THE BOOK OF MOSIAH
CHAPTER 12
Abinadi is imprisoned for prophesying the destruction of the people and the death of King Noah—The false priests quote the scriptures and pretend to keep the law of Moses—Abinadi begins to teach them the Ten Commandments. [About 148 B.C.]
[Abinidi's second set of public sermons or the final private sermons that he delivered to King Noah begin in the chapter and continue until Chapter 16, They contain the natural of the Law of Moses; the condensation of the Savior, and then connects the two themes. ]
[Verses 1-8 Abinidi returns to preach repentance and the destruction to follow. ]
1 AND it came to pass that *after the space of two years that Abinadi came among them in disguise, [ Abinidi has been away for 2 years; he knows that he has but little time to work before he is noticed for who he really is. ] that they knew him not, and began to prophesy among them, saying: Thus has the Lord commanded me, [ ] saying—Abinadi, go and prophesy unto this my people, for they have hardened their hearts against my words; they have repented not of their evil doings; therefore, I will visit them in my anger, yea, in my fierce anger will I visit them in their iniquities and abominations.
2 Yea, wo be unto this generation! And the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thy hand and prophesy, saying: Thus saith the Lord, it shall come to pass that this generation, because of their iniquities, shall be brought into bondage, [ In Mosiah 11:21 where two years prior Abinadi warned king Noah what would happen if they did not repent. Now he is delivering the message that they did not repent so it is going to happen. Fulfilled in Mosiah 21:15 ] and shall be smitten on the cheek; yea, and shall be driven by men, and shall be slain; and the vultures of the air, and the dogs, yea, and the wild beasts, [ See Lve 26:22; 2 Kings 2:24; Alma 2:38 ] shall devour their flesh.
3 And it shall come to pass that the life of king Noah shall be valued even as a garment in a hot furnace; [ this prophecy is fulfilled in Mosiah 19:20 ] for he shall know that I am the Lord.
4 And it shall come to pass that I will smite this my people with sore afflictions, [to strike down or cast down - being downcast or brought low humbled in body~ mind~ or spirit including tribulation~ adversity~ calamity~ distress~ grief~ trouble~ trial or sorrow- evidence of divine chastisement] yea, with famine and with pestilence; and I will cause that they shall howl all the day long. [ Fulfilled in Mosiah 21:5 ]
5 Yea, and I will cause that they shall have burdens lashed upon their backs; and they shall be driven before like a dumb ass.
6 And it shall come to pass that I will send forth hail among them, and it shall smite them; and they shall also be smitten with the east wind; [What do we know about the wind? North Wind is cold; West wind is moist; south wind is warm; East wind is dry and hard, cuts the life out of all living things] and insects shall pester their land also, and devour their grain.
7 And they shall be smitten with a great pestilence—and all this will I do because of their iniquities and abominations.
8 And it shall come to pass that except they repent I will utterly destroy them from off the face of the earth; [ They were not utterly destroyed as they did repent under King Limhi; therefore all of the curses placed upon them did not come true or at least we did not hear about them - for example hail, disease, famine, insects or their complete annihilation. ] yet they shall leave a record behind them, [ These are most likely the 24 gold plates that King Limhi had and wanted translated. See Mosiah 8:12-20 ] and I will preserve them for other nations which shall possess the land; yea, even this will I do that I may discover the abominations of this people to other nations. And many things did Abinadi prophesy against this people.
[ Verses 9-16 The people reject Abinidi's words and then turn him over to the king. ]
9 And it came to pass that they were angry with him; [ No one likes to be told that they need to repent; except those who are truly humble; the rest just get mad. Do we see this principle today; when someone of religious mind challenges rules of man they are branded as intolerant, bigots or hateful. It is interesting that those making the most noise; those making the most accusations are often those who are the most bigoted, the most intolerant, the most hateful - because they hate those who declare the words of God. They are the very ones who resort to name calling and labeling individuals, but don't you dare put a label on them. ] and they took him and carried him bound before the king, and said unto the king: Behold, we have brought a man before thee who has prophesied evil concerning thy people, and saith that God will destroy them.
10 And he also prophesieth evil concerning thy life, [ An effort to gain favor, stroking the ego of the King to gain his favor, while Abinidi simply tells it like it is. ] and saith that thy life shall be as a garment in a furnace of fire.
