2 Nephi 14:5-6

[pam]

Reference Search: 2 Nephi 14:5-6

5 And the Lord will create upon every dwelling-place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for upon all the glory of Zion shall be a defence.

6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and a covert from storm and from rain.

Quotes for Discussion

“Zion a place of refuge”

In Bible times men did not build houses with the idea in mind that most of their daily living would be spent inside them. Their first interest was in spending as much time as possible in God’s out-of-doors. The house served as a place of retirement. For this reason the outside walls of the humble house were not inviting. There was no effort to attract attention to this place of retirement. The purpose of these dwellings is borne out by the meaning of the Hebrew and Arabic words for “house.” Rev. Abraham Rihbany, who was born in Syria and spent his early life there, has made a very illuminative statement about the meaning and purpose of the Palestinian house:

The Hebrew word bavith and the Arabic word bait mean primarily a “shelter.” The English equivalent is the word “house.” The richer term, “home,” has never been invented by the son of Palestine because he has always considered himself “a sojourner in the earth.” His tent and his little house, therefore, were sufficient for a shelter for him and his dear ones during the earthly pilgrimage.

Because the Palestinians lived out-of-doors so much, the sacred writers were fond of referring to God as a “Shelter” or as a “refuge,” rather than as a “home.”

Fred H. Wight, Manners and Customs of Bible Lands [Chicago: Moody Press, 1953], 20-21

The time is soon coming, when no man will have any peace but in Zion and her stakes. I saw men hunting the lives of their own sons, and brother murdering brother, women killing their own daughters, and daughters seeking the lives of their mothers. I saw armies arrayed against armies. I saw blood, desolation, fires. The Son of Man has said that the mother shall be against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother. These things are at our doors. They will follow the Saints of God from city to city. Satan will rage, and the spirit of the devil is now enraged.

Joseph Smith, TPJS, p. 161

The First Presidency has called on the parents of the Church to hold family home evening and family prayer, to study the gospel in the home, and to spend time with children in wholesome activities….

When I was growing up, my father often led our family in gospel discussions around the dinner table. Only with the perspective of years do I understand today the contribution those family hours made to my own testimony. I rejoice in the prophecy of Isaiah that the time will come when “upon every dwelling place of mount Zion” there shall be “a cloud…by day, and …a flaming fire by night” (Isa. 4:5), when the Spirit of God will abide in the homes of His people continually.

Bruce D. Porter, Ensign, May 2001, 81

I believe this building is called a Tabernacle, and it will accommodate from twelve thousand to fifteen thousand persons, and it is a tolerably cool place for the people in the heat of summer, especially to be a shade in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge and a covert from storm and from rain and tempest. I do not think that storms or tempests would affect a congregation that might be assembled in the Lord's Tabernacle; but I wish particularly to call your attention to the preceding verse--"The Lord shall create upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion, and upon all her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flame or pillar of fire by night."

I do not see any cloud covering this house, or the congregation that is before me. What is the reason? The time has not yet come. The time is to come when God will meet with all the congregation of his Saints, and to show his approval, and that he does love them, he will work a miracle by covering them in the cloud of his glory. I do not mean something that is invisible, but I mean that same order of things which once existed on the earth so far as the tabernacle of Moses was concerned, which was carried in the midst of the children of Israel as they journeyed in the wilderness.

Did God manifest himself in that tabernacle that was built according to the pattern which he gave unto his servant Moses? He did. In what way? In the day time a cloud filled that tabernacle. The Lord intended his people to be covered with the cloud continually, and he intended to reveal himself unto them, and to show forth his glory more fully amongst them; but they sinned so much in his sight that he declared-- "My presence shall not go up with this people, lest I should break forth upon them in my fury and consume them in a moment." Because of their wickedness he withdrew his presence. and his glory in a great measure was taken from them; but still Moses was permitted to enter the tabernacle, and to behold the glory of God, and it is said that he talked with the Lord face to face--a blessing which God did intend to bestow upon all Israel had they kept his law and had not hardened their hearts against him.

But m the latter days there will be a people so pure in Mount Zion, with a house established upon the tops of the mountains, that God will manifest himself, not only in their Temple and upon all their assemblies, with a visible cloud during the day, but when the night shall come, if they shall be assembled for worship, God will meet with them by his pillar of fire; and when they retire to their habitations, behold each habitation will be lighted up by the glory of God,--a pillar of flaming fire by night.

Did you ever hear of any city that was thus favored and blessed since the day that Isaiah delivered this prophecy? No, it is a latter-day work, one that God must consummate in the latter times when he begins to reveal himself and show forth his power among the nations. (JD, 16:82.)

Monte S. Nyman, Great are the Words of Isaiah, p.38-39

Storm/rain

These are symbols for God’s judgments on the wicked (Ps. 83:15). The storms remove the wicked from their places as chaff is removed from the wheat (Job 21:18; 27:21), while the righteous, like wheat, are gathered into protected units and preserved (in the Lord’s temples and other holy places).

Parry, Parry, Peterson, Understanding Isaiah, p. 49