THE SECOND BOOK OF NEPHI
CHAPTER 7
Isaiah speaks Messianically—Messiah shall have the tongue of the learned—He shall give his back to the smiters—He shall not be confounded—Compare Isaiah 50. [Between 559 and 545 B.C.]
[Isaiah and the Lord take on rebellious Israel. Set in a legal court room type of context. Isaiah persecutors are brought to stand before the Lord for judgement of their actions. Think about it since Isaiah is the prophet of God what do you think the outcome is going to be? A - (v. 1) Intro: I have not divorced you, you abandoned Me B - (v. 2-3) None came when I called and its not My fault C - (v. 4-5) Lord endows His servant, he has not rebelled D - (v. 6) The servant does not fear man D - (v. 7) The servant fears and is supported by the Lord C - (v. 8-9) Lord vindicates his servant against rebellious B - (v. 10-11) Men ignore the Lord's servant and walk in their own ways]
[ The Lord employed the figure of a divorce and the sale of a slave to teach that though Israel’s past apostasy scattered them among the nations, the Lord had not set aside the original covenant He made with His people. Chapter 50 continues the theme begun in chapters 48 and 49 that in the last days Israel would be gathered and established again. — Old Testament Student Manual (OTSM) ] 1 YEA, for thus saith the Lord: Have I put thee [ The children of Israel. "To understand the true meaning behind this passage, you must understand the metaphors of the Lord regarding the kingdoms Israel and Judah. In the 23* chapter of Ezekiel, the Lord likens the kingdoms of Israel to two sisters whom he married. These two sisters were not faithful to their husband but instead committed adultery with other nations. Because of the unfaithfulness of the first, the Lord permitted one of her lovers to destroy her and carry her and children captives into Assyria as slaves. Consider the following passage from Ezekiel describing this event: (Ezekiel 23:9-10)" - Michael Rush Delight In Plainness pg 157. ] away, or have I cast thee off forever? [ Jacob quotes from Isa 50:1-2 and 51:1-3 in an effort to draw attention to the fact that the Lord is not the one who divorced Israel, but it is Israel who abandoned Him in favor of sin. see 2 Ne 8:1-3; 8:25-25. See D&C 133:66-69 ] For thus saith the Lord: Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement? [ Husbands, through loss of temper, often sent bills of divorcement to their wives on slight occasions, as they were permitted to do by the law of Moses, Deut. xxiv. 1. ] To whom have I put thee away, or to which of my creditors have I sold you? [ And fathers, being oppressed with debt, often sold their children, which they might do for a time, till the year of release, Exod. xxi. 7 ] Yea, to whom have I sold you? [ The answer is to no one - God does not sell his people. ] Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, [ What does he mean by this? Because you have followed someone other than him - it really does not matter who, you have sold yourself to another master. Under the ancient laws, a man could sell himself or his children into slavery to satisfy his creditors. But the Lord had no creditors; neither had He divorced His “wife,” Israel. Instead, Israel had separated herself from the Lord by her sins and was in debt to her evil creditors.] and for your transgressions is your mother [ Usually the OT prophets present Israel as the wife. Here instead, Israel is portrayed as the child of an unfaithful wife. One would assume the slight change in symbolic usage is intended to cast the unfaithful mother as the predecessors to Isaiah's contemporaries. Even though the predecessors have been unfaithful to the Lord, the Lord remains faithful to the covenant so the current generation of Israel still participates in it. Nephi's BofM account appends, "Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away". The context then is that the Northern kingdom of Israel , or the first if the two adulterous sisters that God married, would be destroyed and her children sold into slavery. (Ez 23:9-10). ] put away. [ See 3 Ne. 20:38 Where Christ is talking about these verses from Isaiah, which is part of the message that the Father commanded him to give. ]
2 Wherefore, when I came, there was no man; when I called, yea, there was none to answer. [ So when God did come to the earth for his mortal ministry around 30 AD the northern kingdom of Israel no longer existed. After the destruction of Israel the king of Assyria re-populated the land with people from five contries. Making them the first grafts into the natural tree. When they were first placed there the wild lions would come and attack the inhabitants and ended up killing many of them so much so that the people asked the king of Assyria to send some of the captive Israelites back so that they could worship the God of Israel and maybe the killings by the wild lions would stop. He conceded to send them two two priests who instructed them in the