34 And I also spake unto him, saying: Surely the Lord hath commanded us to do this thing; and shall we not be diligent in keeping the commandments of the Lord? Therefore, if thou wilt go down into the wilderness to my father thou shalt have place with us.
35 And it came to pass that Zoram did take courage at the words which I spake. Now Zoram was the name of the servant; and he promised that he would go down into the wilderness unto our father. Yea, and he also made an oath unto us that he would tarry with us from that time forth.
36 Now we were desirous that he should tarry with us for this cause, that the Jews might not know concerning our flight into the wilderness, lest they should pursue us and destroy us.
37 And it came to pass that when Zoram had made an oath unto us, our fears did cease concerning him.
38 And it came to pass that we took the plates of brass and the servant of Laban, and departed into the wilderness, and journeyed unto the tent of our father.
Once again we see the power of an oath to those who are living the Law of Moses. When Zoram made his oath to return with the sons of Lehi, they were no longer concerned about him running away. Zoram must have been more committed to the Law than was Laban, his master. I suppose it is possible that Zoram kept the record up to date with the current prophet’s (Jeremiah) words without Laban’s knowledge or approval. I say this because of Zoram’s quick acceptance of Nephi’s explanation of how this whole episode was a commandment from the Lord. Zoram’s oath was not made out of desperate fear for his life, I don’t think, because he remained a true friend to Nephi from then on. He was even given the same inheritance with Nephi (2 Ne 1:30–32). Zoram must have been acting out of a testimony rather than fear for his life, or his true colors would have shown as he sided with Laman and Lemuel.
No comments:
Post a Comment