"A scourge on your sides"

As noted before, for instance in my recent posts on inheritance (Hebr. yeresh), there are several parallels between the Old Testament exodus and entry into the promised land and the Book of Mormon. Here is another one:

Know assuredly that the LORD your God will not continue to drive out these nations before you; but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a scourge on your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the LORD your God has given you. (Joshua 23:13, NRSV)

The context of this verse is a warning of what will happen if Israel stray from the covenant and worship the idols of other nations. The other nations around the promised land would be scourges for Israel. Nephi uses the same metaphor when prophesying about the Jews

15 Wherefore, the Jews shall be scattered among all nations; yea, and also Babylon shall be destroyed; wherefore, the Jews shall be scattered by other nations.

16 And after they have been scattered, and the Lord God hath scourged them by other nations for the space of many generations, yea, even down from generation to generation until they shall be persuaded to believe in Christ, the Son of God, and the atonement, which is infinite for all mankind (2 Nephi 25)

The scourging of Israel by other nations in Palestine is paralleled by the scourging of a branch of Israel in the Americas. Compare with these Book of Mormon verses:

And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance. (1 Nephi 2:24)

And the Lord God said unto me: They shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in remembrance of me; and inasmuch as they will not remember me, and hearken unto my words, they shall scourge them even unto destruction. (2 Nephi 5:25)

But, wo, wo, unto you that are not pure in heart, that are filthy this day before God; for except ye repent the land is cursed for your sakes; and the Lamanites, which are not filthy like unto you, nevertheless they are cursed with a sore cursing, shall scourge you even unto destruction. (Jacob 3:3)

Although not seen directly in the first two verses, we know from the context that "they" refer to the Lamanites. Just like the nations around Israel were a scourge to them, the Lamanites act in a similar role as a scourge to the Nephites. The interesting part is that God seems to deliberately set it up that way. To Joshua he clearly states that he will not drive out the other nations before Israel. They shall remain there as a scourge. Granted, this is the consequence of their sins, but Nephi expands on what seems like a divine plan. When "the Lord God hath scourged them by other nations" they will eventually be persuaded to believe in Christ. 

Similarly, God deliberately sets up the Lamanites as a scourge to the Nephites. This has at least two purposes, according to 2 Nephi 5:25: To stir them up to remembrance or to destroy if they are stirred up and still don't hearken. This is something we recognize from the Old Testament as well and the conditions for the land of inheritance. Either you must remember and hearken unto God or be destroyed. Living in the promised land in sin is not an option, at least not in the long term.

This shows how God creates a branch of Israel in a new promised land with the same conditions as their forefathers. The pattern also repeats later as prophesied by the Savior himself

27 And after that ye were blessed then fulfilleth the Father the covenant which he made with Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed—unto the pouring out of the Holy Ghost through me upon the Gentiles, which blessing upon the Gentiles shall make them mighty above all, unto the scattering of my people, O house of Israel.

28 And they shall be a scourge unto the people of this land. Nevertheless, when they shall have received the fulness of my gospel, then if they shall harden their hearts against me I will return their iniquities upon their own heads, saith the Father.

29 And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that I would gather them together in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father. (3 Nephi 20)

The Gentile nations around Israel being a scourge to them, repeats in the latter days. History repeats itself. Scribes after ancient Israelite tradition held a worldview where time ran in cycles and God's dealings with his children followed established recurring patterns. The ancient rabbis highlighted the repeating elements in biblical narrative, noting that “what happens to the fathers, happens to the sons.” The Book of Mormon seems to follow this pattern. 

We also see from the last quote how the scourge links to the Abrahamic covenant and lands of inheritance. Promised lands are a blessing of the Abrahamic covenant, granted as an inheritance (Hebr. yeresh) to God's covenant people. But it needs to be kept undefiled, either by stirring the covenant people to repentance or destroying the unrepentant people. The scourge serves both functions.

Blood and soul

Israel are commanded time and again not to eat or drink any blood. This strict prohibition is repeated many times in the Torah. For example, in Leviticus 17:

10 And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.

11 For the life (Hebr. nephesh) of the flesh is in the blood (Hebr. dam): and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls (Hebr. nephesh): for it is the blood (Hebr. dam) that maketh an atonement for the soul (Hebr. nephesh).

12 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul (Hebr. nephesh) of you shall eat blood (Hebr. dam), neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood (Hebr. dam).

13 And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood (Hebr. dam) thereof, and cover it with dust (Hebr. aphar).

