Tuesday,
January 28, 2020
#17
JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 2, 1 NEPHI 16
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How
far is it from Jerusalem to the Valley of Lemuel?
The Lehi-Ishmael colony has been in
the Valley of Lemuel since 1 Nephi Chapter 2. When writing about that a couple
of weeks ago, I wrote that the colony was 3 days journey from Jerusalem. But I
believe I was incorrect. A careful reading of 1 Nephi 2:5-6 indicates
that they came down by the borders near the shore of the Red Sea and
then traveled in the wilderness in the borders which are nearer the Red Sea.
In the next verse, Nephi says when [his father] had traveled
three days in the wilderness, he pitched his tent in a valley by the side of a
river of water. That valley was the Valley of Lemuel and the river was the
River Laman. So it sounds like they travelled from Jerusalem to the Red Sea and
then continued on three more days.
The closest point of the Red Sea to
Jerusalem is the tip of the Gulf of Aqaba (where the present city of Aqaba,
Jordan, is located.) I put Jerusalem and Aqaba into Google Maps to find out how
far they are apart and find a route between them, but Google maps doesn’t have
a route to walk, drive or take transit between the two places, (evidence of how
remote this land is even today) so it was of no help. But I asked Siri how far
it is from Jerusalem to Aqaba and she said it is 154 miles “as the crow flies.”
Interesting! Not being crows, the Lehi colony would have to either go “down”
from Jerusalem along the Jericho Road (famous for the story of the “Good Samaritan”)
and then along the shore of the Dead Sea and through the lowlands to the tip of
the Gulf of Aqaba and then three days (through the wilderness) from there. Or
they could have gone directly south of Jerusalem through Hebron and then over
the hill country, but it would have been a more difficult journey. Five times
in the first seven chapters of First Nephi, he says they went “down” in their
journey from Jerusalem. That makes sense because Jerusalem is in the
“mountains” at 2474 feet elevation. By the way, the Dead Sea is 1404 feet below
sea level (the lowest place on the surface of the earth), so it is nearly a
4000 foot descent from Jerusalem to the level of the Dead Sea.
Anyhow, to travel by foot from
Jerusalem to Aqaba would have taken 8 to 10 days or more (and they wouldn’t
have traveled on the Sabbath). And then it was another 3 days to the Valley of
Lemuel, so the round-trip journey from Lehi’s tent in the Valley of Lemuel to
go back to Jerusalem for the plates and again to go back for the family of
Ishmael must have taken close to a month or more each time. No wonder Sariah
was worried about her boys!
There is an excellent 8 minute video
at Book of Mormon Central which talks about the possible route of the Lehi
Colony to the Valley of Lemuel, and shows images of a wadi that might be the
Valley of Lemuel and a river than might be the River Laman. It also identifies
possibilities for other places we’ll read about in the next three chapters,
including Shazer, the place of the broken bow, Nahom and Bountiful. I suggest
you take time to watch the video. The link is: https://youtu.be/5yjKSaegLJg.
After several chapters devoted only
to doctrine and prophecy (though wonderful chapters), it’s time for Lehi and
his family to resume their journey. Notice that Lehi’s family has grown since they
initially left Jerusalem by the addition of Zoram and the family of Ishmael
and, possibly, some married daughters of Lehi and Sariah. For simplicity sake,
we’ll still call them the Lehi Colony or the Family of Lehi, even though it now
includes others, as well. Ok?
1
Nephi 16:1-5 “The guilty taketh the
truth to be hard”
Before picking up the narrative of
the story of his family, Nephi gives a little epilogue to the last chapter when
Laman and Lemuel complained (what else is new for them to do?) because they
couldn’t understand the words of their father about the dream. Nephi has some
pretty frank words for them, especially coming from their younger brother. But,
to their credit, after much exhortation from Nephi, the older brothers “humble
themselves before the Lord” so that Nephi “had joy and great hopes of them,
that they would walk in the paths of righteousness.” Notice that the Lord (and
Nephi) forgives them each time they humble themselves and repent. He will do
the same for us and we should do the same for others.
In calling them to repentance, Nephi
uses the phrase, “the guilty taketh the truth to be hard.” Isn’t that true? When
we know we are wrong and someone points it out, it hurts. Sometimes we deny it
or fight back, but as I’ve said before, “the truth is the truth regardless of
where we stand in relation to it.” Maybe one of the reasons we should pray for
our enemies (Matt 5:44) is because our enemies might be more likely to speak
the truth to us about our failings than our friends. Though true friends speak
the truth with kindness. Hopefully, we are righteous and will rejoice in the
truth. Millet and McConkie commenting on this wrote:
The nature of men has ever been the same.
