1 Nephi 21 is a quotation of
Isaiah 49. The chapter heading says, “The Messiah will be a light to the
Gentiles and will free the prisoners—Israel will be gathered with power in the
last days—Kings will be their nursing fathers—Compare Isaiah 49.”
This gives the important
points of the chapter from a modern LDS perspective about gathering Israel, but
to me it misses the context for why Nephi quoted it and why it would be
encouraging to him and his brothers.
I think verse 1 hints at the
concerns they had:
And
again: Hearken, O ye house of Israel, all ye that are broken off and are driven
out because of the wickedness of the pastors of my people; yea, all ye that are
broken off, that are scattered abroad, who are of my people, O house of Israel.
Listen, O isles, unto me, and hearken ye people from far; the Lord hath called
me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
Nephi and his family knew
they’d been broken off from the house of Israel because of the wickedness of
the leaders and the rest of the people too, and there would be this sense of, “Well,
now what do we do? Who will lead us?”
(By the way, the part of about them being broken off because of “the wickedness
of the pastors of my people” is not in the Bible’s version of Isaiah. It doesn’t
reflect well on the Jews of that time, so it isn’t surprising that would be
redacted.)
What this chapter of Isaiah
does is speak to all those of the house of Israel in any age who have been led
away by the Lord, who wonder what to do and whether they are forgotten. All the
concerns that are associated with that situation are addressed.
To righteous leaders who
feel their efforts to gather Israel have been wasted (v4), they are told in
v5-6 they will be a light to the Gentiles instead.
To those who wonder who will
lead them now, they are told the Lord will give them “my servant for a covenant
of the people” (v8), meaning one of their own will be given the power to lead
and guide them with revelation to show they are still part of the covenant.
To
those who feel like they are now wandering in the wilderness away from the main
body of Israel, the Lord promises,
“They
shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. They
shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for
he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall
he guide them. And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be
exalted” (v9-11).
So even though these branches of Israel
are broken off and it feels like wandering, the Lord will make a way for them
and nourish them, and the “wandering” will become a sanctifying and refining
experience and benefit not just them, but future generations. (Consider how
Nephi’s records of his journeys and experiences benefits us today.) This is pretty awesome.
To those who feel like the Lord has
forgotten them, there is are two great lines to address this. “He will show
that hath not” (v14) and “I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands” (v16) It
immediately evokes Christ’s crucifixion and the scars as memory aids, but also
promises that the Lord will show He
has not forgotten us. (Which means we have to look for how He shows us and
record it so that we remember.)
And then finally, all these broken off
scattered bits of Israel will be gathered together again in a way so surprising
that the main part of Israel that wasn’t scattered would wonder, “Where have
they been?” (v21)
When I consider the above, I think that
makes the chapter a lot more useful and valuable than just as an instance of
prophecy of the gathering of Israel that we are a part of. There’s something about it that speaks
to some deep worries we might have today, even if we are part of the Lord’s
kingdom.
Righteous leaders still wonder if their
efforts are doing any good. At one time or another we may be away from the main
body of the Saints, or maybe our life doesn’t look anything like what we
imagined it would be and we’re feeling our way trying to figure out what to do,
which can seem like we are wandering in the wilderness. Or maybe everything is
passing us by and we feel forgotten by the Lord.
Again, I think this chapter does a
great job of addressing those concerns.
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