Nephi is seeking to help his stubborn brothers understand the words their father has spoken to them. Symbolism is not their strong point.
12. Behold, I say unto you, that the house of Israel was compared unto an olive-tree, by the Spirit of the Lord which was in our father; and behold are we not broken off from the house of Israel, and are we not a branch of the house of Israel?
13. And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the grafting in of the natural branches through the fulness of the Gentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in unbelief, yea, for the space of many years, and many generations after the Messiah shall be manifested in body unto the children of men, then shall the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the remnant of our seed—
14. And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the Lord; and then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him; wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved.
This prophecy of Lehi’s made perfect sense to Nephi because he, too, was filled with the spirit of prophecy. He was to be a prophet himself, and not merely the son or relative of a prophet. He diligently sought to understand his father’s words, and because of this intense desire to know, he was enlightened. He can clearly see how the olive tree relates to himself and his people, where Laman and Lemuel just heard their father talking about a tree, and probably rolled their eyes.
It’s also difficult for Laman and Lemuel to hear Lehi talk about things that will happen in the future, because they don’t believe he’s a prophet. So in their eyes, their father is twice crazy—first, for finding symbolism in such strange places, and secondly, for believing he can predict the future. To young men whose hearts are so set on the here and now and who have never tried to identify with the things of the spirit, this all just sounds like madness.
15. And then at that day will they not rejoice and give praise unto their everlasting God, their rock and their salvation? Yea, at that day, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine? Yea, will they not come unto the true fold of God?
Nephi is using a lot of symbolism in this verse. He says that God is our rock, our salvation, the true vine, and that the people should come unto the true fold, taking us back to our allegory of the Good Shepherd. All of these comparisons are true. He is our rock. He is our salvation. We are nourished through His word like a vine, and He does gather us like a shepherd.
16. Behold, I say unto you, Yea; they shall be remembered again among the house of Israel; they shall be grafted in, being a natural branch of the olive-tree, into the true olive-tree.
17. And this is what our father meaneth; and he meaneth that it will not come to pass until after they are scattered by the Gentiles; and he meaneth that it shall come by way of the Gentiles, that the Lord may show his power unto the Gentiles, for the very cause that he shall be rejected of the Jews, or of the house of Israel.
18. Wherefore, our father hath not spoken of our seed alone, but also of all the house of Israel, pointing to the covenant which should be fulfilled in the latter days; which covenant the Lord made to our father Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
19. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, spake much unto them concerning these things; yea, I spake unto them concerning the restoration of the Jews in the latter days.
As we read these verses, we can feel Nephi’s intense desire that his brothers understand what he’s saying. They don’t often sit still and listen, so Nephi must have felt this moment to be unique and he must have wanted to get all he could out of it. Even more than we feel the need to pounce on those “teaching moments” with our children, Nephi must have realized the impact this conversation could have on his brothers’ eternal welfare. I imagine he had a constant prayer in his heart to know what to say to these brothers of his.
From today’s reading, what other symbolic words can we think of that describe what the Savior is to us?
Note: I just want to leave the quick reminder that the thoughts expressed in these Scripture Study blogs are mine alone and are not meant to reflect authoritative statements by the Church or to take the place of the thoughts and feelings you have while you read the scriptures. These are my thoughts alone and are presented as a jumping-off point in your own reflections only.
Related Blogs:
The Vision of the Tree of Life
The Things I Saw While I Was Carried Away in the Spirit