I have never found an interpretation of Isaiah 4:1 that has satisfied me. I'm inviting your comments on this scripture.
--Update to this post: Reader "Tabi" has offered a really insightful interpretation! Read it in the comments below this post. It makes more sense to me than anything I've heard before. Thank you, Tabi!--
Here is the verse:
"And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach."
The footnote to "seven" reads: "because of scarcity of men due to wars." The footnote to "reproach" reads: "the stigma of being unmarried and childless."
It would make more sense to me if it were the last verse of Chapter 3, which tells of the great devastation that will strike the daughters of Zion for their unfaithfulness. And this is a possibility, because, of course, the chapters and verses were decided by editors, not by the original authors. Parry, Parry and Peterson, in their book, Understanding Isaiah, agree with this placement.
In the Book of Mormon, these chapters and verses are arranged the same way that they are in Isaiah. If verse 1 should really be a part of Chapter 3, might not Joseph Smith have rearranged it, even though E.B. Grandin, the publisher, originally divided the book into chapter and verse?
Still, I can't see where this prophecy fits with our society today. Many women desire to keep their own names, and being unmarried and childless has a somewhat elevated status among the worldly, moreso in our day than in any other time on the earth.
But if it is really the first verse of Chapter 4, it is linked with the marvelous prophecy that "In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious..." and those who are left in Zion will be the holy temple-goers, etc. How does it fit there?
Gary Bennett, CES instructor, interprets the "one man" to be Jesus Christ, who is the only one whose name can take away reproach. The number seven is symbolic of Christ's church or perfection, completion. It fits with the rest of the chapter, and it makes sense to me, except for the "eat our own bread and wear our own apparel" part. That doesn't seem to fit the imagery of Christ, or a temple-goer, or someone who has been covered by the Atonement. Also, Elder McConkie's footnote commentary, noted above, does not seem to lead to that idea.
You readers all have great ideas, and if you have any on this topic, I would love to hear them. Please leave your comments and theories below. I'm looking forward to reading them!
(If you're not techno-savvy, and don't know how to leave a comment, you just click on the words "0 Comments" [or however many comments it says] or "Post a Comment" [depending on whether you are viewing the single post or the entire blog]. A box will pop up, you type your comment in, choose below it whether to be anonymous or to leave your name, and click "Publish Comment." A box with squiggly letters may appear, sometime during the process, with a request for you to type out those letters. This is just to prove that you are a real human and not a computer sending spam. Type the letters, and you should be able to post your comment.)
Showing posts with label Isaiah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isaiah. Show all posts
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Great Isaiah Study Ideas
Make Your Own Book
There is not nearly enough space in the margins of the LDS scriptures for all the notes, cross-references and markings that a serious student of Isaiah will need. If you're just becoming familiar with Isaiah, you may not think so (I didn't), but in a lifetime, as you pick up something new here and there, it will really add up.
So, in preparation for our lessons on Isaiah, here is great idea from CES instructor, Gary Poll: Photocopy Isaiah out of your regular-size Bible with a white paper frame taped on the glass around it, so that you have 8-1/2 by 11" size pages, with the Isaiah text in the center, slightly larger, and large white margins around it. Punch holes and keep the pages in a 3-ring binder, or take it to a copy shop and have them spiral bind it with a vinyl cover. (Add in a couple of blank pages at the front, and more at the back.) Now you have plenty of space for the notes and markings you will add in your lifetime, all in one place, for your ongoing Isaiah study! Plus, if you later get a new set of scriptures, you won't lose all your work! (Please look at the comments below this entry to see instructions from a reader, CarlH, on how to download and print your own copy of the book without having to wrangle with photocopying.)
If you're in doubt as to which to do, I recommend the 3-ring binder method, because you can always take the pages out and have them spiral-bound later if you change your mind.
Why not just buy the large-print Bible? Because although the print is larger, the margins are actually narrower. This copy idea gives you lots more space, plus if you copy it single-sided, you will have a blank page beside each copied page for even more notes.
I wish I had done this back when I first heard the idea, but it will be a fun project to start on now.
Use the Amazing Online Scripture Study Program
Okay, I did not know about this, until I posted this blog entry and "Teresa From Colorado" made a comment informing me. (You can read her comment below.) I can't believe how cool it is! I was still using the old scriptures I had loaded onto my computer a decade ago, which is fine for just reading or looking things up, but you can do all kinds of things with your scripture study if you use the Church's online program.
You just go to new.lds.org and create your own account. You need your church membership record number, which is on your "Individual Ordinance Summary," or you can get it from your ward clerk. You follow the steps to create your account. They send you an e-mail, you verify and complete your registration, and then you're good to go. You sign in to the website, click on "menu," and you'll see all the amazing options.
You can click on "scriptures," go to the exact chapter and verse you want, highlight in four different colors, underline, add tags, or type in notes and cross-references. Teresa said that you are allowed 4,000 characters of notes per verse! You can also create your own on-line "study notebook," and you can organize by topic. Read Teresa's comment below to see what she does. (And, Teresa, if you read this and want to add more detail about what you do, please feel free!) I haven't figured out how to do it yet, but I'm sure you can print out your notes, as well as printing out the scriptures.
