2 Nephi Chapter 7
Scripture Mastery
In chapters 7 and 8, Nephi's brother Jacob quotes chapters 50, 51, and 52:1-2 of the book of Isaiah. In these chapters Isaiah speaks specifically to covenant Israel. Let us proceed with Isaiah chapter 50.
verses 1-3 Israel has drifted away from the Lord and has suffered much punishment, but there is no cause to fear that this separation will be permanent. These verses are a call to Israel to return to the Lord and make him their strength. There is likely no specific time period to which Isaiah's counsel applies since Israel has been estranged from the Lord almost continuously since Isaiah's day. Isaiah is speaking messianically, that is, as if he were the Lord.
1 Yea, for thus saith the Lord: Have I put thee away, or have I cast thee off forever? For thus saith the Lord: Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement? To whom have I put thee away, or to which of my creditors have I sold you? Yea, to whom have I sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
verse 1 The Lord, through Isaiah, introduces the metaphor of a marriage between God and Israel, with Israel being the bride, or the children of the bride, and the Lord being the bridegroom.
"Have I put thee away, or have I cast thee off forever?" These two questions (1) "Have I put thee away?" and (2) "have I cast thee off forever?" have identical meanings. The Lord is saying, "Do you really think that I put my people Israel away permanently like a man who divorces his wife?" The reference here is to Hebrew law which held that a man who found his wife to be unworthy could legally and permanently "put her away" or divorce her by presenting her with a "bill of divorcement." He could not divorce her without presenting her with a legal bill of divorcement (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). The implication of these questions is whether or not the separation between the Lord and Israel is permanent like a divorce or only a temporary one.
"Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement?" The reference to "your mother's divorcement" (emphasis mine) implies that the Lord is speaking to the descendants of those Israelites who were estranged from the Lord. A "bill" is a scroll or document providing evidence of something. The Lord continues, "If I intended to put you away permanently, then where are the divorce papers that prove that I divorced your mother and thus you yourselves?" The implication is that the separation between God and Israel is not a permanent "divorce," but only a temporary separation. Again, Isaiah's time framework is indefinite, but he may have reference here to the Babylonian captivity between 586 BC and 538 BC.
"To whom have I put thee away, or to which of my creditors have I sold you?" "Do you really think I sold you into captivity like a man selling his own children into slavery?" In Isaiah's day, if a man was pressured by his creditors he had the option of selling his children into a state of indentured servitude temporarily until the debt was paid. Also in that day if the man died without clearing his debt, the creditor could take the man's children as payment of the debt. The meaning of this analogy is that the Lord is in debt to no one and therefore was not forced to sell Israel as slaves.
"for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away" Finally the Lord avers that Israel, actually her "mother," had been put away, but no one but Israel herself was responsible for her separation from God. She sold herself into captivity. Her sins and apostasy resulted in the rift.
2 Wherefore, when I came, there was no man; when I called, yea, there was none to answer. O house of Israel, is my hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem, or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make their rivers a wilderness and their fish to stink because the waters are dried up, and they die because of thirst.
verse 2 "when I came, there was no man; when I called, yea, there was none to answer" When the Lord came to Israel willing to redeem her from captivity, no one requested his help, and they even rejected him. They separated from him because of their sins. Again, this statement might apply to any time period. In almost every generation there are few or even none to receive the Lord. It does fit nicely with the period of the Lord's mortal ministry. Though Isaiah is speaking in the past tense, he may well be prophesying of events yet in the future. This is the principle of the "prophetic perfect" verb tense.
Another possibility is the context of the second coming. Evidence for this is found in the fact that Isaiah 50:2-3 are repeated, with some changes in D&C 133:66-69, and the latter verses have obvious reference to the Lord's second coming. The Israelites are like Amulek before he repented: "I was called many times and I would not hear" (Alma 10:6).
"is my hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem, or have I no power to deliver?" The hand and arm of the Lord are symbols of his power. He who has a "shortened hand" is weak and powerless. The Lord is asking, "Am I so weak that I cannot redeem Israel"? The answer is, of course, "certainly not!" The opposite of the shortened hand is the Lord's stretching out or extending his hand or arm to deliver his people. His hand is indeed stretched out and not shortened.
"Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make their rivers a wilderness and their fish to stink because the waters are dried up, and they die because of thirst" The Lord then confirms that he does, of course, have sufficient power, and he illustrates this power by recalling the miracles which the Lord performed at the time of the exodus from Egypt. He dried up the sea with his command (Exodus 7:21; Exodus 14:26-31). He turned the rivers into a desert so that the fish in them died for lack of water; and (in verse 3) he darkened the sky as if it were mourning for the dead (Exodus 10:21).
When Oliver Cowdery produced the printer's manuscript from the original manuscript, he made, on the average, two or three changes per manuscript page. These changes were mostly simple errors and do not significantly affect the text of the Book of Mormon. The errors frequently occurred in groups suggesting that Oliver was tired. In this verse and in verse 4 there are some examples of simple errors that were made that have remained in the text even until our present edition. For example two phrases contained in this verse in the original manuscript read: "I make the rivers a wilderness" and "they dieth because of thirst" (emphasis added). In verse 4: "he wakeneth morning by morning" and "he wakeneth mine ear" ("Piecing Together the Original Manuscript," Royal Skousen, a FARMS reprint).
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.
verse 3 The dark sky heralds the coming judgments, as well as Christ's second coming. The Lord said in Matthew 24:29-30: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then . . . they shall see the son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
Elder Bruce R. McConkie gave another interpretation:
"I clothe the heavens with blackness" (Isaiah 50:3), and there is no more revelation. . . . Thus saith our God. Such is his promise, spoken prophetically of our day. And here, given in modern times, is his announcement that as he spake, so has it come to pass: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become corrupt before my face (D&C 112:23) (Millennial Messiah: The Second Coming of the Son of Man, 39).
"Sackcloth" is the clothing of mourning. Perhaps this symbolizes the mourning of the wicked at the second coming of Christ. Or it may symbolize the mourning of the righteous over the wickedness of the earth.
verses 4-9 Isaiah now stops speaking messianically. That is, he stops speaking as if he were the Lord. These verses contain another "servant song," a poetic statement of a righteous and devoted servant or missionary of the Lord. The servants who are the objects of these servant songs are usually the Savior or another individual who is a type of Christ. Here the servant describes how he was rejected by the people. Whether or not a specific identity of this servant is intended is unknown. Perhaps the most acceptable identity of this particular servant is Jesus Christ himself. Some of the events described in the servant song are similar to those experienced by the Savior during his mortal ministry.
Others have suggested that the servant might be Isaiah. A more universal application to all righteous servants of the Lord also seems appropriate as well.
4 The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season unto thee, O house of Israel. When ye are weary he waketh morning by morning. He waketh mine ear to hear as the learned.
verse 4 "The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season" The Lord God (the Father) has given the servant (probably Jesus) the power to speak. We may alternatively word this verse, "The Father has taught me what to say to the people of Israel at an appropriate time-'in season.' He has blessed me with knowledge and eloquence." This servant intends to be a missionary for the Lord among those of captive and scattered Israel, and his daily responsibility is to hear and speak the words of God.
"When ye are weary he waketh morning by morning." Though Israel would rather slumber spiritually, the Father repeatedly awakens her to his word of truth and righteousness.
"He waketh mine ear to hear as the learned." The Father speaks to and teaches his servant in continuing revelation.
5 The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.
verse 5 The Lord God through revelation has given me great understanding, and I have not turned away from him.
verses 6-7 These two verses are particularly messianic; that is to say, they particularly suggest that the "servant" is the Savior.
6 I gave my back to the smiter, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
verse 6 Apparently this servant's responsibility is to hear and speak the words of God, and this obligation will not be accomplished without adversity. The verse may be interpreted as, "I exposed my back to those who would beat me, and I did not stop them when they insulted me by pulling the hairs out of my beard and by spitting in my face." In Isaiah's day the beard was regarded as a sign of dignity and respect. To pluck hairs out of the beard was to show utter contempt. The servant submitted himself to great insult for his testimony, and there was no inclination for retaliation. These torments are, of course, reminiscent of Christ during his arrest, trial, and crucifixion.
