6 Nevertheless, after they shall be nursed by the Gentiles, and the Lord has lifted up his hand upon the Gentiles and set them up for a standard, and their children have been carried in their arms, and their daughters have been carried upon their shoulders, behold these things of which are spoken are temporal; for thus are the covenants of the Lord with our fathers; and it meaneth us in the days to come, and also all our brethren who are of the house of Israel.
Although a spiritual type can be drawn from the scattering
and gathering of Israel, Nephi is going to focus more on the literal, or
temporal gathering. And according to scripture this gathering will be just as
literal or temporal as the scattering was. And one of the main points Nephi
seems to be trying to make with his brethren is that this gathering will
include them, or rather their descendants.
As I have noted before, the irony of Israel depending on the
Gentiles for this gathering is humbling. In the early days of Abraham’s covenant
the people were not allowed to intermarry with gentiles because it would
influence and corrupt the covenant relationship with God. Over time the Jews,
in their pride, came to see that command as an indication that they were
superior and couldn’t mix with “lower” societies, races, or people. They took
pride in their religion and heritage, not thinking that the covenant is only as
strong as their success in keeping true to it (see D&C 82: 10). They took
great pride in their blood link to Abraham, and probably never considered that
“God [was] able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham” (Luke 3: 8).
Christ pointed out to the scribes and Pharisees that, “If [they] were Abraham’s
children, [they] would do the works of Abraham” (John 8: 39). Once again this
points more to the covenant than to the bloodline. So in the latter days, “as
many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord; and as
many of the Jews as will not repent shall be cast off” (2 Nephi 30: 2). In the
end we are all of the same bloodline anyway: God’s. We are all His children, so
the only real and/or significant thing that separates us at least eternally is
the covenant.
So these Gentiles who the Jews came to look down upon as
unclean (remember Peter needed a direct revelation from God before he would
consider sharing the gospel with a gentile (see Acts 10)) would become covenant
people with God and would “nurse” and carry the Jews back to the God they
rejected. I just find the whole prophecy ironic and fascinating.
- 1 Nephi 15: 13
- 1 Nephi 21: 23
- 2 Nephi 30: 3 (1–7)
