BOM-BITES Episode #647- Isaiah 48-49; 1 Nephi 19-22 – powered by Happy Scribe
Hey my friends, what is good? Derrick here from Bombsocks with more bomb bites where we feast upon the words of Christ one bite at a time. So I want to conclude this week of the Isaiah 40 to 49 chapters focusing on those last two chapters which are Isaiah 48 and 49. Now I want to take a little bit of a different route with these as far as context goes, isaiah 48 and 49 are also found in the Book of Mormon as one Nephi 20 and 21. So like I had said a couple of weeks ago how I want to try to focus on chapters that are found in the Book of Mormon because you’re going to be reading them more often.
So these two chapters I want to focus on the book ends of those chapters. So if this is first Nephi 20 and 21 or Isaiah 48 and 49, I want to show you first the first Nephi 19 and then the first Nephi 22 and try to put that into some context to show you why Nephi decided or at least in my mind why Nephi decided to use these in the book of Mormon narrative. So first of all I guess the question is this how many of you feel like you have been forgotten by former friends, associates, et cetera because you have moved? Okay, well the reason I bring that up is because you got Lehigh’s family who moved, they moved from Jerusalem, they moved from the Kingdom of Judah and they left. Along the way you had Lehman, Lemuel freaking out.
And a lot of the reason I think they were freaking out because they did not want to leave because what happens when you leave sometimes you fear that you are going to be forgotten especially when you had a good life before that and it’s like you’re going to move and people are going to forget you. Well I can see them hitting the promised land and this is just in my own mind. Maybe Lehman and Lemuel at this point are just maybe they’re just discouraged and I don’t want to portray them like they are always bad. They’re not always bad. There are times where these guys were very obedient to what they were asked to do and there were moments of faith that they had.
So in my mind I’m envisioning them just kind of sitting there and a little bit discouraged. They’re in this new promised land. They just traveled through here and maybe they’re just like man I wonder if the Lord has forgotten us. I wonder if we’re forgotten out here. And so here’s Nephi in chapter 19 who verse 18 says i, Nephi have written these things unto my people that perhaps I might persuade them that they would remember the Lord their redeemer.
Now if you go all the way down to verse 22 it says now it came to pass that I knew I did teach my brethren these things. He’s talking to Lehman and Lemuel in these chapters. And it came to pass that I did read many things to them which were engravened upon the plates of breast that they might know concerning the doings of the Lord in the other lands among people of old. Verse 23 is a very familiar verse, and I did read many things under to them which were written in the Book of Mormon, but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their redeemer. I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah, for I did like in all scriptures unto us that it might be for our prophet and learning.
So he’s like, I’m reading these things to them, help them understand, so that they could really understand Jesus Christ. I’m going to read from Isaiah to them verse 24, wherefore I spoke unto them, saying, hear ye the words of the prophet Isaiah, ye who are a remnant of the house of Israel, a branch who have been broken off. So he’s like, look, we are scattered Israel. Our family is scattered Israel. Here just a little bit different than when the Babylonians came in and wiped out Judah and took them away.
We are different, we are scattered Israel. So those promises are still to us. Hear ye the words of the prophet Isaiah which were written onto all the house of Israel, and liken them unto yourselves, that ye may have hope as well as your brother, and from whom ye have been broken off. For after this manner has the prophet Isaiah written, okay, so here’s Nephi setting up. You might feel like you’ve been forgotten, you might feel like that the Lord doesn’t even know who you are and you’re scattered Israel.
So what does he do? He now reads to them Isaiah 48 and Isaiah 49, which really puts chapter 49 into context. So Isaiah 49, which is also one Nephi 21. Now this little part here in one Nephi 21 is not in Isaiah 49, just this little part right here. But this gives you some context of maybe where Nephi is going with this.
It says again, harken, o ye house of Israel, all ye that are broken off and driven out because of the wickedness of the pastors of my people, yea all ye that are broken off that are scattered abroad. Again, he’s talking to Layman and Lemuel here especially, who are of my people, the house of Israel. Listen, O isles, unto me, harken, ye people from far. And here’s then where he gets into what Isaiah is saying the Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. Verse three, thou art my servant, O Israel.
You go down to verse number five. And now saith the Lord that formed me from the womb, that I should be his servant to bring Jacob this remnant of the house of Israel that’s been scattered again to him. Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be thy strength. Verse six. It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel.
Verse eight. I have heard thee, O isles of the sea, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee. I will preserve thee and give thee my servant for a covenant of my people. Then you go down to probably the most well known verses. First of all, verse 13, right at the end, for the Lord hath comforted his people and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
But behold, Zion hath said, the Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. I wonder if lame an Elemule. And the other is like, I wonder if God has forgotten us, but he will show that he hath not. And then these very famous verses. For can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Yeah, they may forget. Yet will I not forget the old house of Israel, which includes Lehman, Lemuel, Nephi, Lehi, all of Lehi’s family. Behold, I have gravened thee upon the palms of my hands. Thy walls are continually before me. You put that into the context of maybe Wang Nephi would be reading these to his family members.
It’s like look, we’re scattered. We’re scattered Israel. And you might think that the Lord has forgotten you, but he has not forgotten us. That is a great message for them, but it is also a great message for us. Now, you finish up over in chapter 22 of One Nephi, which again, I want to show you the bookends of this right here.
All you got to do is look at the chapter heading. Israel will be scattered upon the face of the earth. The Gentiles will nurse and nourish Israel with the Gospel in the last days, israel will be gathered and saved. In fact, you go down into that chapter a little bit. Verse eight.
It says, after our seed is scattered, the Lord God will proceed to do a marvelous work among the Gentiles, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ coming forth in the Restoration, which shall be of great worth unto our seed. Now, you think about the Nephites and Lehman and Lemuel. The Lehmanites blossoming as a rose like this is the greatest message. It’s going to be of great worth to our family. Therefore.
It is likely that unto their being nourished by the Gentiles. And being carried in their arms and upon their shoulders. And it shall also be of worth unto the Gentiles. And not only unto the Gentiles. But unto all the house of Israel.
Unto the making known of the covenants of the Father of heaven. Unto Abraham. Saying. In thy seed meaning all of the house of Israel shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. And so I guess when I read those verses, when I read first Nephi, I’m taking it with the understanding of here’s a group of people who have been scattered.
And then you’ve got these two chapters of Isaiah that are designed to provide hope. Like Nephi said, at the end of this, liking these things on yourselves, that you may have hope and then remember that that gathering is going to take place. And so you might feel scattered, but the Lord is going to take good care of you. So anyway, I guess that’s the way I look at these chapters, especially in the Book of Mormon of Weini, if I decided, you know what, we’re going to pause, and I’m going to share with you a couple of chapters of Isaiah, which, again, when you get into the second Nephi chapters, he teaches a lot of the same things. Nephi loves Isaiah, and I am grateful that he loves Isaiah, because I am learning to love Isaiah as well when I read it from Nephi’s perspective.
Thanks for watching. Hey, thanks for subscribing and thanks for sharing these messages. So grateful that you do that. If you haven’t already, check out our amazingly comfortable gospel themed socks@bombshs.com. You guys have a great day and we’ll see you next week.
God speed. Bye.
Guest Author
dyejo
