"Blot out"

Here's my 2022 prediction: readers of this blog will see quite a bit of Old Testament-related material. :)

The thing is, understanding the Old Testament better has greatly deepened my understanding and appreciation of the Book of Mormon. Stisa and I have both taken a great interest in continuing this trend, and so the 2022 Come Follow Me curriculum sets up a perfect opportunity to dig in and feast on this wonderful material.

I'm definitely an amateur scriptorian. I've got exactly zero degrees in ancient languages, but we live in an amazing time when resources abound through the internet and other sources.  Even if you aren't interested in spending a dime, sites such as Biblehub.com and Biblegateway.com offer wonderful material to help understand the meaning of the scriptures in Hebrew and Greek. Recently I've purchased digital access to the NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. It's been a great help and many interesting ideas have sprung out of my study of this book.  I highly recommend it.

This post will detail a discovery I made this evening related to the term "blot out" (which Stisa has previously covered in this post) as found in Genesis 6:7 (NRSV):

6 And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 

7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 

8 But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord.

I am more familiar with other translations, so this use of blot out really stood out to me.  The KJV uses "destroy" in place of "blot out" and the NIV says: "wipe from the face of the earth."

The Hebrew root is:

machah: abolish (מָחָה) -- abolish, blot out, destroy, full of marrow, put out, reach unto, utterly, wipe away

The use of this term in the story of Noah is particularly meaningful. Humankind was to be "wiped out" by means of a flood.  This mirrors a basic meaning of the word:

Erasing writing from a scroll was normally effected by washing, and this action appears to be a basic meaning of מָחָה. Since wiping off or out implies the complete removal of whatever is in view, מָחָה is often used with great effect for both Yahweh’s judgment and salvation. (NIDOTTE Vol. 2, p. 913, emphasis added by me.)

"Blot out"

I've already made some important connections by learning that "destroy" and "blot out" are connected in Hebrew. Let's take a look at a few scriptures. First, in the context of a cursing related to adultery:

23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water: (Numbers 5)

The adulterer is then made to drink the bitter water. Very interesting symbolism.

Here is another example in the context of the idolatry of the children of Israel at Mount Sinai which provoked the wrath of God:

14 Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they. (Deuteronomy 9)

This same root is also used in a positive context, such as in this verse from Isaiah:

8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. (Isaiah 25)

Or this one:

25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. (Isaiah 43)

It seems that there will be a "blotting out" for each of us at the day of judgment -- either our sins will be blotted out through the atonement of Christ or our names will be blotted out from the book of life if we reject Christ.  The covenant mediates all of this:

5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. (Revelation 3)

And once again we see that this preservation is associated with symbolic clothing and a name. This preservation probably ties back in to the miraculous preservation of a remnant of the garment of Joseph of Egypt.  I'll discuss this in more detail in my next post. 

On the subject of names and 'blotting out,' King Benjamin makes a similar statement in connection with the name he gives to his people:

11 And moreover, I shall give this people a name, that thereby they may be distinguished above all the people which the Lord God hath brought out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I do because they have been a diligent people in keeping the commandments of the Lord.

12 And I give unto them a name that never shall be blotted out, except it be through transgression. (Mosiah 1)

Recall Alma-1, when faced with transgression on the part of members of the church, was given this revelation regarding how to deal with the situation:

29 Therefore I say unto you, Go; and whosoever transgresseth against me, him shall ye judge according to the sins which he has committed; and if he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also.

30 Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me. ...

32 Now I say unto you, Go; and whosoever will not repent of his sins the same shall not be numbered among my people; and this shall be observed from this time forward. ...

34 And it came to pass that Alma went and judged those that had been taken in iniquity, according to the word of the Lord.

35 And whosoever repented of their sins and did confess them, them he did number among the people of the church;

36 And those that would not confess their sins and repent of their iniquity, the same were not numbered among the people of the church, and their names were blotted out. (Mosiah 26)

The covenant between God and man allows all who will hearken and repent to have their names preserved. God's wrath is kindled against those who will not confess their sins and will not repent after hearing His voice. Whether it be called 'blotting out' or 'destroying,' the consequence of sin is separation from God, also known as spiritual death.