14 For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.

I have written the original Hebrew for some selected words in verses 11-13. The Hebrew word, nephesh, does not have a clear English equivalent and is translated into soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion. It is the essence of our inner being. I think the idea that nephesh is closely connected to blood is an important part of understanding all the instructions and focus on blood in general in Jewish law. 

For instance, as stated in verse 11 above, "it is the blood (where nephesh is found) that maketh an atonement for the soul (nephesh)". When the Israelites sinned, it came from their nephesh, their desire, passion, appetite, ... To make amends, they had to sacrifice it. But instead of sacrificing their own blood (the physical representation of the more abstract nephesh), an animal representing them could be used instead. Their blood would then represent the nephesh where the sin originated and be dashed against all sides of the altar as a sacrifice to God. This would also represent Christ, who like the animals, took our sins upon him and made atonement. There are many approaches to and layers of symbolism related to the ancient practice of animal sacrifice and this is merely one of them. But this relation between nephesh and dam perhaps reflects Jacob's worldview, adding context to his statement in 2 Nephi 9:44

O, my beloved brethren, remember my words. Behold, I take off my garments, and I shake them before you; I pray the God of my salvation that he view me with his all-searching eye; wherefore, ye shall know at the last day, when all men shall be judged of their works, that the God of Israel did witness that I shook your iniquities from my soul (nephesh), and that I stand with brightness before him, and am rid of your blood (dam).

Jacob didn't write in Hebrew, but I assume that the words translated into "soul" and "dam" here are Nephite equivalents of nephesh and dam. It was important to Jacob that his nephesh was not mingled with and contaminated by the nephesh in the blood of the wicked. Removing his garments marked a separation.

The prohibition to eat blood did not originate in the Law of Moses, though. It was given for the first time in Genesis 9

3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

4 But flesh with the life (nephesh) thereof, which is the blood (dam) thereof, shall ye not eat.

This is right after the flood when the earth "re-starts" with multiple references back to the creation account. This leads to another verse in Genesis:

And the Lord God formed man of the dust (Hebr. aphar) of the ground (Hebr. adamah), and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Hebr. nephesh). (Genesis 2:8)

According to instructions in Leviticus 17 and other parts of the Torah, blood should be poured on the ground and covered with dust. It is a reversal of the creation of man who was formed from the dust of the ground and became a living soul. Indeed, "for dust (aphar) thou art and unto dust thou shalt return" (Genesis 3:19). The soul simply returning to the dust from which it was formed does not really sound like the plan of salvation as we know it. But here is the twist:

53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. (John 6)

This image may be grotesque enough for a modern reader, but imagine how horrific it sounds to a faithful and strictly Torah-abiding Jew, who would never even think the thought of eating anything with blood in it. When we partake of the blood of other unholy beings, we contaminate ourselves with their impure nephesh instead of becoming holy like God wants us to. But when we partake of the blood of Christ we dwell in him and he in us as stated in verse 56. His nephesh is pure and holy and this is why we can make an exception to the rule. Instead of staying in the dust that we return to at death we are raised up to eternal life at the last day, according to verse 54.

Consider the words of Christ to the Nephites:

And he said unto them: He that eateth this bread eateth of my body to his soul; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled. (3 Nephi 20:8)

The nephesh in the blood of Christ fills up our nephesh and purifies it.  

The everlasting covenant and gospel dispensations -- Part 6 (Jesus Christ)

The previous parts of this series are found here:

• Part 1: Introduction and Adam
• Part 2: Enoch
• Part 3: Noah
• Part 4: Abraham
• Part 5: Moses

This post will focus on the gospel dispensation of Jesus Christ himself. There is plenty of material to take from since the scriptures testify of him. Some of that describes Christ as a restorer of the everlasting covenant. It is interesting to note that from Enoch and on, there is an increasing amount of available information on the gospel dispensations. We know next to nothing about Enoch from the Bible but the Pearl of Great Price gives us a chapter and a half. We have several chapters in Genesis about Noah. We have even more chapters about Abraham in Genesis plus the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price. We have entire books about Moses (Exodus-Deuteronomy). The same can be said about Jesus. In addition to the four gospels, we have the account of his visit among the Nephites in 3 Nephi, but numerous prophecies and sermons in addition. From Joseph Smith we have almost the entire Doctrine and Covenants plus much more detailed accounts of his life than any of the other heads of previous dispensations.

But back to Jesus Christ. The peculiar thing about this dispensation is that he, as the God of the Old Testament, established the everlasting covenant in the first place. He covenanted with Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Moses. He is "the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning" (Mosiah 3:8). The author of the everlasting covenant came to earth himself to restore it. He who created all things longs to re-unite all creation and paid the price of it with his own blood.