This is a great option for those who always have access to a computer and the internet, and I'm assuming it would be especially handy if you had a "smart phone" that would allow you to "carry" your internet scriptures and notes with you.
(Okay, now I feel like I was living in the Dark Ages...Thanks for bringing me into the 21st Century, Teresa.)
Read Chapter Headings
The chapter headings of Isaiah give a great overview and a great commentary from one of the best LDS scriptorians who ever lived.
In answer to the question of who wrote the chapter headings of the LDS scriptures, Robert J. Matthews, who was a member of the scripture committee, said, "I would be glad to tell you who did that, but first let me say one other thing. The Scriptures Publications Committee used many people for many things. It was somewhat agreed that it was a group project and that although individuals worked on certain things, it would not be noised abroad that this person did this thing and that person did another thing. So that is why you cannot find in any published works who did what. I think it would be no breach of etiquette or of confidentiality if I were to say with pleasure that Elder Bruce R. McConkie produced those headings. Now I don’t know anybody else who could do it so well. All of the headings are definitive and interpretive; they are a valuable part of the new edition of the scriptures. Occasionally people say to me, 'We have a marvelous topical guide...there are a lot of other good things in this new edition of the scriptures, but there is no commentary.' It struck me one day that the commentary is in the chapter headings. In fact, try this exercise sometime. Start with Genesis and just read the headings–Genesis 1, then Genesis 2, Genesis 3, and do this for about fifteen chapters. You’ll see that those headings are not only good for the chapter in which they are placed, but they are consecutive and relate well to one another." (Monte S. Nyman and Robert L. Millet, The Joseph Smith Translation, p.300-301)
I was considering typing up the chapter headings of Isaiah, when I got the comment from Teresa, that I mentioned above, and I can see that on that scripture website, if you pull up Isaiah, you will first get just the chapter headings. Excellent! Reading straight through all the chapter headings will give you a great overview of the repeating themes creating the tapestry that is Isaiah.
There is not nearly enough space in the margins of the LDS scriptures for all the notes, cross-references and markings that a serious student of Isaiah will need. If you're just becoming familiar with Isaiah, you may not think so (I didn't), but in a lifetime, as you pick up something new here and there, it will really add up.
So, in preparation for our lessons on Isaiah, here is great idea from CES instructor, Gary Poll: Photocopy Isaiah out of your regular-size Bible with a white paper frame taped on the glass around it, so that you have 8-1/2 by 11" size pages, with the Isaiah text in the center, slightly larger, and large white margins around it. Punch holes and keep the pages in a 3-ring binder, or take it to a copy shop and have them spiral bind it with a vinyl cover. (Add in a couple of blank pages at the front, and more at the back.) Now you have plenty of space for the notes and markings you will add in your lifetime, all in one place, for your ongoing Isaiah study! Plus, if you later get a new set of scriptures, you won't lose all your work! (Please look at the comments below this entry to see instructions from a reader, CarlH, on how to download and print your own copy of the book without having to wrangle with photocopying.)
- Benefits of spiral-binding: It's narrower, lighter, easier to carry with you to Church.
- Benefits of a 3-ring binder: You can add photocopies of relevant articles, talks, charts or maps to it at any point in the text.
If you're in doubt as to which to do, I recommend the 3-ring binder method, because you can always take the pages out and have them spiral-bound later if you change your mind.
Why not just buy the large-print Bible? Because although the print is larger, the margins are actually narrower. This copy idea gives you lots more space, plus if you copy it single-sided, you will have a blank page beside each copied page for even more notes.
I wish I had done this back when I first heard the idea, but it will be a fun project to start on now.
Use the Amazing Online Scripture Study Program
Okay, I did not know about this, until I posted this blog entry and "Teresa From Colorado" made a comment informing me. (You can read her comment below.) I can't believe how cool it is! I was still using the old scriptures I had loaded onto my computer a decade ago, which is fine for just reading or looking things up, but you can do all kinds of things with your scripture study if you use the Church's online program.
You just go to new.lds.org and create your own account. You need your church membership record number, which is on your "Individual Ordinance Summary," or you can get it from your ward clerk. You follow the steps to create your account. They send you an e-mail, you verify and complete your registration, and then you're good to go. You sign in to the website, click on "menu," and you'll see all the amazing options.
You can click on "scriptures," go to the exact chapter and verse you want, highlight in four different colors, underline, add tags, or type in notes and cross-references. Teresa said that you are allowed 4,000 characters of notes per verse! You can also create your own on-line "study notebook," and you can organize by topic. Read Teresa's comment below to see what she does. (And, Teresa, if you read this and want to add more detail about what you do, please feel free!) I haven't figured out how to do it yet, but I'm sure you can print out your notes, as well as printing out the scriptures.
This is a great option for those who always have access to a computer and the internet, and I'm assuming it would be especially handy if you had a "smart phone" that would allow you to "carry" your internet scriptures and notes with you.
(Okay, now I feel like I was living in the Dark Ages...Thanks for bringing me into the 21st Century, Teresa.)
Read Chapter Headings
The chapter headings of Isaiah give a great overview and a great commentary from one of the best LDS scriptorians who ever lived.
