Verse 16 reads:
"16 Come ye near unto me; I have not spoken in asecret; from the beginning, from the time that it was declared have I spoken; and the Lord God, and his bSpirit, hath sent me."
Isaiah calls to the people to come near. He testifies that he has not done his preaching in secret. He further testifies that the Lord and the Holy Ghost have sent him. It is important for the people to know that the servant of the Lord to testify that he has come in the name of the Lord. The people can then pray about him as the prophet and the teachings that were given to know for themselves whether he is or not. This is what we invite and exhort all to do.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
1 Nephi 20:15
Here is the text to verse 15:
"15 Also, saith the Lord; I the Lord, yea, I have spoken; yea, I have called ahim to declare, I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous."
In this verse, I'm not sure who "him" is that the Lord has called. It is possible that it is Isaiah testifying to the people that he is a prophet. It could be others. There are a lot of people that the Lord has called to declare and were brought and made their ways prosperous.
But this is what I wanted to say: the Lord calls men (and women) to testify of Him. He calls men to be prophets and speak for Him to the entire world. (The Lord tells them what to say anyway.) I like the scripture in Amos 3:7, which says:
"7 Surely the Lord God will do nothing, abut he brevealeth his csecret unto his servants the dprophets."
This is very important in our times. We need a prophet. We need to heed the prophet. We have a prophet that lives and guides us. What has he said? Here is a link to the latest General Conference that tells us:
http://lds.org/conference/sessions/display/0,5239,23-1-1032,00.html
The prophet's name is Thomas S. Monson. This is true.
"15 Also, saith the Lord; I the Lord, yea, I have spoken; yea, I have called ahim to declare, I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous."
In this verse, I'm not sure who "him" is that the Lord has called. It is possible that it is Isaiah testifying to the people that he is a prophet. It could be others. There are a lot of people that the Lord has called to declare and were brought and made their ways prosperous.
But this is what I wanted to say: the Lord calls men (and women) to testify of Him. He calls men to be prophets and speak for Him to the entire world. (The Lord tells them what to say anyway.) I like the scripture in Amos 3:7, which says:
"7 Surely the Lord God will do nothing, abut he brevealeth his csecret unto his servants the dprophets."
This is very important in our times. We need a prophet. We need to heed the prophet. We have a prophet that lives and guides us. What has he said? Here is a link to the latest General Conference that tells us:
http://lds.org/conference/sessions/display/0,5239,23-1-1032,00.html
The prophet's name is Thomas S. Monson. This is true.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
1 Nephi 20:14
The text to verse 14:
"14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; who among them hath declared these things unto them? The Lord hath loved him; yea, and he will afulfil his word which he hath declared by them; and he will do his pleasure on bBabylon, and his arm shall come upon the Chaldeans."
Here, I believe that Isaiah breaks from quoting the word of the Lord and calls again to the house of Israel. He promises that the Lord will fulfill His the promises He made to their fathers long ago. The second part of this verse says that He will do His pleasure on Babylon. His arm shall come upon the Chaldeans. The Bible Dictionary has a couple of good entries on Babylon and Chaldea. I'm not sure if, when this verse was given, that Babylon and Chaldea should be happy about the plans of the Lord or not. I remember that there were times when they were really bad, but perhaps there were times when they weren't. Perhaps the upcoming verses can help us understand more.
"14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; who among them hath declared these things unto them? The Lord hath loved him; yea, and he will afulfil his word which he hath declared by them; and he will do his pleasure on bBabylon, and his arm shall come upon the Chaldeans."
Here, I believe that Isaiah breaks from quoting the word of the Lord and calls again to the house of Israel. He promises that the Lord will fulfill His the promises He made to their fathers long ago. The second part of this verse says that He will do His pleasure on Babylon. His arm shall come upon the Chaldeans. The Bible Dictionary has a couple of good entries on Babylon and Chaldea. I'm not sure if, when this verse was given, that Babylon and Chaldea should be happy about the plans of the Lord or not. I remember that there were times when they were really bad, but perhaps there were times when they weren't. Perhaps the upcoming verses can help us understand more.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
1 Nephi 20:12-13
For this entry today, we will think about verses 12 and 13:
"12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called, for I am he; I am the afirst, and I am also the last.