In the previous post we discussed the dispensation of Moses. How the Lord wanted to give them the fullness and they could only handle a part. But Moses prophesied:

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers (Deuteronomy 18:15)

Christ identified himself as that prophet when he visited the Nephites.

Behold, I am he of whom Moses spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me (3 Nephi 20:23)

More on this in a previous post about Moses and Christ, explained beautifully by Abinadi. There is a Jewish tradition of the Messiah as the second Moses and there are numerous parallels in addition to the simple fact that Jesus identified as the prophet that Moses told about and said he had come to fulfill the Law of Moses. For instance:

• Jesus was born without shelter and laid in a manger. Moses was also born without shelter and laid in a basket, interestingly called an ark.
• Pharaoh and Herod both order all male infants killed and thereby threaten the lives of Moses and Jesus
• Jesus and Moses both spent their childhood in Egypt
• Both Jesus and Moses fasted 40 days in the wilderness

These historical events establish a parallel such that we can find meaning in the following:

• Moses led Israel out of physical bondage. Jesus leads out out of spiritual bondage
• The people that Moses led were fed manna from heaven. Jesus referred to this event as he identified as the bread of life
• Moses smote the rock so the water gushed out. Jesus is the rock who offers the water of life
• The 10 commandments were given through Moses. Jesus discussed and re-interpreted these in the Sermon of the Mount
• Moses erected a tabernacle to house God. Jesus came down in an earthly tabernacle to house his spirit
• Moses initiated the passover lamb. Jesus is the Lamb of God offering himself as a sacrifice.
• Moses led the people to the promised land. Jesus leads us to the promised land of the celestial kingdom

Jesus came as the second Moses to fulfill the law. The law came with a covenant. The old covenant/testament was replaced by a new. The animal sacrifice pointing forward to Christ's sacrifice was replaced by the sacrament held in remembrance of Christ's sacrifice.

27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26)

Both the sermon of Abinadi and the Letter to the Hebrews explain that salvation could not come by the Law of Moses alone but only through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Law of Moses was administered with the Aaronic Priesthood, also called the lesser or preparatory priesthood. The gospel of Christ and the everlasting covenant are administered with the Melchizedek Priesthood.

11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?

12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. (Hebrews 7)

6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: (Hebrews 8)

Since Christ's mission was to fulfill the Law of Moses, there are numerous parallels to that dispensation in particular. But the life and ministry of Christ also refers to the other gospel dispensations

• Adam plucked the fruit from the tree. Jesus reversed the fall as the firstfruits of God hanged on the tree at the crucifixion. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:22)
• Enoch established Zion that was taken up to heaven. When Jesus comes again from heaven, he will establish the millennial Zion and the two will meet.
• Noah survived the baptism of the earth and sent forth a dove when the water receded. When Jesus was baptized and came out of the water, the Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove.
• Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son. This is a "similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son" (Jacob 4:5)

As in previous dispensations, the everlasting covenant was brought to earth when Christ came. But where previous dispensations only had looked forward to the sacrifice that was required to effectuate it, Jesus, the creator, came to sacrifice himself for the creation.

Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever! And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears, glory, and salvation, and honor, and immortality, and eternal life; kingdoms, principalities, and powers! (D&C 128:23)

I think this verse is a fitting way to end the year on a positive note. We also wish our readers a Happy New Year! 

Endowment Narratives in the Book of Mormon, Part 3a -- Finding Meaning in the Symbols

The more I study the scriptures and ponder their meaning, the more I realize how much we underappreciate the significance of the archetypal story of Adam and Eve as presented in the books of Genesis, Moses, and Abraham. I believe the ancient prophets saw themselves as Adam and created intentional parallels in their accounts.

As we continue this series on "endowment patterns" in the Book of Mormon, I hope I'll be able to draw out meaning from our list of twelve recurring details that connect back to Adam and Eve.

For reference, here is the list of details:

1. Commanded/warned (often in a dream or vision) to depart
2. The group they leave are involved in secret combinations or intend to kill them.
3. They seek to bring all who will hearken/listen
4. The new covenant people passes through a wilderness on their journey
5. "Many days"
6. Tents (a symbol of the presence of the Lord)
7. A list of animals (sometimes "of every kind")
8. They inherit a land
9. New names are given (see Genesis 2:20)
10. They obey the commandments of the Lord
11. Abundance/Prosper
12. They are usually led by a righteous patriarch/king/royal family member

I'm planning to take my time going through each of these symbols, so this part will be broken up into multiple sections.

