1 Nephi 20

Chapter 20

This was a very difficult chapter for me to wrap my brain around. Reading it over and over, it's still hard! So I will pick out a few verses that stuck out to me.

First of all, this chapter is the same as Isaiah 48. To me, that says that the message in it was for all of Israel, both in Isaiah's time and in Nephi's time. But also, it means it's a timeless message that applies to us too, because we are partakers of the blessings that the Lord promises the children of Israel.

I think the beginning verses are talking about how Israel tends to be hard-hearted. Then in verse 10, the Lord says "For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." The Lord knows our tendencies to be hard-hearted. We know that "the natural man is an enemy to God," etc. But here the Lord tells us that he has chosen us, and will give us trials and afflictions that will refine us into the potential that he sees for us. This made me wonder how my current trials and afflictions are supposed to refine me. The hardest one for me currently is my health and my daughter's health--we both have a really bad cold. Sounds like a small thing to be worried about, but for me currently, it's my biggest trial. And how have I dealt with it? By being whiny and snapping at my husband a lot. Reading this made me determined to handle this sickness with more patience and faith that it's not some cruel divine joke, it's just another trial to better me.

I also like verse 18. "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." This made me pause to think about that symbolism. I think he must use the image of a river because it is ever-flowing. But it is also ever-changing. Maybe peace comes in different ways throughout life--I don't know, it's just a thought. And then "righteousness as the waves of the sea:" Waves are also a constant thing. I really like the message in this verse--if we follow the commandments we will have peace and righteousness. Simple, yet written so poetically.

Lastly, the final verse says that there is no peace to the wicked. This is definitely a world without peace. People are always trying to find it, but fail. We know we can have peace through the Gospel and through the love of God.

That's all for now. I hope other people had some insights into this chapter too.

Tori