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.