"An instrument in the hands of God"

This is a short follow-up note on my series of posts on the phrase "stretch forth thine hand" (which begins here). One main lesson from that study was that prophets are messengers from God calling a covenant people to repent. As we learned from the account of Enoch (discussed in part 4), Enoch feels the same things God feels and emulates actions described by God during his grand vision.

A related phrase which caught my attention during the course of this study is "an instrument in the hands of God."  This is unique to the Book of Mormon, but it shows up several times.  With only one exception (which will be discussed below), every time the word "instrument" is used in the Book of Mormon it is in connection with "an instrument in the hands of God."

Here are the verses where it is used.  Notice how consistent the context is -- each instance refers to leading/delivering a people or bringing them to repentance. I love the description of the purpose of the instrument (highlighted in green below).  If you ever want a succinct summary of why God sends prophets/messengers to earth, this is a nice list.

24 Rebel no more against your brother, whose views have been glorious, and who hath kept the commandments from the time that we left Jerusalem; and who hath been an instrument in the hands of God, in bringing us forth into the land of promise; for were it not for him, we must have perished with hunger in the wilderness; nevertheless, ye sought to take away his life; yea, and he hath suffered much sorrow because of you. (2 Nephi 1)

 

24 And there shall rise up one mighty among them, who shall do much good, both in word and in deed, being an instrument in the hands of God, with exceeding faith, to work mighty wonders, and do that thing which is great in the sight of God, unto the bringing to pass much restoration unto the house of Israel, and unto the seed of thy brethren. (2 Nephi 3)

 

10 Nevertheless, after much tribulation, the Lord did hear my cries, and did answer my prayers, and has made me an instrument in his hands in bringing so many of you to a knowledge of his truth. (Mosiah 23)

 

36 And thus they were instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer. (Mosiah 27)

 

8 Now the name of the man was Gideon; and it was he who was an instrument in the hands of God in delivering the people of Limhi out of bondage. (Alma 1)

 

30 And it came to pass that Alma, being a man of God, being exercised with much faith, cried, saying: O Lord, have mercy and spare my life, that I may be an instrument in thy hands to save and preserve this people. (Alma 2)

 

9 And it came to pass that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct.

10 And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted.

11 And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls. (Alma 17)

 

3 Behold, I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how many of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God! And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.

...

15 Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work. (Alma 26)

 

9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy. (Alma 29)

 

14 And Alma, and Ammon, and their brethren, and also the two sons of Alma returned to the land of Zarahemla, after having been instruments in the hands of God of bringing many of the Zoramites to repentance; and as many as were brought to repentance were driven out of their land; but they have lands for their inheritance in the land of Jershon, and they have taken up arms to defend themselves, and their wives, and children, and their lands. (Alma 35)

 

'keli' -- an article, utensil, vessel (כְּלִי)

The Hebrew word for 'instrument' is 'keli,' derived from the verb meaning 'to be completed.' Of note, the tools described in the Old Testament intended for use in the temple are also called 'instruments,' along with many other objects.

The lone exception in the Book of Mormon of the word 'instrument' being used in a context other than "an instrument in the hands of God" is from 3 Nephi 22:16 (quoting Isaiah 54:16):

16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

This verse sheds a little light on the topic by reminding us that we can become useful helpers in bringing about God's eternal purposes for His children. This happens only as we devote ourselves to Him and align our will with His.

In the context of the "two ways" this means that we either become instruments in the hand of God or we end up worshipping the things which our own hands have made.

Cast out -- Part 3

This is a continuation and finalization (I think) of the "cast out" theme and how it is used in the scriptures. It is used in different ways, but as I have shown in the previous posts in this series, it is often about removing whatever does not fit in a given environment. It may be a righteous minority in a wicked society, who are cast out because they don't belong. It may also be the "filthy" cast out on the last day to avoid making the kingdom of God filthy (1 Nephi 15:34-35).