[ See vs 3 as he said almost the same thing there as well. A foreshadow not to be missed. How much the rest of these are embellished to gain favor with the king we do not know. How they related this message back to the King was not exactly what Abinidi had said in verse 10. So did Abinidi use different words or did the people put words in Abinidi's month to inflame the King? ]
11 And again, he saith that thou shalt be as a stalk, even as a dry stalk of the field, which is run over by the beasts and trodden under foot.
12 And again, he saith thou shalt be as the blossoms of a thistle, which, when it is fully ripe, if the wind bloweth, it is driven forth upon the face of the land. And he pretendeth the Lord hath spoken it. And he saith all this shall come upon thee except thou repent, and this because of thine iniquities. [ Do they sound like little kids, tattle telling everything! Not how the pervert the words so that they are all against the King per se. ]
13 And now, O king, what great evil hast thou done, [ Why has Abinidi came after you? We can see that you have done nothing wrong - flattery. When people fall away from God; or rather when they quit following the Laws of God then who is responsible to make their new laws? Men, so if men are now making the laws then they get to decide what is good and what is evil. So by definition the rules have changed to flatter themselves. However; Gods laws do remain in place like it or not; believe it or not. ] or what great sins have thy people committed, [ or we the people have not done anything wrong either - So what is Abinidi's problem? ] that we should be condemned of God or judged of this man? [ Do you suppose that they were kissing up to the king? As if to say if there is anyone that should or can judge us it is you... ]
14 And now, O king, behold, we are guiltless, and thou, O king, hast not sinned; therefore, this man has lied concerning you, and he has prophesied in vain.
15 And behold, we are strong, we shall not come into bondage, or be taken captive by our enemies; yea, and thou hast prospered in the land, and thou shalt also prosper.
16 Behold, here is the man, we deliver him into thy hands; thou mayest do with him as seemeth thee good.
[ vs 17-24 The King and his priests listen to Abinidi and look for ways to accuse him beginning with a quote from Isa 52:7-10 ]
17 And it came to pass that king Noah caused that Abinadi should be cast into prison; and he commanded that the priests should gather themselves together that he might hold a council with them what he should do with him. [ While they might have held the priesthood and been ordained priests at one time they were acting more like attorney's than spiritual teachers. (See 24:1-5) ]
18 And it came to pass that they said unto the king: Bring him hither that we may question him; and the king commanded that he should be brought before them.
19 And they began to question him, that they might cross him, [ Think about it all of them against Abinidi. Throwing all the questions at him to try to trip him up. ] that thereby they might have wherewith to accuse him; but he answered them boldly, and withstood all their questions, yea, to their astonishment; for he did withstand them in all their questions, and did confound them in all their words. [ We do not know how smart Abinidi was but what we do know is that when you have the Lord on yourside and you are speaking for the Lord you have all of the wisdom that you need. ]
20 And it came to pass that one of them said unto him: What meaneth the words which are written, and which have been taught by our fathers, saying: [ Why did the priests choose that scripture to quote? Was it because it had not been fulfilled and was a passage that was debatable; so whatever side Abinidi took there would be all of the other priests that could poke holes at his teachings and therefore trip Abinidi up with sophistry. Were they trying to suggest that because they were doing good that the law had been fulfilled? That there was no reason to continue to practise the Law? Where they trying to suggest that the Lord will bring about salvation, and that does not need to be done with a Messiah? Could they have choose these verses because when their forefathers left Jerusalem it was because Jerusalem was about to be destroyed - to be under the rule of Babylon. So they are looking for justification to live as they like because there is no redemption for Jerusalem as the scripture imply's. ]
21 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good; that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth; [ See Isa. 52:7-10 ]
22 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion;
23 Break forth into joy; sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem;
24 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God?