In answer to the question of who wrote the chapter headings of the LDS scriptures, Robert J. Matthews, who was a member of the scripture committee, said, "I would be glad to tell you who did that, but first let me say one other thing. The Scriptures Publications Committee used many people for many things. It was somewhat agreed that it was a group project and that although individuals worked on certain things, it would not be noised abroad that this person did this thing and that person did another thing. So that is why you cannot find in any published works who did what. I think it would be no breach of etiquette or of confidentiality if I were to say with pleasure that Elder Bruce R. McConkie produced those headings. Now I don’t know anybody else who could do it so well. All of the headings are definitive and interpretive; they are a valuable part of the new edition of the scriptures. Occasionally people say to me, 'We have a marvelous topical guide...there are a lot of other good things in this new edition of the scriptures, but there is no commentary.' It struck me one day that the commentary is in the chapter headings. In fact, try this exercise sometime. Start with Genesis and just read the headings–Genesis 1, then Genesis 2, Genesis 3, and do this for about fifteen chapters. You’ll see that those headings are not only good for the chapter in which they are placed, but they are consecutive and relate well to one another." (Monte S. Nyman and Robert L. Millet, The Joseph Smith Translation, p.300-301)
I was considering typing up the chapter headings of Isaiah, when I got the comment from Teresa, that I mentioned above, and I can see that on that scripture website, if you pull up Isaiah, you will first get just the chapter headings. Excellent! Reading straight through all the chapter headings will give you a great overview of the repeating themes creating the tapestry that is Isaiah.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Old Testament Lesson #30 "Come to the House of the Lord"
2 Chronicles 29-30; 32; 34
KING HEZEKIAH
The story of King Hezekiah is found in three places in the Old Testament (beginning in 2 Chron. 29, 2 Kings 18, and Isaiah 36). His name is mentioned 128 times. Clearly his story is very important.
We have skipped ahead about 130 years and several kings from Jehoshaphat to find Hezekiah, another chain-breaking king who restored the true worship of Jehovah to Jerusalem. King Hezekiah's father, Ahaz, had been very wicked. He had defiled the temple and led the people in idolatry, even offering his own son as a heathen sacrifice (2 Chron. 28). So how did he manage to produce such a righteous heir? Hezekiah's mother's name was Abijah, and her father was Zechariah (2 Chron. 29:1). Among the several Zechariahs mentioned, the one who fits in this time frame was the son of a priest (2 Chron. 24:20), and "had understanding in the visions of God" (2 Chron. 26:5). Very likely, Hezekiah's mother was a faithful follower of Jehovah, and was the one who turned the tide for Israel, by raising her son to worship the true and living God.
OPENING THE DOORS OF THE TEMPLE
Hezekiah was only 25 years old when he began his reign. Immediately, in the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the House of the Lord. He called together the priests and Levites and advised them to sanctify themselves first, so that they could then sanctify the House of the Lord. They repaired and cleansed the temple. Then they offered sacrifice and restored the musical worship set forth in 1 Chron. 25 (2 Chron 29).
Hezekiah invited the northern kingdom to come and freely worship at the temple also. He decided to keep the Passover again the following month so that the northerners could participate, according to the rule stated in Numbers 9:10-11, this being acceptable for those who had to travel too far to get there in time. The Levites put great effort into helping all of these travelers get ready, but Hezekiah realized that not all the details had worked out. Maybe some were ignorant of what they were to do, or just didn't have time to get it done, so he asked the Lord to forgive them of these little technical infractions. He held a Priesthood leadership meeting. He extended the Passover to the second week, because no one wanted it to end. The result of the quick restoration of the temple and the speedy return to proper worship was joy (2 Chron. 30).
All of those who had been at the temple returned to their lands and overthrew the idolatrous worship there. Hezekiah issued a command that the people bring offerings (tithing), and the people responded with so much abundance that Hezekiah commanded that storerooms be prepared in the temple in which to hold this large supply of food for storage (see footnote to 2 Chron. 31:11). "And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered" (2 Chron. 31:20-21).
FORTIFYING THE TEMPLE
The Jews were paying tribute to the Assyrians, and King Hezekiah decided to defy this tyranny and refuse to pay so that his people could be financially free. This, of course, brought the wrath of the Assyrians upon them, and Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, commenced to invade Israel. He advanced, bit by bit, through the land, conquering easily all the way. He taunted the people, and blasphemed the Lord, trying to convince the people to abandon their belief and surrender to him. As it became apparent that he would soon reach Jerusalem, Hezekiah made a very clever move, the result of which is still found at Jerusalem today, and that was the building of a tunnel.
The water for Jerusalem came from a spring near the city and Hezekiah had a tunnel dug into the walled city, through 1,749 feet of solid rock, creating an underground canal for this spring. Then he covered over the water outside the city. The Assyrians surrounding the city would have no water source, but the Jews inside the city would. Remember also that they had a great store of food in the temple, as a result of their faithful tithe-paying. In this manner, the Jews were prepared to be able to sit out a long siege.
Hezekiah's Tunnel is one of the great tourist attractions of Jerusalem. The original inscription was found in the tunnel in 1880 and is held in a museum in Istanbul, but a replica is still found on the tunnel. (You can see photographs of the tunnel here.)