Characteristically the righteous rejoice in the word of God, while the wicked
are offended by it. Wickedness and truth are no more compatible than light and
darkness. Those who leave the Church, clothed in deeds of darkness, find it
difficult to leave the Church alone. All too often they are found attempting to
expose the Church or demean its doctrines—activities necessitated by their
guilt, for they realize that if the Church is true they are servants of
darkness and must needs repent.
1
Nephi 16:6 “My father dwelt in a tent in
the valley of Lemuel”
This is the 4th time in
this book that Nephi has told us that his father “dwelt in a tent” plus there
are other references to “the tent of my father”, etc. It appears that the Lehi
colony has adopted a Bedouin lifestyle as a nomadic family colony moving
through the desert of Arabia.
1
Nephi 16:7-8 Zoram and the sons of Lehi
marry the daughters of Ishmael
These are happy verses and this is
a happy time for the Lehi colony. Nephi and his brothers marry the daughters of
Ishmael. Zoram, perhaps being older than any of Lehi’s sons, marries the oldest
daughter of Ishmael and the four sons of Lehi marry the other four daughters of
Ishmael. Remember that there were probably at least two daughters of Lehi and
Sariah who had previously married sons of Ishmael. It appears that they are
also part of the Lehi colony and may have even had children by this time.
Nephi tells us that his father had fulfilled
all the commandments the Lord had given him. It appears that one of those
commandments was that his sons (and daughters) should marry. Did Lehi and
Sariah arrange these marriages with Ishmael and his wife, in the Hebrew
tradition? (Recall Fiddler on the Roof) Probably so. It’s pleasant to
think that they chose for Nephi the daughter of Ishmael who spoke up for him
when her brothers and future brothers-in-law wanted to kill him on the way down
from Jerusalem. (See 1 Nephi 7:19) She also pleads with her brothers and
brothers-in-law for Nephi when he is tied up on the ship. (See 1 Nephi 18:19) Nephi,
writing 30 years later, doesn’t go into much detail (because the Small Plates
are not for history) but seems to be referring to his wife and their marriage and
family when he writes, “I, Nephi, had been blessed of the Lord exceedingly.”
That’s as much as he says about his wife at this point. This is typical of
patriarchal narratives, such as the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon.
There is a segment of the Book of
Mormon videos which shows this time for the Lehi colony. It is a happy time for
them. It shows them at the dinner table (It reminded me of Sunday dinner at our
home when the children and their families come.) as well as music, dancing, and
enjoying life. In the video, Sariah says to Lehi, “If only each day were as
joyful as this.” If you are reading the Book of Mormon in the Gospel Library
app, the link to this video (and several others for this chapter) is already
there for you. Just touch the link on your device. Or you can go to this link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media-library/video/2019-07-0610-lehis-sons-marry-the-daughters-of-ishmael?category=1-nephi-16&lang=eng
I really like this video because it
reminds us again that these were real people. They weren’t always fighting and
trying to kill their brother. They had difficult times, but they also had happy
times. They were trying to get through life the best they could, just like we
are. Their lives provide many lessons for our lives because they were so real
and believable.
1
Nephi 16:9-11 “A round ball of curious
workmanship”
The colony has been in the Valley
of Lemuel long enough. It’s time to continue their journey. How long were they
there? We don’t know, perhaps a whole season so they could grow provisions for
their long journey ahead.
The voice of the Lord comes to Lehi
in the night (Lehi should be getting used to this by now!) and tells him that
they should start their journey in the wilderness “on the morrow.” Do you think
Lehi rolled over and went back to sleep? I doubt it. If he is a typical man (and
I believe his is), he worried about it all the rest of the night. Where are we
supposed to go? How will we find water? And food? Will my all my sons come with
me? I suspect he found himself on his knees much of the night pleading with the
Lord for the guidance he knew they would need.
In response to his
fervent prayers, when Lehi arose in the morning and went outside the tent door,
“to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious
workmanship; and it was of fine brass.” Where in the world did that come from?
Today we would think it came from Amazon.com, but they are a long way from civilization.
