Latest / Scripture Central / Mosiah 11 - 17 | May 13 - 19 | John W. Welch and Lynne Hilton Wilson | Come Follow Me Book of Mormon

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Mosiah 11 - 17 | May 13 - 19 | John W. Welch and Lynne Hilton Wilson | Come Follow Me Book of Mormon · Scripture Central

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Hello, welcome back to Scripture Central.
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I'm Lynn Hilton Wilson. I'm Jack Welch and we are
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excited to be here today to talk about a benedai.
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We are wonderful material, Zenith's record to include a
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Benedai and it was written of course by Alma later.
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We don't get that this week, but that's how we have this record.
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But it's part of the Zenith account of these plates, and
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we're in Mosiah Chapter 11 through 17 this week.
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And we've lost the good King Zenith, and we have his very
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wicked king son, known as our Wine River.
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And multiplying wives and concubines.
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That's verse two. He has a lot of sins and that's
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up there at the top. And, you know, a Ben and I is
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aware of what's going on and he wants to call the king to
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repentance. And you'd think the king would
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just recognize that that he's breaking the law.
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And, you know, it's kind of funny because they accuse him of
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of a benedai of talking about Christ instead of keeping the
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law. But how much in violation of the
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law were they? Yeah, sometimes, You know, we're
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quicker to accuse people of things that we are also doing
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wrong. You know, we talk about Noah,
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and there is a paragraph in Deuteronomy chapter 17 that that
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we mentioned when we were talking about King Benjamin's
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speech. Is that the law?
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Is that the chapter on the king the law?
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Is called the paragraph of the king.
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And in verse 17 in the paragraph of the king it says that the
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king shall not multiply wives to himself.
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So write in the scriptures. Now maybe Noah could say, well,
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I don't have a copy of Deuteronomy, you guys took it
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down to Zarahemla, but still, I'm sure he knows and that they
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are ignoring these things. And so Abenadiah is clearly in
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his in his right and responsibility as a prophet to
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call the king to repentance. Now, that's not an easy job, you
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know, calling people generally to repentance, that's one thing.
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But the king? In the paragraph of the King it
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also says you're not supposed to tax the people and and try to
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make wealth and as we continue on that's.
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Why Gold and silver? And it talks about their
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spacious buildings, their precious things.
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Gold. Silver.
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Actually, that's the way kings were behaving in the ancient
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world. That's.
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Why it's included in that's? Why?
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Deuteronomy warns against it, but it's also realistic that
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that's exactly what Noah would be inclined to do.
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There he is in next to King Lehmann and in that area, so
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it's the same kind of excessive use of royal power.
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He also changes the religious nature, and that's in verse 11.
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He in his palace, with all these great copper and brass, he
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builds high seats for the priests, and it's a plural
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there, the high priest. That's not how it is in
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Leviticus. When Moses established it, there
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is one high priest, and he chooses to multiply those.
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You know, he's he's changing things for the benefit of his
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friends and acquaintances. Well, that's exactly right.
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And when you are a high priest you get a lot of privileges and
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special treatment. So he's using the old system,
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abusing it and over overdoing things and does a benadai like
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that. No, no, in fact we we get.
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The problem is they they're proud, full, and a Benedi start
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speaking in verse 20 of Chapter 11.
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And it came to pass that there was a man among them whose name
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was a Benedi, and he went forth among the people and began to
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prophecy, saying, behold, thus saith the Lord.
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And thus he hath commanded me and Jack start looking right now
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at your verse. This is a perfect chiasmus.
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Every time in our chapters today that a Benedi quotes the Lord,
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it's well tailored in a perfect chiasmus.
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And why do you think that's the case?
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I assume it was very important and a bit that I had worked out
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this speech. I don't know.
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What do you think? Well, I do think he had worked
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it out before. And maybe also the revelation
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itself was given in a very high formal style.
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Noah and his priests are acting like they are very important
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people. And so you just don't come in
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and say you're. All.
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Wrong. You don't speak casually, but
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this is the way you do have a formal speech.
