What Happens
"Ephraim and Syria wage war against Judah—Christ will be born of a virgin—Compare Isaiah 7."
2 Nephi 17 Chapter Heading
Commentary
In our last episode, we were reading some Isaiah that Nephi wanted to share with us, about hope in the midst of destruction. In this chapter, we continue reading prophecies of Isaiah.
Part of the reason this chapter is interesting is that Nephi shares it with us here, thus cluing us in that it must be applicable to more than some ancient wars. Isaiah tells the story of Ahaz, king of Judah, and neighboring countries that were ganging up against Jerusalem. I love the fear imagery in verse 2: "And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind." Isaiah is commanded to go and see Ahaz and to tell him not to be fearful, because God says that what he fears won't happen (verse 8).
Interestingly, in verse 9 he says "If ye will not believe surely ye shall not be established." Ahaz likely doubts because God says that some of the things Isaiah told him would happen 65 years in his future. He then invites Ahaz to ask a sign of God to confirm the prophecy, which Ahaz declines, so God gives him a sign anyway, saying that a virgin will conceive--a prophecy of Christ. Isaiah adds prophecy about the future of the region, and seems to indicate that even though Ahaz' kingdom was going to be safe in the current situation, that something much more dire was on the way.
The remainder of the chapter describes how the land will be overthrown and laid waste by God's hand. There will be few people left, small enough to enjoy luxuries that few could previously partake of, but not enough to tend or tame the land as it was before. Everything will be left to go wild, and places that were formerly vineyards turned to pastures for the beasts that are left. In a way this part is sad because we see how decimated the land is. In other ways though, it has the taste of hope as the good people that remain still live and work and survive, albeit more simply, rebuilding their lives and society, hopefully in a better way.
For us today, I think there are some important lessons from this chapter, but the most important lesson is that we need to prepare for the coming of the Lord. In our day, as in Isaiah's, there will be great fears and anxieties. Like then, there is no reason to fear what the world will do--only what God will do. And God asks us to believe his words and trust his grace. If we will follow him and look forward to Christ's coming, then God will bring to pass the future that needs to happen, and that will get us where the world needs to go. We can have confidence that the Lord will lead us and help us, and that even if there is destruction, there will be life afterward where we can renew and grow, and commune with God.
This chapter in some ways reminds me of 3rd Nephi, and as we continue to the next chapter I think it becomes even more so. Tune in next time as we continue reading the Isaiah chapters that Nephi picked out for us.
"Ephraim and Syria wage war against Judah—Christ will be born of a virgin—Compare Isaiah 7."
2 Nephi 17 Chapter Heading
Commentary
In our last episode, we were reading some Isaiah that Nephi wanted to share with us, about hope in the midst of destruction. In this chapter, we continue reading prophecies of Isaiah.
Part of the reason this chapter is interesting is that Nephi shares it with us here, thus cluing us in that it must be applicable to more than some ancient wars. Isaiah tells the story of Ahaz, king of Judah, and neighboring countries that were ganging up against Jerusalem. I love the fear imagery in verse 2: "And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind." Isaiah is commanded to go and see Ahaz and to tell him not to be fearful, because God says that what he fears won't happen (verse 8).
Interestingly, in verse 9 he says "If ye will not believe surely ye shall not be established." Ahaz likely doubts because God says that some of the things Isaiah told him would happen 65 years in his future. He then invites Ahaz to ask a sign of God to confirm the prophecy, which Ahaz declines, so God gives him a sign anyway, saying that a virgin will conceive--a prophecy of Christ. Isaiah adds prophecy about the future of the region, and seems to indicate that even though Ahaz' kingdom was going to be safe in the current situation, that something much more dire was on the way.
The remainder of the chapter describes how the land will be overthrown and laid waste by God's hand. There will be few people left, small enough to enjoy luxuries that few could previously partake of, but not enough to tend or tame the land as it was before. Everything will be left to go wild, and places that were formerly vineyards turned to pastures for the beasts that are left. In a way this part is sad because we see how decimated the land is. In other ways though, it has the taste of hope as the good people that remain still live and work and survive, albeit more simply, rebuilding their lives and society, hopefully in a better way.
For us today, I think there are some important lessons from this chapter, but the most important lesson is that we need to prepare for the coming of the Lord. In our day, as in Isaiah's, there will be great fears and anxieties. Like then, there is no reason to fear what the world will do--only what God will do. And God asks us to believe his words and trust his grace. If we will follow him and look forward to Christ's coming, then God will bring to pass the future that needs to happen, and that will get us where the world needs to go. We can have confidence that the Lord will lead us and help us, and that even if there is destruction, there will be life afterward where we can renew and grow, and commune with God.
This chapter in some ways reminds me of 3rd Nephi, and as we continue to the next chapter I think it becomes even more so. Tune in next time as we continue reading the Isaiah chapters that Nephi picked out for us.
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