Ephraim?
Is the Word of Wisdom especially tailored to Ephraim (in the Last Days, the tribe to be restored first to prepare the way for the others, etc.)? May they have a tendency for weakness in certain areas? Is this a reason why the Word of Wisdom was given—to help modern Ephraim avoid their stumbling block when confronting worldly vices? Not only alcohol, but other substances are a scourge in our times.
I offer here a comparison of Isaiah 28 and D&C 89, looking for common themes and images in order to explore the possible relation between these two revelations. Revelations come from a common source and may be more interelated than we might realize. (Or perhaps the relationships in this case are mostly part of my own imagination.)
KEY:
In what follows: Isaiah 28 is in regular type. D&C 89 is in italics. Points of contact are in bold. (Not all similarities are of equal significance, some may have no significance. Some are similar in imagery, but not context--can imagery be an independent system? One thing is sure: the way to find things is to search for them.)
1 WOE to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. . .
21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. . .
3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet: . .
5 That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink
20 And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. . .
4 And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up. . .
11 Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving. . .
5 In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, . .
2 . . .showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days-- . . .
19 And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures . . .
6 And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate. . .
7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. 8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean. . .
9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? . .
5 That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father . . .
19 And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures . . .
20 And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.
See also 2 Nephi 28:77 for this prophecy of our time: Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.
I had never thought of it that way before-- that Ephraim itself is prone to the weaknesses mentioned in the Word of Wisdom. But it makes sense. I'm very struck by the parallels in scripture. Also struck by how these series of verses seems to answer to a lot of our current problems that nobody seems to know how to solve. For instance, the destroying angel could be acquainted to disease; I'm thinking STDS and Cancers and such. We're slowly learning tiny bits of information about these diseases, how to prevent them, how to live a lifestyle that keeps us free of them. But perhaps the answer has always lain with the good old WOW.
ReplyDeleteJust curious (as a vegetarian I have to ask this) were there any verses in Isaiah like this that answer to/connect with the concept of eating meat sparingly, in times of winter and cold and famine?
Nosurfgirl,
ReplyDeleteIf one reads the whole chapter of Isaiah 28, the view is more expansive than what I have quoted in my post. But the the setting of their "woe" is established by calling them drunkards. One might generalize their attitude to revelling and feasting and losing control of their appetites, going into addictions, and other things you mention, etc.
I don't know of any specific references in Isaiah to eating meat sparingly, though who knows what a thorough search (perhaps beyond King James language) might turn up. Also, I know there are relevant statements in other books (like JST Genesis 9), but I imagine you are well acquainted with them.
p.s.
Totally unrelated to the Word of Wisdom ideas above, I think Isaiah has some other very interesting things to say. For example, I'm intrigued by a statement in Isaiah 59:
"5 They . . .weave the spider's web. . .6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works."
There are strong images in Isaiah associeated with sacred clothing, and so, in context, the above verses are particularly striking.
Wow, that's really cool, Dad. I especially liked this juxtaposition:
ReplyDelete9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? . .
5 That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father . . .
19 And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures . . .
Who will He teach knowledge to if we are all drunk and our senses/minds are dulled?
Very cool. Those two sources seem to discuss the same issues at length. People might argue that as long as you're not a "drunkard" wine is ok, but it seems to me that the Lord is pretty adamant about people erring "through strong drink." Neat to think that the Word of Wisdom is there to warn us against doing exactly that.
Also... wine is not the only thing that dulls our senses. In particular, I victimize my senses with fluffy, mind-dulling media at times. My excuse is that I "need a break", some "time to veg", etc... but really, should we ever be dulling our minds purposefully? What if the Lord would like to teach us things in those moments when we aren't able to process/cannot sense the lessons and the Spirit?
ReplyDeleteDrunkeness is a phrase that can be applied to a lot of addictions. Alcohol is very symbolic of those addictions, though. It's a very graphic analogy of what happens.
Merrilykaroly, I like your restatement of the question: "Who will He teach knowledge to if we are all drunk and our senses/minds are dulled?"
ReplyDeleteIn a related vein: I wonder if the whole persuit of spiritually-based knowledge leads in the opposite direction from the effects of alcohol and related drugs, and corresponding mindset--perhaps anything we use as a "drug," even music can beused that way. I'm thinking of the effort I have to put out to focus when studying the scriptures, of having my "eye single," listening for the still small voice, seeking light that shines in darkness.
The Word of Wisdom is a very spiritually oriented revelation.
Nosurgirl, I am interested in your inclusion of addictions generally; no man can serve two masters. Also I like where your idea about alcohol/drunkenness being symbolic, leads. There is an interesting statement in Isaiah 49:
26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. . .
Here you have wicked people drunken with their own blood. But it also points to the other side: Christ drinking the cup given Him, and the wine symbolism in the sacrament referring to His blood that we symbolically drink.
I don't know about other folks, but I love it when these symbols go in so many directions, parallelling and contrasting each other in ways that are hard to take in. And no matter how far we follow them, it still feels like we've only begun. I think that Truth is so deep and strong that normal analytical language can't hold it. Which takes us full circle--spiritual knowledge.