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And one of a good example of the use of caiasmus in a formal
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legal setting is in Leviticus chapter 24, where you have the
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case of the blasphemer and how they take him eventually and
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stone him. That's one of the best examples
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of chiasmus, and it's in a legal context, so to have it here as a
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formulation. In a legal trial where they are
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accusing him of blasphemy, which I think is interesting.
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That will come. Now, one other point on this too
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is that in all of this trial of a Benedi, all of this is just
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saturated with legalisms because it's a it's a trial.
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And. They're putting him to death
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under their legal procedure, but you have to have two witnesses.
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Where are the 2 witnesses? And I also like to think that he
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says it twice in a chiastic passive pattern.
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Oh, yeah, OK. When you double the accusation,
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he's doing the best he can. OK.
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All right. That's interesting.
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But you can see why they maybe try to dodge the accusation.
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Yeah, they do. It's not quite as formal,
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although certainly the content of it a benedized accusation.
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We can't say as a legal accusation, but it's legalistic.
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And then in verse 20 I want to continue reading there, Behold,
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thus saith the Lord. And thus he hath commanded me,
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saying, Go forth and say unto this people.
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Thus saith the Lord, Woe be unto this people, for I have seen
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their abominations and their wickedness.
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It's not just King Noah. He's talking about the whole
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people here too, their whoredoms and except they repent and they
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I will visit them in my anger. Yeah, maybe the Lord is the
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second witness. Yeah.
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And except they repent, and return to the Lord I their Lord
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their God. Behold, I will deliver them unto
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the hand of their enemies. Yeah.
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And they shall be brought into bondage, and they shall be
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afflicted by the hands of their enemies.
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And then it continues and turns out now, and it shall come to
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pass, that they shall know that I am the Lord their God, I'm a
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jealous God, visiting the iniquities of their people, and
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they shall come to pass that except they repent and turn.
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That's the center of the chiasmus.
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Isn't that interesting? The turning point?
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Is the word turn. Is actually modeling for them.
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You should turn. Yeah.
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And I think this definition of repentance is so fabulous.
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It's not enough to stop sinning. You have to turn to God.
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You have to return. Repent is to return to our
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Father, And I love that as the center of the chiasmus.
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Right now, that's right. And and in Hebrew actually the
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word for repent is to turn. Ah, and and hence we have
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another Hebraism then right here in verse and. 23 Repent.
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It comes from ray pons to rethink, but repentance is more
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than rethinking. It certainly is.
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It's turning and doing something.
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You're going in the wrong direction.
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Go in the right direction. So he keeps speaking to them and
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by Chapter 12, he goes, they, he goes away.
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They're worried about him enough that they're going to try to
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take him. Well, they're going to try to
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take him. And so he leaves.
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Noah then in verse 28 commands this is a legal order.
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Arrest him, that I may slay him. He has said these things that he
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might stir up my people, to anger one with another and to
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raise contentions among my people.
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And I will slay them. It's again a four point chiasmus
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right there in verse 28. They're all over the place,
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yeah. And so Noah issues a legal
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arrest warrant. So that's why he has to go in
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hiding. And so a Ben and I gets warned.
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Or the Lord says get out of here and he leaves.
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Now actually, under ancient law, you do have that option.
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If you are accused of something, you can leave the Holy Land, you
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can leave the territory and they won't go out and try and get you
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because as long as you're out of the territory.
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You're not going to cause them problems?
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Exactly. OK, OK, so he comes back,
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though, after two years in disguise.
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Now, Jack, it's interesting. He comes back at a time when
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there's a lot of people there. They're gathered and it he again
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prophecies of the Lord in a perfect chiasmus.
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This is chapter 12 verses one through 8.
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Look how long and beautiful this is.
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I've got it all written out for us.
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Do you think he's worked on this in advance I?
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Think for two years he's been working.
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The Lord has been saying you've got to go back and he's been
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studying and preparing. But this time, the center point
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is sadly it's not about Christ repenting, it's that you are now
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going to be lashed with burdens. That's verse five.
