2 Nephi 2-Why Jacob?

Like Isaiah did, Nephi via Lehi, here interjects the whole plan for the salvation of Israel into one short chapter.  He juxtaposes good and evil, yet puts them both into the plan and into God.  And pertinent to our discussion, he tells us of our agency to choose between the two.  He does it though through a peculiar medium, instruction to Jacob, whos name is synonymous in Isaiah with unrepentant Israel.  This is the heart of the revelatory strange act that the Lord performs.  A plan has been presented which allows all men to accept God or not according to their agency.  The plan allows all men the ability to be responsible for their actions.  The Plan allows people to perfectly be able to see and respond to things and to be judged accordingly.

Nephi’s brother Jacob had already been redeemed at this point, he had stood in front of his Savior, he had that personal relationship, so relaying all this VERY basic stuff to Nephi’s little brother seems kind of odd to me.  If it weren’t for the fact that the book is written to us and for our benefit it would be odd.  However, it is written to us and about us, not necessarily Jacob the man.

The message is given to those who are born in the wilderness, as Lehi points out repeatedly to begin and toward the end.  Those who are born in the wilderness, according to the Lord in 2nd and 3rd Nephi are those who are adopted into the house of Israel.  No significance lost here in the idea of being reborn spiritually to be adopted into the House of Israel, qualify for the exodus.  If they come unto him they will be received as his Children.  Their repentance will be accepted and the plan Justified.  This is a message to all that at some point, indeed now, but also at a zenith, there will be a plan presented for all the house of Israel to hear and accept or reject, just as Lehi is now delivering to Jacob as a proxy for the modern day house of Israel.  According to the plan allowance has been made for all men to come unto Him, the Servant of God and God himself (vs 3), to be save and redeemed from the calamity.

The Plan presented here allows men to accept or reject a message on their own terms.  The plan allows for a people to be judged and delivered or not based on the principle of their own choice.   This knowledge and short chapter is integral in relaying the instances of division that exodus imagery relays.  Indeed, the very heart of the ‘plan’ is to divide, exalt and destroy the wheat and the chaff.

The Name Jacob here is very intriguing.  AS we learn from Isaiah, Jacob represents the Group of people, Israel, who have a covenant presented to them and must repent in order to receive the blessings of protection and fellowship with the Lord, according to the plan of God Lehi here illustrated.  That people “Jacob”, to whom 2 Nephi 2 is addressed, are mentioned repeatedly in Isaiah.  Short commentary from Gileadi;

Isaiah 2:5

5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

***This is a transition verse.  It implores the people of the covenant – house of Jacob – to repent. Walk up to their covenants – follow the light of the Lord.  Isaiah is about to begin to talk about the people’s wickedness again.  The Lord is the “light.”  The Servant is a lesser light.  The Servant is like the light that breaks forth at dawn after a dark night.  The Servant’s job is to establish Justice and Righteousness.  He restores the Law and the word of God.  In that way, he is a light to the nations.  It is his job to bring people into the presence of the Lord himself, who is the greater light. The House of Jacob defines a particular category of people.  All through Isaiah, Jacob and Israel form a single category of people. They represent a particular level of covenant keeping.  Zion and Jerusalem represent a higher level of covenant keeping people.  The level of Jacob is that level that still needs to repent. The level of Zion is that level that has repented and retained a remission of their sins (see 1:27).

Again, lets ask ourselves; why does Lehi here instruct a guy like Jacob, Nephi’s Brother,  with so much literal knowledge, on the basics of the plan?  MY answer is this, he isn’t.  He is instructing those who go into the wildernesss with the modern Nephi, or servant in the latter days, to REpent.  He is telling Jacob, which includes us the mongrel gentiles who need to repent to be of Zion in the wilderness (3 Nephi 16, 20, 21), that if we just make the choice to follow Christ and not a man’s wisdom we too can become Zion.  The Plan is here, its relatively simple and even you Jacob have that arm still held out and even lengthened to take your hand!