way's of the former inhabitants and the killings stopped. The land became the land of the Samaritans, they enjoyed a hybrid religion and a mixed genealogy 2 Kings 17:22-34. So when the Savior arrived in 30 AD there was "no man" to meet him, but he did find and adulterous Samaritan woman, to whom he would announce his Messiahship. (John 4:7-26) The Samaritans were living in the ancient capital city of the Northern Kingdom of Israel but with the Northern Kingdom of Israel had long since been scattered and the Samaritans were definitely not pure-blooded Israelites, they were transplants that had been brought into the Northern Kingdom of Israel by the king of Assyria. When Christ come to the Samaritan woman at the well there are no men around as Christ has sent the apostles to go get some food, so when he is there - there is no man there when he first announces himself to the world that he is the Messiah. This fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah "when I came, there was no man;". God is constantly trying to reach out to us, to help us, that is his nature. He however can only do so much; he can knock at the door but we have to open the door and let him in - it is the law of agency. So here we have Israel disregarding the words of God, his son as well as the prophets. Well if we go back to the Prophecies of the Old Testament(Ezekiel 23) the Lord used a parable to describe Israel and the parable was that the Lord married two sisters and both of the sisters were adulterers. They committed adultery they were not faithful to him their husband. One of these adulterous women represented the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the other represented Judah and the Lord says in this Parable that because of the adultery of his first or the first wife the Northern Kingdom of Israel that she was you know taken and destroyed by her lovers meaning the kingdom of Assyria. The second wife did not learn from the adultery of the first wife and that you know she was scattered to the winds as well Christ is going to this adulterous woman at the well because it is a symbol of him coming and calling the house of Israel and you know forgiving the adulteress for the for the past history and offering to be a savior unto her still and that is what Isaiah was is talking about here in Isaiah 50, and 2 Ne. 7. ] O house of Israel, is my hand shortened [ Symbolically the Lord refers to his arm when he shows his strength. So in essence he is saying here Do you think that I have lost my power through this ordeal? He will now go on to prove that indeed he has not lost his power using examples. ] at all that it cannot redeem, [ The Lord has power both to redeem Israel from their creditors and to forgive their transgressions against Him. This He assured them He will do. Speaking of the future as if it were already past, He reminded them that He tried to do so once before when He, Jehovah, came to earth as Jesus Christ. This statement is a messianic passage since Jesus is both Redeemer from sin and Deliverer from evil ways. Yet when He appeared on earth, there was no man ready to receive Him; when He called upon men to repent, there was none to answer (see v. 2).—(OTSM)] or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, [ Reminds Israel that the Lord is indeed very powerful and has extended His arm in the past to save them, when he allowed them to cross on the red sea. ] I make their rivers a wilderness and their fish to stink because the waters are dried up, and they die because of thirst.[ A little twist on words, as we can see that the Lord has all of this power to save Israel from the temporal factors like crossing the red sea, mana from heaven, water from a rock the list goes on; but because of agency he cannot get them (Israel) to follow him, to drink from his cup and never thirst - and so they die. The Lord has the power to save them but here the Lord is suggesting that he will not do it without them asking, seeking for salvation on their own. ] [ Isaiah 50:2 compared with 2 Nephi 7:2: KJV: “their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst”
BM: “and their fish to stink because the waters are dried up, and they die of thirst”
From the perspective of the English, there seems to be no real justification for Book of Mormon to reword this passage. But the Hebrew is again helpful. There are, in fact, two variants for the first verb in this passage, as found in ancient texts:
Hebrew Masoretic text
(=Vulgate ) tb’š “shall stink”
Great Isaiah Scroll (=Septuagint) tybš “shall dry up”
The Book of Morom has both of these meanings, deriving from words which closely resemble one another. It is likely that the other early Hebrew versions lost one or the other of the original two verbs by haplography.—John A. Tvedtnes, “Isaiah Variants in the Book of Mormon,” in Isaiah and the Prophets: Inspired Voices from the Old Testament, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1984), 165–78.]