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That's the center on your back. So you're going to be like a
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dumb donkey. Before he said you have a chance
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to repent and now he said all of you are going to be penalized
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and you will be put in bondage. OK, so that's so he's upping the
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ante here. And also if you look in verse
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three, he says that the life of King Noah shall be valued as a
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garment in a hot furnace, for he shall know that I am the Lord.
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That's where I been and I will get into trouble for reviling
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against the King. That's what they.
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Finally, ultimately they will execute him for that and
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ultimately he will be burned because you always want the
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punishment to match the crime. And be Why did he say this,
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then? Well, I presume it was prophecy,
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he said. Thus saith the Lord.
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Let's think about the context here, at least the plausible
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situation. First of all, it's exactly 2
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years later, I think time that have been and I prophesized to
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the people. He's there with a large group
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and he's at the temple. How often did they organize and
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come to the temple? Well, at least three times a
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year. Passover.
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Pentecost. And.
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Feast the Tabernacle. Now, isn't it interesting that
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when you look at the feast of Pentecost and what was done
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there still today? It's celebrating Moses, isn't
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it? Coming up to Sinai?
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It's when Moses goes up onto Mount Sinai and he actually
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allows, he says people come on up and they say Oh no, we can
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see the fire up there. We're not going yet.
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You go for us, you go for us, and then they get in trouble.
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And that's when Moses goes up onto the mountain.
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And of course he comes back with his face shining, and he has the
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10 commandments with him. Back The text says Abinadi's
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face is shining. That's right.
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And he cites the 10 commandments.
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That's in a couple chapters. Does that sound like the Feast
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of Pentecost to you? Well, it's a certainly a
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reenactment of it. Wow.
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And we noticed this a number of years ago.
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And there's a book called The Legal Cases in the Book of
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Mormon. And in there, there's a chart
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that actually lists a dozen ways in which Abinadai's situation
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and his words are very much associated with Pentecost.
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And what's Pentecost? It's 50, the word Pentecost.
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They means 50 and it's the 50th day after Passover.
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It's called the feast of Weeks, Weeks of weeks 49 and the next
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day would be. Seven, yeah, seven weeks. 7 * 7.
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And then on the 50th day is Pentecost.
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And so they are celebrating now the giving of the law.
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And that's exactly what a benedai does, is he discusses
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the law. So in many ways we can see that
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this is probably a a temple day, and that's why there were a lot
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of people there the first time. And what does a benedai do when
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he comes in two years later? He comes in disguise because
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obviously they sought to kill him.
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Well, he got in through the wall, but for being in disguise,
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it's not very smart to stand up in front of everybody and start
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preaching Christ again. But he has to get into town.
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And if he weren't in disguise? Then he couldn't have gotten.
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It you can't get into the gates of the.
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City, it says it's a walled city.
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More than that, Abinadi wants to go at a time when there will be
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a lot of people. He knows that he'll only get one
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opportunity to make his speech and he comes well prepared with
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the speech that he's going to give.
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That's why I think it's all chiastically formulated and.
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So for him to say I have been and I and the Lord has spoken to
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me, it's it's not a clumsy or something we can't understand.
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In fact, it works perfectly for him to be able to get an
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audience where he wants. Now there's also an interesting
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question here, and that is what has been and I'd done for the
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last two years. Where's he been?
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We don't know. We do not know.
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However, I think that he is associating with someone who has
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a copy of the Book of Isaiah and has a precise text of Exodus 20,
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the 10 Commandments. He uses those texts as he comes
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back. He will speak the 10
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Commandments. And like we've said, that's
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Pentecostal. You know Dojak, He doesn't speak
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it in the text. It says this is chapter 13,
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verse 11. And now I read unto you the
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remainder. So I do think he has a text.
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But I also feel like the wicked priests of Noah had text because
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what they bring against him is scripture.
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They bring against him Isaiah 52.
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Well, they know at least that one verse in Isaiah.
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And so clearly Abinadai wants to be sure that he has a written
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copy of the law before he goes so that he doesn't stumble.
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He's an accuser here. He wants to make that accusation
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as precisely as he can, and it's the words of the Lord.
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It's not me, Abinadai, who's doing this.
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Now when he delivers that, the response will be of course.
