THE BOOK OF MOSIAH
CHAPTER 13
Abinadi is protected by divine power—He teaches the Ten Commandments—Salvation does not come by the law of Moses alone—God himself shall make an atonement and redeem his people. [About 148 B.C.]
[ It would appear that this text has been edited by the hand or Mormon as the style of writing is 3rd person; he uses quotes - quoting Abinidi as well as providing the response of the people to characterize them as Mormon intends for the story. ]
[ 1 -10 The priests have nothing to combat him with so they start to ridicule him; to demean him, and to get rid of him by killing him. Abinidi through the power of the Lord says he is not done and until he is they are going to have to listen then it does not matter wha happens to him - he has done as he has been instructed by the Lord. ]
1 AND
now when the king had heard these words, he said unto his priests: Away
with this fellow, and slay him; for what have we to do with him, for he is mad.
[ The common treatment by someone who is prideful and unrepentant is to
attack them with irrelevent personal insults. or irrational arguments
(!7:8); or physical death ( 11:28; 13:1; 17:1;17:7) The idea is if they
get rid of the preacher then they are not longer responsible for their
actions. Since Abinidi has accused them of having other Gods - in their
mind he is saying they are worshiping idols; the King is saying we do
not such thing so you are crazy (mad) if you believe that we are.
Therefor you are some kind of religious fanatic... Abinidi will point
out to them that their gold and precious things are idols vs 11-12. ]
2 And they stood forth and attempted to lay their hands on him; [ At this point it is the priests who are or have been ordered to slay Abinidi; not the guards. ] but he withstood them, [ He resisted or opposed with determination - like a soldier in an attack. ] and said unto them:
3 Touch
me not, for God shall smite you if ye lay your hands upon me, for I
have not delivered the message which the Lord sent me to deliver;
neither have I told you that which ye requested that I should tell;
therefore, God will not suffer that I shall be destroyed at this time.
4 But I must
fulfil the commandments wherewith God has commanded me; and because I
have told you the truth ye are angry with me. And again, because I have
spoken the word of God ye have judged me that I am mad. [ Does that sound very much like Nephi in 1 Ne 16:1-3. ]
5 Now it came to pass after Abinadi had spoken these words that the people of king Noah durst not lay their hands on him, [ Who are the people of King Noah? His servants? His guards? ] for
the Spirit of the Lord was upon him; and his face shone with exceeding
luster, even as Moses’ did while in the mount of Sinai, while speaking
with the Lord. [ This is the scene made
famous by the Arnold Friberg painting there are a couple of things
that are different from the story from the painting. First Abinadi is
displayed as an old man confronting Noah with stunned and toppled
guards behind him, it clearly presents the guards as the ones who
attempted to take Abinadi in 13:2. Note the priests are behind
the latticework. However, a careful examination of the text makes
clear that Noah tells the priests to take Abinadi in both 13:1 and
17:1. Presenting the priests as the agressors creates a somewhat
different picture as to how angry they were and how violent their
reaction was to Abinadi's statements. It also shines greater
light on their motives in 17:12.]
7 Ye see that ye have not power to slay me,
[ Suggesting that this should be a sign to them that he does come with
the power of God. Because you can try aas hard as you like and you
cannot overtake me until I am done with the message that God sent me
here to deliver. ] therefore I finish my message. Yea, and I
perceive that it cuts you to your hearts because I tell you the truth
concerning your iniquities.
9 But I finish my message; and then it matters not whither I go,
[ In essence he is defying them, suggesting that he is there on a
mission from God, he is Gods servant. As such it matters not what God
will have him do or what God's plan is, as he trusts in God. ] if it so be that I am saved. [ What is Abinidi really saving here? Is Abinidi confident in his standing before God? Is he talking here about being saved (kept from physical death)? Or is he saying it really does not matter what you do to me as long as I am spiritually saved? ]
10 But this much I tell you, what you do with me, after this, shall be as a type and a shadow of things which are to come.
