1 Nephi, Chapter 4

[serapha]

9 And I beheld his sword, and I drew it forth from the sheath thereof; and the hilt thereof was of pure gold, and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine, and I saw that the blade thereof was of the most precious steel.

Well, let's not get into the lengthy discussions on "steeling" at this time. That particularly "most precious" steel sword re-occurs in the bom, doesn't it?

14 And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in the land of promise.

My first thought was,

Was Nephi obedient to the instructions of God because it was commanded, or for the "reward"..... "they shall prosper in the land of promise?"

3 Now behold ye know that this is true; and ye also know that an angel hath spoken unto you; wherefore can ye doubt? Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians.

and....

17 And again, I knew that the Lord had delivered Laban into my hands for this cause--that I might obtain the records according to his commandments.

18 Therefore I did obey the voice of the Spirit, and took Laban by the hair of the head, and I smote off his head with his own sword.

Now the first passage describes that they are to destroy Laban even as the Egyptians... which God destroyed the Egyptians, including the Pharoah, and it was no one' person's hand that was required to kill. Yet, with that example, Nephi takes the sword and kills Laban, not as the Egyptians were killed, but by his own hand.

Where is the comparison there?

20 And after I had done this, I went forth unto the treasury of Laban. And as I went forth towards the treasury of Laban, behold, I saw the servant of Laban who had the keys of the treasury. And I commanded him in the voice of Laban, that he should go with me into the treasury.

It would not be a mere "servant" who would hold the keys to the treasury, but the lead servant, or possibly even the heir to the master if there was no son born into the family. Yet, this lead servant who could possibly be the heir, gave up his rights to follow Nephi.

okay.

~serapha~

[AFDaw]

Originally posted by serapha@Apr 1 2004, 08:32 PM

9 And I beheld his sword, and I drew it forth from the sheath thereof; and the hilt thereof was of pure gold, and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine, and I saw that the blade thereof was of the most precious steel.

Well, let's not get into the lengthy discussions on "steeling" at this time.  That particularly "most precious" steel sword re-occurs in the bom, doesn't it?

Yes, Laban's sword is passed down with the plates and becomes a sacred relic.

14 And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in the land of promise.

My first thought was,

Was Nephi obedient to the instructions of God because it was commanded, or for the "reward"..... "they shall prosper in the land of promise?"

Because it was commanded.

3 Now behold ye know that this is true; and ye also know that an angel hath spoken unto you; wherefore can ye doubt? Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians.

and....

17 And again, I knew that the Lord had delivered Laban into my hands for this cause--that I might obtain the records according to his commandments.

18 Therefore I did obey the voice of the Spirit, and took Laban by the hair of the head, and I smote off his head with his own sword.

Now the first passage describes that they are to destroy Laban even as the Egyptians... which God destroyed the Egyptians, including the Pharoah, and it was no one' person's hand that was required to kill.    Yet, with that example, Nephi takes the sword and kills Laban, not as the Egyptians were killed, but by his own hand. 

Where is the comparison there?

I don't think verse 3 is saying that Laban will be killed the same way that the Egyptians were killed, but rather, the Lord will deliver Laban to them, as the Lord delivered Egyptians to their fathers. Fathers meaning ancestors...not literally their fathers, since they obviously all have the same father.

20 And after I had done this, I went forth unto the treasury of Laban. And as I went forth towards the treasury of Laban, behold, I saw the servant of Laban who had the keys of the treasury. And I commanded him in the voice of Laban, that he should go with me into the treasury.

It would not be a mere "servant" who would hold the keys to the treasury, but the lead servant, or possibly even the heir to the master if there was no son born into the family.  Yet, this lead servant who could possibly be the heir, gave up his rights to follow Nephi. 

Not sure what exactly is the question here, but Zoram was a righteous man and Laban was not. When Zoram discovered that the man was not Laban, Nephi made an oath.

1 Nephi 4:32 "And it came to pass that I spake with him, that if he would hearken unto my words, as the Lord liveth, and as I live, even so that if he would hearken unto our words, we would spare his life."

To these people an oath is the most binding of promises and people didn't makes oaths that they didn't intend to keep. The most serious of oaths was an oath on the life of something. Usually it was on their own life, but even more serious was when someone would make on oath on God's life as well. So Nephi gave the higest of oaths when he said "as the Lord liveth, and as I live" and Zoram no longer feared him.

[serapha]

And, going through the book of 1 Nephi is not just for my benefit,

and your comments on the chapter are?

~serapha~

[AFDaw]

The Oath is important, that's what I would have talked about. I also like verse 13

1 Nephi 4:13 "Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief."