King Noah’s immediate reaction to Abinadi’s bold testimony before the inquisition of Noah’s priests was to sentence Abinadi to death (verse 1). We have already learned of Noah’s unwillingness to let anyone—even and especially the Lord—question him in his supposedly high station.
This
is where the true impact of Abinadi’s words emerges, through the changed heart
of Alma, one of Noah’s priests. Alma is a young man who, we are told, believed
Abinadi’s words because he recognized that he and his colleagues were in the
wrong. It is fascinating to consider how Alma’s change of heart took place. As
he sat listening to Abinadi, what made him open up to the message, while
everyone else rejected it? Was there a specific point where what Abinadi said
struck Alma particularly hard, or did feelings from the Holy Ghost gradually
work on him until he realized something had changed within him?
Hearing
Alma’s story also gives us a chance to consider what we are doing to prepare
ourselves to be ready to accept truth when it comes our way. Perhaps the most
tragic thing is to have the truth directly in front of us, but we are too proud
or distracted to recognize it is something we desperately need. We turn to
other sources, thinking they will give us the happiness that is actually right
there for the taking.
Whatever
the case, Alma becomes infected with Abinadi’s boldness, and stands up for the
prophet. I wonder what went through Abinadi’s mind as, after years of being a
solitary and unpopular witness for the truth, he finally sees some evidence
that it is not all in vain. Someone is finally responding. And not a moment too
soon, with Abinadi’s life hanging in the balance. We learn that Alma pleads with
Noah to let Abinadi depart in peace (verse 2).
For
the moment, Alma’s effort distracts Noah and the other priests. I imagine that
having one of his priests suddenly take the side of his prisoner comes as a
pretty big surprise to Noah. Diverting attention away from harming Abinadi buys
some time. Interestingly, the account says that Noah causes Alma first to be
cast out, and only then to have his servants pursue Alma in an effort to kill
him (verse 3). Why didn’t Noah just holler, “Seize him!” right away? Is he so
surprised that he is unable to think clearly? Or is it that Noah’s cowardice is
such that he would prefer to have this wicked deed he orders take place out of
his sight? There are so many psychological implications to this scene.
Alma
eludes King Noah’s servants, we find, and considers the words of Abinadi to be
of such importance that he focuses his efforts on recording them while they are
fresh in his mind (verse 4), even though we might think that at a time where
Alma’s own survival is at stake, he would focus more on staying out of danger.
We
learn that, at the very least, Alma’s intervention has delayed Noah from
ordering Abinadi’s immediate execution.
Instead, Noah, whose head is likely spinning at this point, has his
guards take Abinadi back to prison, and then spends three days discussing the
matter with his remaining priests. This gives Noah and his priests time to
rationalize away the nagging feelings they have that maybe there was something
to what Abinadi said—especially if it would cause Alma, one of their own, to
risk his own life to defend Abinadi.
And
rationalize they do. The solution to their problem, they conclude, is to rid
themselves as quickly as possible from the source of their guilt. Pin an
accusation of blasphemy on Abinadi. In their warped world, they single out for
ridicule Abinadi’s prophecy that God would come among us as a man, even though
we know this to be a core part of Jesus’ mission.
They
leave Abinadi with one chance to save himself. Recant. Take back all he has
said in criticism of Noah and his people. Of course, for a prophet who is loyal
to the God’s truth first, this is impossible, and Abinadi clearly indicates to
Noah and the priests that he is resigned to a martyr’s fate. He makes sure they
realize that if they go through with this, the eternal consequence is far more
harmful to them than it is to him, as it will “stand as a testimony against you
at the last day” (verse 10).
Abinadi’s
words and the Spirit that accompanies them are so powerful that Noah once again
questions himself. He is about to release Abinadi out of fear—which appears to
be well founded—that if he doesn’t, he will face judgment from God. But because
Noah is motivated by fear and not by a true change of heart, he lacks
constancy. Knowing this, his priests play on Noah’s pride and vanity by
reminding Noah that Abinadi has reviled him. And so Noah, revealed as a
weak-willed tyrant whose lack of character subjects him to emotional domination
by others, orders Abinadi to be killed.
With
the final order given, Abinadi suffers one of the worst deaths imaginable, by
fire. The savagery and injustice of his treatment leads Abinadi to utter a
final prophecy from the flames. He tells his tormentors that their descendants
will cause death by fire to many others who believe in the salvation of God.
What a sad thing to pass on as a family legacy! And just before Abinadi’s life
gives out, he promises those who have passed sentence upon him that they will
be hunted, smitten, afflicted with diseases, and ultimately burned to death as
he has been.