Hezekiah prepared for war and encouraged his people in a great speech, saying, "Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed [regarding] the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah" (2 Chron. 32:7-8).
THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM
The Assyrians did advance until they had surrounded the city of Jerusalem. Inside the city, Hezekiah and his great prophet/advisor Isaiah prayed to the Lord in the temple (2 Kings 19:14-19; Isaiah 37:15-20). The Lord answered the prayer through Isaiah, promising that He would defend the city, and that not only would the King of Assyria never step inside the city walls, he would not even be able to cast an arrow against it, but he would just go back home (2 Kings 19:20-34; Isaiah 37:21-35). That very night, the angel of the Lord (death) slaughtered a vast number of the Assyrian army, and the remainder packed up and went home (2 Kings 19:35-36; 2 Chron. 32: 21; Isaiah 37:36). (Could it have been something like the black plague or dyssentery that killed the Assyrians, caused by the lack of a source of clean water?) 20 years later (Harper-Collins Study Bible, p. 690), the Assyrian king was killed by his own sons (2 Kings 19:37).
FORTIFYING OUR TEMPLES
There is beautiful symbolism in the story of Hezekiah's Tunnel: The Jews could withstand the siege of Jerusalem quite comfortable because they had a conduit of life-giving water, something the Assyrians on the outside lacked. We too have access to Living Water in our walled cities, our temples, which our Enemy cannot penetrate. And although we can see the campfires of the Opposition surrounding us, yet we know that "there be more with us than with them...for with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles."
(An artist's depiction of the Brigham City Utah Temple, for which ground was broken this past week. Click here for a news report on the ground-breaking.)
KING HEZEKIAH
The story of King Hezekiah is found in three places in the Old Testament (beginning in 2 Chron. 29, 2 Kings 18, and Isaiah 36). His name is mentioned 128 times. Clearly his story is very important.
We have skipped ahead about 130 years and several kings from Jehoshaphat to find Hezekiah, another chain-breaking king who restored the true worship of Jehovah to Jerusalem. King Hezekiah's father, Ahaz, had been very wicked. He had defiled the temple and led the people in idolatry, even offering his own son as a heathen sacrifice (2 Chron. 28). So how did he manage to produce such a righteous heir? Hezekiah's mother's name was Abijah, and her father was Zechariah (2 Chron. 29:1). Among the several Zechariahs mentioned, the one who fits in this time frame was the son of a priest (2 Chron. 24:20), and "had understanding in the visions of God" (2 Chron. 26:5). Very likely, Hezekiah's mother was a faithful follower of Jehovah, and was the one who turned the tide for Israel, by raising her son to worship the true and living God.
OPENING THE DOORS OF THE TEMPLE
Hezekiah was only 25 years old when he began his reign. Immediately, in the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the House of the Lord. He called together the priests and Levites and advised them to sanctify themselves first, so that they could then sanctify the House of the Lord. They repaired and cleansed the temple. Then they offered sacrifice and restored the musical worship set forth in 1 Chron. 25 (2 Chron 29).
Hezekiah invited the northern kingdom to come and freely worship at the temple also. He decided to keep the Passover again the following month so that the northerners could participate, according to the rule stated in Numbers 9:10-11, this being acceptable for those who had to travel too far to get there in time. The Levites put great effort into helping all of these travelers get ready, but Hezekiah realized that not all the details had worked out. Maybe some were ignorant of what they were to do, or just didn't have time to get it done, so he asked the Lord to forgive them of these little technical infractions. He held a Priesthood leadership meeting. He extended the Passover to the second week, because no one wanted it to end. The result of the quick restoration of the temple and the speedy return to proper worship was joy (2 Chron. 30).
All of those who had been at the temple returned to their lands and overthrew the idolatrous worship there. Hezekiah issued a command that the people bring offerings (tithing), and the people responded with so much abundance that Hezekiah commanded that storerooms be prepared in the temple in which to hold this large supply of food for storage (see footnote to 2 Chron. 31:11). "And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered" (2 Chron. 31:20-21).
FORTIFYING THE TEMPLE
The Jews were paying tribute to the Assyrians, and King Hezekiah decided to defy this tyranny and refuse to pay so that his people could be financially free. This, of course, brought the wrath of the Assyrians upon them, and Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, commenced to invade Israel. He advanced, bit by bit, through the land, conquering easily all the way. He taunted the people, and blasphemed the Lord, trying to convince the people to abandon their belief and surrender to him. As it became apparent that he would soon reach Jerusalem, Hezekiah made a very clever move, the result of which is still found at Jerusalem today, and that was the building of a tunnel.
The water for Jerusalem came from a spring near the city and Hezekiah had a tunnel dug into the walled city, through 1,749 feet of solid rock, creating an underground canal for this spring. Then he covered over the water outside the city. The Assyrians surrounding the city would have no water source, but the Jews inside the city would. Remember also that they had a great store of food in the temple, as a result of their faithful tithe-paying. In this manner, the Jews were prepared to be able to sit out a long siege.
