Stay upon the Lord

2 Nephi 19-20

Things don't look too good for the tribe of Judah at the start of this read. I don't know enough about ancient middle eastern history to understand all the name-dropping that Isaiah does, but it's plain that it won't be pretty.

The situation looks up in chapter 20. The conquerors are conquered and the remnant of the tribe of Judah is restored. I find this chapter so interesting for a couple reasons:

1. The Lord explains the punishments that the Jews will experience at the hand of the Assyrians. Yet he frankly refers to the Assyrians as nothing more than a tool of His anger--a tool that can be thrown away and destroyed just as easily as it was used to destroy.

20:15 Shall the ax boast itself against him that heweth therewith? Shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? As if the rod should shake itself against them that lifteth it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself as if there were no wood:,

Why does he point this out? Why does Isaiah write this down? It's an interesting thought. As I ponder it, it kind of reminds me of Laman and Lemuel back in 1 Nephi when they went to get the brass plates. L&L say "But Laban has 50 men!!" and Nephi, perplexed, says "But the Lord is God. He's more powerful than 50 men."

20 And it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel...shall no more again stay upon him that smote them, but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel in truth.
21 The remnant shall return, yea, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.

Isaiah (and Nephi by quotation) is making the point that nothing is more powerful than God, not even the tools He uses to chastise us.. Powerful people, nations, armies, and words may block out all our vision of the bigger picture. I think this happened to the Israelites. It must have seemed, to the Jews, that the Assyrians were the end all be all of power at that time. Nothing could topple them. They ransacked Jerusalem and scattered a great nation of people. As a result, the Israelites stayed 'upon him that smote them' and believed that nothing could deliver them, instead of staying upon the Lord who is more powerful than all.

Isaiah prophesies of this Godly power and writes that the mighty Assyrians will fall after the remnant of Israel returns.

24 Therefore, thus saith the Lord God of Hosts: O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian; he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against the, after the manner of Egypt.
25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction.

This brings me to thought #2.

2. The chapter heading points out that this is a type and a shadow of the 2nd coming. The destruction of the Assyrians represents what will be the destruction of the wicked when Christ comes.

So I wonder: What is it that represents my version of "50 men" or the Assyrians? What is it that makes me forget that Heavenly Father has all power to deliver me, protect me, and bless me?

Honestly, I think that my version of the Assyrians is myself. In this case, I could very well be the evil conqueror. It is my doubts in my own abilities that keep me from trusting fully in Heavenly Father. I worry that I can't hear the Spirit and that I'll miss chances to act upon his promptings. I worry that I am not doing quite enough to qualify for blessings that I need. I worry that people will miss out on blessings because I am insufficient to whatever task is in front of me. It goes on and on and on.

These worries are just as ridiculous as Laman and Lemuel's worries. Like the Israelites, I 'stay upon them that smote me' instead of staying upon the Lord. Satan loves it. If he could keep blinders on us always, he would. Tunnel vision makes every small problem seem humongous and insurmountable. That problem fills the small circle of sight and we choose not to see the bigger picture. The bigger picture includes God in control with the power to deliver us, fix it, vanquish evil, comfort me, and bless the world. This power is what allowed Christ to take up his life again after 3 days in the tomb. It's what made it possible for Him to pay the full, undiscounted price for all our sins in the garden of Gethsemane.  And it's that power that makes me enough.

Huh. I didn't plan to end up here when I started writing this post. So glad I did, though. These are important thoughts for me.

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Refusing the waters of Shiloah

2 Nephi 16-18

I've only one thought from these chapters tonight and it has to do with 18:6. After Isaiah is chosen, called and sent forth to preach, he understands that Judah will be scattered and taken away. He completely understands the impending judgments of the Lord for his people.

5 The Lord spake also unto me again, saying:
6 Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly , and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;
7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks.
8 And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

The waters of Shiloah are referenced a few times here and there, usually with  calming words next to them like "pool" or "go softly." The Bible dictionary makes it pretty clear that "Shiloh" refers to the Messiah.

I must have read that a long time ago because whenever I read about it, I picture a soothing, cool river that runs calmly and cleanly over your feet. Isaiah seems to picture it that way, too. The scripture above seems to say 'Since you won't accept the true Messiah of peace and brotherly love, I'll give you the war you want in the form of Assyria. And man, they are going to really ruin everything.' I know, my paraphrasing leaves much to be desired.

The point is, why do we always choose the HARD way? The main message of the scriptures, the Gospel, all the words of the modern and ancient prophets everywhere, and yes, even the message taught by Jesus Christ himself was "This is the only way to be happy. It is the easy way. Lay your burden down. Drink and not thirst. Run and not faint. Eat and not hunger. etc., etc.!!" The teachings of Jesus Christ and the way He has shown us is the most painless, most joyful one that we could possibly find in this life. And yet, we continue to refuse to look at Moses' staff, which would be SO EASY, and instead 'kick against the pricks' and angst, and worry, and fret, and question and rebel. I suppose it is in our nature to be so, but it sure makes things more difficult than they need to be.

I know that the joy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all wrapped up in how much easier it makes our lives. Obedience shelters and protects us from many evils of the world. Sure, we still have trial and tragedy, but only the necessary troubles to mold and teach us so that we can become better people. There's even a way through THAT which is easier than what the world has prescribed for us.

Jesus Christ was not at all what the tribe of Judah was expecting as their Messiah. He came to preach redemption, not revenge. Forgiveness, and not rancor. Service, and not keeping score. It really is the most wonderful and painless way to live, if we can only stop doing things the HARD way. If we will, we can dabble our feet in the waters of Shiloah "that go softly" and trust in our Heavenly Father to take care of the difficult stuff for us.

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