"I hid not my face" The servant did not try to hide or escape from persecution. Nephi wrote of Christ: "And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men" (1 Nephi 19:9).
7 For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.
verse 7 "Confounded" means disgraced. Their insults cannot hurt me because of the help I receive from the Father. I am able to brace myself to withstand the insults, and I know that I will not be disgraced.
8 And the Lord is near, and he justifieth me. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is mine adversary? Let him come near me, and I will smite him with the strength of my mouth.
verse 8 "he justifieth me" The "Lord" (the Father) will validate all that the servant has done in his ministry and will hold him blameless.
"Who will contend with me?" If the Father is willing to defend me, then who would dare bring charges against me or fight with me.
"Let us stand together." The servant appeals to the Father to stand by him and defend him.
"Who is mine adversary?" With the Lord God standing by me, who would dare become my adversary?
"I will smite him with the strength of my mouth." With the Father's help, I can effectively answer any of my adversary's accusations.
9 For the Lord God will help me. And all they who shall condemn me, behold, all they shall wax old as a garment, and the moth shall eat them up.
verse 9 "all they shall wax old as a garment, and the moth shall eat them up" One of the definitions of wax in Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language is, "To pass from one state to another; to become." My accusers will all be destroyed as cloth is destroyed by time and moths.
verses 10-11 Isaiah ends this chapter by admonishing Israel to follow the "servant"-either Christ or his prophets.
Two classes of people are contrasted in these two verses. One class consists of those who fear the Lord and obey his servant (verse 10). They will not walk in spiritual darkness but will have spiritual light. The other class consists of those who seek to be spiritually self-sufficient, relying on themselves instead of on God. They attempt to create their own light (verse 11), but their efforts produce no more than sparks when compared to the bright light that comes from God. Those in this latter group will eventually receive judgments from the Lord that result in sorrow.
10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light?
verse 10 To walk "in darkness" is to be without spiritual light.
Isaiah asks, "Who fears the Lord and obeys God's servant, yet still walks in darkness?" The answer is, No one. The implication is that since Israel is walking by her own light rather than God's, her people were obviously not fearing God and obeying his servant.
11 Behold all ye that kindle fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks which ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand-ye shall lie down in sorrow.
verse 11 Once again, Isaiah speaks messianically, or as though he were the Lord.
"Behold all ye that kindle fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks which ye have kindled." This expression refers to those who walk in their own way, according to their own will, rather than according to the will and direction of the Lord.
As a side note here, Dr. Royal Skousen has argued persuasively that Oliver Cowdery misheard Joseph Smith's dictation of this passage. Though the text of the original manuscript for this passage is missing, he suggests that it should more appropriately read "kindle a fire" which, of course, sounds very similar and is consistent with Isaiah 50:11.
"This shall ye have of mine hand-ye shall lie down in sorrow." To "lie down" probably means to die. You shall die in spiritual misery.
Latter-day revelation provides evidence that the proper context for 2 Nephi 7 (Isaiah 50) is the last days at the time of the second coming. D&C 133, the so-called appendix to the Doctrine and Covenants records prophecies of the latter-day, pre-millennial period:
And upon them that hearken not to the voice of the Lord shall be fulfilled that which was written by the prophet . . . Malachi: 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.
Wherefore, this shall be the answer of the Lord unto them: In that day when I came unto mine own, no man among you received me, and you were driven out. When I called again there was none of you to answer; yet my arm was not shortened at all that I could not redeem, neither my power to deliver. Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea. I make the rivers a wilderness; their fish stink, and die for thirst.
I clothe the heavens with blackness, and make sackcloth their covering. And this shall ye have of my hand-ye shall lie down in sorrow.
Behold, and lo, there are none to deliver you; for ye obeyed not my voice when I called to you out of the heavens; ye believed not my servants, and when they were sent unto you ye received them not. Wherefore, they sealed up the testimony and bound up the law, and ye were delivered over unto darkness. These shall go away into outer darkness, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Behold the Lord your God hath spoken it. Amen (D&C 133:63-74).