive divine instruction.”[2]

“Finally Lehi concludes, ‘And now, behold, my son Joseph, after this manner did my father of old prophesy,’ for he calls the Patriarch Joseph his father (2 Nephi 3:22).”[3]

Lehi tells Joseph2 that, through the covenant the Lord made with Joseph1, his descendants will not be destroyed because the will follow “the words of the book” (2 Nephi 3:23). 

The Lord will rise up “one mighty among them, who shall do much good, both in word, and in deed, being an instrument in the hands of God” (2 Nephi 3:24).  Joseph Smith will be given the responsibility the restoration of the gospel that will go forth to the descendants Joseph1 and Joseph2. 

Lehi closes Joseph2’s blessing telling him to listen to the teachings of Nephi.  “Remember the words of thy dying father” (2 Nephi 3:25).


[1] Dictionary.com, entry “hiss.”
[2] Covenant Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Victor L. Ludlow, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.
[3] Checking on Long-Forgotten Lore, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.

No comments:

Post a Comment