In verse 12, the Lord is calling to the house of Israel. He is inviting them (and us), just as he did in the New Testament, to listen and follow Him. I believe that this is what is meant by the word "hearken." Then in the rest of 12 and in verse 13, He tells them (and us) who He is. He is the first and the last. He is the first, because He was the firstborn of Heavenly Father. There could be several reasons why He is the last. I believe one is that the last goes with the first and shows that He is an eternal god. He is also the last to have a say in our plea to the Father during the judgment day.
In verse 13, we see that He has created the earth and the heavens. He also has control over them, i.e., when He calls, they stand up together.
I believe that He deemed it necessary to state His works to the house of Israel as a way for them to learn and understand that they are under the watch and care of an all-powerful being. Many times in the future, we will see Him referred to as the Lord of Hosts. He truly is a Lord of hosts of angels at His command. May we remember who the Lord is and hearken to Him as He has invited us to do on so many occasions.
"12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called, for I am he; I am the afirst, and I am also the last.
In verse 12, the Lord is calling to the house of Israel. He is inviting them (and us), just as he did in the New Testament, to listen and follow Him. I believe that this is what is meant by the word "hearken." Then in the rest of 12 and in verse 13, He tells them (and us) who He is. He is the first and the last. He is the first, because He was the firstborn of Heavenly Father. There could be several reasons why He is the last. I believe one is that the last goes with the first and shows that He is an eternal god. He is also the last to have a say in our plea to the Father during the judgment day.
In verse 13, we see that He has created the earth and the heavens. He also has control over them, i.e., when He calls, they stand up together.
I believe that He deemed it necessary to state His works to the house of Israel as a way for them to learn and understand that they are under the watch and care of an all-powerful being. Many times in the future, we will see Him referred to as the Lord of Hosts. He truly is a Lord of hosts of angels at His command. May we remember who the Lord is and hearken to Him as He has invited us to do on so many occasions.
Monday, June 8, 2009
1 Nephi 20:9-11
For today's entry, we will look at these three verses:
"9 Nevertheless, for my aname’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain from thee, that I cut thee not off.
"9 Nevertheless, for my aname’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain from thee, that I cut thee not off.
"10 For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of aaffliction.
"11 For mine own sake, yea, for mine own sake will I do this, for I will not suffer my aname to be polluted, and I will bnot give my glory unto another."
In verse 9, I believe that Isaiah is preaching to the people and quoting what the Lord had said to him. He says that for His name's sake will he defer his anger and not cut off the house of Israel from His influence. I looked up the word sake in order to know more about what the Lord might have meant by His name's sake. It said, "for the purpose of; in the interest of; in order to achieve or preserve." Another possible take could be, "out of consideration for or in order to help someone." After thinking more on it, I believe that the Lord is using sake for preservation. In order to preserve His name as one who is good and merciful, he doesn't cut them off. However, God is a god of justice and I don't know how long He will wait until he cuts them off.
In verse 10, we see that the Lord has worked hard with the house of Israel and has done so for a long time. He mentions that He has refined them. He mentions that He has chosen them out of the furnace of affliction. They were saved from bondage during the time of Moses. I think this is what He was referring to. This is what the footnote points to. That was a huge thing that the Lord did for them. I believe that He was merciful to them and answered their prayers to be delivered. But what did they do since? Well, when they were at Sinai, they made a golden calf and worshiped it. They wandered for 40 years until they received their promised land. I'm sure that there were good people among them, too. It seems now, that in the times of Isaiah, the Lord is calling them to repentance again.
In verse 11, we see that the Lord will not suffer His name to be polluted, nor will He give His glory to another. I believe that these things have been and are eternally so. Those who have their agency and choose to pollute the name of the Lord will receive the consequences. Let's apply this to our lives and love the Lord our God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength.
