More on Isaiah 49, the great and abominable church and dust

I noted in a recent post that the great and spacious building = the great and abominable church, based on some textual connections between 2 Nephi 10 and 1 Nephi 8 and 11. Here is another one, perhaps even clearer, in 1 Nephi 22:14

And all that fight against Zion shall be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the dust and great shall be the fall of it.

In 1 Nephi 11:36

And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 

I also posted recently on how 1 Nephi 22 and 2 Nephi 6 are linked in many ways as they both comment on Isaiah 49. Notice in 1 Nephi 22:14 that was just quoted, how the great and abominable church shall "tumble to the dust". Later, in the same chapter, verse 23, we read:

yea, in fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear, and tremble, and quake; they are those who must be brought low in the dust

Notice the wording, "they are those who must be brought low in the dust" as if Nephi already has talked about someone who must be brought low but now clarifies who that is. It could refer to just a few verses earlier, but I think he refers to Isaiah that he has just read. Nephi read Isaiah 49 in the previous chapter, his brothers asked what it meant and he is now explaining. In Isaiah 49:23/1 Nephi 21:23

And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

Avraham Gileadi comments on this verse:

A disparity exists between these same spiritual kings and queens of the Gentiles and other Gentiles who, instead of repenting, oppose Jehovah’s people (Isaiah 29:7-8; 54:15-17; 66:5). While the Gentiles’ kings and queens fulfill their roles of proxy saviors under the terms of the Davidic Covenant on the seraph level, those Gentiles who turn into Jehovah’s enemies end up bowing down before his people and licking the dust of their feet (Isaiah 45:14; 60:14; 66:5). Those who “know” Jehovah in the end are those who “hope in” or “wait for” (qiwweh) him through a time of adversity (Isaiah 19:21; 25:9; 52:6).

This disparity is not clear from the verse in Isaiah. You may get the impression from just reading it, that the kings and queens are also the ones who lick the feet of Israel. But the commentaries from Nephi and Jacob are consistent with what Gileadi explains, that these are two different groups among the Gentiles. When Nephi says that it is the "great and abominable church" or the "kingdom of the devil" that shall be brought to the dust, he is clearly referring to Isaiah 49:23 that he just read. In other words, those who shall bow down and lick the dust from off the feet of Israel are the great and abominable church. The pride of the world, that lifted up themselves shall be brought low in the dust with their "face towards the earth" and lick the dust of the feet of those they fought against. That is quite a powerful image.

The kings and queens among the Gentiles who will carry Israel, however, Nephi describes differently. 1 Nephi 22:8

And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a marvelous work among the Gentiles, which shall be of great worth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the Gentiles and being carried in their arms and upon their shoulders.

So from Nephis comments we can infer that the Gentiles in the latter days will eventually be split in two groups:

1. Those who will be spiritual nursing fathers/kings and mothers/queens and to Israel, who shall bring about and support the marvelous work and bring it to Israel.
2. Those who unite with the great and abominable church, who fight against Zion

Jacob definitely supports that view in his commentary of this Isaiah passage. In 2 Nephi 6:12-13

12 And blessed are the Gentiles, they of whom the prophet has written; for behold, if it so be that they shall repent and fight not against Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great and abominable church, they shall be saved; for the Lord God will fulfil his covenants which he has made unto his children; and for this cause the prophet has written these things.

13 Wherefore, they that fight against Zion and the covenant people of the Lord shall lick up the dust of their feet; and the people of the Lord shall not be ashamed. For the people of the Lord are they who wait for him; for they still wait for the coming of the Messiah.

Notice also how the green part is Jacob commenting and expanding on the last part of Isaiah 49:23.

Both Nephi and Jacob are great Isaiah commentators and show a deep understanding of his writings. It is also fascinating how they get their own revelations (like Nephi about the great and abominable church) and subtly tie it into Isaiah. The depth and complexity of the Book of Mormon does not cease to amaze me.

One final note: The symbolism of dust has been discussed extensively on this blog. When Jacob quotes Isaiah 49:22 - 52:2 in 2 Nephi 6-8, he starts and ends with this topic. In this post we have seen how Isaiah 49:23 links to Nephi's comments about the great abominable church tumbling to the dust. In Isaiah 52:1-2 we read

1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.

2 Shake thyself from the dust

The Lord will cause those who fight against Zion to tumble to the dust and even lick the dust from their feet. At the same time he invites Zion to arise and shake herself from the dust. This is beautiful imagery used to illustrate the reversal of circumstances when the covenant people of old, who has been scattered, confounded and oppressed, are gathered again and enter into the new and everlasting covenant.