On the contrary, for all those who repent and hearken, their transgressions will be blotted out, wiped away, and remembered no more.  That bitter water associated with the adulterer in Numbers 5 sounds a lot like the 'bitter cup' spoken of by Christ in Doctrine & Covenants 19:

15 Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.

16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;

17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;

18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men. (Doctrine & Covenants 19)

The covenant meal

I was not sure if this should be another part of the Melchizedek series or not. But I will leave it a general note that will provide context for the next part of the series but also for other topics we have discussed on this blog. In ancient Israel, covenants were often associated with a meal. This was a way to seal the deal, so to speak, or the means for reconciliation between two parties. There are no formal instructions of a covenant meal in the Old Testament, it was simply a part of the culture that went without saying. But there are numerous examples describing such events.

The covenant meal in the Bible

Two persons or groups of people could covenant (for instance a peace treaty or other promises) and would share a meal together as a sign of unity and commitment. In the Old Testament, God is frequently one of the two parties. How can you share a meal with God? It turns out that there are ways to do that. What I will get to in the next post on the Melchizedek series is the meeting with Abraham where Melchizedek brings bread and wine in Genesis 14. This is of course shared between two men, but Melchizedek as the "priest of the most high God", can also be seen as a representative for God in this case.

Later in Genesis 18, Abraham is visited by three messengers. They share a meal together as the men deliver the message that Sarah will bear a son as part of the covenant promise that Abraham will become a great nation (see Genesis 18:8-18).

Exodus 24 is another interesting example.

7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.

8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.

9 ¶ Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:

10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.

11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.

In this case, they actually eat and drink in the presence of God. This is the establishment of the Mosaic covenant. Moses reads the covenant terms and the people promise to follow it after which the elders of Israel see God and have a meal in his presence. It is of course quite rare to physically eat with the Lord. But just like the Mosaic covenant (old covenant/testament) was instituted with a meal in Exodus 24, so was the new covenant/testament. As Jesus and his disciples ate the Passover lamb (another covenant meal by the way), he took bread and wine, gave it to his disciples and said.

For this is my blood of the new testament [or covenant, depending on the translation], which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26:28)

This is another example of the Lord himself sharing a covenant meal with his people. Both the old (Mosaic) covenant and the new covenant were associated with a meal shared between the physically present Lord himself and his elders/apostles.

Another more common way to share a meal with the Lord is through sacrifice. See for instance this instruction in Leviticus.

14 And this is the law of the meat offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the Lord, before the altar.

15 And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour, even the memorial of it, unto the Lord.

16 And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it. (Leviticus 6)

Here, the sons of Aaron are instructed to burn the offering "before the Lord" and then "eat the remainder thereof". Offerings would usually consist of a part that was burnt and a part that the priests, who made the sacrifice, ate. This can be viewed as a meal with the Lord where they give him his share in the form of "a sweet savour" ascending to heaven. Sacrifices were done in temples (or tabernacles) and Lord Wilmore has recently written about the meals in the temple. 

There are several other examples of such covenant meals in the Old Testament, like Moses and Jethro in Exodus 18:12, Jacob and Laban in Genesis 31, etc. but I will not get into all of those. But I will bring up a well-known verse in Psalm 23 that I think is worth re-reading in this context.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

This is not just the Lord assuring the psalmist that he will have enough to eat and drink. It is the concept of reconciliation and covenant associated with a meal. ("in the presence of mine enemies" and "dwell in the house of the Lord"). There is a Middle Eastern concept of "sulha" (coming from the Hebrew word, "shulchan" – meaning table) where two rival groups come together in discussion over a big meal and at the end of the meal are fully reconciled. This is described in more detail here.

