In this chapter from Isaiah that Nephi inserts into his
record, Isaiah is writing specifically to the people of Israel who have been
“broken off” and “driven out” from their lands. As we discussed in the summary
of the last chapter, Isaiah lived through a time (740-700 B.C.) when several
tribes (traditionally, around 10) of Israel were taken away into captivity or
otherwise scattered when the northern kingdom of Israel was captured by the
Assyrians.
Isaiah’s words have special resonance for Nephi’s family,
who recently journeyed halfway across the world to a new, strange place. They
have their own experience of being broken off from their lands in the sense
that the Lord told Lehi to take them out of Jerusalem to avoid the Babylonian
captivity that was imminent due to the people’s wickedness. Thus, when Isaiah
writes in the name of the Lord to the “isles of the sea” (verse 8), Nephi hopes
that this will bring reassurance to his people that the Lord has not forgotten
them.
In this chapter, Isaiah appears to be referring to himself
as a larger symbol for all of Israel, because in verse 3 he reveals that the
Lord said to him: “Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
So when we read the words “my servant” (as in verses 6 and 8) they can broadly
apply to any person called by the Lord to “restore the preserved of Israel” and
be “a light to the Gentiles,” or the rest of the world. This is a sign that God
has not forgotten the covenant he made to Abraham, which eventually passed to
Isaac and Jacob (who was renamed Israel and whose children became the starting
point for Israel’s 12 tribes).
So who is called by the Lord to re-gather Israel and bring
salvation to the world? Isaiah’s account tells Nephi’s family that they and other
branches of Israel will eventually find themselves miraculously delivered and
lifted up. This implies that they may have to go through times of struggle and
subjection to rulers who are not acquainted with the true nature of God and his
relationship to mankind.
The first and central step, as always, is through the
atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Isaiah describes how the Lord will not
forget his covenant, by referring in an unmistakable way to Christ’s
crucifixion. The Lord says (in verse 16), “Behold, I have graven thee upon the
palms of my hands.” This is a clear prophecy (given hundreds of years before
the event actually occurs) about the Roman nails that will be driven through
the hands of Jesus. Because Jesus will love his people so much, he will be
willing to suffer on their behalf even unto death, making his love even more
sure than that of a nursing mother for her helpless child (verse 15).
And the power of that love will bring salvation (via the
forgiveness of sins) to those who believe on Jesus and exercise faith by acting
in accordance with this belief. The gathering of the people comes from the
preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the performance of the necessary
ordinances (baptism, etc.) of His Church by those who have authority to act in
His name.
Isaiah may be speaking about authority and power when he
refers (in verse 2) to the Lord hiding his covenant people in the “shadow of
his hand” and comparing them to a “sharp sword” and a “polished shaft” (an
arrow) in his quiver. A revelation from the Lord recorded by Joseph Smith in 1832 (known
today as Section
86 of a book of scripture in our Church called the Doctrine and
Covenants) says that those who have the priesthood authority to act in God’s
name “have been hid from the world with Christ in God.”
How have they been hid? At various times in the history of
God’s people, for reasons that may not be entirely clear but probably depend on
the overall obedience and humility of the people and their leaders, the
authority to perform sacred ordinances with eternal effect in God’s name has
gone away. When that has happened, we can literally say that the only ones who
have this authority are those who have gone back to be hid in God’s hand after
the end of their mortal lives.
But each time the authority has gone away, the Lord has
looked for opportunities to restore it through the true heirs of Abraham’s
covenant and of the priesthood authority that follows from it. These are people
who show obedience and humility before the Lord, exemplified in a willingness
to receive and perform the ordinance of baptism. Remember, it was John the
Baptist (in Luke 3:8) who warned his Jewish audience not to rely solely on
their ancestral link with Abraham, saying “God is able of these stones to raise
up children unto Abraham.” When John said this, he knew that his own coming
among the people represented a restoration of divine authority to perform
ordinances. Another restoration of this authority came on May 15, 1829, when the
resurrected John the Baptist appeared as an angel to Joseph Smith and his associate
Oliver Cowdery and gave them (first) the means to baptize each other and (after
that) the means to ordain each other with the priesthood authority that had
previously been hidden from the world (see verses 68-73 of this history of Joseph
Smith).
But even when the priesthood authority is actually present
on earth, its holders can be “hid from the world” in the sense that most people
don’t know where to find them amid the confusion and distraction of everyday
life. That’s where the sharp sword and polished shaft come into play. The Lord’s
covenant people have an obligation to share the message of salvation through
Christ via faith, repentance, and obedience (including the receipt of necessary
ordinances), and the sword and arrow represent the power that God gives to
those who share this message in His name.
If we understand these concepts, the beauty and power of
this chapter really begins to kick in, as we sense how the Lord’s messengers
can find great joy and comfort in spreading the Word even when others initially
reject them, because a way will eventually be prepared for the message to have
glorious effect.
And then Isaiah shares this amazing idea that part of God’s
plan is for the Gentiles (those who either aren’t physical heirs of Abraham’s
covenant, or don’t know that they are) to gather the scattered people of Israel.
The Gentiles will be given the power (again through sharing the word and
performing ordinances under divine authority) to deliver God’s people from
captivity, as they themselves become heirs to the covenant—proving how
universally it applies. This is exactly what took place with the restoration
through Joseph Smith of the gospel, priesthood authority, and Christ’s Church,
and the next chapter will refer to this in more specific terms.
You can read the entire chapter of 1 Nephi 21 at the
following link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/21?lang=eng
You can read the entire chapter of Isaiah 49 at the
following link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot/isa/49?lang=eng
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