1 Nephi 18:11-15
18:11-15 - Well that didn't last long, L&L were angry that Nephi had told them to calm down and so they tied him up and "did treat (him) with much harshness," my guess is that means they beat him up. But I think it's interesting that Nephi teaches us that the Lord allowed this to happen to him "that he might show forth his power unto the fulfilling of his word which he had spoken concerning the wicked." The Institute manual asks an interesting question "why do you think Nephi was delivered immediately the first time (1 Nephi 7:16-18) and not until after four days on the second occasion (this time)? Another difference between these two events is that the Lord physically delivered Nephi when his brothers tied him up, on the way back from Jerusalem with Ishmael's family, by loosening his bands, but this time, L&L had to physically let him go, the Lord didn't free him. Nephi understands and sounds like he respects the Lord's decision to make him suffer for those 4 days while tied up, although to be honest, I think it would be a lot harder for me to submit to that kind of suffering for 4 days without at least getting a little irritated. In the first instance Nephi prayed to be released, but he never mentions here whether or not he prayed to be released. I can't imagine that he didn't, especially after the swelling settled in. My guess is that they tied him up expecting him to "miraculously" be set free, then he prayed, but wasn't released. For Nephi that probably was a little bit "ouch" and he had to search for why the Lord would allow him to suffer. For L&L, Nephi not being able to free himself was fuel to the fire. I can only imagine what they said to him when he remained tied up "oh God can't save you now on the ocean?" "He doesn't love you anymore?" This probably just hardened their hearts even more, because if Nephi had just burst free, as they were probably expecting, they would have "oh you're right God is with you, blah blah blah..." but because he wasn't immediately loosed, L&L and Nephi all had to stop and think what that really meant for them and their situation. Had God really abandoned them? Was God real at all? Was God not with Nephi anymore? Did L&L finally win, and God backed off? There was about 3 days were they really had to make up their minds, the Lord didn't intervene immediately.
Now if I recall correctly, this is the 4th time so far that L&L had used violence against Nephi, but this is the first time that their "plans" had gone uninterrupted for more than a few minutes. 1st time they beat him with a rod outside of Jerusalem after being chased by Laban's soldiers, and an angel came and stopped them. 2nd time on the way back from Jerusalem with Ishmael's family they tied him up and left him to be eaten, I wonder if they were trying to show off for the girls? Nephi prayed and was loosed to go free "miraculously." 3rd time while Nephi was building the ship, they grabbed him to throw him off a cliff into the ocean, and Nephi used the power of God to stop, then to shock them into submission. So far every time, God has been the one to release or protect Nephi, this is the first time they had to physically recognize for themselves that their actions against Nephi had eternal consequences in that God was going to kill everyone because L&L would not release Nephi. All these times they wanted to kill Nephi and it looks like this was going to be their chance, but it was probably overshadowed by the fact that they themselves were going to die too, and their families. I guess looking back, L&L had never really seen the seriousness with which God takes his threats of death. The only real time that L&L were ever physically impacted, as far as we can tell with the scriptures that we have, is when they were briefly shocked by God through Nephi when they we refusing to help build the ship. That was the only experience they have had where they weren't just rebuked, but I guess the consequences are escalating, just as probably their behavior is. I had never really considered the idea that this singing and dancing incident was so very serious. And like so many instances in our lives, it goes from mild to moderate to out right crazy, where you think "how could we get to this point of madness from where we started."
In contrast we may be able to detect a little bit of Nephi's own spiritual growth during these encounters with his brothers. In the beginning, Nephi has to be rescued by an outside 3rd party, an angel, showing he had enough faith to be watched over and protected by God and his angels. Then he's able to pray and be released, no fan fair, nothing fancy, he still has to appeal to the 3rd party for assistance, but he has enough faith to summon that miraculous assistance. The 3rd time however, Nephi is able to summon the power of God that is within himself. He doesn't have to appeal to God for protection or help, he has enough faith, that didn't have to stop and pray or even to wait, he immediately knew what to do and was able to use the power of God to deliver himself. It's kind of like learning how to ride a bike. At first someone has to physically sit you on the bike, show you where your feet go, hold on to the bike with both hands and balance you (the first incident,) then they run along side you, steadying you as you turn the pedals yourself (the second incident,) then finally they watch as you ride further away, pedaling and balancing on your own (third incident.) They taught you how to do it, gave you the bike, and now you are using their bike and knowledge to pedal by yourself, if that makes sense.
