I have come to realize that the creation account was very important to ancient Israelites, including the Nephites. It only covers the first two chapters of Genesis, but it is often referred to, directly or indirectly, both in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon. A few examples from the Book of Mormon are given here, here and here. As far as I understand, the reason for the frequent references to the creation is that it represented the ultimate demonstration of God's power. He spoke and the world was created. Can there be any greater power? This means that he can control all the elements, because they are all His creation. This is often used as argument that nothing is impossible to God, as we will see soon.
I was thinking about the parting of the Red Sea and how it resembles the division of water on the second and third days of the creation account. In Genesis 1:6-9, we read:
6 And God said, Let there be a in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament . And the evening and the morning were the second .
9 And God said, Let the under the heaven be gathered together unto place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
In Exodus 14:21, we read about the parting of the Red Sea.
21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the ; and the Lord the to by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea land, and the were .
In both cases the waters are divided and there is a separation of water and dry land. I don't think that's a coincidence. The God of Israel showed his power when he repeated some of the work of creation in front of the eyes of the Israelites.
In recent posts, I have written about the word and its power to bring the invisible into the visible. We don't read about the word taking an active role in our version of Exodus like it does in the creation. But it seems like this is an element that has been part of Israelite tradition, nonetheless, (see this blog post). Also, in Moses 1:25, we read
Blessed art thou, Moses, for I, the Almighty, have thee, and thou shalt be made stronger than many ; for they shall obey thy as if thou wert .
At the parting of the Red Sea, God is lending his power and word to Moses, so he can speak and use his staff to divide the waters.
With this background, it is interesting to note that the parting of the Red Sea is referenced three times in the Book of Mormon. Each time it is used to argue that God has the power to accomplish whatever is necessary.
Therefore let us go up; let us be like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea. (1 Nephi 4:2)
We see the creation elements repeated: The power, the word/speaking, the division between water and dry land. Why does Nephi mention this? To argue that the Lord has power to deliver them from Laban and help them obtain the brass plates. In 1 Nephi 17, we see the same elements.
26 Now ye know that was commanded of the Lord to do that great work; and ye know that by his the waters of the Red Sea were divided hither and thither, and they passed through on dry ground.
27 But ye know that the Egyptians were in the Red Sea, who were the armies of Pharaoh.
28 And ye also know that they were fed with in the wilderness.
29 Yea, and ye also know that Moses, by his word according to the power of God which was in him, the rock, and there came forth water, that the children of Israel might quench their thirst. (1 Nephi 17)
Here, another miracle involving water in the Exodus is added too. Again, this is used as to argue that God has power to do anything, in this case instructing Nephi to build a ship. Still in chapter 17:
51 And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot me, that I should build a ship?
Many centuries later, there was another Nephi who spoke to the wicked inhabitants of Zarahemla.
11 Therefore he was constrained to speak more unto them saying: Behold, my brethren, have ye not read that God gave power unto one man, even Moses, to smite upon the waters of the , and they parted hither and thither, insomuch that the Israelites, who were our fathers, came through upon dry ground, and the waters closed upon the armies of the Egyptians and swallowed them up?
12 And now behold, if God gave unto this man such power, then why should ye dispute among yourselves, and say that he hath given unto me no power whereby I may concerning the judgments that shall come upon you except ye repent?
13 But, behold, ye not only deny my words, but ye also deny all the words which have been spoken by our fathers, and also the words which were spoken by this man, Moses, who had such great power given unto him, yea, the words which he hath spoken concerning the coming of the Messiah. (Helaman 8)
The same elements are repeated again and used to argue that God can give Nephi power to know of the judgments that shall come upon them.
There seems to be a tradition among both ancient Israelites and Nephites, that God's power is demonstrated in the creation and is connected to "the word". When the Red Sea was parted, it was a redemonstration of those powers, but it also conveys another important message: God can grant his power to man. Whatever he sees fit for us to accomplish or command us to do, we can do it, because he can lend us power like He did to Moses. This power is intimately connected to His word.