I will include the Book of Revelation as a final example from the Bible. In Revelation 3:20, we read

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

This leads our thoughts to the last supper and a meal with the mediator of the new covenant. "I...with him, and he with me" indicates a two-way covenant, where each party makes promises. But it may also hint at the future supper at the great wedding feast described in Revelation 19. Or at least that chapter describes another covenant meal. In the grand feast of tabernacles described in this post, the Lord reunites with his covenant people. 

The covenant meal in the Book of Mormon?

There are not many descriptions of meals in the Book of Mormon at all. The only one I could think of (except for the sacrament in 3 Nephi) was Amulek sharing a meal with Alma. But this example does fit the context as discussed. Alma had been cast out of Ammonihah by a people hostile to him. Eating with one of its inhabitants later would signify reconciliation and unity with at least one of its inhabitants, even though many others would still reject him. After the meal, Alma the high priest also pronounced a special high priestly blessing on Amulek and his household. 

7 As I was journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and said: Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou shalt feed a prophet of the Lord; yea, a holy man, who is a chosen man of God; for he has fasted many days because of the sins of this people, and he is an hungered, and thou shalt receive him into thy house and feed him, and he shall bless thee and thy house; and the blessing of the Lord shall rest upon thee and thy house...

11 For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words which he spake. (Alma 10)

Notice that after they have eaten together, "a chosen man of God" and the high priest, Alma, gave a blessing that became the blessing of the Lord. This is exactly what we see when the high priest, Melchizedek, blesses Abraham, but we will look into that in detail in the next post.

"...the way is prepared that whosoever will may walk therein and be saved." (Part 1)

8 Now, the decrees of God are unalterable; therefore, the way is prepared that whosoever will may walk therein and be saved. (Alma 41)

"Walk" as a covenant symbol.

I love identifying covenant symbols in the Book of Mormon.  The more I carefully study these words, the stronger I come to know how carefully prepared these words were. This two-part series of posts will cover the term "walk," which I believe most often refers to a people who are living according to the temple covenant.

To illustrate this, I'll give a few example of how this word is used in the other books of scripture in part 1, followed by a long list of examples of its use in the Book of Mormon in part 2.

Old Testament

• Enoch "walked with God." (See Genesis 5:22.)
• Noah "walked with God." (See Genesis 6:9.)
• Abraham walked "before God." (See Genesis 17:1, Genesis 48:15.)
• Leviticus 26 specifies the conditions of the covenant.  The Lord outlines conditions for what will happen in consequence of the people "walk[ing] in [His] statutes" and "walk[ing] contrary unto [Him]" (see verses 3 and 21, for example).  One of the blessings of obedience is to have the Lord's promise: "I will walk among you" (see verse 12). One of the consequences of disobedience is to have the Lord "walk contrary unto you" (see verse 24).
• 33 Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess. (Deuteronomy 5)
• 3 And the king (Josiah) stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant. (2 Kings 23)
• 18 Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved... (Proverbs 28)

Of all of the references in the Old Testament, perhaps my favorite is found in Micah 4:

2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem...

5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.

In these verses we get a direct connection between the latter-day temple, Zion, walking in the Lord's ways, and "walk[ing] in the name of the Lord."  We also find some of these direct connections in Isaiah 2/2 Nephi 12:2-5.

New Testament

• 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6) This verse seems to clearly connect the baptismal covenant with the term "walk."
• 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2) This verse connects "good works," "walking," and the purpose of our creation in "Christ Jesus." This is a very interesting passage that I will dedicate an entire future post to.
• 6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him... (Colossians 2)
• 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1)
• 6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. (2 John 1)
• 4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. (Revelation 3, NIV) We find some pretty striking temple imagery in these verses.

D&C

• 133 Art thou a brother or brethren? I salute you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in token or remembrance of the everlasting covenant, in which covenant I receive you to fellowship, in a determination that is fixed, immovable, and unchangeable, to be your friend and brother through the grace of God in the bonds of love, to walk in all the commandments of God blameless, in thanksgiving, forever and ever. Amen. (D&C 88)
• 24 Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another. (D&C 90)

In the next part, we'll look at how "walk" is used in the Book of Mormon in a covenant context.