Well, it obviously didn’t come from this world, but was prepared by the Lord or
under His direction in some other world and “delivered” there in the middle of
the night. Someday we’ll know the back story of this “round ball” which we
later learn is called “Liahona”, but you have to get to Alma 37:38 to learn the
name of this curious object. (By the way, the Three Witnesses, in addition to
seeing the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the Sword of Laban also saw “the
miraculous directors which were given to Lehi while in the wilderness, on
the borders of the Red Sea.” (see D&C 17:1) So the Liahona is still in
existence, or, at least, it was in 1829.)
The Liahona is a
compass of sorts, but doesn’t point to magnetic north. It has two “spindles” or
pointers. One points the way they should travel in the wilderness. It is
pointing the direction of crossing over the River Laman and heading south-southeast.
They learn later that the other spindle points the direction they should go for
food. And the Liahona also has “new writing” (what language?) on it from time
to time. It is a way that the Lord can communicate with them. He probably tells
them more than “turn here” or “turn there.” I suspect there are messages of
counsel, reproof and encouragement.
The Liahona is
such a great model for the guidance we need and receive in our life. It is a
good model for how the Holy Ghost works in our lives because it only worked “according
to the heed and diligence” unto it (1 Nephi 16:28) or unto “Him” (see Mosiah 1:16).
It is also a great model for the guidance we receive from the scriptures. (See
Alma 12:9)
Elder Bednar used
the Liahona as an example of how the Spirit works in our lives in a classic Conference
address in April 2006. He said,
In our day the Book of Mormon is the
primary source to which we should turn for help in learning how to invite the constant
companionship of the Holy Ghost. The description in the Book of Mormon of the
Liahona, the director or compass used by Lehi and his family in their journey
in the wilderness, specifically was included in the record as a type and a
shadow for our day and as an essential lesson about what we should do to enjoy
the blessings of the Holy Ghost.
As we strive to align our attitudes and
actions with righteousness, then the Holy Ghost becomes for us today what the
Liahona was for Lehi and his family in their day. The very factors that caused
the Liahona to work for Lehi will likewise invite the Holy Ghost into our
lives. And the very factors that caused the Liahona not to work anciently will
likewise cause us to withdraw ourselves from the Holy Ghost today.
“That we may Always Have His Spirit to be
with Us”, Ensign, May 2006
We also have a
“Liahona” which has “new writing” on it from time to time. Each month we
receive the inspired words of leaders and others in the Ensign. Do we
read them? Every six months, we receive inspired words from our leaders in
General Conference. Do we listen to them?
1 Nephi 16:12-17 “We did follow the directions of the ball”
Lehi and
his family pack up and move out. They probably had camels and maybe donkeys or
mules. They’ve been in the Valley of Lemuel long enough. They cross the River
Laman and head south-southeast.
Here is a picture
of a map of the region with their likely route outlined.
We read that they
traveled 4 days to Shazer, stopped to get food, and then traveled “many days”
in the “most fertile parts of the wilderness” and then “many days” in the “more
fertile parts of the wilderness” to their next stopping place. All the time,
they followed the directions on the ball.
1 Nephi 16:18-32 The
crisis of the broken bow
It sounds like things were going pretty
well for the Lehi colony. But that wouldn’t last. They had been obtaining food
by hunting with bow and arrow and with slings and stones. They must have been
good hunters! But now the bows of the brothers have lost their springs (maybe a
humidity change or because of overuse) and Nephi breaks his steel bow.
Notice that Nephi’s bow was of “fine
steel.” Critics of the Book of Mormon say that there is no evidence of steel or
steel making in the ruins in Central and South America, so references to steel
in the promised land cannot be accurate. But these people knew metal, at least
Nephi did. He made plates of metal ore, made tools out of metal to construct a
ship and had a bow of “fine steel.” They must have brought the knowledge of
steel making with them to the promised land. Just like cement buildings and
metal plates, which critics used to say didn’t exist in the Americas but have
since been found, steel implements and weapons will one day be uncovered when
more of the ruins of these people are excavated. So far, less than 2% of the
estimated ruins of the ancient American peoples have been excavated, hardly a
statistical sample.
