After sharing a few thoughts about the last portion of Isaiah 49, Jacob quotes Isaiah 50. In this chapter, God questions why people think He’s forgotten them. He describes the suffering willingly endured by the Savior, and He declares that we will have light if we follow Him.
Chapter Outline
- Why do you think I’ve abandoned you? (v. 1-3).
- God will support those who suffer as they follow Him (v. 4-9).
- If you follow God, you will have light (v. 10-11).
My Takeaways
- If we pay attention, we will see God’s hand in our daily lives.
- We need not be ashamed when we are following Him.
- His light is far brighter than any light we could generate on our own.
Featured Blog Posts
❖ Full chapter
What Is the Role of Isaiah’s “Servant Songs” in the Book of Mormon?
Four passages in the Book of Isaiah are known as the “servant songs.” They are written in a poetic style, and they collectively describe a servant of God who would save God’s children by suffering for them (“The Servant Songs in Isaiah,” American Bible Society Resources website, “Isaiah’s ‘Other’ Servant Songs,” Religious Studies Center, Brigham…
❖ We are Not Abandoned
When I Called
The book of Isaiah ends on a happy note: a new heaven and a new earth, with joy and peace among those who have been faithful to God. But the text is also tinged with sorrow for those who have not been faithful. Twice, the Lord utters the following lament: “When I called, ye did not…
How Can Recognizing Parallelisms Help Me Understand Isaiah?
After quoting thirteen chapters in a row from the Book of Isaiah, Nephi concedes that the words of Isaiah were “hard for many of my people to understand.” Why was that? Because “they know not concerning the manner of prophesying among the Jews” (2 Nephi 25:1). What is this manner of prophesying, and how can…
❖ God Supports His Servants
He Waketh Morning by Morning – 2 Nephi 7:4-5
4 The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season unto thee, O house of Israel. When ye are weary he waketh morning by morning. He waketh mine ear to hear as the learned. 5 The Lord God hath opened mine ear,…
Like a Flint
Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would “set [his] face like a flint” and would endure untold suffering without retaliation. Jesus fulfilled that prophecy, willingly enduring humiliation and violence at the end of His life.
❖ Walking in the Light
No Darkness
John testified, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” Nephi declared, “The Lord God worketh not in darkness.” When the light of Christ shines in our hearts, the darkness surrounding us no longer prevents us from moving forward.
All Ye that Kindle Fire – 2 Nephi 7:10-11
10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light? 11 Behold all ye that kindle fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks which ye have kindled. This shall ye…
Old Testament Foundations
Seasons
Timing matters. The successful life isn’t just about doing the right things. It’s about doing them at the right time. “To every thing there is a season,” said Solomon, “and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). He also said, “A word spoken in due season, how good is it!” (Proverbs 15:23). Isaiah was grateful that God…
What Does It Mean for Jesus to Be Our “Redeemer?”
The Hebrew word “go’el” is sometimes translated “redeemer” and sometimes “near kinsman.” When we enter a covenant relationship with Jesus, He becomes the “near kinsman” who will deliver us from bondage, even bondage of our own making.
New Testament Parallels
Who Will Contend with Me? – 2 Nephi 7:6-9
6 I gave my back to the smiter, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 7 For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I…
Church History Connections
Confounded
After prophesying of difficult days ahead, the prophet Isaiah foretold a time of prosperity and peace, when the children of Israel would be protected from both physical and verbal abuse: No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of…
All Posts Referencing 2 Nephi 7
- Like a Flint (2/23/2024)
- No Darkness (12/2/2023)
- When I Called (10/9/2022)
- Seasons (8/30/2022)
- Confounded (6/29/2021)
- What Is the Role of Isaiah’s “Servant Songs” in the Book of Mormon? (6/14/2019)
- How Does Isaiah Point Us Toward Christ? (6/1/2019)
- Which of Isaiah’s Writings Are Quoted in the Book of Mormon? (5/31/2019)
- How Can Recognizing Parallelisms Help Me Understand Isaiah? (5/29/2019)
- What Does It Mean for Jesus to Be Our “Redeemer?” (3/10/2019)
- He Waketh Morning by Morning – 2 Nephi 7:4-5 (6/6/2018)
- All Ye that Kindle Fire – 2 Nephi 7:10-11 (9/8/2017)
- Who Will Contend with Me? – 2 Nephi 7:6-9 (9/7/2017)
- 2 Nephi 7:1-3 Is My Hand Shortened at All That I Cannot Redeem? (2/12/2015)