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness, [ Still showing his power - referring most likely to the plague of darkness previous to the Exodus with Moses. Isaiah 50:2–3 are repeated, with changes, in D&C 133:66–69, which puts this passage in the context of the Second Coming. …These phrases may refer to drought and to the smoke of war (which, although perpetrated by man, can also be a judgment of God) that obscures the sky, and they remind us of the miracles of Moses in Egypt—Parry, Donald W., Understanding Isaiah, Deseret Book Company ] and I make sackcloth their covering.
4 The Lord God [ God the Father - Elohim translated as God ("the God") which together the words mean "He will cause Gods to be". ] hath given me [ Jesus Christ. ] the tongue of the learned, [ Isaiah speaks first person here in behalf of Jesus Christ, since this has a trial like theme, he is called to the witness stand to testify first hand against Israel's persecution of him and what he suffered at their hands. continues the testimony thru vs 9. This verse has been interpreted as a reference to the twelve-year-old Christ as he sat in the temple in the midst of the doctors, who were “astonished at his understanding and answers” (Luke 2:46-47). Others, citing 2 Chronicles 36:15-16, have said that the verse refers to prophets’ being called to preach to Jerusalem, …[this] also fits the calling and mission of Joseph Smith and the elders of restored Israel, who were to cause the wisdom of the wise men to perish (see Isaiah 29:14). It would be consistent with chapter 49 to identify the servant “me” as restored Israel.—Nyman, Monte S., Great are the Words of Isaiah, Cedar Fort, Inc., Kindle Edition.
To illustrate His love and compassion for them, the Lord again assumes the voice of the Servant, speaking in another Servant song to describe what He will experience, endure, and accomplish in mortality in behalf of His children (50:4–9).In the song the Servant acknowledges God’s hand in preparing for the work and supporting Him in it, giving Him the tongue of the learned, wakening and opening His ears so that He could learn (50:4–5).— Winn and Ball, Understanding Isaiah, Deseret Book, chapter 47 ] that I should know how to speak a word in season unto thee, O house of Israel. [ Reference to his adulterous wife (Ezekiel 23). ] When ye are weary [ "That I may know how to answer the "weary" means that his words are spoken with reference to particular situations. "Weary" or "prostrate" is undoubtably to be given the meaning it has in 40:28, where it is three times repeated. There, too, "the weary" has a word spoken to him, and there the one who is "weary" is Israel. The same will apply here. There may, however, be a further implication. The Servant has to be awakened, aroused, in order to hear the word. The word which he has to pass on is addressed to the weary, the prostrate. AS such, Israel is not in a position to hear the word. Therefore, like the Servant, she, too ,must be roused before she can hear the word that applies to her case. ] he waketh morning by morning. [ This is about the same as saying line upon line. Jesus learned line upon line, by daily study, listening , applying then repeating and in the process he grew - it is the same for us. So Jacob, is taking the words of Isaiah and using them to express what he was taught in his vision - that we too need to learn daily to hear the words of the Father if we are to survive in the latter days. It goes on and on, the Lord is tireless in his efforts to save Israel, the Lord continue every day ] He waketh mine ear to hear as the learned. [ When ye (covenant Israel) are weary, he (the Father) waketh morning by morning. He waketh mine ear (the servant’s ear) to hear as the learned.” Another way to look at it is “When ye (covenant Israel) are weary, he (the servant) waketh morning by morning. He (the servant) waketh mine ear (covenant Israel’s ear) to hear as the learned.” Both of these interpretations make sense (see Parry, Understanding Isaiah, 442–43). ]
5 The Lord God< [ God the Father - Elohim translated as God ("the God") which together the words mean "He will cause Gods to be". ] hath opened mine ear, [ This is the way that our Father wants to teach all of us. It was the way that the Savior learned it is the way for us. He was getting his message from God, he was listening to the voice of God to know what to say and do. JST has this "The Lord hath appointed mine ears". In the song the Servant acknowledges God’s hand in preparing for the work and supporting Him in it, giving Him the tongue of the learned, wakening and opening His ears so that He could learn (50:4–5). The Servant then speaks of the persecution He will endure as He willingly allows Himself to be smitten and spat upon (50:5–6), foreshadowing the cruel treatment He would receive at the hands of Pilate and the Roman soldiers commissioned to scourge and crucify Him (Matthew 26:31). The Servant closes the song by testifying of His confidence that God will sustain and support Him, whereas His adversaries will wax old and be eaten up (50:7–9), a prophecy fulfilled as the Roman empire and the Jewish leaders who condemned Him have faded in infamy, while the redeeming work of the Servant is praised and persists through eternity.