[ vs. 11-26 Abinidi starts with the 10 commandments which make the core of the Law of Moses; then he refers to them as Priests and the fact that they have done nothing to teach these commandments to the people. ]
11 And now I read [ Why does Abinidi use the word read when it is clear he did not have the scriptures in front of him?
It is most likely that Abinidi does not have a copy of them with him to
actually read them, but when put into context with the writing them in
there hearts he is suggesting that he has them written in his heart; as
such he can read them back to them. Suggesting that since the heart is
the seat of our emotions and desires. If the Law is not found in their
hearts then they really do not desire to know what the law is or make
any attempt to live it. ] unto you the remainder of the commandments of God, for I perceive that they are not written in your hearts; [ So if we compare them with Abinidi we can see that Abinidi can read them from his heart implying that they have been written there before. So he is saying that I can read them from my heart because they are written there as for you - they are not written there or it appears from your actions that you are not trying to live and keep them; if you even know what they are. ] I perceive that ye have studied and taught iniquity the most part of your lives. [ And if you know the ten commandments you certainly are not teaching them. After all is this not the reason why Abinidi was sent here in the first place - if they would have been doing their job as priests then
there would not have been a need for God to send Abinidi to tell them
to repent. ]
12 And now, ye remember that I said unto you: [ What follows is almost verbatim Exod 20:3-17; evidence that Abinidi has memorized them. ] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of things which are in heaven above, or which are in the earth beneath, or which
are in the water under the earth.
13 And
again: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I
the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the
fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generations of
them that hate me;
15 Thou
shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will
not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
18 But
the seventh day, the sabbath of the Lord thy God, thou shalt not do any
work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy
maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy
gates;
19 For in
six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in
them is; wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
20 Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
24 Thou
shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox,
nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.
25 And it came to pass that after Abinadi had made an end of these sayings that he said unto them: Have ye taught this people that they should observe to do all these things for to keep these commandments? [ He is setting up the priests for not doing their job. ]
26 I say unto you, Nay; for if ye had, the Lord would not have caused me to come forth and to prophesy evil concerning this people. [ Abinidi is putting the priests on notice that God cares about his people. As such he try's to effects change in their lives by calling them to repentance, he her sends a prophet to ward them what will happen if they continue in their ways. Why would God ever punish his people so to say as to bring famine, and calamities upon them if he loves them? The answer is that he loves them and he loves their posterity; in addition he has a purpose for this world. As such he needs to make sure that the world fulfills it's purpose. Above all he has protected our agency - so man is free to choose his own coarse; but in doing so if that coarse is against the grand design of God then man is essentially not following Gods plan and God will continue to work his plan and man will have to deal with the consequences. So if God has to punish one generation to save many more he has no choice so to speak. ]
[ vs. 27-Chapter 15:31 Abinidi now turns his attention to answering the the question tha the Priests first presented him with; Isa 52:7-10 - while doing so he presents the doctrine of the condescension of God as the Messiah. ]
27 And
now ye have said that salvation cometh by the law of Moses. I say unto
you that it is expedient that ye should keep the law of Moses as yet; [ So the Law of Moses is a precursor for a higher Law - remember the children of Israel were to be given a higher law; they were going to have their temple blessing restored to them; but they choose not to accept it. So the Law of Moses was given to prepare them. (Exodus 19) ] but I say unto you, that the time shall come when it shall no more be expedient to keep the law of Moses. [ So just as the law of Moses had a point of origin so too will it have a time when it will be done away!. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles taught how the law of Moses relates to the gospel of Jesus Christ: “The modern reader should not see the Mosaic code—anciently or in modern times—as simply a tedious set of religious rituals slavishly (and sometimes militantly) followed by a stiffnecked people who did not accept the Christ and his gospel. This historic covenant, given by the hand of God himself . . . was . . . a guide to spirituality, a gateway to Christ. . . .“. . . It is crucial to understand that the law of Moses was overlaid upon, and thereby included, many basic parts of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which had existed before it. It was never intended to be something apart or separated from, and certainly not something antagonistic to, the gospel of Jesus Christ. . . . Its purpose was never to have been different from the higher law. Both were to bring people to Christ” (Christ and the New Covenant [1997], 136–37, 147).]