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How can you accuse us of not doing these things, when Isaiah
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has said how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of them
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who, you know, bring good tidings and He?
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Yeah, that's a chapter 12, verse 21.
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They actually quote that exactly.
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How beautiful are the mountains? The feet of him that bringeth
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good tidings. Now you are not bringing good
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tidings. You're you're, he's saying you
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got to repent. You're going to be now under
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bondage. And they're saying, hey, this,
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we're on a mountaintop here. Blessed are the feet of those on
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the mountain here. Why aren't you preaching peace?
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So you can understand. So I think they did know their
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scriptures 'cause they're saying you shouldn't be bad mouthing
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us. These people have come back up
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from down in Zarahemla. They're at a higher point in
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that. And they are going back to the
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mountain because they think the mountain, that's where the
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original Nephite temple was and how beautiful are the feet of
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those who go to the mountain. I think this has been their key
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scripture justifying why they are there.
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Interesting. And.
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That's why they knew that verse so well, OK.
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And why they are so offended when a Ben and I accuses them of
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not being the ones who are keeping the law?
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In fact, he says in verse 25, after they asked that question,
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he says you're a priest and you pretend that you know the
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scriptures, you know you really Lamblasum.
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But he doesn't give them an answer initially to that exact
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question. He first says, Have you applied
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this to your heart? That's verse 27.
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You know. And and then he asks them, This
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is so fascinating to me. In verse 31 he says here you are
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quoting the law and everything but doth salvation come by the
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law of Moses? What say ye?
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And this is a problem that has plagued Israel before Lehigh's
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time, and all the way through until the time of Christ,
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probably until now you know is are we saved by the law?
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And he answers them. You have to live the law of
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Moses if you live it looking toward the redemption of Jesus
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Christ. And that's when he starts giving
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the 10 commandments. It's in verse 35 as he gives the
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first of the 10 commandments. And there's some other
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subtleties in this language that Abenadai gives to the priests.
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And Abenidai is very wise. He's he is very effective in the
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way he delivers his argument I. Think so, And that's why it's so
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chiastic. And also legalistically, It
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makes sense. Well, of course Abenidai will.
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Then they will almost arrest him at that point.
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I say he's mad in chapter 13. Yeah, 'cause he's crazy, they're
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going to grab him. And he says touch me not, I love
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it. And for the Lord shall smite you
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if you lay your hands on me. I'm not through.
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And that's verse 5, where he says his face shone and they
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back off and it says even as Moses.
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So going back to your thought of Mount Sinai, there's a parallel
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right here in verse 5 to Pentecost.
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Well, in verse 10 he says this much.
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I tell you what you do with me after shall be a type of a
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shadow of the things that are to come.
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So he's prophesying right now. What?
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However? You're going to kill me.
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You just might be stuck with the same penalty.
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And of course. That will happen.
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That happens. And then in verse 11 is when he
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reads the remainder of the 10 commandments.
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So he's he said the 1st 2:00 and then he goes back and he repeats
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verse the 2nd commandment again and then continues on with all
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10. And once he's done all of that,
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in verse 27 he says, And now you've said that salvation comes
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by the law of Moses. I say unto you, it is expedient
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that you should keep the Law of Moses.
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Yeah, you should do that. A time will come when it will be
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no more expedient to keep the law.
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So the law is a temporal thing that was given to us for a
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specific, limited purpose. And the answer is. 28 Is
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beautiful, I say unto the salvation doth not come by the
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law alone, were it not for the atonement which God himself
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shall make for the sins and iniquities of those people that
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they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of
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Moses. Now it's interesting that God is
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making this sacrifice, this atonement, and this will end up
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being a little confusing. Is it God the Father who is
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offering his Son as the sacrifice?
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I think that's the way a Ben, and I is seeing it.
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Yeah, and he. Actually goes into great detail
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on that in chapter 15. Yes, he will get to that in
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chapter 15. And how does he get there?
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Let's look at that. What he goes through, I think
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they quoted Isaiah 52 and now after he gives the 10
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commandments, he quotes Isaiah 53, one of our best chapters on
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the suffering servant who becomes Jesus the crucified.
