His Hand is Still Upraised

Sometimes life seems overwhelming. Whether it be a class or a test at school that feels like more than we can do, or an illness, or an employment setback, life can be quite difficult at times. These are the times to remember God's covenant with His people. An oft repeated word in the Book of Mormon is "remember." We are encouraged to remember: the words of the Lord (1 Ne 4:14), our Redeemer (1 Ne 19:18), the greatness of the Holy One of Israel (2 Ne 9:40), to be grateful for the scriptures (Mosiah 1:3), that the Lord delivered Israel from bondage in Egypt and us from our own captivity (Alma 29:10-12), as well as the covenants the Lord has made with us (3 Ne 20:29).

I found a phrase in Isaiah that is, to me, quite inspiring, especially in difficult times. In 2 Nephi 19-20 (Isaiah 9-10), Isaiah is declaring the woes that will befall Israel. These include that Israel will be attacked by Syria and the Philistines, that they will be led to destruction by their leaders, that they will be as fuel in the fire, that they will be hungry, and that the tribes of Israel will turn against each other. He finally says that they will be captives. Then, Isaiah asks the question in Isaiah 10:3, "to whom will ye flee for help?"

Amidst all these woes, there is a phrase that is repeated three times in chapter nine and then repeated again a fourth time early in the next chapter. The phrase is:

For all this his anger is not turned away,
     but his hand is stretched out still. (King James Version)

I have long wondered what this stretched out hand signified. I gather from the first part of the phrase that the trials of life, some of our own making and some that happen because of the circumstances in which we live, will be allowed by the Lord to happen. But I have wondered what we are to understand from the hand that is stretched out. Recently, I looked at several translations of Isaiah and found that another reasonable translation of this phrase is:

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
     his hand is still upraised. (New International Version)

When I saw that the hand that is stretched out may be an upraised hand I flashed back to a recent experience where I had to testify in a legal proceeding. Before testifying I was asked to raise my right hand to be sworn in. My raised right hand was part of my signifying that I would tell the truth. Thus, a common gesture associated with being sworn in, or making an oath, is the upraised right hand.

This insight into the Lord's hand being upraised became more significant to me when I read the concluding verses of Nephi's extended quote of Isaiah. Nephi quotes twelve chapters of Isaiah that include condemnation of Israel for sinning against their covenant with the Lord, prophecies of the scattering of Israel, the coming of the Messiah, the scattering of Judah, and the restoration of the gospel. Finally, the destruction of the wicked leading up to the second coming of Christ is described. The final chapter describes the destruction of Assyria as a type of the salvation of the righteous at Christ's coming. In the context of the assurance that when we are surrounded by Assyria, and all seems lost, is the assurance that we will be delivered. In describing our salvation, the meaning of the outstretched (upraised) hand is given in 2 Ne 24:

  24 The Lord of Hosts hath sworn, saying: Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand—
  25 That I will bring the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot; then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.
  26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all nations.
  27 For the Lord of Hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul? And his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

As verse 24 says, we are in a covenant relationship with the Lord. He has sworn, with his hand stretched out (upraised) that we will endure trials and that the faithful will be delivered. The Lord is telling us, through the prophesies of Isaiah, that his purpose for the whole earth is that when we trust in the Lord, he will ultimately deliver us. Life may feel as bleak as Jerusalem surrounded by the Assyrian army. But we have a covenant with the Lord that He will deliver us if we rely on Him. He has reminded us of that promise in our day in D&C 1:

  38 What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.

I do not mean to suggest that life will be easy for the righteous. I do, however, suggest that there is reason for hope even during the most difficult times in life. I agree with Nephi's testimony when he says in 1 Nephi 22:

  30 Wherefore, my brethren, I would that ye should consider that the things which have been written upon the plates of brass are true; and they testify that a man must be obedient to the commandments of God.
  31 Wherefore, ye need not suppose that I and my father are the only ones that have testified, and also taught them. Wherefore, if ye shall be obedient to the commandments, and endure to the end, ye shall be saved at the last day. And thus it is. Amen.

Life can be difficult. Sometimes the trials seem overwhelming. While we are not promised that each and every trial will be taken away, our struggles have meaning when we understand that we are in a covenant with the Lord that will bring us back into His presence to dwell among the people of Zion. Life could be overwhelming without that sense of meaning. Trials are easier to endure when they are known to be part of our covenant journey.