In verse 9, I believe that Isaiah is preaching to the people and quoting what the Lord had said to him. He says that for His name's sake will he defer his anger and not cut off the house of Israel from His influence. I looked up the word sake in order to know more about what the Lord might have meant by His name's sake. It said, "for the purpose of; in the interest of; in order to achieve or preserve." Another possible take could be, "out of consideration for or in order to help someone." After thinking more on it, I believe that the Lord is using sake for preservation. In order to preserve His name as one who is good and merciful, he doesn't cut them off. However, God is a god of justice and I don't know how long He will wait until he cuts them off.
In verse 10, we see that the Lord has worked hard with the house of Israel and has done so for a long time. He mentions that He has refined them. He mentions that He has chosen them out of the furnace of affliction. They were saved from bondage during the time of Moses. I think this is what He was referring to. This is what the footnote points to. That was a huge thing that the Lord did for them. I believe that He was merciful to them and answered their prayers to be delivered. But what did they do since? Well, when they were at Sinai, they made a golden calf and worshiped it. They wandered for 40 years until they received their promised land. I'm sure that there were good people among them, too. It seems now, that in the times of Isaiah, the Lord is calling them to repentance again.
In verse 11, we see that the Lord will not suffer His name to be polluted, nor will He give His glory to another. I believe that these things have been and are eternally so. Those who have their agency and choose to pollute the name of the Lord will receive the consequences. Let's apply this to our lives and love the Lord our God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength.
Friday, June 5, 2009
1 Nephi 20:7-8
Here is what we have in verse 7 and 8, which we will consider today:
"7 They are created now, and not from the beginning, even before the day when thou heardest them not they were declared unto thee, lest thou shouldst say—Behold I knew them.
"7 They are created now, and not from the beginning, even before the day when thou heardest them not they were declared unto thee, lest thou shouldst say—Behold I knew them.
"8 Yea, and thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time thine ear was not opened; for I knew that thou wouldst deal very treacherously, and wast called a atransgressor from the womb."
In verse 7, we can see that it seems that there were things declared to the house of Israel before they fully understood what they were hearing. The Lord says that He did this lest they should say, "Behold, I knew them." This last phrase and the first phrase are still mysteries to me.
In verse 8, we see that they did not heed or hear the declarations of the Lord. He says that He knew that they would not heed or hear, and deal with things very treacherously. Even from when they were born, they were transgressors, which I believe means that they did not heed the teachings of the Lord.
At some point, we hope that they can repent and listen to the teachings of Isaiah. We shall see what happens.
In verse 7, we can see that it seems that there were things declared to the house of Israel before they fully understood what they were hearing. The Lord says that He did this lest they should say, "Behold, I knew them." This last phrase and the first phrase are still mysteries to me.
In verse 8, we see that they did not heed or hear the declarations of the Lord. He says that He knew that they would not heed or hear, and deal with things very treacherously. Even from when they were born, they were transgressors, which I believe means that they did not heed the teachings of the Lord.
At some point, we hope that they can repent and listen to the teachings of Isaiah. We shall see what happens.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
1 Nephi 20:5-6
In verse 5, we find that Isaiah is speaking of God and of the house of Israel. From the footnote, 5a, I believe that Isaiah is saying that God is all-knowing and can tell that you, house of Israel, are worshiping idols. In the next verse, I believe the Lord is saying to the house of Israel that He has shown them new things, perhaps even some of His mysteries and they have not proclaimed them. The footnote, 6a, refers to 1 Corinthians 9:16, where Paul is saying that woe is unto him if he doesn't preach the gospel! So, as an application to our day, we can see that there is a great necessity to not worship idols, which can even be material things and sports (moderation is okay, but make sure it is just that and not more), and preach the gospel. Make sure you pray for missionary experience and open your mouth when you are prompted to share the gospel. I need to work on these things as much as anyone else, but I feel that it is important to keep it in the front of our minds.
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