"And now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this prophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he shall execute judgment in righteousness."
Nephi declares the prophet to be the God of Moses and of the children of Israel. In this one sentence we have a Jewish man interpreting Isaiah and understanding that Jehovah of his day would become Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. How did Nephi understand that when so many of his contemporaries and those who came after did not? What verses of Isaiah did he read that led him to understand that the Holy One of Israel was also the Messiah?
"And the righteous need not fear for they are those who shall not be confounded. But it is the kingdom of the devil, which shall be built up among the children of men, which kingdom is established among them which are in the flesh - For the time speedily shall come that all churches which are built up to get gain, and all those who are built up to get power over the flesh, and those who are built up to become popular in the eyes of the world, and those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of the world, and to do all manner of iniquity; yea, in fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear, and tremble, and quake; they are those who must be brought low in the dust; they are those who must be consumed as stubble; and this is according to the words of the prophet."
The thing that seems to be common among "all those who..." is a sort of pride. Either a hard heart toward God or their fellowman or pride that makes them think they are in some way superior to those around them. This, then, is the root of the church of the devil - pride and vanity. And true humility would then be what keeps hearts open and the root of the Church of the Lamb. Humility opens the heart and allows Him in.
I'm led to think about Isaiah 29 again as I read these verses. In 29:1-6, there is the symbolism of our hearts going through a process of opening. It feels a little harsh to say, but if I am not willing to open my heart and allow that purification process to happen within me, then I belong to the church of the devil...that group Isaiah refers to when he says "...their works are in the dark and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?" Seeking to keep things hidden for fear of not being loved or for fear of being ridiculed or for a hundred-thousand other reasons. All of this hiding is just to preserve an image - it is because of pride. It is back to that verse in Proverbs 17:9 "He that covereth a transgression seeketh love, but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends." Or, in other words, we seek to hide and cover up our mistakes, or missteps, our pride, our anger, our greed, our hurt, our shame, our dishonesty, our vengefulness, and any other thing. We try to cover things up because we are afraid that if people really knew those things about us, if they know "who I really am" then they won't like me anymore. They will judge and condemn me and shut me out of their lives because I'm not perfect. We are so afraid to be real because we think that being real will mean we end up being outcast and alone.
But when we are real with others, it encourages in them that same honesty, that same "frank dealing" (Emerson) one with another. That is when true connection and true friendship take place. When we are honest - not in a mean way or abusive way or proud way...because that's still not really being honest, is it? Those are tactics to cover up a vulnerable place. True honesty, being humble and vulnerable, brings about connection and love and loyalty in a strong bond that you part "very friends."
I'm off track though.
Isaiah 29 speaks of being brought down to the dust by the Lord declaring war on us. And He does so that our hearts might be humbled and open so that we can find the truth of who we are, why we do what we do, and what we really are seeking in life. It is a chance for us to find our truest self as we find that voice that cries out of the dust, the voice that is "as one that hath a familiar spirit" - or our eternal, pre-mortal self speaking out of the depths of a heart that has been closed by pride, hurt, anger, etc.
We can embrace that "distress"ing of Ariel (Ariel is another name for Jerusalem which is symbolic of Zion which is symbolic of each one of us) and let it humble us and get us to open our hearts, or we can rebuff it and harden our hearts more. And then there will be more distressing because the Lord is good and kind and does not want to lose us, so He declares war on us until our hearts are softened and open and we can learn to hear that eternal voice within. It is such a beautiful and tender way to teach us and truly is as gentle as anything can be. But. Here Nephi is telling us that there will come a day when it will be too late to embrace that tender and gentle way of healing.
So. How does this pertain to me, now? I suppose it is a reminder that trials are an opportunity to be humble and find a connection with the Lord that is deeper than my normal interaction. It is a reminder that I want to daily seek for that opening and sharing and humility within my heart that will allow me true connection with the eternal and with the Lord. It's a reminder that if I truly want to reach the goals I say are my goals, then I have to first learn to open my heart and be willing to be honest with myself and with the Lord and with those around me...honest in a vulnerable, real way.
