For Great Are the Words of Isaiah
I recently completed a personal study of the book of Isaiah. It was my first attempt at really trying to understood his writings, and took me nearly a year to complete. I am very glad that I put in the effort I did, however, because Isaiah is amazing. I will try and write an entry or two on what I learned. To start, here are a few thoughts on why Isaiah is so difficult to understand, and what I can do about it.
In 2 Nephi 25:1, Nephi mentions that his people had a hard time understanding the writings of Isaiah, and then explains why he chose to include them. He also gives several keys to understanding Isaiah. What I recently found interesting, however, is the footnote in verse 1 that leads to Jacob 4:14. In Jacob 4:14, we learn that the Jews desired things that were difficult to understand, and “because they desired it God hath done it, that they may stumble.”
There are two things I took from this verse: first, we are rewarded according to our desires. Second, the book of Isaiah isn't necessarily meant to be hard for me to understand – it was meant to be hard for the Jews of that time to understand.
Following the last footnote in verse 14 to Isaiah 57, I came across another scripture that was interesting. One of the ideas in Isaiah 57:13-14 is that those who trust in the Lord (v13) seek for their stumbling blocks to be removed (v14). In other words, in contrast to the ancient Jews, those who trust in the Lord seek for the gospel to be plain to the understanding.
Applying this principle to myself, I came up with the following: If I trust in the Lord and ask in faith, my stumbling blocks can be removed according to my righteous desires. I can be filled with the spirit of prophecy (2 Nephi 25:4) in such a way that the words of Isaiah will become plain to me.
After spending a year studying Isaiah, I know that Isaiah can become plain and precious. While there are still many parts of Isaiah's writings that I do not fully comprehend, I am amazed at how much I was able to get from the book with just a little more effort than normal. The Savior has commanded us to study Isaiah, “for great are the words of Isaiah,” (3 Nephi 23:1) and He can and will help us to understand Isaiah's writings.
