Wings of healing and protection -- Part 3

Previous parts of this series:

• Part 1
• Part 2

In part 1, we saw that Israel were commanded to make fringes on the borders (Hebr. kanaph) of their garments with blue ribband. This would be established as a common practice among faithful Israelites. These served as reminders of the protection that comes with remembering the commandments of God. But it also meant that they were to partake of the rights and blessings that were usually reserved for the priests. As Lord Wilmore discusses here, the blue ribband emulates the lace used to attach the headplate of the high priest, with the inscription, "Holiness to the Lord". Every Israelite was reminded that they had some measure of priesthood, some holiness in them. They were to be "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6). They were all asked to "be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy" (Leviticus 19:2).

It is reasonable to believe that Jesus also followed this commandment and wore fringes on the borders of his garments, whatever form that had at his time. (This has been modified several times and become the prayer shawls that orthodox Jews use today). The God of Israel who gave these commandments and asked them to be holy, came to them as a mortal man and wore a garment with fringes on the kanaph himself. He was one of them, a mortal man, but also the great high priest. 

This background adds significance and context to a well-known story in the Gospel of Matthew

20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:

21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. (Matthew 9)

I used to think that the power of Jesus was so strong that only the hem would do. Learning of this context, it is clear that it was specifically the hem she was after. The Greek language in which the Gospels are written do not contain the same wing/border duality that the Hebrew language has. The Greek translated into hem in this verse can also mean fringe, edge, corner or tassel. It is likely the kind of fringe that Israelites had been commanded to make and the Jews certainly knew the symbolic significance of that. This was the kanaph with healing power, a physical sign of the spiritual healing in the wings of the risen Lord. Another example in Matthew:

35 And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased;

36 And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole. (Matthew 14)

An interesting twist is found in Jeremiah 2:34

34 Also in thy skirts (Hebr. kanaph) is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.

These skirts or fringes were supposed to protect Israel and remind them of their holiness. Instead, in this case, they were stained with the blood of the innocents. Healing had been replaced by murder, the royal and heavenly blue had become red and filthy.

This reminds me of the story in Helaman 9, where Nephi-II by inspiration told the Nephites about the death of their chief judge. He later told them, again by inspiration, who the murderer was

29 And ye shall say unto him: Have ye murdered your brother?

30 And he shall stand with fear, and wist not what to say. And behold, he shall deny unto you; and he shall make as if he were astonished; nevertheless, he shall declare unto you that he is innocent.

31 But behold, ye shall examine him, and ye shall find blood upon the skirts of his cloak.

32 And when ye have seen this, ye shall say: From whence cometh this blood? Do we not know that it is the blood of your brother?

33 And then shall he tremble, and shall look pale, even as if death had come upon him.

I am not sure if the Nephites would have any writings of Jeremiah, since he was a contemporary with Lehi. I also don't know if the Nephites would keep the tradition of fringes on the skirts/kanaph of their garments. But at least there is the same pattern to be seen both in Helaman 9 and Jeremiah 2. The ultimate sign of covenant infidelity is blood-stains from murder on the very reminder of God's commandments.

Circumcision of the heart

The Apostle Paul frequently uses the Israelite practice of circumcision as metaphor when teaching about Christ and his gospel. For instance

28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. (Romans 2)

I have assumed that the idea of circumcision of heart was Paul's invention, but it turns out I could not be more wrong. The idea of circumcision of heart is in fact more commonly conveyed in the Old Testament than in the New Testament!

Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. (Deuteronomy 10:16)

And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. (Deuteronomy 30:6)

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. (Jeremiah 4:4)

25 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;
26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart. (Jeremiah 9)

In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations. (Ezekiel 44:7)

And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity (Leviticus 26:41)

Paul is really just repeating Old Testament teachings: The circumcision of the foreskin is merely an outward expression of an inward covenant commitment. As the Lord explains to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 9 quoted above, the circumcised will be punished with the uncircumcised because they are uncircumcised in heart and therefore their circumcision is hollow and useless. The heart in Hebrew may refer to the literal organ, but is most commonly understood as our inner control center, where our words, thoughts and true desires originate. (See this post).