This is a crisis for the family – they are
at real risk of starving to death. Remember when Sariah “lost it” at the time
she thought she had lost her boys when they were so long going back to
Jerusalem for the plates? Well, now Lehi loses it. I guess we all have our
breaking point and this is Lehi’s. (By the way, did Nephi ever “lose it”? Not
really. The closest he comes to breaking down in is 2 Nephi 4 when his father
dies. He feels so alone! His famous soliloquy follows which begins with the lament
“Oh wretched man that I am!” But it concludes with “O Lord, I have trusted in
thee, and I will trust in thee forever.” Anyhow, that’s as close to “losing it”
that we have in the record of Nephi.)
Why does Lehi break down? After all he has
seen and heard and all he knows, how can he doubt and murmur? As a father, I
can relate. When we go on family vacation, if anything goes wrong – the weather
is bad, the car breaks down, the lodgings don’t work out, we get stuck on the
freeway — when something like that happens, I feel that it’s my fault. If I
were a better dad, the weather would be good or we wouldn’t have gotten a flat
tire, etc. All you dads out there can relate, I’m sure.
Well, Lehi is devastated! He feels that he
has led his family into the wilderness, leaving their lovely home, only to die
of starvation. Remember, these are real people living their real lives. Lehi
hasn’t read the book. He doesn’t have a script for this play. Even prophets
have their moments of despair. (Remember Joseph Smith in the summer of 1828
when Martin lost the 116 manuscript pages and Emma nearly dies giving birth to
a baby boy who dies? It was a summer of despair for him.) And, of course, Laman
and Lemuel join in the chorus of murmuring. Why don’t they make new bows?
They’d rather just do what they do best – murmur.
Nephi, who was certainly also hungry,
doesn’t just sit around, he does something. (I find that when I’m frustrated or
discouraged, the best remedy is to do something constructive instead of sitting
around feeling sorry for myself.) So Nephi makes a bow and an arrow (just one
arrow? He must be a good shot!) If you watched the video about their travels
which I mentioned earlier, you saw there is a relatively small area on the
whole trail where trees are found which would have been suitable for making a
bow and an arrow. Interesting!
Armed with his new bow and arrow and with his
father broken emotionally and spiritually, this would have been the perfect
time for Nephi, if he were power-hungry and wanted to take control of the
colony, to stage a coup and take over the leadership from his father. But
that’s not Nephi. What does he do? He creates the most repentance-friendly
environment he can for his father. He goes to him and asks him where he should
go to find food. This meek request on Nephi’s part gives Lehi the opportunity
to regain his perspective and turn to the Lord. We can do the same for others
in our lives. We all make mistakes. We all have times of weakness. When we see
those we love down and vulnerable, we can create for them an environment that
allows them to change, to step up, to turn to the Lord. We can’t do it for
them, but we don’t have to kick them when they are down. We can lift them up. We
can “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the
feeble knees.” (D&C 81:5)
Lehi humbles himself and turns to the
Lord. He receives some serious chastening because the Lord still loves him. “For
whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth.” (Hebrews 12:6) The Lord tells Lehi to look
on the ball. To his amazement, “there was also written upon them a new writing,
which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways
of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the
faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means
the Lord can bring about great things.” It’s a miracle! A prophet has repented.
A father has been sustained in his role. A son has been obedient and honored
his father. Nephi is directed where to hunt and brings food back to the family.
The Lord is in charge. The colony will survive.
Notice the phrase in the last quote, “thus
we see.” Prophet writers of the Book of Mormon use this phrase and others like
it to get our attention as readers. It’s like they are saying to us, “Hey,
don’t miss this! This is important!” There are at least 16 times in the Book of
Mormon when this exact phrase “thus we see” is used plus other times when
variations are used. This is the first time it occurs in the book. Watch for this
phrase and others like it as you read. They are like flags to the reader.
1 Nephi 16:33 “Many days”
The colony
travels “many days” again. How long have they been traveling? How many days is
4 + many days + many days + many days = ?
They have been in
the wilderness a long time. By the time they get to the land Bountiful (next
chapter) they will have been in the wilderness 8 years! This is no small
undertaking! Considering the challenges they must have, they are doing
remarkably well with the Lord’s help. But their trials are not over.
1 Nephi 16:34 “Our father
is dead!”
