Jacob’s teachings in the Book of Mormon offer spiritual insights that invite us to deepen our understanding of our relationship with God, the significance of covenants, and the transformative power of the Atonement.
Through his words, we are reminded of the enduring nature of God’s promises, the hope of redemption, and the importance of aligning our will with God’s divine plan.
Jacob’s emphasis on the importance of covenants reflects a fundamental aspect of our connection with the divine. By understanding that God is a covenant-keeping deity, we recognize the significance of maintaining our part of the covenant relationship. This entails a mutual commitment between God and His children, wherein both parties uphold their responsibilities to foster a bond of trust and love.
Furthermore, Jacob’s discourse on the righteous branch of Israel highlights the promise of restoration and redemption. Despite the challenges of mortality and the reality of unbelief leading to spiritual peril, God’s mercy shines through as a beacon of hope. The assurance that our children can be restored to the knowledge of their Redeemer serves as a comforting reminder of God’s unwavering love and grace. It is a testament to the enduring nature of God’s promises, which extend beyond the confines of this life.
The concept of reconciliation, as expounded by Jacob, offers profound insights into our relationship with God. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we have the opportunity to reconcile ourselves with our Heavenly Father, aligning our will with His divine purpose. This process of reconciliation goes beyond mere acceptance; it involves a transformative journey of adjusting, harmonizing, and uniting with God’s will. By embracing this process, we not only draw closer to God but also experience the liberating power of His grace.
Jacob’s teachings underscore the pivotal role of agency in our spiritual progression. The freedom to choose between everlasting death and eternal life is a recurring theme in his discourse, echoing the principles of opposition and agency elucidated by Lehi. This reminder serves as a call to action, urging us to align our choices with the will of God and to seek His grace in our journey towards salvation. It reaffirms the divine gift of agency as a means to grow and progress in accordance with God’s eternal plan.
Jacob’s teachings extend beyond the immediate context of his discourse, resonating with timeless truths that are relevant to our spiritual journey today. His insights into covenants, reconciliation, and agency serve as guiding principles for navigating the complexities of mortal life and striving towards a deeper connection with the divine.
Hey, good morning, friends. Derek here from BOMSocks with more BOMBites, where we feast upon the words of Christ, one bite at a time. I want to backtrack as we’re finishing up the Come, Follow, Me for this week. I want to backtrack to Chapter 9, verse number 1, reminding you of why Jacob is quoting so many Isaiah chapters here. Verse number 1, Now, my beloved Brethren, I have read these things, meaning Chapter 7 and 8, which is basically Isaiah Chapter 50 and 51. I have read these things that ye might know concerning the covenants of the Lord that he has covenanted with all of the house of Israel. Remembering that if you really want to understand all of the Isaiah chapters, remember that God is a God of covenant keeping, and he wants to keep covenants with his children. He is still here, and he is making those same covenants with you and I. Now, chapter 10 is such a wonderful chapter. After Jacob is coming off the heels of one of the most amazing doctrinal discourses on the Atonement, he starts in verse number one of chapter 10. Now, I, Jacob, speak unto you again, my beloved Brethren, concerning this righteous branch of which I have spoken, this scattered house of Israel.
Behold, the promises which we have obtained are promises unto us according to the flesh. Wherefore it has been shown unto me that many of our children shall perish in the flesh because of unbelief. Nevertheless, God will be merciful unto many and this wonderful promise, and our children shall be restored, that they may come to that which will give them the true knowledge of their redeemer. What a wonderful promise to anybody out there who has lost children for one reason or another. What a cool promise. Now with that same idea, For I will fulfill my promises, which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh. I think that’s a cool little promise. Sometimes we think that these promises, and many still do. I don’t want to discount that, will come eternally. They’re going to come later on. We get to see some things in this life as well. We get to see those promises of God be fulfilled. Now, how he does that and when he does that is completely up to him. But I love that. It’s like, and I will do unto them while they’re in the flesh.