These ideas and phrases are also found in the Book of Mormon

Wo unto the uncircumcised of heart, for a knowledge of their iniquities shall smite them at the last day. (2 Nephi 9:33)

But Nephi said unto them: O ye fools, ye uncircumcised of heart, ye blind, and ye stiffnecked people, do ye know how long the Lord your God will suffer you that ye shall go on in this your way of sin? (Helaman 9:21)

There is a twist in Jeremiah 6:10, talking about uncircumcised ears

To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.

And in Exodus 6:12, when Moses laments his speaking disabilities, the Hebrew literally reads "uncircumcised lips".

Circumcision is one of many specific and detailed instructions that the Israelites were commanded. It is clear that such instructions were not expressions of a petty God who just wanted to be obeyed. They carried deeper meaning, had a spiritual dimension, and were given for the benefit of the receiver. Circumcision represents a covenant dedication of our inner being/hearts, including our ears and mouth and all that we are.

Five witnesses who were liberated

I will start off by giving credit where credit is due. This post is largely based on another blog post where an interesting observation has been made. The blogger's name is Robert Kay and apparently he is both a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and a Jew.

In Helaman 8, Nephi, the son of Helaman, talks to a crowd of Nephites. He testifies of their wickedness and warns them about the judgments that shall come upon them unless they repent. 

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 know concerning the judgments that shall come upon you except ye repent? (Helaman 8:12)

Ironically, Nephi's most outspoken critics were judges by occupation (see Helaman 8:1). Many of the secular judges in Nephite society are members of the Gadianton band of robbers and reject Nephi's message about the judgments of God. "We are the judges around here, no one else". At the end of the chapter, Nephi prophetically informs the people that their chief judge has just been murdered.

In his speech leading up to the culmination of the murdered chief judge, Nephi specifically mentions five prophets after the time of Abraham who testified of the Son of God, our Chief Judge.

19 And now I would that ye should know, that even since the days of Abraham there have been many prophets that have testified these things; yea, behold, the prophet Zenos did testify boldly; for the which he was slain.

20 And behold, also Zenock, and also Ezias, and also Isaiah, and Jeremiah, (Jeremiah being that same prophet who testified of the destruction of Jerusalem) and now we know that Jerusalem was destroyed according to the words of Jeremiah. O then why not the Son of God come, according to his prophecy?

So we have

1. Zenos (who was slain for his bold testimony according to verse 19)
2. Zenock (who was stoned to death according to Alma 33:17)
3. Ezias (probably a prophet from the brass plates that was familiar to the Nephites but unfamiliar to us)
4. Isaiah (whose death is not recorded in the Bible but who was sawn in two under the orders of King Manasseh, according to Jewish tradition)
5. Jeremiah (who was stoned to death according to extrabiblical sources)

Based on what we know about the other four, perhaps it is fair to assume that Ezias was a martyr too, and that Nephi mentions five witnesses of Christ who died for their testimonies?

Here is the interesting observation by Kay: When Nephi announces the death of their chief judge, there are five men who run to the judgement seat to see if Nephi has spoken the truth. When they arrive there and find that the chief judge dead, just as Nephi had prophecied, they fall to the earth in astonishment. They are accused for the murder and imprisoned. However, on the day of the chief judge's burial, they are set free.

And it came to pass that the five were liberated on the day of the burial. Nevertheless, they did rebuke the judges in the words which they had spoken against Nephi, and did contend with them one by one, insomuch that they did confound them. (Helaman 9:18)

There are striking parallels between the five prophets of old and the five men who find the chief judge dead. Perhaps the Nephite record keepers are trying to teach us a deeper lesson. Just like the five men became eye-witnesses of the death of the chief judge and fell to the ground, the five prophets mentioned were witnesses of Christ, our Chief Judge, testified boldly of him and were killed. However, on the day of Christ's burial, they were liberated, just like the other five men:

16 They were assembled awaiting the advent of the Son of God into the spirit world, to declare their redemption from the bands of death.

17 Their sleeping dust was to be restored unto its perfect frame, bone to his bone, and the sinews and the flesh upon them, the spirit and the body to be united never again to be divided, that they might receive a fulness of joy.

18 While this vast multitude waited and conversed, rejoicing in the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death, the Son of God appeared, declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful (D&C 138)

Jesus Christ is our liberator and also our chief judge. Those who are converted to Him will be set free, like the five prophets of old and also the five men who ran to the judgement seat.