But it seemed that God was silent for 3 days, as the storm got worse and worse. I like boats, but I don't think that I could ever be a sailor in that I couldn't imagine the terror that I would feel as a mighty ship violently heaved back and forth in the water. I doubt that there is anything that would make a person feel so small and insignificant and lonely as when caught in a sea storm on a ship. I believe that at the end of the third day L&L truly saw that God controls all the earth, He has the command of a bazillion gallons of water and can pick up the biggest wave ever seen and dump it right on their faces and the faces of their children. And the horror of the righteous and the children in this instance is great, but this is a perfect demonstration that it doesn't matter how long you live, only that you keep the commandments of God while you live. If the ship were to sink and everyone died, the righteous and the children would be embraced in the love of God and had their rest, but everyone else would have suffered in a way unimaginable. This is also a great illustration of the fact that Nephi was just a man and that even as strong as he was couldn't free himself, he had to submit to the will of God, just like the rest of us. In the end I guess that we can grow spiritually as much as we are able to in this life, but even then we are completely dependent on the mercy and will of God.
I'm trying to imagine the scene in my mind on that 4th day. How many families are on this ship? Lehi & Sariah with Jacob and Joseph (2 adults, 2 kids), Laman/wife and let's assume that the families each had 3 children, (2 adults, 3 kids) times, Lemuel/wife, Sam/wife, Nephi/wife, Zoram/wife, then there are at least 2 of Ishmael's sons/wives and 3 kids each. That brings us to a minimum of 16 adults and 23 kids. That's a lot of people and a lot of chaos, all pitching back and forth with the waves. Nephi is being brutally beaten by the wind, rain, waves. It's probably really cold and I'm guessing he doesn't have a rain coat, they probably haven't fed him or given him water, he's probably standing and he probably hasn't been able to sleep, maybe he's a little sea sick for almost dying every 10 seconds. Maybe this is a test for Nephi as well to see if he will renounce the Lord, if he will be angry or bitter for the treatment he received, to see if he will be as quick to forgive as before. I can see a pattern in Nephi's spiritual training that I've seen in my own life. Lessons, miracles, testimony building experiences, tasks to perform in faith, then a huge test to see if you're committed. My most recent test was my divorce, and I'm sorry to say that I don't think I passed that one. But I came out of it with a new pair of glasses to look through if you will, and I'm on a path now that I had strayed from and in God's infinite mercy, I'm further ahead now than I was when I left. And now that I'm back, I'll never leave again. That commitment is finally there.
Finally, finally L&L see "that they must perish save that they should repent of their iniquities," and they let Nephi go free. Unbelievable. It's shocking that it gets to that point where death is imminent, how close were they? Minutes? Hours? How big were the waves, how loud were the children crying out of sheer terror. How sick were Lehi and Sariah? How close to death? How could it have gotten to that point without one of them realizing "hey let's just all calm down here?" But they finally untie him and I guess Nephi hands in his exam by praising God all the day long, and he says "I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions." I would expect anyone, especially me to finish that and be like "hey what the heck man?!" It makes me wonder how many times in my own life have I finished a test and complained against the Lord or just complained in general. I need to reflect and then change my attitude about my trials, see them as growth spurts, instead of the beat down I've always regarded them as. This is truly one of Nephi's most defining moments.
Now if I recall correctly, this is the 4th time so far that L&L had used violence against Nephi, but this is the first time that their "plans" had gone uninterrupted for more than a few minutes. 1st time they beat him with a rod outside of Jerusalem after being chased by Laban's soldiers, and an angel came and stopped them. 2nd time on the way back from Jerusalem with Ishmael's family they tied him up and left him to be eaten, I wonder if they were trying to show off for the girls? Nephi prayed and was loosed to go free "miraculously." 3rd time while Nephi was building the ship, they grabbed him to throw him off a cliff into the ocean, and Nephi used the power of God to stop, then to shock them into submission. So far every time, God has been the one to release or protect Nephi, this is the first time they had to physically recognize for themselves that their actions against Nephi had eternal consequences in that God was going to kill everyone because L&L would not release Nephi. All these times they wanted to kill Nephi and it looks like this was going to be their chance, but it was probably overshadowed by the fact that they themselves were going to die too, and their families. I guess looking back, L&L had never really seen the seriousness with which God takes his threats of death. The only real time that L&L were ever physically impacted, as far as we can tell with the scriptures that we have, is when they were briefly shocked by God through Nephi when they we refusing to help build the ship. That was the only experience they have had where they weren't just rebuked, but I guess the consequences are escalating, just as probably their behavior is. I had never really considered the idea that this singing and dancing incident was so very serious. And like so many instances in our lives, it goes from mild to moderate to out right crazy, where you think "how could we get to this point of madness from where we started."
