"A Marvelous Work and a Wonder"
“And the Lord will set his hand again the second time to restore his people from their lost and fallen state. Wherefore, he will proceed to do a marvelous work, and a wonder among the children of men. Wherefore, he shall bring forth his words unto them, which words shall judge them at the last day; For they shall be given them for the purpose of convincing them of the true Messiah, who was rejected by them;”
—2 Nephi 11:28-31
Isaiah’s prophetic ministry is generally dated from around 740 BC to 686 BC during the reign of the Judean kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. God had sent Isaiah to warn Judah and Jerusalem about the consequences of their sin, moral decay and rebellion against God. Isaiah urged them, “Wash ye, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil.” (Isaiah 1:16) If they were willing and obedient they would “eat the good of the land.” (Isaiah 1:19) But if they refused and rebelled, they would be “be devoured with the sword.” (Isaiah 1:20)
In the 29th chapter, Isaiah is specifically speaking to the southern kingdom of Judah. He calls them Ariel which means “lion of God” a direct reference to Judah or Jerusalem. Through Isaiah God tells them that despite Jerusalem's history of festivals and sacrifices, the city will face siege and distress. A prophecy that came true many years after Isaiah’s death when the city was captured and carried away into Babylon. The siege began in 589 BC and lasted approximately 30 months under King Nebuchadnezzar II. The city and the First Temple were systematically razed in the summer of 587 BC, marking the end of the Kingdom of Judah and the beginning of the Babylonian Exile.
But this was not to be the end of Judah or Jerusalem. Isaiah also prophesied of a future hope and restoration of Judah. God would first send a Messiah to Judah. Peter told the Jews, “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you [Judah] first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” (Acts 3:25-26) But they rejected their Messiah and sent Him to the cross.
And because “they [crucified] the God of Israel, and turn their hearts aside, rejecting signs and wonders, and power and glory of the God of Israel” (1 Nephi 5:251) they “become a hiss and a byword, and … hated among all nations.” (1 Nephi 5:252) Was this now the end for Judah and Jerusalem? No. There would be another attempt by God to rescue them. Isaiah prophesied that God would “proceed to do a marvelous work among this people; yea, a marvelous work and a wonder.” (Isaiah 29:26) Nephi speaking by way of the Spirit concerning “the Jews who were scattered among all nations” (2 Nephi 11:25) says, “And the Lord will set his hand again the second time to restore his people from their lost and fallen state. Wherefore, he will proceed to do a marvelous work, and a wonder among the children of men.” (2 Nephi 11:28-19)
This marvelous work and a wonder are “words” that would “be given to them for the purpose of convincing them of the true Messiah, who was rejected by them.” (2 Nephi 11:31) What are these words and where do they come from? These words are the “words of a book, and they shall be the words of them which have slumbered.” (2 Nephi 11:125) They are the records kept by Lehi and his posterity from the time that God lead him, his family and others out from Jerusalem during the reign of the Judean King Zedekiah just prior to Jerusalem being “devoured with the sword” and carried captive into Babylon as Isaiah had prophesied not long before. They are also the records and words of people that migrated to this continent from the time of the Tower of Babel. They are the words of the Book of Mormon.
To bring this marvelous work and a wonder forth, God raised “up a mighty nation among the Gentiles … upon the face of this land” (1 Nephi 7:15) and not long after this nation was raised up, the record was delivered and translated by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. But in the process of raising up this nation, the remnants of Lehi’s seed were driven and scattered perhaps as God’s continued judgement for their own rejection of Jesus who personally visited them and taught them just as he had done among the Jews in Jerusalem. But they too, were to be rescued as this marvelous work and a wonder would be “of great worth” (1 Nephi 7:17) to them also.
These same “words” when declared to them would teach them that “the work of the Father” (3 Nephi 9:93) had begun among them to fulfil the covenants which He had made to all those who were of the house of Israel. Covenants that include a gathering into a land of inheritance, a New Jerusalem on this continent, where the power of heaven would come down among them and even Jesus would be in their midst. Truly a marvelous work and a wonder.
The Book of Mormon emerged nearly 200 years ago, in September 1829. It was published to the world a few months later. Its full mission to Jew and Gentile alike including the remnant of the seed of Lehi upon our continent is not yet complete. But as God has always been, he will be faithful to His word as spoken by the mouth of His prophets. All the promises concerning this record will come to fruition.
This September our theme will be “A Marvelous Work and a Wonder” and we encourage all to spend some time exploring the “words” of this marvelous book. It prophetically speaks expressly to our day. No other time in history seems to match our days of “secret combinations” (a.k.a. deep state) and recent efforts to deliver, teach and preach this work and a wonder to Lehi’s posterity. Isaiah foretold it, and it is happening right before our eyes. Devote time every day to reading the Book of Mormon.