Hezekiah's Tunnel is one of the great tourist attractions of Jerusalem. The original inscription was found in the tunnel in 1880 and is held in a museum in Istanbul, but a replica is still found on the tunnel. (You can see photographs of the tunnel here.)
Hezekiah prepared for war and encouraged his people in a great speech, saying, "Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed [regarding] the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah" (2 Chron. 32:7-8).
THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM
The Assyrians did advance until they had surrounded the city of Jerusalem. Inside the city, Hezekiah and his great prophet/advisor Isaiah prayed to the Lord in the temple (2 Kings 19:14-19; Isaiah 37:15-20). The Lord answered the prayer through Isaiah, promising that He would defend the city, and that not only would the King of Assyria never step inside the city walls, he would not even be able to cast an arrow against it, but he would just go back home (2 Kings 19:20-34; Isaiah 37:21-35). That very night, the angel of the Lord (death) slaughtered a vast number of the Assyrian army, and the remainder packed up and went home (2 Kings 19:35-36; 2 Chron. 32: 21; Isaiah 37:36). (Could it have been something like the black plague or dyssentery that killed the Assyrians, caused by the lack of a source of clean water?) 20 years later (Harper-Collins Study Bible, p. 690), the Assyrian king was killed by his own sons (2 Kings 19:37).
FORTIFYING OUR TEMPLES
There is beautiful symbolism in the story of Hezekiah's Tunnel: The Jews could withstand the siege of Jerusalem quite comfortable because they had a conduit of life-giving water, something the Assyrians on the outside lacked. We too have access to Living Water in our walled cities, our temples, which our Enemy cannot penetrate. And although we can see the campfires of the Opposition surrounding us, yet we know that "there be more with us than with them...for with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles."
(An artist's depiction of the Brigham City Utah Temple, for which ground was broken this past week. Click here for a news report on the ground-breaking.)
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Old Testament Lesson #23 "The Lord Be Between Thee and Me For Ever"
1 Samuel 18-20; 23-24 (and 25)
HOLY AND UNHOLY RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS
This reading assignment focuses on the opposite relationships between Saul and David, and between Saul's son Jonathon and David. Saul was an example of a persistent enemy and Jonathon was an example of an enduring friend. Although Saul's relationship with David was unholy, David's relationship with Saul was always holy. David never returned evil to Saul, but was ever forgiving (while still wisely protecting his own safety), leaving judgment of his old friend Saul completely in the hands of the Lord. Very likely, Saul was seriously mentally ill with some form of paranoia and David, as well as many of Saul's servants, realized he was not himself, but a victim of our fallen existence. (See 1 Sam. 16:17 JST, and 22:17.)
This saga teaches many important lessons about how we treat and view others. Unfortunately, the reading assignment does not include Chapter 25 which tells the marvelous story of Abigail and David. This is one of the greatest relationships in the Old Testament, because it is a type of our possible relationship with our Redeemer, a beautiful explanation of how Christ can heal us from the damage that others have done to us, if we will but forgive. It would be very worthwhile to supplement this lesson with an explanation of the Atonement as found in the story of Abigail and David.
ABIGAIL AND DAVID
As the story begins, David and his men had been pursued relentlessly by Saul and his army. David found himself in the remarkable situation where he could easily kill his would-be murderer, but he left justice to the Lord and let Saul live. After revealing himself to Saul, he said, "The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee...Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked," and David chose not to be wicked (1 Sam 24:12-13).
Saul repented (verse 17), acknowledged David's greatness, and begged David not to kill Saul's descendants when David became king, as some kings would have done to prevent uprisings. David promised and forgave, but he was smart enough to return to his hiding place in the wilderness. (We are required to forgive everyone, but we are not required to trust those who have not proven trustworthy.)
THE OFFENSE AGAINST DAVID
So at the time that David was hiding out with his men in the wilderness, in fairly dire straits and wanting for provisions, "There was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the [man's possessions were] very great...Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings" (1 Sam. 25:2-3).
The Hebrews attached great importance to names. They didn't pick a name, as we sometimes do, just because they liked the sound of it, or the look of it; they didn't make up names just to be different, or conversely, to go with fashion. They chose a name for its meaning, and often a person's name was actually changed at some point to reflect his state in life. Naomi, for example, said to her kinsfolk, "Call me not Naomi [which means "pleasant"], call me Mara [which means "very sad"] for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me" (Ruth 1:20, with footnotes).
Similarly, the names of the subjects of this story are significant. Nabal's name means "fool" and David's name means "beloved." Abigail's name, although it is a female name, means "Father of rejoicing" (Bible Dictionary). Perhaps the word "Father" refers to "origin" or "Creator," so that her name might mean something like "reasons to rejoice originate with or are created by this person." Knowing that Abigail is a type of Christ makes this name significant.
So the characters in this story are:
Nabal sent a message back, denying David any help, justifying himself by saying that very likely David was just a runaway slave; this despite the fact that David was leading an army of six hundred men (25:10-11) and seemed to have been very well-known as King Saul's worthy adversary and potential successor. (See 25:30-31.) Truly Nabal was a fool.