28 And moreover, I say unto you, that salvation doth not come by the law alone; [ The law of Moses is a introduction to God; to prepare people to move toward God. Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles testified of the absolute need for Jesus Christ, even when we live righteously: “Men and women unquestionably have impressive powers and can bring to pass great things. But after all our obedience and good works, we cannot be saved from death or the effects of our individual sins without the grace extended by the atonement of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon makes this clear. It teaches that ‘salvation doth not come by the law alone’ (Mosiah 13:28). In other words, salvation does not come simply by keeping the commandments. ‘By the law no flesh is justified’ (2 Ne. 2:5). Even those who try to obey and serve God with all their heart, might, mind, and strength are ‘unprofitable servants’ (Mosiah 2:21). Man cannot earn his own salvation” (“Another Testament of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, Mar. 1994, 67). ] and were it not for the atonement, which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses. [ The Law is not above God; the law has no saving power in itself. The Law was given to Israel to prepare them for when the Lord does come to perform the works of atonement for sin then the Law will be finished. 3 Ne. 9:17. See also vs 34; Isa 43:23-24 Russell M. Nelson said: “In the English language, the components are at-one-meant, suggesting that a person is at one with another. Other languages employ words that connote either expiation or reconciliation. Expiation means ‘to atone for.’ Reconciliation comes from Latin roots re, meaning ‘again’; con, meaning ‘with’; and sella, meaning ‘seat.’ Reconciliation, therefore, literally means ‘to sit again with.’…In Hebrew, the basic word for atonement is kaphar, a verb that means ‘to cover’ or ‘to forgive.’ Closely related is the Aramaic and Arabic word kafat, meaning ‘a close embrace’—no doubt related to the Egyptian ritual embrace….While the words atone or atonement, in any of their forms, appear only once in the King James translation of the New Testament, they appear 35 times in the Book of Mormon. As another testament of Jesus Christ, it sheds precious light on His Atonement.” (Ensign, Nov. 1996, pp.34-5 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 85))]
29 And now I say unto you that it was expedient that there should be a law given to the children of Israel, yea, even a very strict law; for they were a stiffnecked people, quick to do iniquity, and slow to remember the Lord their God; [ So if God felt that the children of Israel needed these laws; then look as you priests are not different as to rebellion and understanding of the Law. ]
30 Therefore there was a law given them, yea, a law of performances and of ordinances, a law which they were to observe strictly from day to day, to keep them in remembrance of God and their duty towards him.
32 And now, did they understand the law? I say unto you, Nay, they did not all understand the law; and this because of the hardness of their hearts; for they understood not that there could not any man be saved except it were through the redemption of God.
33 For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, [ If you will recall = Moses taught from the beginning that there would come a Messiah to redeem the people? Where is that in the old testament? ] and that God should redeem his people? Yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world began—have they not spoken more or less concerning these things? [ As well as every other prophet of God has taught of resurrection from death as well as atonement for sin. Duet 18:15? This is a reference to all of the prophets from the brass plates testified of Jesus Christ and yet where it that written in the Old Testament? It is not found there because the Deuteronomistic scribes replaced the references to Jesus Christ with The Law, setting up the law to be the most important thing. Amulek understood this and referenced it in Alma 34:14. ]
34 Have they not said that God himself should come down [ The term God generally refers to our Heavenly Father, and it is Him whom we ultimately worship. It is also true that Jesus Christ is God. Saints of the Old Testament era knew Him as Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Elder James E. Talmage (1862–1933) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that the scriptures help us understand the divinity of Jesus
Christ and His role as a God: “We claim scriptural authority for the
assertion that Jesus Christ was and is God the Creator, the God
who revealed Himself to Adam, Enoch, and all the antediluvial
patriarchs and prophets down to Noah; the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob; the God of Israel as a united people, and the God of Ephraim and
Judah after the disruption of the Hebrew nation; the God who made
Himself known to the prophets from Moses to Malachi; the God of the Old
Testament record; and the God of the Nephites. We affirm that Jesus
Christ was and is Jehovah, the Eternal One” (Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed.
[1916], 32). ] among the children of men, and take upon him the form of man, and go forth in mighty power upon the face of the earth? [ Where do we find this in the old testament? Which prophet says this? It is not there Did Enoch say that, Did Noah say that? (see Luke 6:24) ]
35 Yea, and have they not said also that he should bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, and that he, himself, should be oppressed and afflicted? [ Abinidi brings them back with authority; the priests quote Isaiah in Chapter 12 and Abinidi ends with Isa. 53 to contradict the Priests position. ]