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Isaiah 53, of course, is the most powerful and beautiful
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scripture about the suffering savior.
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And you weep when you read it. It is so graphic and so
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realistic. It's so heart wrenching.
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He suffers and he bears it. Verse 4 Surely he hath borne our
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griefs, and carried our sorrows. Bruised for our iniquities, the
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chastisement of our peace was upon him.
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With his stripes we are healed. So Abin and I is saying, what
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are you priests thinking? There there will be more to come
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that will fulfill and make the full atonement possible.
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But he they also asked him, why aren't you preaching peace, why
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we're on a mountaintop, Why aren't you preaching peace?
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And then he turns now to say the person who will preach peace is
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not you. And it's not me.
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It is Jesus Christ. He is the Prince of peace.
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And that's that's Isaiah 53 that he sites right here, or that he
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reads, excuse me. And then we get chapter 15, this
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beautiful doctrinal section where he describes who more
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about the Redeemer and his relationship with the Father.
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The words father and Son will then be articulated and
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explained by a Benedi in a way that maybe we can't fully
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understand. We do know that the Father and
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the Son are two beings, but they are so united.
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The Father and the Son are one in their purpose.
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Yeah, he says that in chapter 15 verse four.
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And they are one God. Yeah, the very eternal Father of
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heaven and earth. And yet he does go on and
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describe them as the Son and the Father.
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And I I love the way he describes the fact that the
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Father will offer his Son as the redemption.
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Explains all of this. So he can circle back in the
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middle of chapter 15 to this question about who shall be his
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seed. Oh, that.
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Shall be. His.
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People. Yes, verse 11.
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And eventually in verse 18 this will explain how beautiful upon
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the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings,
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that is the founder of peace. Yeah, even the Lord.
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So it will be the Lord. Who's the Redeemer?
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Yeah, where they have used that verse in Isaiah 52 as if it is
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Speaking of them. And it they are counterfeits,
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they are applying the scriptures incorrectly.
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I love continuing after verse 18 that the in verse 19 the
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redemption was prepared from the foundation of the world, and as
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Joseph is translating this, this becomes our doctrine.
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This is part of the Restoration that the rest of Christianity
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does not understand. It's a Benedite that teaches us
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so much. When did Joseph Smith really
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begin to realize that there was a premortal existence?
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Do you think it's here with a Benedite?
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Well, maybe as he's translating this, he's learning something.
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Yeah, that the redemption was prepared from the foundation of
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the world. That this was all planned
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before. And it then explains, of course,
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how both the Father and the Son are the implementers.
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The they are the powers. They are the divine force behind
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the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He also adds another person who
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is the Prince, who are this publishers of peace?
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He adds prophets. I shouldn't say another person.
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It was another group of people. That's right, he goes on.
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That's verse 13. There will be more.
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Yeah, And then he says, these are they these prophets.
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We'll also publish the draw tidings, but what they're
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publishing is that God reigneth. You know, they're publishing
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that Christ has come or will come, yeah.
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And I think that also when you put this in the context, who
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really reigns here in this city of Nephi?
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Is it King Noah? No.
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And if you people think that you have come up here to the
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mountains to establish peace and be the chosen ones, it's God who
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is reigning and you have not lived according to that
24:15
requirement or explanation in Isaiah 52.
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And so, Bennett, I really does have much better explanation for
24:24
these Isaiah texts than the ones that apparently the people of
24:29
Noah had been using. Oh yeah.
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And I think that's evidence that he knew those people well enough
24:34
that before he probably had been living with them, he was one of
24:37
them. These examples that God bears
24:40
his arm are beautiful. We get beautiful examples of how
24:43
God is going to work with us in. And as you study chapter 15,
24:48
just look for God's hand in our lives.
24:53
And he this is where he describes that the little
24:55
children will have eternal life in verse 25.
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And that the Lord's word will be declared unto every nation,
25:04
kindred, tongue, and people, the expansive nature of this.
25:08
Atoning sacrifice. Red Redemption of God.
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So what? What a Benedi is giving here is
25:14
what I think can be rightly called a Midrash.
