This chapter is in part a coda of Zenos’ allegory; but it is also a continuation of Jacob’s message to the Nephite men in chapters 2-4, and a call for them to repent.
1 I said unto you that I would prophecy, in Jacob 4:15. this is my prophecy—that the things which Zenos spake…must surely come to pass, Jacob’s witness and testimony.
2 set his hand again the second time to recover his people, Jacob is here interpreting a phrase from Isa 11:11, quoted by Nephi (2 Ne 21:11), earlier by Jacob (2 Ne 6:14), later by Nephi again (25:17), and by the Lord (29:1). See also 2 Ne 10.9n. the day…the last time, latter-days. Jacob 5:50-74, or perhaps even v29-end. Thus the bulk of the Allegory refers to the latter-days.
3 how blessed are they who have labored diligently in his vineyard, see Jacob 5:70-72 where the servants labor with the Master. Abinadi quotes Isaiah who expresses the same sentiment, “how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that are still publishing peace!” Mosiah 15:14-18; D&C 18:10-16; 1 Ne 13:37.
4 how merciful is our God…for he remembereth, “for can a woman forget her sucking child…yea, she may forget, yet will I not forget thee…” Isaiah 49:15; 1 Ne 21:16. Zenos’ allegory shows that remembering means consistent care, an action that encompasses all the labor that needs to be done for an individual or a community. The BofM repeatedly exhorts us to remember. God attended to, and remembered, the roots and the branches—all parts. roots and branches, those from whom we came and those who will come out of us, ancestry and posterity. he stretches forth his hand all the day long, see Jacob 5:47. Jacob transforms this image of the arm of judgement and condemnation (Is 65:2) to one of welcome and open embrace—the arm of mercy (Jacob 6:5). stiffnecked/ gainsaying/ hardhearted, contradictory, opposing, quick to object, resist, or speak against. Are we like that? What does the opposite “soft heart” look like?
While God extends an unfailing, universal love and out of mercy “stretches forth his hands…all the day long” (verse 4), it will take proper self-love in addition to love for God to reciprocate the gesture. That is, in order to completely avoid hardening the heart, a person must remain open and loving toward God and others and also toward herself. She must value herself not only as needing but also as worthy of receiving God’s redeeming love…Salvation and eternal relationship with God are contingent upon our acceptance of God’s invitation to relationship…At least seven times within the span of just six verses, Jacob connects human will regarding the state of the heart with receiving salvation (verses 4–9).
Dierdre Green, Jacob: A Brief Theological Introduction
5 repent, always the bottom line, the call to action. come with full purpose of heart…harden not your heart, the change is more about our hearts than our actions. Jacob seems convinced salvation depends on the condition of our hearts. cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you, the Allegory bears this out, at least how God cleaves to us. He invites us into a relationship where we are as dedicated and faithful and indefatigable in our loyalty and love as he is towards us. arm of mercy is extended towards you, non-biblical, but 6x in the BoM. See fn b, plus Dt 7:19; 33:27, he has no shame in showing his love for us, think the father of the prodigal son. C/r 2 Ne 1:15; 28:32; Jac 5:47; Mos 16:12; Morm 5:11; 6:17; D&C 3:8; 6:20; Rom 10:21; alma 34:33. in the light of day, harden not your hearts, what a tragic image that he stands there with open arms to receive us, and yet we refuse his embrace!
God always-already extends open arms to all human individuals, who may choose whether or not to reciprocate divine embrace. This relationship is not inevitable but on the divine side remains perpetually available. Collapsing the space between God and a person, Jacob images the God relationship itself as one that brings the two face-to-face. Realizing the vast power differential between God and those whom God loves as divine creation, God’s condescension makes the situation safe and empowering enough for human beings to enable authentic relationship. Although the divine decision to be in relation with human individuals is made prior to their decision, it does not override their ability and need to choose or reject it for themselves…The verb “to cleave” offers further insight into the God relationship. To cleave is to “stick; to adhere; to hold to,” to “unite aptly,” and to “unite or be united closely in interest or affection; to adhere with strong attachment.”1 God offers relationship to each person from a position of deep investment and emotional attachment. Jacob calls his readers to mirror this relationship by holding to God with a similar affection and interest in God’s being…Although God’s love is relentless and inexhaustible, it is not irresistible. God respects our right to choose, including our right to say no and to reject relationship.
Dierdre Green, Jacob: A Brief Theological Introduction
6 hear his voice, listen to the Spirit within you. harden not your hearts, Jacob is quoting Psalm 95:8 (and he started quoting it in Jacob 1:7 as well). why will ye die?, quoting Ezek 18:31. How are we ‘dead’ when we refuse God’s love? ‘Porque quereis morir?’ Hel 7:17; Ez 33:11; 18:31; Morm 2:14; 3 Ne 9:14; Alma 32:39; 33:20,23; D&C 1:11; Jer 27:13. Lehi makes a similar admonition in 2 Ne 2:28-29, “choose eternal life…and not choose eternal death.”
