A path in the sea

Having focused on the exodus/gathering of Israel topic a lot lately, these words in 2 Nephi 10:20 caught my attention

we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea.

The idea of the sea as a path seems a bit strange. Jacob is of course referring to their travel across the sea to the promised land. But by using this expression, he also seems to be referring to Isaiah 43:16-17

16 Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;

17 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.

In this verse, the way in the sea is of course the way through the Red Sea and the extinct army is the army of Pharaoh. But the context of this Isaiah passage is the latter-day gathering of Israel. It is yet another example of Isaiah referring to the original Exodus that symbolizes the latter-day spiritual exodus.  By using that reference, Jacob is making a connection between their own travels to the promised land and both the original exodus of Israel and the latter-days exodus of the remnant of Israel. Both very fitting.

By comparing their travel to the promised land with the Exodus of Moses, Jacob follows the same pattern as Nephi, who makes multiple references to it in the account of their journey. When they are about to get the brass plates, Nephi exhorts his brothers to be "strong like unto Moses" (1 Nephi 4:2). When he is about to build a ship, he recounts the Exodus story (1 Nephi 17:23-43). He also makes textual connections like much talk about the 'wilderness', the 'murmuring' of his brothers, etc.

By referring to that Isaiah passage, Jacob also makes a connection to the latter-day spiritual exodus/gathering of Israel, because this is what Isaiah really is talking about. This is also made clear in the rest of chapter 10. See for instance in verse 8:

And it shall come to pass that they shall be gathered in from their long dispersion, from the isles of the sea, and from the four parts of the earth

This sermon is a continuation of the one Jacob started the previous day, where he read Isaiah to the people of Nephi. One of the verses he read was Isaiah 51:5/2 Nephi 8:5

My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.

Do you see all the connections Jacob is making? They are so subtle that I need to read the Book of Mormon a few dozen times before I see them. Yet they are unmistakeable once they are identified, and they bring added depth to the text. To summarize:

1. Jacob and Nephi consider their journey to the promised land an exodus similar to that of Moses and the children of Israel
2. To accomplish the exodus, the Lord made a "highway in the desert" but also in the sea. 
3. In the latter days, there will be a spiritual exodus. It is related to both the exodus of Moses and Lehi. The Lord has shown before that he is able to make a way in the sea and can thus lead and gather Israel a second time, even from "the isles", where there are branches of Israel, like the descendents of Lehi/Joseph.