— Winn and Ball, Understanding Isaiah, Deseret Book, chapter 47. ] and I was not rebellious, [ Or he wanted to learn he was anxious about it. Said in such a way as to imply that he was not rebellious, but that Israel was. ] neither turned away back. [ The Savior did not really want to drink of the bitter cup, but he knew that it was his mission in order to save all of us, it was what the Father asked of him. So he went forth and did, he did not turn away from what the Father asked him to do. Why should we? Is our test greater than the Saviors? He suggested a few verse earlier that he was able to do this because he had learned to communicate directly with the Father, this should be our goal as well. We might look at the Jews in the times of Christ, why did they allow the crucification of Christ, why did they not step in to stop it. May I suggest that they had just as the children of Israel had done much earlier - they had outsourced their learning to only that which was taught by the High Priests, no learning for themselves- they were not taught directly by the Father. Are we guilty of that today? Where do we get our information from in which we make our decisions. President Nelson warned that we need to be able to "hear Him" - this is what he means. ]
[ In verses 6–7, next, Isaiah prophesies some details surrounding Christ’s crucifixion. In verse 6, especially, He speaks of the future as if it is past.—Ridges, David J., The Old Testament Made Easier Part 3, Cedar Fort, Inc. ] 6 I gave [ He was God there is nothing that could happen that he did not allow. If the Lord was willing to allow those who choose to beat him to be able to in order to fulfill our Heavenly Father plan. What does that say to us as we submit our will to the will of our Father in Heaven? Maybe there is a purpose for them? ] my back to the smiter, [ He allowed them to scourge and beat him. ] and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. [ The greatest indignity that could possibly be offered at that time. When a country was taken over by another country they would often shave with a razor the head, the feet, and the beard, which was meant as an expression to denote the utter devastation of the country from one end to the other; and the plundering of the people, from the highest to the lowest. "Isaiah saw these events 750 years before they happened. Through the New Testament accounts do not mention plucking the hair off the cheeks, that doesn’t necessarily mean it didn’t happen. To pluck out the hair of a man’s beard was a way of degrading him (see Brewster, Isaiah Plain and Simple, 211)." ] I hid not my face [ Speaking Messianically He went forward and did what he had been asked by our Father in Heaven to do. There was no shame for him in fulfilling our Heavenly Fathers plan, no matter what the cost or what was asked. To turn his face away would be a sign of rejection, that he would or could no longer look upon Israel. I this context he is in spite of all of the rejection not divorcing Israel or selling her as a slave. The covenant was still in effect, and Israel would be restored to the status of a free and faithful wife of Jehovah. ] from shame and spitting. [ Another instance of the utmost contempt and detestation. It was ordered by the law of Moses as a severe punishment, carrying with it a lasting disgrace; Deut. xxv. 9. Among the Medes it was highly offensive to spit in any one's presence. "spitting before any one, or spitting upon the ground in speaking of any one's actions, is through the east an expression of extreme detestation." ]
7 For the Lord God [ Hebrew - Yahweh ( or Jehovah which means "to become" or "to exist") translated as Lord; Elohim translated as God ("the Gods") which together the words mean "He will cause Gods to be". ] will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, [ Flint is a hard stone, often used to generate sparks to start a fire. The word flint is used here to illustrate determination. What do we use a flint for? How is it used? contrast this with 48:4. Where Isaiah has a firm brow against the onslaught of his persecutors, his persecutors have a hard head and stiff neck against him and the Lord. Isaiah knows he is setting his face to be struck like a flint by his persecutors, and he is willing to do it for the sake of his calling. ] and I know [ His testimony. ] that I shall not be ashamed.[ While he might be shamed in this life by those who spit on him, cursed him and everything else; He knows that he will not be ashamed to meet God and be judged by him, where those who shamed him will be ashamed to meet God. The foregoing imagery may also refer to scattered Israel, for Israel, too, has been smitten and spat upon and scourged through the centuries. Still, Israel is represented as saying that “the Lord will help me; … I know I shall not be ashamed” (Isaiah 50:7).—(OTSM). ]
8 And the Lord is near, and he justifieth me. [ The "he" here represents the Lord as in a parallel verse in 2 Nephi 7:8. “Behold, the Lord God will help me; who is he that shall condemn me?” (Isaiah 50:9). Israel then asks a question, as if they have learned something by their past experiences.—(OTSM) Israel’s confidence and trust in God appears unbounded. The servant will stand with the Lord (perhaps referring to the Father standing with Christ). It can also mean that Christ will stand with his prophets as they endure persecution. Suggesting that in times of trial, what greater company could you have than the Lord? ] Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is mine adversary? Let him come near me, and I will smite him with the strength of my mouth.