DAVID'S RESPONSE
David's reaction to this affront was immediate and natural: "Gird ye on every man his sword." He left 200 men guarding the hold, and rode to annihilate the clan of the selfish Nabal and take his provisions, since he wouldn't share them with those who had voluntarily acted as his allies (25:13). David's intention was to kill every last one of Nabal's men (25:22), since Nabal had returned evil for David's good. (This attitude provides further evidence that David may have felt Saul was mentally ill, since he never expressed this type of vengeance toward Saul.)
Fortunately, one of the shepherd-messengers told the situation to Nabal's wise wife, Abigail, saying, "Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to [greet] our master; and [Nabal swooped upon them as a bird attacking]" (25:14 with footnotes). Further, he reported that David did nothing to deserve this kind of reception, but that, to the contrary, he had been a great blessing to the shepherds of Nabal. "We were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields: They were a wall [or protection] unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial [wicked or stupid man], that a man cannot speak to him [reason with him]" (25:15-17).
ABIGAIL'S ATONEMENT
Abigail was a quick-thinking woman who immediately perceived what to do. She could see that David had been greatly wronged, and that he and his men really did deserve the provisions that Nabal had denied them. She quickly assembled a huge compensatory gift: 200 loaves, 2 bottles of wine, 5 sheep already butchered, 5 measures of grain, 100 bunches of raisins, and 200 cakes of figs. She loaded the gifts upon donkeys and sent them ahead of her with her servants (25:18-19). This was all done without the help or knowledge of her husband, the idiot (25:20).
When Abigail met up with David, "she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send" (25:24-25). Abigail fully agreed that her husband had sinned against David, and she also explained the reason: Nabal was unintelligent, a fool, he lacked understanding. So Abigail compensated David for the actions of Nabal, and she begged him to spare Nabal for her sake, since she had been completely innocent of any wrongdoing (she "saw not the young men," the messengers).
But she claimed the sin upon herself ("Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be...I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid") after which she asked for many blessings to be upon David in repayment for his forgiveness (25:24,28-30). Then she gave these very insightful reasons for him to forgive, addressing David as "my lord:" "That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself." In other words, she reminded David that vengeance would bring injury to himself. It would bring sorrow to him. It would offend his heart. And he would be shedding blood for no cause, since she had provided everything that David needed.
David recognized her words to be true. In fact, she had included the very reason that he had decided previously not to kill Saul, even though he had both the power to do it, and the justification--he didn't want to suffer the consequences of the wickedness of vengeance.
David thanked Abigail for preventing him from committing the greater sin of violence against Nabal. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel which sent thee this day to meet me: and blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood and from avenging myself with mine own hand" (25:32-33).
THE CONSEQUENCES FOR EACH
When Abigail returned home, her foolish husband was partying, drunken, reveling in his perceived cleverness at besting the mighty warrior David (25:36). She let him sleep it off. In the morning, when she told him David's reaction to his refusal to help, and how she had saved the entire household herself, he suffered a massive heart attack, fell into a coma, and died 10 days later (25:37-38).
When David heard of the natural death of Nabal, he credited the Lord for meting out justice, and returned to marry Abigail himself (25:39). (David's first wife, Michal, who was the daughter of Saul, had been taken from him by Saul and given to another man [25:44].)
THE POWER OF THE ATONEMENT TO REPLACE SUFFERING WITH JOY
If we retell this story, placing ourselves in it, we can understand a little more about the Atonement, forgiveness, and their combined power to replace our pain with joy. We can consider ourselves to be the Beloved, who has not deserved the wrong done to him by the Fool, and who has been abused, neglected, disrespected, unappreciated, slandered. The Fool may not consider himself in the wrong, and may not ask for our forgiveness, yet the Creator of Joy (Christ) meets us on our way to angry retaliation, fully acknowledges the wrong of the Fool, and then, incredibly, takes responsibility for it! He asks us to forgive Him for the Fool's actions, and offers us perfectly compensatory gifts to remove our suffering. The Creator is always aware that a lack of knowledge and understanding is the reason for the Fool's sin, and will help us to see that as well, if we will listen to Him.
If we accept His offer and forgive the offense, we are freed from the desire to mete out vengeance and the ill consequences that such a sin would effect upon us. All of our needs will be met by the gifts He brings, including those that were taken from us by the offense. The anger will be removed from our hearts, and we will be able to feel the love of the Creator, and truly be the Beloved. We can then be united in purpose and perspective with the Creator, as if by a marriage, and enjoy the ensuing love, never needing to concern ourselves again with the wrong that was done. All of the negative consequences will go to the Fool, if he never seeks repentance, and none of them will descend upon us. We will be truly free.
(The basic idea for this scriptural interpretation comes from James Ferrell, The Peacegiver.)
FORGIVING CHRIST
James Ferrell writes, "Although the Lord doesn't actually ask us to forgive him, the effect of the atonement is such that it's as if that is what he is asking. 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these,' the Savior taught, 'ye have done it unto me.' When we withhold forgiveness from others, we are in effect saying that the atonement alone was insufficient to pay for this sin. We are holding out for more. We are finding fault with the Lord's offering. We are, in essence, demanding that the Lord repent of an insufficient atonement. So if we fail to forgive another, it is as if we are failing to forgive the Lord, who...needs no forgiveness" (Ferrell, chapter 4).
