2 Nephi 15

Read this chapter HERE

Summary: The Lord’s vineyard (Israel) shall become desolate and his people shall be scattered—Woes shall come upon them in their apostate and scattered state—The Lord shall lift an ensign and gather Israel—Compare Isaiah 5. Between 559 and 545 B.C.

Well, I must admit that the "Compare Isaiah" chapters have always been a bit tricky for me. But I will do my best. I'm thinking I need to buy a manual to help me study.... soon!

There are a few parts of this chapter that really stood out to me.

Verses 1 - 7 talk about the Lord's vineyard. He did everything He could for His vineyard to prepare it to bring forth grapes, yet it brought forth wild grapes. So then He did not continue to tend, prune, or dig it. Briers and thorns also came up with the grapes. As the summary says, this is a comparison of Israel. The vineyard is Israel which soon becomes scattered and desolate. I know there is a lot to study in just these verses, but I am moving on.

A few verses later, we receive a warning about those who do not heed to the Word of Wisdom. So not only did Joseph Smith talk about this, but so did Isaiah. :) (Remember my post about how Isaiah is to Nephi, as Nephi is to us. Interesting.)

And then, a famous verse in verse 20. "Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"

Oh boy, aren't we seeing examples of this in our day? In fact, I gave a lesson in relief society where we talked about this for a while. How most people know the 10 commandments, yet, going against many of those commandments has become socially acceptable. A few examples:

-Taking the Lord's name if vain is accepted by the world. What's a sit-com if it doesn't take the name of the Lord in vain? Is it not a commandment anymore? People say it almost in passing, now. It's in kid's shows and G movies.
-Immorality is accepted by the world. Marriage counselors use pornography to "strengthen" marriages.
-It's recommended that boyfriends and girlfriends live together before they get married.
-It is not normal anymore to wait until marriage to have sexual relations.
-Homosexuality
-What about the Sabbath Day? Most do not "keep it holy"

Another thing I thought of is drinking is accepted by the world. The wealthy and high-class people are able to drink expensive wine. It is used to celebrate special occasions, etc. Drinking wine, is considered to be just fine, even a luxury.

Wo unto all these people! The anger of the Lord is kindled against these people (verse 25).....but I love that at the end of the verse he says, "For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still." Even in our sins, the Lord will never forsake us. He is always there if we will repent and change our ways. What a merciful and loving Lord.