9 For the Lord God will help me. [ With the Lord acting as his representative at this trial he acknowledges he has little to fear from the accusations of other men ] And all they who shall condemn me, behold, all they shall wax old as a garment, [ Clothes wear out, and are thrown out, the fleeting nature of mortality and the corruptible nature of the arm of flesh power the servant's adversaries wield,cp. 40:6-8. ] and the moth shall eat them up. [ Moths often are used as a symbol of decay or destruction. ] [ These verses, comprising the third servant song, portray the “servant” as the epitome of righteousness. As with the other servant songs, controversy surrounds the interpretation of these verses. The servant could be any number of people or peoples. Perhaps it is the prophet Isaiah …, or perhaps it is the nation of Israel … The most acceptable identification is Christ, because these verses describe events in the life of Jesus. In reading this servant song, however, we should not limit these references to the life of Christ, but should try to apply them to many of God’s chosen servants.—Victor Ludlow, Isaiah Prophet, Seer, and Poet, Deseret Book]
10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord, [ "reveres the Lord" or "fears the Lord" is a semitism for the English equivalent "religion". The Greek term translated to "religion", "deisidaimonia" (most literally translated into English: dread-teaching), uses this concept. This is really a question "Who among you reveres the Lord?" ] that obeyeth the voice of his servant, [ he answers his own question to who fears or revers the Lord - those that follow the words of the prophet ] that walketh in darkness and hath no light? [ Is Isaiah asking a rhetorical question here? "OR Who among you that fears the Lord walks in darkness?" The answer would be "No one". Thus, Isaiah could be pointing out that rebellious' Israel's behavior indicates that they do not truly fear, meaning "respect" or "revere", the Lord. In support of this reading cp. 8:20-23. In otherwords the humble follow him. vs 11 those who are rebellious to the message. ]
11 Behold all ye that kindle fire, [ Those of you who are trying to light a fire but it is so small that all it really is, is just a bunch of sparks. ] that compass yourselves about with sparks, [ Symbolically suggesting that if they are walking by sparks then they do not have the full light to guide their path. ] walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks which ye have kindled.[ These people are those who are lighting their own ways rather than following in the light of the Lord, cp. 1:31. Imagery designed to express, in general, human devices and mere worldly policy, exclusive of faith, and trust in God; which, though they flatter themselves for a while with pleasing expectations and some appearance of success. Notice the source of their light. So Jesus Christ is saying you guys have created your own message for you to follow. You have done it by building your own fire with its own light, and you are walking in the light of the sparks from your own fires. ] This shall ye have of mine hand—ye shall lie down in sorrow. [ The sad state at the end when those have not be guided by the saviors light, and made the atonement part of their life. This is a continuation of the rebuke for building their own fires and walkking in their own light, as the lord suggests here that the day will come when you will realize that Jesus Christ is the light of the world and that you have impeded your own progress in your ability to return to the father as a result of your choice to live and be guided by your own set of doctrine(sparks). None of which has the power to save (D&C 76 and because they do not have the power to save themselves, they will be damned in the next life. They will be those of the telestial kingdom that did not recognize the gift of the Savior, did not believe on him, followed their own path right to damnation). This is what Christ tells the people in 3 Ne. when he gives the people the message that the Father told him to deliver. ]