[ vs. 25-37 Abinidi first looks over their question and begins teaching what he has been sent to teach. That of repentance and that they do not know the prophets or the Law, and do not care about either but seek to justify their own sin. ]
25 And now Abinadi said unto them: Are you priests, [ What is the role of a priest? To act as a mediator between God and man. ] and pretend [ If you are pretending then you know full well that you are pretending. ] to teach this people, and to understand the spirit of prophesying, and yet desire to know of me what these things mean? [ Or in essence are you trying to trick me, or do you really not know. If you don't know shame on you as you have not sought the spirit of prophecy. So he has said so far that if you are priests act like priests and do what priests should do. He has not made an attempt to answer their question as well. He will do that is chapter 15. Abinidi is a man on a mission and he is going to get out what he came her for first. He was commanded by God to tell them to repent and so he starts right in. ]
26 I say unto you, wo be unto you for perverting the ways of the Lord! For if ye understand these things ye have not taught them; therefore, ye have perverted the ways of the Lord. [ So Abinidi first calls them out for pretending to act like priests and yet they do nothing to help the people; as a matter of fact they are distorting the things that they do know to be true, and perverting the ways of God. ]
27 Ye have not applied your hearts to understanding; [ How does one apply his heart to understanding? If the heart is where true conversion takes place then he is suggesting that you are making no attempt to follow the the witness of truth found in your heart; trying to live a principle and growing in understand as you live and grow closer to God. ] therefore, ye have not been wise. [ How is not living and applying the principles of the gospel not wise? It is what it is all about, if we are here to learn to be like Father, to become like him then we need to apply the principles that bring us closer to him - that is wise use of our time here. ] Therefore, what teach ye this people? [ To this point he has called them out for pretention, perversion and then told them that they are not applying what they do know in an effort to be better; a a result they are unwise. So with all of that what in the world are you trying to teach any way Abinidi asks. ]
29 And again he [ Abinidi ] said unto them: If ye teach the law of Moses why do ye not keep it? [ Or what is the purpose of teaching something and doing the opposite in your own life? ] Why do ye set your hearts upon riches? [ What is the purpose of the Law of Moses? To turn peoples hearts and prepare them for the coming Savior. ] Why do ye commit whoredoms and spend your strength with harlots, [ Spend your strength with harlots; is the same as devoting your energy to, or this is where your heart really is. Idols of the flesh. ] yea, and cause this people to commit sin, that the Lord has cause to send me to prophesy against this people, yea, even a great evil against this people? [ In essence; if you were doing your job as priests I would not need to be here calling you to repentance. ]
30 Know ye not that I speak the truth? [ You know what I am saying is true. ] Yea, ye know that I speak the truth; and you ought to tremble before God. [ because like it or not God is and will be your judge, so it is ultimately him that you need to worry about. ]
31 And it shall come to pass that ye shall be smitten for your iniquities, [ Because of your iniquities ] for ye have said that ye teach the law of Moses. [ Since you are the teachers of the Law of Moses let's test your knowledge of that Law. ] And what know ye concerning the law of Moses? Doth salvation come by the law of Moses? [ Any one? does any one want to take a stab at the answer? Simple question you should all know the answer if you understand the Law. Where does Abinidi start? He starts by asking about salvation. Why? He perceives through inspiration that they are teaching that the Law of Moses and the question that the priests started out asking support the fact that salvation comes through the Law of Moses, and not from a Messiah. Abinidi is setting them up, putting them is a position where there is no way out except to recognize that Abinidi speaks the truth. ] What say ye? [ So we get the idea here that they are all afraid to answer so Abinidi pushes for someone to answer, and when no one answers the first time he simply asks the same question again. ]
33 But now Abinadi said unto them: I know if ye keep the commandments of God ye shall be saved; yea, if ye keep the commandments which the Lord delivered unto Moses in the mount of Sinai, saying: [ Abinidi agrees with them that salvation does come by the law, and adds that the Law includes a prohibition of worshiping other things before God. When they should be putting God first. Abinidi responds by quoting Isa. 53 ]
34 I am the Lord thy God, who hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
35 Thou shalt have no other God before me. [ Spiritual idolatry in this case; loving wealth and the desires of the flesh more than God. This is the heart of the matter here. When people abandon God for wealth; or anything else for that matter and adopt a self-serving view of religion that they can justify. Remember these priests are here because they supported King Noah; he rejected his fathers priests for one's with his point of view. (Mosiah 11:5) So King Noah was attempting to legitimize his lifestyle by putting priests in power who were of the same mindset. ]
36 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing in heaven above, or things which are in the earth beneath.
37 Now Abinadi said unto them, Have ye done all this? [ If you claim that salvation comes by the law then how well have you done at trying to keep the law? Have ye put God first? no you have not and you have not taught the people to do so either. ] I say unto you, Nay, ye have not. And have ye taught this people that they should do all these things? I say unto you, Nay, ye have not.
* Verse 1 [About 148 B.C.].