Old Testament # 38
“Beside Me There Is No Saviour”
Isaiah 40–49
Introduction
Well—in my last blog entry I think I said that I didn’t know what impact Conference would have on me or my world. Who knew? Of course I follow the prophet, and as of writing this, it has been over a week since I checked any social media. I sort of miss contact with my youngest nieces, but it’s mostly as an observer. Will I keep going? Time will tell. Have I been blown away by the sheer scope of the presence of the Savior in almost every verse of the Book of Mormon and I am well into 2 Nephi? Indeed I have. Have I talked about it—well for me that is easy since my Church Service Mission responsibilities have me conducting online devotionals, and this last week we talked of little else! Am I looking forward to 2-hour Church? Well, frankly, it is going to make me have to work harder on making the Sabbath a delight. I was at the Temple twice this week, once to work and once to be in a session. Numbers are definitely up, and I felt an increased understanding as I concentrated more fully on the teachings therein. So yes, for this last week at least, there has been a significant impact on me and my world. How about you?
But to this week’s Isaiah chapters—and if we sisters at least are now in the habit of looking for references to Christ in our Book of Mormon reading, here are ten Isaiah chapters (two of them in the Book of Mormon) replete with His teachings. Not only that, but in line with exhortations from President Nelson, President Eyring, and Elder Robert C. Gay on the Sunday of October 2018 Conference, these chapters help us understand what it means to take upon ourselves the name of Christ. And how great a privilege that is.
1. Isaiah teaches that the Savior is incomparable.
Incomparableis a word that is bandied around—we live in a world of hyperbole: everything is “awesome” or “fantastic” (I’m guilty of that one). But can you think of anything that is truly incomparable that doesn’t have to do with the Savior or His gifts through the Holy Ghost? Isaiah 46:5 asks us “To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? Admittedly here, in context, the Lord is chastising His people for their apostasy and idol worship, but even today I hear of conversations between members of different Christian religions describing “our Jesus” in contrast to “your Jesus.” In other words—I think—molding the incomparable Savior to fit their own comfort. Elder Maxwell gave this quote from the Prophet Joseph:
The nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin; and like the ancients, arrives at that point of faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker and is caught up to dwell with Him. But we consider that this is a station to which no man ever arrived in a moment” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 51).[1]
To my mind, perfectionhere can be equated with the Savior. But this heading made me think hard about my personal commitment and the first commandment. It all has to do with priorities.
2. Isaiah describes the Savior’s incomparable qualities.
Because He is perfect, it follows that His qualities are also perfect and therefore incomparable. As I read through this week’s assignment, in concert with marking all the references to the Savior in the Book of Mormon, and thinking back to last year when we, as a Sunday School class, followed then Elder Nelson’s challenge to look up every scripture under the heading Jesus Christ in the Topical Guide—well it is overwhelming, except as we read in Isaiah 49:14–16
But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
He will not forget us; as Elder Maxwell iterated in that talk I referenced earlier
Our merciful and long-suffering Lord is ever ready to help. His “arm is lengthened out all the day long” (2 Nephi 28:32), and even if His arm goes ungrasped, it was unarguably there!
There is a long scriptural list of the Savior’s incomparable qualities which I hope we will get to in our lesson time. But as you read the assignments, try to seek them out for yourselves. And maybe ponder to recognize when they have been applied specifically to you and your situation.
3. The world (Babylon) competes with the Savior for our devotion. Isaiah 47.
This lesson promotes so much introspection. What or who are we devoted to? But lest we all think that I am trying to highlight inadequacies in myself and all of you, circling in my brain is the poignant image of President Eyring singing to Sister Eyring each night and morning:
Every night and morning I sing hymns with her and we pray. I have to be voice in the prayers and in the songs. Sometimes I can see her mouthing the words of the hymns. She prefers children’s songs. The sentiment she seems to like best is summarized in the song “I’m Trying to Be like Jesus.” The other day, after singing the words of the chorus: “Love one another as Jesus loves you. Try to show kindness in all that you do,” she said softly, but clearly, “Try, try, try.” I think that she will find, when she sees Him, that our Savior has put His name into her heart and that she has become like Him. He is carrying her through her troubles now, as He will carry you through yours.[2]
So, though we inevitably fall short, our job, I believe, is to “try, try, try.” And the blessings that come to us as a result of trying?
Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea (Isaiah 48:17–18)
Unlike apostate Israel, we can have peace as a river and righteousness as the waves of the sea.
4. Isaiah describes the mission of latter-day Israel. Isaiah 49
Isaiah 49:1–6 is a mission call to each of us as we “try, try, try” to be devoted to Him rather than the world, seek to remove the barriers we have built in ourselves—our resistance or perhaps rebellion against what He has asked us to do through His servants. And truly Come unto Jesus. “In this there is safety, in this there is peace.”
Additional Material
The Institute Manual has an enrichment section on Isaiah, here
BYU Professor Don Parry put out a book called Visualizing Isaiahwhich you can read here
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