7 nourished by the good word of God, suggesting that the nourishing in the Allegory can come from God’s word. 2 Ne 32:3; Moro 6:4, and a similar gastronomic metaphor, Heb 6.5 “tasted the good word of God.” bring forth evil fruit, how can this happen? How can we be awash in God’s nourishment (church, scripture, loving parents, leaders, or friends, etc.) and yet somehow still produce evil fruit? Perhaps because the word isn’t written in our hearts (2 Cor 3:2-3), we “have not applied our hearts to understanding” (Mosiah 12:25-27). hewn down and cast into the fire, imagery from the Allegory.
(and the nourishment)
8 will ye reject…which has been laid for you, these phrases points back to the stone foundation of 4:15–17, with which Jacob introduced Zenos’s allegory. will ye deny…quench, an allusion to the necessity of the branches tapping into the nutrients of the roots in order to produce good fruit. It’s not automatic. We can instead “quench” it (extinguish, squelch, suppress, put an end to, put out the fire). Jac 5:18; 1 Thess 5:16-21; Alma 34:37-38. make a mock, interesting phrase. Treat lightly? At least make it of no effect w/r/t ourselves. of the great plan of redemption, non-biblical phrase, but 17x in the BoM (all the other occurrences are in Alma), but it was common in the 19th c. which hath been laid for you, the Plan is for us, not for God. He loves and serves us before we love and serve him.
9 the power of…Christ will bring you to stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God, like it or not, to be judged. Alma teaches the same thing in Alma 5:18 “can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse” etc. It’s either that or, for others, it’s the “pleasing bar of God” (v13; also Moroni 10:34). David O. Mckay taught that this was the one doctrine—the reality that we will all stand before God to answer for our actions—that, if believed, would change behavior most dramatically. ‘bar of God’ is non-biblical but 6x in the BofM.
10 justice cannot be denied, much more on this later in the BofM, but perhaps the most poignant is Alma’s words to his son Corianton in Alma 41-42, where justice, or “more fully condemneth the sinner, and justifieth him not at all.” lake of fire and brimstone is endless torment, within one’s heart and soul of course. And in the D&C 19:6-12 sense, endless torment means God-like torment (not that it will never end); i.e. one will suffer as did God himself, which suffering caused him, “the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink…” (D&C 19:16-19). whose flames are unquenchable, quenching the Holy Spirit (v8) has led to unquenchable flames. 1 Thess 5:19. Many of this verse’s phrases can be found in the New Testament.
Consider the Nephite women and children who are present at Jacob’s sermon. Those who have been abused, wronged, or marginalized in some way may understand justice very differently from those who have enacted that harm. For those who have suffered for a long time, watching abusers escape any form of justice may feel very wrong. Feeling as if righteousness must be equated only with forgiveness and mercy is a heavy burden to bear, particularly for those on the margins. Victims may go their entire lives seeing the structures of power meant to protect them instead offer their aggressors no redress. Knowing that even God cannot deny justice can be a comfort for those who have been deeply oppressed and violated. They may not see justice during their lifetimes, but eventually, the voices from the dust will cry out against those who have caused harm. This makes justice a form of mercy. Justice and mercy are not oppositional; they are inseparably connected in the way God moves with us.
Fatimeh & Salleh, The BofM For The Least of These
11 repent ye, which is exactly what the Savior says in D&C 19 before he describes his suffering (19:16-17). Christ pleads “Repent,” so your don’t suffer “even as I.” enter in at the strait gate, the gate is baptism (2 Ne 31:17). continue in the way which is narrow, on the path leading to eternal life, hearkening back to Lehi’s dream and Nephi’s explication of it.
12 O be wise; what can I say more, a gem. Mormon admonishes the same, Morm 9:28, 31. Mt 10:16; D&C 46:17. fn a. Prov 3:13. It sounds eerily like the Lord of the vineyard asking, “What more could I have done?” Interestingly, the injunction is not to be obedient but to be wise.
13 I bid you farewell, where was he going? Was this a last discourse of some sort shortly before he died? Probably, yes. This then was his oral farewell, while 7:27 contains his written farewell. Brant Gardner, however, suggests that this may have been Jacob’s last discourse as chief priest—that he was presently removed from that office.
In this final sermon, Jacob obviously intended to make the gulf between the community’s practices and Yahweh’s commandments as obvious and painful as possible. Such was his duty as chief priest. Since this sermon suggests little or no repentance after his first sermon, Jacob, as a prophet, is verbally attacking the leaders’ character. It does not require much imagination to see that they would not long submit to such public tongue-lashings. Removing Jacob from his official position is a logical step and, I further hypothesize, replacing him with someone more amendable to fashionable trends. This idea suggests an interesting reading for the story of Jacob and Sherem in the next chapter.
Brant Gardner, Second Witness
pleasing bar of God, which bar striketh the wicked with awful dread and fear, as noted above. 2 Ne 33:11; Moro 10:27, 34; Enos 1:27.
The conclusion of this address suggests sad resignation for Jacob. His people have, during his lifetime, changed from a community built on faith in Yahweh, one that follows Nephi’s inspired leadership, to a secular community following the customs and practices of the world. Even more painful to Jacob is his inability to sway them from the dangerous course they have chosen…Furthermore, his pleading confirms that he has no political/religious power to compel. While he denounces the actions of his people, he cannot do anything directly about it.
Brant Gardner, Second Witness
Holy Envy 