D&C 1:1 - Part 3: Scattered Israel
D&C 1:1...yea verily I say hearken ye people from afar and ye
that are upon the islands of the sea listen together
The second portion of this first verse adds greater contextual
understanding to the Lord’s target audience. The coupling of these two phrases, those from afar
and those islands of the sea, is found in only two other scriptural passages: Isaiah
49:1 and 1 Nephi 21:1. There are multiple occurrences in scripture of the terms
"people from afar" or "afar off" and people upon the "isles" or "islands" of the sea, but they only
come together like this verse in very few instances. And truly, Nephi’s account is really a quotation of
Isaiah’s, and he expands the verse slightly in his rendering of it. So this phrase originally comes from the book of Isaiah.
[As an aside, it is interesting how the Lord gives to the Nephites (and consequently to us) a "commandment" to search out the words of Isaiah, "for great are the words of Isiah" (3 Nephi 23:1). And here again, in D&C 1:1 he is giving another "warning voice" to listen to the words of Isaiah, for he intertwines Isaiah's writings and meanings with the words of modern-day revelation through Joseph Smith. Perhaps we should become more familiar with Isaiah's writings.]
As we read contextually, Nephi begins in 1 Nephi 20 to quote Isaiah’s Messianic address to the covenant people who have strayed from their covenant. “Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob…, and come forth out of the waters of Judah, or out of the waters of baptism, who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, yet they swear not in truth nor in righteousness” (1 Nephi 20:1). Here it is obvious the Lord is speaking with those who have made covenants and then broken them. He continues to address these people the entire chapter. In the next chapter, the Lord say, “And again,” meaning he is adding unto or on top of what he already said. This time, he is addressing those who are of the house of Israel, but are “driven out because of the wickedness of the pastors” and are “scattered abroad, who are of my people.” In this context, he calls, “Listen, O isles, unto me, and hearken ye people from afar” (1 Nephi 21:1).
People from Afar[As an aside, it is interesting how the Lord gives to the Nephites (and consequently to us) a "commandment" to search out the words of Isaiah, "for great are the words of Isiah" (3 Nephi 23:1). And here again, in D&C 1:1 he is giving another "warning voice" to listen to the words of Isaiah, for he intertwines Isaiah's writings and meanings with the words of modern-day revelation through Joseph Smith. Perhaps we should become more familiar with Isaiah's writings.]
As we read contextually, Nephi begins in 1 Nephi 20 to quote Isaiah’s Messianic address to the covenant people who have strayed from their covenant. “Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob…, and come forth out of the waters of Judah, or out of the waters of baptism, who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, yet they swear not in truth nor in righteousness” (1 Nephi 20:1). Here it is obvious the Lord is speaking with those who have made covenants and then broken them. He continues to address these people the entire chapter. In the next chapter, the Lord say, “And again,” meaning he is adding unto or on top of what he already said. This time, he is addressing those who are of the house of Israel, but are “driven out because of the wickedness of the pastors” and are “scattered abroad, who are of my people.” In this context, he calls, “Listen, O isles, unto me, and hearken ye people from afar” (1 Nephi 21:1).
Nearly every occurrence of the word “afar” in scripture refers
to people or things that are in the distance, but on the horizon, either
literally or figuratively. A specific example of the use of this word in spiritual context
is in Exodus when the children of Israel stood afar off and asked Moses to
commune with the Lord in their behalf. They said to Moses, “Speak thou with us,
and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said
unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may
be before your faces, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses
drew near unto the thick darkness where God was” (Exodus 20: 19-21). Moses approached the Lord, but the people could not, or would not. The physical difference shows a spiritual separation.
When Joseph wrote these words in D&C 1:1 in 1831 the Lord was perhaps not addressing people who were physically distant from him or from those elders he met with in conference, or referring to people who are far away, so much as the Lord is making a link in scriptural terms to address a particular subset of his covenant people. These people, like those in the time of Moses, are distant or “afar” from the Lord. They are either afraid to approach the Lord or unwilling to do so. They are on the horizon, but have yet to come to the Lord in a more intimate relationship. God is no respecter of persons and all can come unto him. These people have the opportunity to come unto Christ and become one with him, but as yet stand afar off. These people are part of those the Lord would like to gather.
Upon the Isles of the SeaWhen Joseph wrote these words in D&C 1:1 in 1831 the Lord was perhaps not addressing people who were physically distant from him or from those elders he met with in conference, or referring to people who are far away, so much as the Lord is making a link in scriptural terms to address a particular subset of his covenant people. These people, like those in the time of Moses, are distant or “afar” from the Lord. They are either afraid to approach the Lord or unwilling to do so. They are on the horizon, but have yet to come to the Lord in a more intimate relationship. God is no respecter of persons and all can come unto him. These people have the opportunity to come unto Christ and become one with him, but as yet stand afar off. These people are part of those the Lord would like to gather.
The reference to islands of the sea is a recurrent phrase
used often in reference to the scattered House of Israel. In 1 Nephi 22, Nephi
gives explanation to what Isaiah meant Isaiah 49 (or 1 Nephi 21). “There are many who are
already lost from the knowledge of those who are at Jerusalem,” Nephi tells his
brothers. “Yea, the more part of all the tribes have been led away; and they
are scattered to and fro upon the isles of the sea; and whither they are none of
us knoweth, save that we know that they have been led away. And since they have
been led away, these things have been prophesied concern them [referring to the
writings of Isaiah], and also concerning all those who shall hereafter be
scattered and confounded” (verses 4-5). It is clear from his writings that Nephi
considered his own people to be among those scattered upon the islands of the sea (2
Nephi 10:20-21).
Just as in the ancient Hebrew prophets used poetic parallelism to compare and contrast meaning to their writings, it appears the Lord is doing a similar comparison here.
Just as in the ancient Hebrew prophets used poetic parallelism to compare and contrast meaning to their writings, it appears the Lord is doing a similar comparison here.
- D&C 1:1 - "Hearken, O ye people of my church" parallels with "Hearken ye people from afar and...upon the islands of the sea". (See the post on D&C 1.1 - Part 1 for more information about the term church.)
- 1 Nephi 21:1 - "Hearken, O ye house of Israel" who are "broken off and are driven out" or "scattered abroad" parallels to those who are of the isles and "people from far".
Ancient Israel was scattered for various reasons. Some were removed from their place because of their own wickedness. Others were removed because of the "wickedness of the pastors" or others of his church; these individuals were righteous but removed from the covenant people because of the wickedness of the leaders. This pattern is predicted to happen again in our day, and in some instances has already certainly occurred. It appears in these verses that the Lord is calling to these "islands", those either literally scattered across the face of the earth (which would include the ancient Nephite people) as well as those who are figuratively scattered, or islands unto themselves of righteous observance before God yet broken off because of the wickedness of the pastors of his people.
Listen Together
In sum, Lord is calling upon two groups of his children in the Doctrine and Covenants to listen as one:
Listen Together
In sum, Lord is calling upon two groups of his children in the Doctrine and Covenants to listen as one:
- Those of his church, or those who have repented and truly come unto Christ. These are not those confined by brick and mortar, by charters or ledgers. These are the church of Christ because they are his disciples in heart and mind; and
- Those who will eventually come unto Christ but are now still afar off, believing in Christ but have not yet developed a personal relationship with him or have yet to been gathered to him. These may literally standing afar off perhaps because they are driven from one part of the earth to another or figuratively afar off because of fear or hesitation to come yet unto the Lord.