That's hard sometimes.
Nephi declares the prophet to be the God of Moses and of the children of Israel. In this one sentence we have a Jewish man interpreting Isaiah and understanding that Jehovah of his day would become Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. How did Nephi understand that when so many of his contemporaries and those who came after did not? What verses of Isaiah did he read that led him to understand that the Holy One of Israel was also the Messiah?
"And the righteous need not fear for they are those who shall not be confounded. But it is the kingdom of the devil, which shall be built up among the children of men, which kingdom is established among them which are in the flesh - For the time speedily shall come that all churches which are built up to get gain, and all those who are built up to get power over the flesh, and those who are built up to become popular in the eyes of the world, and those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of the world, and to do all manner of iniquity; yea, in fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear, and tremble, and quake; they are those who must be brought low in the dust; they are those who must be consumed as stubble; and this is according to the words of the prophet."
The thing that seems to be common among "all those who..." is a sort of pride. Either a hard heart toward God or their fellowman or pride that makes them think they are in some way superior to those around them. This, then, is the root of the church of the devil - pride and vanity. And true humility would then be what keeps hearts open and the root of the Church of the Lamb. Humility opens the heart and allows Him in.
I'm led to think about Isaiah 29 again as I read these verses. In 29:1-6, there is the symbolism of our hearts going through a process of opening. It feels a little harsh to say, but if I am not willing to open my heart and allow that purification process to happen within me, then I belong to the church of the devil...that group Isaiah refers to when he says "...their works are in the dark and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?" Seeking to keep things hidden for fear of not being loved or for fear of being ridiculed or for a hundred-thousand other reasons. All of this hiding is just to preserve an image - it is because of pride. It is back to that verse in Proverbs 17:9 "He that covereth a transgression seeketh love, but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends." Or, in other words, we seek to hide and cover up our mistakes, or missteps, our pride, our anger, our greed, our hurt, our shame, our dishonesty, our vengefulness, and any other thing. We try to cover things up because we are afraid that if people really knew those things about us, if they know "who I really am" then they won't like me anymore. They will judge and condemn me and shut me out of their lives because I'm not perfect. We are so afraid to be real because we think that being real will mean we end up being outcast and alone.
But when we are real with others, it encourages in them that same honesty, that same "frank dealing" (Emerson) one with another. That is when true connection and true friendship take place. When we are honest - not in a mean way or abusive way or proud way...because that's still not really being honest, is it? Those are tactics to cover up a vulnerable place. True honesty, being humble and vulnerable, brings about connection and love and loyalty in a strong bond that you part "very friends."
I'm off track though.
Isaiah 29 speaks of being brought down to the dust by the Lord declaring war on us. And He does so that our hearts might be humbled and open so that we can find the truth of who we are, why we do what we do, and what we really are seeking in life. It is a chance for us to find our truest self as we find that voice that cries out of the dust, the voice that is "as one that hath a familiar spirit" - or our eternal, pre-mortal self speaking out of the depths of a heart that has been closed by pride, hurt, anger, etc.
We can embrace that "distress"ing of Ariel (Ariel is another name for Jerusalem which is symbolic of Zion which is symbolic of each one of us) and let it humble us and get us to open our hearts, or we can rebuff it and harden our hearts more. And then there will be more distressing because the Lord is good and kind and does not want to lose us, so He declares war on us until our hearts are softened and open and we can learn to hear that eternal voice within. It is such a beautiful and tender way to teach us and truly is as gentle as anything can be. But. Here Nephi is telling us that there will come a day when it will be too late to embrace that tender and gentle way of healing.
So. How does this pertain to me, now? I suppose it is a reminder that trials are an opportunity to be humble and find a connection with the Lord that is deeper than my normal interaction. It is a reminder that I want to daily seek for that opening and sharing and humility within my heart that will allow me true connection with the eternal and with the Lord. It's a reminder that if I truly want to reach the goals I say are my goals, then I have to first learn to open my heart and be willing to be honest with myself and with the Lord and with those around me...honest in a vulnerable, real way.
That's hard sometimes.
Comments
Post a Comment