And there were some of the Nephites who believed on the words of Nephi; and there were some also, who believed because of the testimony of the five, for they had been converted while they were in prison. (Helaman 9:39)

Those who have not converted and have blood on their garments, like the brother of the Nephite chief judge (thanks for pointing that out, Lord Wilmore), will be found guilty. Nephi told the people about the real murderer. He asked them to pay the brother of the chief judge a visit and instructed them specifically:

31 But behold, ye shall examine him, and ye shall find blood upon the skirts of his cloak.

32 And when ye have seen this, ye shall say: From whence cometh this blood? Do we not know that it is the blood of your brother?

33 And then shall he tremble, and shall look pale, even as if death had come upon him.

This all happened just as Nephi had instructed. Similarly, spiritual death shall come upon us if our clothes are stained with blood and have not been washed clean through the atonement of our older brother, Jesus Christ.

22 And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with blood and all manner of filthiness? Behold, what will these things testify against you?

23 Behold will they not testify that ye are murderers, yea, and also that ye are guilty of all manner of wickedness?

24 Behold, my brethren, do ye suppose that such an one can have a place to sit down in the kingdom of God, with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, and also all the holy prophets, whose garments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and white? (Alma 5) 

 This story teaches us who is the true Judge and also who is the true Liberator. 

What does it mean to be stiffnecked?

Stiffnecked is a term used quite frequently in the Book of Mormon. Where does it come from and what does it mean? According to the Lexham Bible dictionary.

An idiom based on a farm animal stiffening its neck to refuse the yoke (Exod 32:9, 33:3, 33:5, 34:9; 2 Chr 30:8, 36:13; Neh 9:16–29; Prov 29:1; Jer 7:26, 17:23, 19:15). For the people of Israel, bearing the yoke was living in obedience to the covenant; stiffening the neck against the yoke was disobedience. The idiom seems to be used first after the incident with the golden calf (Exod 32:9). Stephen compares the Jewish leaders who resisted the Holy Spirit in his day with the “stiff-necked” of Israel (Acts 7:51).

 As the quote states, Exodus 32:9 is the first time we encounter the term in the scriptures.

9 And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people

The setting here is Moses on Mount Sinai speaking with the Lord. He is about to give the Israelites his law, but in the meantime they make a golden calf to worship instead. From then on, this expression is used several times in Exodus and Deuteronomy, where the Mosaic covenant is established and reiterated.

Jehovah wants to be their God and lead them (as symbolized by the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night). Their stiffneckedness is used to describe how they are set in their own wicked ways and are not willing to hearken or be led, like a stubborn ox. Even when this expression is used on a few occasions later in the Bible, it is often with reference to the stubborn Israelites. In Jeremiah 7, for instance:

22 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

23 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.

As the Lexham Bible Dictionary states, Stephen in Acts 7 also talks about the Israelites of old and refers to them when calling the Jewish leaders of his day stiffnecked. 

Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. (Acts 7:51)

As usual, I have been interested in seeing how this understanding and context of the term fits its use in the Book of Mormon. I first started reflecting on this reading Jarom 1:4

And there are many among us who have many revelations, for they are not all stiffnecked. And as many as are not stiffnecked and have faith, have communion with the Holy Spirit, which maketh manifest unto the children of men, according to their faith.

Notice how it compares with the other quoted verse from Acts in relation to the Holy Ghost.

Frequently, the word "stiffnecked" in the Book of Mormon is used together with a hardened heart. I will not quote all the examples but references include Jacob 6:4, Alma 9:5, 2 Nephi 25:12 among others. Interestingly, the idea of a hard heart also originates from Exodus and is used there far more than any other book in the Bible. First it is Pharaoh who repeatedly hardens his heart, but eventually the Israelites do not "enter into His rest" because of their hardened hearts. After studying this, I believe that stiffnecked and hardhearted are allusions to a covenant people of old who failed to keep their part of the covenant. Sometimes it is stated directly, like in Jacob 4:14

But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand.

as well as Jacob 6:4, Mosiah 3:14 and Mosiah 13:29.

