Saturday, November 17, 2018

Isaiah on Differences in Perception -- 2 Nephi 18

What Happens

"Christ will be as a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense—Seek the Lord, not peeping wizards—Turn to the law and to the testimony for guidance—Compare Isaiah 8."
2 Nephi 18 Chapter Heading

Commentary

In our last episode, we were reading some Isaiah that Nephi wanted to share with us, about fear and regrowth. In this chapter, we continue reading Isaiah.


As with the rest of these Isaiah chapters, it seems important to remember that they can be applied to us, in our day.  Nephi and Jacob and Joseph wouldn't be quoting these to the people, or sharing them with us, if there weren't something for us to learn.  So, to the extent that they are history, there are patterns there we can learn from, and sometimes prophecies are symbolic of or precursors to other prophecies and miracles.

The first thing that happens here is that God commands Isaiah to prophesy of something, and the sign of it is a child that he is commanded to have and to name in a certain way.  The name is Maher-shalal-hash-baz, which means (according to the footnotes) "To speed to the spoil, he hasteneth the prey."  The fact that Isaiah's whole life is full of signs is also mentioned in verse 18.  I have to say that Isaiah's wife was amazingly faithful to go along with this. :)

The name is interesting, and kind of seems like it is talking about a predator chasing its target.  It could be applicable to us because we are in a similar situation, where destruction is imminent if we don't repent, but maybe alternatively, or also, this is a huge tactic of Satan, to scare us and make us think that we should panic or give up when the real answer is *always* patience and faith--sticking with the Lord.

The next verses seem to be explaining how God is going to deliver the people even though the situation seems hopeless.  This is a precursor to our day as well, or to our lives in general.  Things can seem very hopeless at times, but they never are, because God is the one in charge--the author of the story.  The story of this world is not a tragedy, and neither are the stories of our lives.  As long as we keep working to make things better, all things will work together for good as well.  We just have to have patience and faith, and not give up.

Verse 6 and 7 are interesting here, talking about the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and the waters of the river, strong and many.  What I am getting from this part is the general message that if we aren't receptive to God's suggestions or his gospel when it is given to us gently, and we build a proverbial dam to keep it out, eventually we are going to suffer the consequences of that dam breaking, because God and the gospel are reality, and reality is going to build up and up until our illusions can't stand up to it anymore.  I think that verse 8-10 continue this theme, basically saying that no matter what anyone tries against God's people is destined to fail, because "God is with us."

Verses 11-13 remind us to listen to God and not to man.  I really like 12 and 13 with "neither fear ye their fear" and (referring to God) "let him be your fear, and let him be your dread."  If God is our fear and our dread, then really, how can things be bad?  He loves us better than any earthly parent ever could, and takes care of us every moment.  If he is all we have to worry about, then we're golden. :)


Verse 14 talks about God being a sanctuary, but also a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.  To me, this seems like God is the same that he has always been--a rock and an anchor in the whirlwind around us.  However, that same solidity that is a sanctuary to us could also be something that we break ourselves on or are offended by, depending on our perspective at the time, and what we are trying to do.  If we work against God, it isn't him that will break.  But if we take shelter with him, then we will be fine.

Verse 17 reminds us to wait upon the Lord, which I think just means to have patience.  Sometimes it seems like the Lord is hiding, because I think we have to learn some independence and just who we are when we make decisions on our own... but the Lord is never far away, or out of earshot, and if we wait and look for him, and pray to him, he will always hear and will help us if we are working at doing his will.

Verse 19 is interesting, saying "should not a people seek unto their God for the living to hear from the dead?"  Along with verse 20 this seems a clear indication that God is the only way that we should attempt communication with ghosts/spirits/departed loved ones.

Verse 20 continues this thought, basically saying instead of trying to tell the future or figure things out through questionable means like fortunetellers, etc., we should look to God's law and the testimony of the scriptures.  That is what all of this is here for.

When we try to solve things other ways, we are going to be led astray, and be "hardly bestead" (distressed).  Our journey through this life is going to make us hungry and freaking out, rather than the satisfaction and calm that we could have with the Lord.  We'll be inclined to look on God as a stone of stumbling rather than a shelter, and when we look at the world we will see darkness rather than the light that we *could* have in our lives through God.  Those differences in perception make or break our lives.

3rd Nephi is similar to this because we have destruction, and then darkness, and then light and glory and Christ appears, and we continue that progression in the next chapter.  Tune in next time as we continue reading the Isaiah chapters that Nephi picked out for us.