Post 1 here

Post 2 here

In this post, I will discuss how "cast out" applies on a personal level. As is often the case, a fundamental religious concept like this has its roots in the first few chapters of Genesis. In Genesis 3:24, Adam and Eve were "driven out" of the Garden of Eden. The original Hebrew word is "garash" and it literally means to cast out. It is the same word describing the children of Israel driving out the other nations from the promised land in Exodus 23:28-31, for instance.

In this previous post, I list several examples of Alma drawing on language from the first chapters of Genesis when comparing the word to a seed in Alma 32. One of the parallels includes Alma's extended use of "cast out" in the chapter as an allusion to the Garden of Eden account. Alma's starting point is the group of people he is addressing. They are poor and have been cast out from the Zoramite places of worship. "Cast out" in relation to the poor Zoramites is repeated seven times in Alma 32 before he starts the allegory of the word and the seed. The allegory continues the "cast out" theme

Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief... (Alma 32:28)

Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away (Alma 32:32)

But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out. Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof. (Alma 32:38-39)

Why the allusions to Genesis in the first place? I think Alma is trying to teach us a deeper lesson. Adam was commanded to "dress and keep" (serve and watch over) the Garden of Eden, but failed and was cast out. The poor Zoramites were also cast out but the circumstances were different. Still, Alma seizes the opportunity to use this theme to describe a personal development. When Adam was cast out, things got a lot harder. He was cast out to "till the ground from whence he was taken" (Genesis 3:24). Alma asks the same of the Zoramites but the ground is their hearts and the seed is the word. Just like Adam we have all been cast out to this fallen world to till the ground, but it's all part of a plan for the greater good.

There is another level to this symbolism. Alma 31:5 describes the outset of the mission to the Zoramites:

And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.

Alma came to the Zoramites with the word. But Alma and those who believed in his word were cast out

And it came to pass that after they had found out the minds of all the people, those who were in favor of the words which had been spoken by Alma and his brethren were cast out of the land (Alma 35:6)

This is quite ironic, considering the fact that Alma managed to squeeze in a lesson on not casting out the word before he as the messenger of the word was cast out himself. The lesson he gave to the poor among the Zoramites, is for all of us. In this fallen world, tilling the ground requires effort. In the last three verses of Alma 32, Alma repeats in each verse that faith, diligence and patience are required to grow the tree. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread fruit"!

Tilling the ground of our hearts is a personal matter, but comparable to the "cast out" scenarios that happened for a group of people in the examples that I gave in the previous posts. In the first post we saw a pattern of a hardened people casting out the messenger of the word, after which they suffered destruction. If we harden our hearts, the word cannot grow and we cast it out. This leads to spiritual destruction in the end as we are cast out from the kingdom of God. How does this happen? Alma explains

Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned. (Alma 12:13)

13 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil—for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil...
26 But behold, an awful death cometh upon the wicked; for they die as to things pertaining to things of righteousness; for they are unclean, and no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God; but they are cast out, and consigned to partake of the fruits of their labors or their works, which have been evil; and they drink the dregs of a bitter cup. (Alma 40)

A hardened heart is no good soil for the word. But casting out the word does not leave it empty, it is filled with something. God is merciful and gives us the chance to plant and nourish the word, even if it is only a particle. Just like the group of mostly wicked people are spared because there are a few righteous among them. In the end, if we cast out the word so that it is not found in us, the spirit of the devil enters in and possesses our house, and we are left with no excuse. We are cast out and, interestingly, confined to "partake of the fruits", but it is the bitter kind.

The devil entering in, leads me to another point. Studying "cast out", I also encountered several passages where Christ or his servants are casting out devils.

And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men. (Mosiah 3:6)

Again, the word of God and the devil occupy the same space in us. Ever since Satan was cast down to earth (Moses 4:3) and Adam was cast out of the Garden of Eden, there has been a constant battle. In this battle, we should not cast out the word but rather let Christ cast out the evil spirit in us. Then we will not be cast out on the last day.

I know I used the expression, "cast out", a record number of times in this post, but we see how extensive this symbolism is.