The next
crisis is that Ishmael died. For nomadic people, it is of great importance to
be able to bury their dead in a place where they can visit the grave and honor
them. (Remember that the children of Israel took the bones of Joseph out of
Egypt with them when they left. See Exodus 13:19) That will be impossible for
the family of Ishmael. They can’t take his body with them. They have to bury
the body, but, once they resume their journey, they’ll never be able to come
back to him. Just like the pioneers on the trail to Zion, if someone in their
family died, all they could do was bury the body by the trail, sometimes in a
shallow grave in frozen earth, and move on know they would likely never return
to the place again. It is truly a time of mourning.
The Lord has
sanctioned sorrow at the death of a loved one. It is part of the mortal
experience. The Lord said to the Saints through the Prophet Joseph Smith, “Thou
shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them
that die.” (D&C 42:45). Certainly, even Nephi’s wife mourned the loss of
her father. But some of the family of Ishmael, joined by their spouses, take it
too far. They murmur against Lehi and Nephi. Laman and Lemuel jump in with the
sons of Ishmael and want to kill their father and brother. Murder is a lot
worse than murmuring! They are listening to Satan instead of to the Lord. Their
hearts are becoming hardened and will one day be past feeling.
Laman and Lemuel voice
the complaint against their brother Nephi that will become the mantra of their
descendants for a thousand years until they finally kill the descendants of
Nephi. They murmur: “He says that the Lord has talked with him, and also that
angels have ministered unto him. But behold, we know that he lies unto us; and
he tells us these things, and he worketh many things by his cunning arts, that
he may deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that he may lead us away into some
strange wilderness; and after he has led us away, he has thought to make
himself a king and a ruler over us, that he may do with us according to his
will and pleasure.”
It’s always about
who is in charge, about power and control. They think Nephi wants to be the
boss, usurp the birthright, take over the leadership of the colony, become
their king. They don’t want any of that. But didn’t they see an angel, too? How
could they forget?
1 Nephi 16:39 The voice of the Lord
This is a major
crisis for the colony! This time the Lord Himself steps in. Nephi writes, “even
the voice of the Lord came and did speak many words unto them, and did chasten
them exceedingly; and after they were chastened by the voice of the Lord they
did turn away their anger, and did repent of their sins, insomuch that the Lord
did bless us again with food, that we did not perish.”
Now Laman and
Lemuel have seen an angel and even heard the “voice of the Lord.” What does it
take? How many spiritual experiences does it take for them to finally be
converted? But aren’t we a lot like Laman and Lemuel? I don’t know if any of
you have seen an angel or heard the voice of the Lord. I know that I haven’t.
But I have felt many impressions of the Spirit and been directed many times by
the “still, small voice” of the Spirit. I suspect you have too. When those
things happen, they are wonderful! We are totally converted and are all in! But
what is the “shelf life” of a spiritual experience? Alma asked the people of
Zarahemla, “if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask,
can ye feel so now?” (Alma 5:26)
Pres. Kimball said:
The burning
bushes, the smoking mountains, the Cumorah’s, and the Kirtlands were realities
but they were the exceptions. The great volume of revelation came to Moses and
to Joseph and to today’s prophet in the less spectacular way – that of deep
impressions but without spectacle or glamour or dramatic events.
Always
expecting the spectacular, many will miss entirely the constant flow of
revealed communication.
The same is true for us, as it is for the
prophets. Most spiritual experiences are subtle and quiet. On Day 2, the Lord created
mountains and hills, great rivers and small streams. Most of our lives,
including the spiritual experiences we have are “hills”, not “mountains”, and are
small streams”, not “great rivers”, though some “mountain” and “great river” experiences do rarely occur.
small streams”, not “great rivers”, though some “mountain” and “great river” experiences do rarely occur.
In addition, spiritual experiences, as
powerful and meaningful as they are, don’t last forever. We need to do the
things that bring the Spirit into our lives every day so that we can “feel so
now”, so we can know today not last week or last month or last year or when I
was a missionary that the things we profess to believe are, in fact, verily
true. That’s one reason why we read the scriptures, especially the Book of
Mormon, every day – so that we can know today that Jesus is the Christ and that
“the holy scriptures are true, and that God does inspire men and call them to
his holy work in this age and generation, as well as in generations of old; Thereby
showing that he is the same God yesterday, today, and forever.” (D&C
20:11-12) As I’ve said before, our testimony needs to be in the present tense,
in real time. It needs to be current and alive.
In that spirit, I
give my witness that the Book of Mormon is truly the word of God through
ancient prophets translated by a modern prophet. What a treasure it is! What a
blessing to have it in our lives!
Thanks for reading!
Richard