Christ has already taken our offenders' sins upon Him, through the Atonement. Our forgiveness can add nothing to the infinite Atonement, which they will receive if they repent. If they do not repent, vengeance is the Lord's. Their repentance is irrelevant to our forgiveness of them. Our forgiveness of our enemies benefits us! It frees us and brings us peace.
"Remember that if we grant this forgiveness in full, [Christ] atones in full for [our] pains and burdens that have come at others' hands. He blesses us with his own love, his own appreciation, his own companionship, his own strength to endure. And if we have these, what do we lack?" (Ferrell, chapter 7)
When our relationships with others are holy, as were David's, we are able to also have a holy relationship with our Redeemer, receive the blessings of the Atonement in our daily lives regardless of what others do to us, and experience repeatedly a return to joy and love after pain. "The Lord be between thee and me for ever" (1 Sam. 20:23,42).
HOLY AND UNHOLY RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS
This reading assignment focuses on the opposite relationships between Saul and David, and between Saul's son Jonathon and David. Saul was an example of a persistent enemy and Jonathon was an example of an enduring friend. Although Saul's relationship with David was unholy, David's relationship with Saul was always holy. David never returned evil to Saul, but was ever forgiving (while still wisely protecting his own safety), leaving judgment of his old friend Saul completely in the hands of the Lord. Very likely, Saul was seriously mentally ill with some form of paranoia and David, as well as many of Saul's servants, realized he was not himself, but a victim of our fallen existence. (See 1 Sam. 16:17 JST, and 22:17.)
This saga teaches many important lessons about how we treat and view others. Unfortunately, the reading assignment does not include Chapter 25 which tells the marvelous story of Abigail and David. This is one of the greatest relationships in the Old Testament, because it is a type of our possible relationship with our Redeemer, a beautiful explanation of how Christ can heal us from the damage that others have done to us, if we will but forgive. It would be very worthwhile to supplement this lesson with an explanation of the Atonement as found in the story of Abigail and David.
ABIGAIL AND DAVID
As the story begins, David and his men had been pursued relentlessly by Saul and his army. David found himself in the remarkable situation where he could easily kill his would-be murderer, but he left justice to the Lord and let Saul live. After revealing himself to Saul, he said, "The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee...Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked," and David chose not to be wicked (1 Sam 24:12-13).
Saul repented (verse 17), acknowledged David's greatness, and begged David not to kill Saul's descendants when David became king, as some kings would have done to prevent uprisings. David promised and forgave, but he was smart enough to return to his hiding place in the wilderness. (We are required to forgive everyone, but we are not required to trust those who have not proven trustworthy.)
THE OFFENSE AGAINST DAVID
So at the time that David was hiding out with his men in the wilderness, in fairly dire straits and wanting for provisions, "There was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the [man's possessions were] very great...Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings" (1 Sam. 25:2-3).
The Hebrews attached great importance to names. They didn't pick a name, as we sometimes do, just because they liked the sound of it, or the look of it; they didn't make up names just to be different, or conversely, to go with fashion. They chose a name for its meaning, and often a person's name was actually changed at some point to reflect his state in life. Naomi, for example, said to her kinsfolk, "Call me not Naomi [which means "pleasant"], call me Mara [which means "very sad"] for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me" (Ruth 1:20, with footnotes).
Similarly, the names of the subjects of this story are significant. Nabal's name means "fool" and David's name means "beloved." Abigail's name, although it is a female name, means "Father of rejoicing" (Bible Dictionary). Perhaps the word "Father" refers to "origin" or "Creator," so that her name might mean something like "reasons to rejoice originate with or are created by this person." Knowing that Abigail is a type of Christ makes this name significant.
So the characters in this story are:
- one person who is foolish,
- one person who is able to feel love, and
- one person who has the power to create joy.
Nabal sent a message back, denying David any help, justifying himself by saying that very likely David was just a runaway slave; this despite the fact that David was leading an army of six hundred men (25:10-11) and seemed to have been very well-known as King Saul's worthy adversary and potential successor. (See 25:30-31.) Truly Nabal was a fool.
DAVID'S RESPONSE
David's reaction to this affront was immediate and natural: "Gird ye on every man his sword." He left 200 men guarding the hold, and rode to annihilate the clan of the selfish Nabal and take his provisions, since he wouldn't share them with those who had voluntarily acted as his allies (25:13). David's intention was to kill every last one of Nabal's men (25:22), since Nabal had returned evil for David's good. (This attitude provides further evidence that David may have felt Saul was mentally ill, since he never expressed this type of vengeance toward Saul.)
Fortunately, one of the shepherd-messengers told the situation to Nabal's wise wife, Abigail, saying, "Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to [greet] our master; and [Nabal swooped upon them as a bird attacking]" (25:14 with footnotes). Further, he reported that David did nothing to deserve this kind of reception, but that, to the contrary, he had been a great blessing to the shepherds of Nabal. "We were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields: They were a wall [or protection] unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial [wicked or stupid man], that a man cannot speak to him [reason with him]" (25:15-17).