25:18
Oh, a commentary on the scriptures.
25:20
The the Jewish scholars of antiquity would read a text,
25:26
read a scripture, and then they would interpret it and they
25:29
would apply it. And we have records of Midrashic
25:33
interpretations. And you have to, if you're going
25:37
to understand what Abenadai is saying, you have to read it side
25:41
by side with Isaiah 52 and 53. So the priest of of Noah had
25:47
started by saying to Abenadai, how can you criticize us?
25:52
We understand Isaiah 52. And.
25:56
Abenadai. You don't.
25:58
You may be misusing that one verse.
26:01
You need to know the context of that verse.
26:03
You need to know how it, how that chapter ends, and what
26:06
comes after it. And also Jack 52 is not only
26:10
part of these suffering servant, the promised Messiah's, but it
26:14
started in 49 and then it was in 50.
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And you know, I just feel like the context of all of these is
26:21
that our Savior will have to be born and die and suffer for our
26:25
us. So this is a very theological
26:29
and spiritual message that Abenadai is giving.
26:33
And we are so grateful that one priest listened and his name was
26:37
Alma, and that he goes out and writes this all down.
26:41
He's literate, he knows how to write and he probably has a very
26:45
accurate memory. Well, He has the Spirit, and
26:48
don't we are we told that the Spirit will bring all things to
26:51
your remembrance? That's a good point.
26:54
The way they learned was by memorization as well, and so he
27:00
has this ability to write this down and I think he probably
27:05
knows this text to some extent. Yes, of course.
27:08
And so it would have been easier to remember Abenedite's.
27:11
Things as arguments, yeah. Hold them in his mind, yeah.
27:14
So maybe we could say, and I like to say to my law students,
27:20
the first rule of statutory construction is keep reading
27:26
that you have to read the context of a lying in a law that
27:30
you are interpreting or applying.
27:33
And I think what a Ben and I is doing here is taking their one
27:37
scripture and now going through keep reading and then come back
27:43
and now read what you think Isaiah 52 is really all about.
27:47
And he offers them a much more correct understanding of it.
27:55
So chapter 16 picks up and says, now, after a Ben and I had
27:59
spoken all of these words, interpreting the Isaiah
28:02
material, he's offering then a few more statements specifically
28:07
about how people will be wicked and they will be cast out.
28:12
Here's what's going to happen when the salvation of the Lord
28:16
actually comes. It will be a time of judgment
28:20
and those who are carnal and devilish.
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That's verse 3 and chapter 16. Yep.
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They will then suffer. And remember that if anyone
28:29
persists verse five in his own carnal nature and goes on in the
28:34
ways of sin and rebellion, there will be no redemption made for
28:39
such person. For he is an enemy to God and
28:43
then a Ben. And I will quote yet one more
28:45
passage from Isaiah so he knows this text too.
28:47
It's Isaiah chapter 16, verse 8, where in Isaiah it says that the
28:52
grave should have no victory and death should have no sting, but
29:00
in verse eight there is a resurrection, and so the sting
29:04
of death is swallowed up in Christ.
29:09
Now in Isaiah it says that death is swallowed up in Netsok
29:17
victory. That's how it's translated in
29:20
First Corinthians when Paul quotes this verse.
29:24
So death will be swallowed up in in Netsok, which can mean in
29:28
victory, or it can mean in the Victor Christ.
29:34
And when Ammon will quote this same verse when he's talking to
29:37
King Lamoni, he will say, and death will be swallowed up in
29:41
the hope of glory. The hope of victory.
29:44
And they're all quoting Isaiah 18.
29:46
So those 3 meanings are legitimate translations of that
29:50
one word in Isaiah. Victor and the hope of victory.
29:54
That's beautiful. So Abinadai then wraps up his
29:59
deliverance of what he thinks salvation is really all about.
30:02
All of that is a commentary on their claim that they are the
30:06
ones who proclaiming salvation on the mountain.
30:15
So what happens after Aben and I was given this wonderful
30:19
address? You'd think they all would have
30:21
said Wow, we've learned. No, no, no, no, no, no.