But it is also used as a description of a contemporary people, and I believe by using the term they are being compared with the Israelites of old. As mentioned, it is used as a description of a people who stubbornly pursue their own wicked ways instead of being guided by God when He offers his covenant. The Book of Helaman provides several examples:

But Nephi said unto them: O ye fools, ye uncircumcised of heart, ye blind, and ye stiffnecked people, do ye know how long the Lord your God will suffer you that ye shall go on in this your way of sin? (Helaman 9:21)

Yea, and this was not all; they were a stiffnecked people, insomuch that they could not be governed by the law nor justice, save it were to their destruction. (Helaman 5:3) 

O ye wicked and ye perverse generation; ye hardened and ye stiffnecked people, how long will ye suppose that the Lord will suffer you? Yea, how long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by foolish and blind guides? Yea, how long will ye choose darkness rather than light? (Helaman 13:29)

Yea, they began to remember the prophecies of Alma, and also the words of Mosiah; and they saw that they had been a stiffnecked people, and that they had set at naught the commandments of God (Helaman 4:21)

 

August 24–30. Helaman 7–12: “Remember the Lord” -- Additional resources

This week's lesson is found here.

Helaman 7 -- Heart and soul poetry, Nephi's lament, Shepherd symbolism

Helaman 8 -- Fear and secret works, Heaven and earth (part 1), References to Jesus Christ

Helaman 9 -- Fasting (part 1)

Helaman 10 -- Secret works, Heaven and earth (part 2), cast/hard heart, powerful words

Helaman 11 -- Fasting (part 2), two types of turning

Helaman 12 -- Subtle Isaiah references, Good works and faith/repentance, good works as a covenant symbol, Psalms in the Book of Mormon

Fasting in the Book of Mormon -- Part 1

Reading a passage in the Book of Mormon about fasting, I had this idea to explore further how fasting was practiced among the Nephites and how it might compare with the Old Testament. That led me to this article that has explored the subject in the Old Testament. The article is rather long and I didn't even read all of it. But it lists five reasons for fasting in the Old Testament and provides some examples for each. I thought it could be interesting to find the Book of Mormon passages mentioning fasting and compare with these reasons and examples from the Old Testament.

Here they are

1. Fasting as a sign of grief or mourning, 
2. as a sign of repentance and seeking forgiveness for sin,
3. as an aid in prayer,
4. as an experience of the presence of God that results in the endorsement of his messenger, and
5. as an act of ceremonial public worship.

I will make a five-part series and kick this off with "fasting as a sign of grief and mourning". As for this aspect, the linked article states

When tragic events struck in ancient biblical communities, fasting was often an expected response. When the Israelites lost a battle to the Philistines, “all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept; thus they remained there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening” (Judg 20:26, NASB). When David and his men heard of the death of Saul and the loss of the battle, they tore their clothes, “They lamented and wept and fasted until evening because Saul, his son Jonathan, the Lord’s people, and the house of Israel had fallen by the sword.” (2 Sam 1:12)

It doesn't necessarily have to be death. Sorrow and suffering, drought and locust plagues are also mentioned. But it is particularly for these two examples in the above quote that we find parallels in the Book of Mormon.

Alma 28:5-6

5 Yea, the cry of widows mourning for their husbands, and also of fathers mourning for their sons, and the daughter for the brother, yea, the brother for the father; and thus the cry of mourning was heard among all of them, mourning for their kindred who had been slain.

6 And now surely this was a sorrowful day; yea, a time of solemnity, and a time of much fasting and prayer.

This is after a major battle with many losses resulting in fasting, similar to the example with the Israelites and the Philistines. After these verses, Mormon interrupts the narrative with some "thus we see" statements and Alma's expressed desire to be an angel. When he returns to the narrative in chapter 30, the fasting is brought up again

Now their dead were not numbered because of the greatness of their numbers; neither were the dead of the Nephites numbered—but it came to pass after they had buried their dead, and also after the days of fasting, and mourning, and prayer, (and it was in the sixteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi) there began to be continual peace throughout all the land.

I find the expression, "the days of fasting and mourning" particularly interesting. According to Jewish custom, there is a specific mourning period, or rather periods, that last for a given number of days. The shiva that lasts for 7 days, the sheloshim that lasts for 30 days and the aveilut that lasts for 11 months, each with certain restrictions and obligations.

Another example is Helaman 9:10

And it came to pass that on the morrow the people did assemble themselves together to mourn and to fast, at the burial of the great chief judge who had been slain.

Again we see similarities to one of the Old Testament examples quoted above. Just as the people mourned Saul's death and fasted, so the Book of Mormon people mourned and fasted when the chief judge had died.