In contrast we may be able to detect a little bit of Nephi's own spiritual growth during these encounters with his brothers. In the beginning, Nephi has to be rescued by an outside 3rd party, an angel, showing he had enough faith to be watched over and protected by God and his angels. Then he's able to pray and be released, no fan fair, nothing fancy, he still has to appeal to the 3rd party for assistance, but he has enough faith to summon that miraculous assistance. The 3rd time however, Nephi is able to summon the power of God that is within himself. He doesn't have to appeal to God for protection or help, he has enough faith, that didn't have to stop and pray or even to wait, he immediately knew what to do and was able to use the power of God to deliver himself. It's kind of like learning how to ride a bike. At first someone has to physically sit you on the bike, show you where your feet go, hold on to the bike with both hands and balance you (the first incident,) then they run along side you, steadying you as you turn the pedals yourself (the second incident,) then finally they watch as you ride further away, pedaling and balancing on your own (third incident.) They taught you how to do it, gave you the bike, and now you are using their bike and knowledge to pedal by yourself, if that makes sense.
But it seemed that God was silent for 3 days, as the storm got worse and worse. I like boats, but I don't think that I could ever be a sailor in that I couldn't imagine the terror that I would feel as a mighty ship violently heaved back and forth in the water. I doubt that there is anything that would make a person feel so small and insignificant and lonely as when caught in a sea storm on a ship. I believe that at the end of the third day L&L truly saw that God controls all the earth, He has the command of a bazillion gallons of water and can pick up the biggest wave ever seen and dump it right on their faces and the faces of their children. And the horror of the righteous and the children in this instance is great, but this is a perfect demonstration that it doesn't matter how long you live, only that you keep the commandments of God while you live. If the ship were to sink and everyone died, the righteous and the children would be embraced in the love of God and had their rest, but everyone else would have suffered in a way unimaginable. This is also a great illustration of the fact that Nephi was just a man and that even as strong as he was couldn't free himself, he had to submit to the will of God, just like the rest of us. In the end I guess that we can grow spiritually as much as we are able to in this life, but even then we are completely dependent on the mercy and will of God.
I'm trying to imagine the scene in my mind on that 4th day. How many families are on this ship? Lehi & Sariah with Jacob and Joseph (2 adults, 2 kids), Laman/wife and let's assume that the families each had 3 children, (2 adults, 3 kids) times, Lemuel/wife, Sam/wife, Nephi/wife, Zoram/wife, then there are at least 2 of Ishmael's sons/wives and 3 kids each. That brings us to a minimum of 16 adults and 23 kids. That's a lot of people and a lot of chaos, all pitching back and forth with the waves. Nephi is being brutally beaten by the wind, rain, waves. It's probably really cold and I'm guessing he doesn't have a rain coat, they probably haven't fed him or given him water, he's probably standing and he probably hasn't been able to sleep, maybe he's a little sea sick for almost dying every 10 seconds. Maybe this is a test for Nephi as well to see if he will renounce the Lord, if he will be angry or bitter for the treatment he received, to see if he will be as quick to forgive as before. I can see a pattern in Nephi's spiritual training that I've seen in my own life. Lessons, miracles, testimony building experiences, tasks to perform in faith, then a huge test to see if you're committed. My most recent test was my divorce, and I'm sorry to say that I don't think I passed that one. But I came out of it with a new pair of glasses to look through if you will, and I'm on a path now that I had strayed from and in God's infinite mercy, I'm further ahead now than I was when I left. And now that I'm back, I'll never leave again. That commitment is finally there.
Finally, finally L&L see "that they must perish save that they should repent of their iniquities," and they let Nephi go free. Unbelievable. It's shocking that it gets to that point where death is imminent, how close were they? Minutes? Hours? How big were the waves, how loud were the children crying out of sheer terror. How sick were Lehi and Sariah? How close to death? How could it have gotten to that point without one of them realizing "hey let's just all calm down here?" But they finally untie him and I guess Nephi hands in his exam by praising God all the day long, and he says "I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions." I would expect anyone, especially me to finish that and be like "hey what the heck man?!" It makes me wonder how many times in my own life have I finished a test and complained against the Lord or just complained in general. I need to reflect and then change my attitude about my trials, see them as growth spurts, instead of the beat down I've always regarded them as. This is truly one of Nephi's most defining moments.
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