30:24
They're far too proud, for they are not going.
30:26
To maybe we can improve here. No, no, no, no.
30:29
So what happens in verse one when abinad I had finished this,
30:34
the king Noah commands. That the priest should take him.
30:39
That's right. And 'cause that he should be put
30:40
to death? The king has now issued a legal
30:42
order. This isn't just a polite
30:44
request. They're going to imprison him.
30:46
Yeah, So they will take him and they will imprison him for three
30:50
days. OK, While they try to decide
30:52
what are we going to do with this?
30:54
What cause of action can we really bring against you?
30:58
So when Noah commands the priest to take a benedai, there's one
31:03
priest who won't. Do it.
31:04
That's verse 2. That's Alma.
31:06
And Alma. He was a descendant of Nephi, so
31:10
we knew that some of them were descendants of Mulik.
31:13
But Alma now is a tentative Nephi, and he was a young man,
31:16
and he believed the words that have been and I had spoken.
31:19
And because of that, he won't do what the king has commanded.
31:23
So now a bit. Now Alma is in trouble.
31:27
The king was more wrath, so Noah is now even more angry.
31:30
Because of Alma. He has a disobedient priest.
31:33
And he casts them out. And not only that, it says carry
31:37
him away, that they might slay him.
31:39
So Alma's life is now threatened.
31:44
Defending Benedai the Prophet. And being disobedient to the
31:47
king. And so in verse four he fled and
31:50
hid himself that they could find him not and he That's when he
31:54
writes the words that have been and I spoke.
31:56
So for three days they deliberate about this, they are
32:00
taking this seriously and they are trying to find some
32:05
interpretation or some loophole in the law and they do come back
32:10
to him and they say, OK, we finally found something and you
32:14
are worthy of death. So this is a capital offence
32:16
that they've been able to find. Come up with They're
32:18
manipulating the law to come up with something.
32:20
And it is. You have said that God himself
32:23
should come down among the children of and this, they
32:27
think, is blasphemy. And blasphemy is a capital
32:30
punishment in the law of Moses. And so they offer him a deal.
32:35
A plea bargain. What the plea bargain then
32:38
consists of is, if you will recall, retract the evil words
32:45
that you have spoken about me and my people, then we will
32:50
forget the evil charge that we have against you for speaking
32:54
against Christ. Now that doesn't make much sense
32:58
as a plea bargain, but plea bargains are just Look, you give
33:01
us what we want and we'll give you what you want.
33:03
And abin and I will not recall the words that I've spoken about
33:07
this people and or about you. And he says, and I'll leave and
33:11
suffer so that my words again will stand as a testimony.
33:17
So my death will be a witness as well as my words.
33:21
But then he warns them, ye will shed innocent blood.
33:25
That's also in verse 10. That's right.
33:27
And if you do that, shedding innocent blood means that you
33:33
have crossed over a line and divine punishment would then
33:37
apply. And that's why Noah is scared in
33:40
verse 11. And so he retracts.
33:42
The he retracts the judgement. The king?
33:46
Yeah. Noah was about to release him.
33:48
So then they change his his punishment.
33:52
They say you've reviled the king.
33:54
Well, and that's a safer claim. You notice they've come back
33:57
saying we want to attack a Benedi's words at a theological
34:01
and divine level and if we can get him there, it doesn't look
34:05
like we are acting in our own self-interest politically.
34:09
It would be better to say he was a false prophet than to execute
34:13
him for things he has said about the king, because those words
34:17
about the king will still be there.
34:20
And what a Benedi has done, those those evil words, those
34:24
curses, they have power in the ancient mind and unless you can
34:29
somehow eradicate that, that's why they say, unless you will
34:33
recall the words that have been spoken against.
34:35
Me, Yeah. They're worried about some evil
34:38
and coming upon them because Noah.
34:39
Is rightly concerned that killing him without getting that
34:43
retraction is a problem. And so they they say, OK, let's
34:50
forget the charge about. Blasphemy.
34:53
Blasphemy. And here's the charge.
34:55
He's reviled against the king. That's verse 12.
34:58
And I see all of this as based on pride.