What a cool little promise right there. Which leads to the last verse of this chapter, which are so amazing. Now, my beloved Brethren, seeing that our Merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him and lay aside our sins and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off. That’s such a cool promise, not hang down our heads. We look up, we have that faith in Jesus Christ that he can do exactly what he says he can do, and that those promises which he has made with us, if we keep our end of that covenant, he will fulfill those things. What a great reason not hang down our heads. Now, verse number 22 is a cool verse. Behold, the Lord God has led away from time to time from the house of Israel, according to his will and pleasure. And now behold, the Lord remembereth all of them who hath been broken off. Wherefore, he remembereth us also. One of the things to remember is that Jacob’s family, Nephite’s family, the Lamanites, the Nephites, are all considered scattered Israel. I was actually having a conversation with my son who’s on a mission right now, and we had this little epiphany.
It’s like, you know what? You, in some ways, will become scattered Israel. You are going to be broken off and sent out there into the world to do some amazing things. You become scattered Israel. Now, again, God will lead away from time to time the house of Israel. I look at missionaries that way sometimes. He’s going to take them and he will scatter them in an effort to be able to gather the family back in. When you really look at it that way, the promises that the Lord gives to his missionaries. I mean, look at these things right here. Verse 23, Therefore, cheer up your hearts. Remember that ye are free to for yourselves, to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life. I love that. This is a little reminder that Jacob got from his father, Lehi, probably 30 or 40 years ago in 2 Nephi 2, as he was young little Jacob getting this message of opposition and agency and the freedom to choose. Here he is bringing it back again full swing as he’s just talked about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Wherefore, my beloved Brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God and not to the will of the devil and of the flesh.
Remember, after you are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that you are saved. Now, the word reconcile actually has two meanings here. One, it generally means to just get used to it, grin and bear it, basically to cause a person to accept or be resigned to the fact that something is just going to be that way, and it’s usually something that’s not desired. Just reconcile yourself to that fact. The second definition of reconcile, to adjust and to restore friendly feelings and to unite, to harmonize, and to synchronize. Now, with regards to this idea of reconciling, I’ve got this written in my scriptures right here. I don’t think that the first definition, that idea of just grin and bear it to just deal with it, get used to this. I don’t think that applies here. I don’t think God is just telling us, get used to doing things my way and just deal with it. The second definition, this idea of adjusting and restoring friendly feelings and to unite, to harmonize and to synchronize, that is very applicable when it comes to helping us become united with the will of God and to grow closer to him through the of Jesus Christ.
Now, one of the coolest things here is if you go to the Bible Dictionary and you look up the word atonement, the word describes the setting at one of those who have been estranged and denotes the reconciliation of man to God. Sin is the cause of the estrangement, and therefore, the purposes of the atonement is to correct and overcome the consequences of sin. From the time of Adam to the death of Jesus Christ, true believers were instructed to offer animal sacrifices to the Lord. These sacrifices were symbolic of the forthcoming death of Jesus Christ and were done by faith in him. Jesus Christ, as the only begotten son of God and the only sinless person to live on this Earth, was the only one capable of making an atonement for mankind. That’s why back in second Nephi 9, where we read about how, Look, if Jesus had not done this, then we would I’m subject to the devil. Wherefore, now you go back to second Nephi 10:25, may God raise you from death by the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the atonement, that ye may be received into the eternal Kingdom of God, that ye may praise him through grace divine.
Amen. Now, Jacob has just finished sharing this wonderful discourse. As we get in the next week, you’re going to start seeing again more of the Isaiah chapters. In fact, we’re going to spend a lot of time in the Isaiah chapters here. But if you can remember that the purpose of these chapters of Isaiah is to remember that God wants to keep covenants with you. How does he do that? By allowing us to come back, by allowing us to repent, by allowing us to connect with him, to reconcile ourselves with him, to connect with him. That is the message of these chapters, and I am so grateful for it. I am grateful for Jesus Christ. I’m grateful for his Atonement, and that enables me to connect once again with my loving heavenly Father. I love these chapters, and I’m grateful for them. Thank you so much for watching.
Guest Author
dyejo