ABIGAIL'S ATONEMENT
Abigail was a quick-thinking woman who immediately perceived what to do. She could see that David had been greatly wronged, and that he and his men really did deserve the provisions that Nabal had denied them. She quickly assembled a huge compensatory gift: 200 loaves, 2 bottles of wine, 5 sheep already butchered, 5 measures of grain, 100 bunches of raisins, and 200 cakes of figs. She loaded the gifts upon donkeys and sent them ahead of her with her servants (25:18-19). This was all done without the help or knowledge of her husband, the idiot (25:20).
When Abigail met up with David, "she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send" (25:24-25). Abigail fully agreed that her husband had sinned against David, and she also explained the reason: Nabal was unintelligent, a fool, he lacked understanding. So Abigail compensated David for the actions of Nabal, and she begged him to spare Nabal for her sake, since she had been completely innocent of any wrongdoing (she "saw not the young men," the messengers).
But she claimed the sin upon herself ("Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be...I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid") after which she asked for many blessings to be upon David in repayment for his forgiveness (25:24,28-30). Then she gave these very insightful reasons for him to forgive, addressing David as "my lord:" "That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself." In other words, she reminded David that vengeance would bring injury to himself. It would bring sorrow to him. It would offend his heart. And he would be shedding blood for no cause, since she had provided everything that David needed.
David recognized her words to be true. In fact, she had included the very reason that he had decided previously not to kill Saul, even though he had both the power to do it, and the justification--he didn't want to suffer the consequences of the wickedness of vengeance.
David thanked Abigail for preventing him from committing the greater sin of violence against Nabal. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel which sent thee this day to meet me: and blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood and from avenging myself with mine own hand" (25:32-33).
THE CONSEQUENCES FOR EACH
When Abigail returned home, her foolish husband was partying, drunken, reveling in his perceived cleverness at besting the mighty warrior David (25:36). She let him sleep it off. In the morning, when she told him David's reaction to his refusal to help, and how she had saved the entire household herself, he suffered a massive heart attack, fell into a coma, and died 10 days later (25:37-38).
When David heard of the natural death of Nabal, he credited the Lord for meting out justice, and returned to marry Abigail himself (25:39). (David's first wife, Michal, who was the daughter of Saul, had been taken from him by Saul and given to another man [25:44].)
THE POWER OF THE ATONEMENT TO REPLACE SUFFERING WITH JOY
If we retell this story, placing ourselves in it, we can understand a little more about the Atonement, forgiveness, and their combined power to replace our pain with joy. We can consider ourselves to be the Beloved, who has not deserved the wrong done to him by the Fool, and who has been abused, neglected, disrespected, unappreciated, slandered. The Fool may not consider himself in the wrong, and may not ask for our forgiveness, yet the Creator of Joy (Christ) meets us on our way to angry retaliation, fully acknowledges the wrong of the Fool, and then, incredibly, takes responsibility for it! He asks us to forgive Him for the Fool's actions, and offers us perfectly compensatory gifts to remove our suffering. The Creator is always aware that a lack of knowledge and understanding is the reason for the Fool's sin, and will help us to see that as well, if we will listen to Him.
If we accept His offer and forgive the offense, we are freed from the desire to mete out vengeance and the ill consequences that such a sin would effect upon us. All of our needs will be met by the gifts He brings, including those that were taken from us by the offense. The anger will be removed from our hearts, and we will be able to feel the love of the Creator, and truly be the Beloved. We can then be united in purpose and perspective with the Creator, as if by a marriage, and enjoy the ensuing love, never needing to concern ourselves again with the wrong that was done. All of the negative consequences will go to the Fool, if he never seeks repentance, and none of them will descend upon us. We will be truly free.
(The basic idea for this scriptural interpretation comes from James Ferrell, The Peacegiver.)
FORGIVING CHRIST
James Ferrell writes, "Although the Lord doesn't actually ask us to forgive him, the effect of the atonement is such that it's as if that is what he is asking. 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these,' the Savior taught, 'ye have done it unto me.' When we withhold forgiveness from others, we are in effect saying that the atonement alone was insufficient to pay for this sin. We are holding out for more. We are finding fault with the Lord's offering. We are, in essence, demanding that the Lord repent of an insufficient atonement. So if we fail to forgive another, it is as if we are failing to forgive the Lord, who...needs no forgiveness" (Ferrell, chapter 4).
Christ has already taken our offenders' sins upon Him, through the Atonement. Our forgiveness can add nothing to the infinite Atonement, which they will receive if they repent. If they do not repent, vengeance is the Lord's. Their repentance is irrelevant to our forgiveness of them. Our forgiveness of our enemies benefits us! It frees us and brings us peace.
"Remember that if we grant this forgiveness in full, [Christ] atones in full for [our] pains and burdens that have come at others' hands. He blesses us with his own love, his own appreciation, his own companionship, his own strength to endure. And if we have these, what do we lack?" (Ferrell, chapter 7)
When our relationships with others are holy, as were David's, we are able to also have a holy relationship with our Redeemer, receive the blessings of the Atonement in our daily lives regardless of what others do to us, and experience repeatedly a return to joy and love after pain. "The Lord be between thee and me for ever" (1 Sam. 20:23,42).
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