35:00
You know, they're just, they're just totally prideful.
35:03
And that's when they take him and scourge him in verse 13,
35:08
scourged his skin with faggots. I assume that's he was.
35:11
He was beaten with sticks or something before they then put
35:16
him to death by flame in verse 14.
35:18
Yeah, it it can be with sticks. A whip of some sort.
35:22
Or with burning sticks. OK with burning sticks?
35:24
OK, the faggots are just the sticks, yeah.
35:27
We don't know exactly. A a faggot is a burning, you
35:31
know, and I think that they probably did beat him with
35:34
burning branches and burning bushes.
35:37
Again, why? This is Pentecost and the
35:41
burning Bush that Moses saw. Oh, interesting.
35:44
Wicked people wouldn't go up on Mount Sinai.
35:47
Think you know who your God is? Well, your God is not right, and
35:51
we're going to. OK, you cannot stand in the
35:53
presence of God. Yeah, so don't tell us.
35:55
About these priests try to come up with a symbolic way of
35:58
execution that says, God is on our side, and of course this is
36:05
self-serving. And he cries out.
36:08
Verse 15 as the flames begin to scorch him.
36:12
Behold, even as ye have done unto me, so this is the Talionic
36:16
justice, what you've done to me. So shall it come to pass that
36:20
thy seed shall 'cause that many shall suffer the pains that I do
36:25
suffer, and the pains of death by fire even that.
36:29
By Talionic, you mean an eye for an eye.
36:33
And so, because you now have burned me, you will, I mean, be
36:39
the source that's going to cause many to suffer from this.
36:42
Ever you send out, it shall come back and return to you.
36:45
That's that's part of the the jurisprudence there.
36:49
And he goes on and says that they're going to be haunted and
36:52
taken and then they will suffer. That's verse 18.
36:56
But then in 19 he has control a little bit over this.
36:59
He says, oh God, receive my soul.
37:01
And so those. Are his last words.
37:03
Yeah, he's he's taken and it says I love verse 20 that having
37:07
sealed the truth of his words by death.
37:10
As we have seen, many many prophets in the scriptures have
37:15
to suffer that. They are true prophets and they
37:20
know they are true prophets. And even if they are treated
37:26
badly, even even to death, and whether it's a prophet like
37:31
Jeremiah who is threatened with death or Urijah who is actually
37:36
put to death, and these are prophets, at the time of Lehigh,
37:41
they knew that this is the way sometimes those in power abused
37:45
that power. I'm fascinated also because at
37:48
the same time as Lehigh is also Daniel, and in Daniel's case,
37:53
the great faith of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego kept them
37:57
from being killed by the flames. And I don't think Abedinadai's
38:01
faith was any less, when he was burned, to have his witness
38:06
sealed by his life and death. And when bad things happen to
38:10
good people, remember back to a Benedai, remember to Job,
38:14
remember our savior. We need to hold to our
38:19
testimonies because the Lord will consecrate them.
38:22
And next week we get to talk about what happens with these
38:25
words of a Benedi that'll be written down by Alma and the
38:28
beautiful thing that will come out of this tragic end of a very
38:33
good prophet. Well, I think in conclusion,
38:36
Abenadai does get the last word here, and he does have his words
38:41
sealed by his death and his words.
38:45
We are so glad we have these words.
38:47
It is such a blessing. And we can thank Alma, like
38:51
you've said, for preserving these and writing them for us.
38:57
And we can be grateful that death is not an end.
39:04
We'll see a Bened I someday. And we'll see Joseph Smith and
39:09
we'll see Jesus. Death is a terrible thing and
39:15
it's hard whenever it comes because of the nature of that
39:21
separation. But it's a part of the plan.
39:26
And we live and we live beyond. And as we follow the words and
39:34
of the prophets, as we align our lives and actions with our
39:40
Savior, as we allow the redemption of Jesus Christ to be
39:45
fully operational in our lives, we can rise out of death, out of
39:54
ashes into glory. And I testify of that, and I'm
40:01
very grateful. For this wonderful scripture in
40:04
the Book of Mormon and the prophet Mike Abinadai.