-I think we are provided with great
insight into how God works from this verse.
God will not do what we can do for ourselves; He will not overstep His bounds and infringe
on our agency. But He will part the veil
and become personally involved (or send a representative to accomplish such
intervention) so as to assist us when we are not yet equal to or able to
fulfill a task ourselves. He does this here when Nephi and Sam are being abused
by their brothers. God sends a heavenly
person because among other things I am sure, Nephi is not able/does not know
how to protect himself. As Nephi learns
that he has the power/ability to protect himself he is expected to do so
without heavenly intervention. We see
that he is thus able by the time his brother oppose him at the time of building
the ship and sailing across the ocean.
We err when we desire God to send down heavenly associates
when we are quite capable of solving/working out/attending to our own
problems. More than not God answers our
pleas by increasing our abilities or providing a neighbor whose presence or
talent fulfills our needs.
“and he (the
angel) spake unto them”
-pray
that God is never required to send an angel to declare unto you the proper
course of action or your duty. Laman and
Lemuel failed to hear the quite, still small voice of the Holy Ghost, the
physically audible voice of the prophet, or the written words of scripture
(which their brother had so recently reminded them of). They were past feeling and, lest they prove
to be obstacles to God’s work, had to be shaken into reality. Their attention had to be “captured” through
some drastic and uncommon manner. This
visitation was to their condemnation and not to their glorification as can be
seen by their subsequent actions of complaining and rejection of the angel’s
words.
“why do ye
smite your younger brother with a rod?”
-How do
you think they would answer this?
Really, consider the reasons they might have given.
“ruler over
you, because of your iniquities…”
-the
reason/need for a ruler arises because of the wickedness of some (they do not
have the self-discipline and cannot rule themselves). The desired and highest circumstance is where
each is his or her own ruler. Picture a
society so righteous that a common king or governing body was not needed. Such would be a totally honest and a
perfectly kind society. Such would be the quintessence of freedom.
"...ye
shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your
hands."
-They
were tested twice (to see if they would be obedient to the Lord in doing as he
asked) before Laban was put in their hands.
-the
angel communicates the commandment one more time. Now Laman and Lemuel know that it originates
from a source beyond their brother or their father.
“the Lord will
deliver Laban into your hands.”
-here the
Lord –through his spokesperson- not only identifies the main obstacle that
Nephi has already recognized as the main hindrance to the mission, but also
directs them that He will take care of that obstacle.
-why does
the Lord even bother with Laban? He
could as easily have helped Nephi break into the treasury and carry off the
plates without messing with Laban? What
is being taught?
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