Commanded/warned (often in a dream or vision) to depart

We read about a "deep sleep" that God caused to come upon Adam (see Moses 3:21 and Abraham 5:15). Waking up from that deep sleep is a powerful covenant symbol. Read the following verses from the Book of Mormon with this context in mind (for the sake of not making this post too long, I am only including the key phrases from these passages, but I encourage you to read the full context of each of the following passages to really get the message). I've highlighted references to "awake" in yellow, descriptions of what we are to awake from in aqua, and I've put in bold italics other key terms and phrases.

13 O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe.

14 Awake! and arise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling parent... (2 Nephi 1)

 

28 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. (2 Nephi 4)

 

9 Awake, awake! Put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the ancient days. (2 Nephi 8 quoting Isaiah 51; see also verses 17 & 24, 3 Nephi 20:36, and Moroni 10:31)

 

11 O my brethren, hearken unto my words; arouse the faculties of your souls; shake yourselves that ye may awake from the slumber of death; and loose yourselves from the pains of hell that ye may not become angels to the devil, to be cast into that lake of fire and brimstone which is the second death. (Jacob 3)

 

40 ... I pray that ye should awake to a remembrance of the awful situation of those that have fallen into transgression. (Mosiah 2)

 

2 And the things which I shall tell you are made known unto me by an angel from God. And he said unto me: Awake; and I awoke, and behold he stood before me.

3 And he said unto me: Awake, and hear the words which I shall tell thee; for behold, I am come to declare unto you the glad tidings of great joy. (Mosiah 3)

 

7 Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them. (Alma 5)

 

27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words ... (Alma 32)

I love this "awake from a deep sleep" symbolism. Jeff Lindsay has explored the connection between dust and chains in a series of Interpreter articles which center on the hypothesis that the Book of Moses contains source text known to authors of the Book of Mormon (part 1 here). If this topic interests you, I encourage you to read more about it. It isn't hard to find this same symbolism in our modern temple worship. The endowment is a literal gift from God, and one of the first steps in truly appreciating how sacred and important this gift is involves a spiritual awakening.

The group they leave are involved in secret combinations or intend to kill them.

My appreciation for this symbol increased as I came to understand the connection between secret combinations and the story of Cain. (See here for a detailed explanation.) Once I understood that secret combinations are Satan's mimic of the sacred covenant between God and Adam, a whole lot of seemingly random details suddenly fell into a beautiful pattern.

God's everlasting covenant offers us power and eternal "gain" as long as we are willing to follow God's way and rely upon Jesus Christ as our source of strength.  Satan offers a counterfeit to this, but it's a trap which leads to bondage and spiritual death.

Moroni, writing directly to his latter-day Gentile readers, offer us this warning, where he gives us explicit warnings about leaving these evil ways behind. I'll put in bold the descriptions of the secret combinations, and also highlight one use of "awake" as well in this passage.  References to Cain will be in orange (with verses inserted for your convenience):

23 Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain—and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be.

24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it (Genesis 4:10), and also upon those who built it up.

25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning.

26 Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved. (Ether 8)

One major early hurdle we must clear as we seek to fully accept the endowment God desires to give us is to leave Satan and his evil, destructive ways behind.  We must cast him out the same way Jesus cast out unclean spirits. This is accomplished by seeing Satan's tactics for what they are and replacing his ways with God's ways (the Gospel of Jesus Christ).

In the stories I outlined in parts 1 and 2 of this series, the new covenant people must leave behind a fallen situation in which some evil people seek their death (or captivity). There is deep symbolic power in striving to identify and leave behind the elements of our current situation which keeps us bound down and subjected to Satan's power.  

They seek to bring all who will hearken/listen

The Book of Moses makes it clear that Adam and Eve taught what they had learned from God to their children.

12 And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters. (Moses 5)

1 And Adam hearkened unto the voice of God, and called upon his sons to repent. (Moses 6) 

This was done in order to keep a commandment from God:

58 And thus the Gospel began to be preached, from the beginning, being declared by holy angels sent forth from the presence of God, and by his own voice, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost.

59 And thus all things were confirmed unto Adam, by an holy ordinance, and the Gospel preached, and a decree sent forth, that it should be in the world, until the end thereof; and thus it was. Amen. (Moses 5)

As I noted in the examples in parts 1 and 2, bringing everyone who will "hearken" is an important component of the formation of a new covenant people.

That's it for this post.  In the next post (part 3b), we'll continue to find connections between the details in the endowment pattern and the story of Adam and Eve.