This is one of those chapters in the Book of Mormon that
helps me to understand why Nephi loved Isaiah’s writings so much that he
included them in his record. In verse 8,
Isaiah prophesied of the fall of the Northern Kingdom (those ten tribes now
“lost”). The prophecy was fulfilled in
721 BC, which was a little over 100 years prior to Lehi’s leaving
Jerusalem. At the time Nephi was reading
Isaiah, the fall of the Northern Kingdom was, historically speaking, in recent
memory. Lehi and Nephi both had
prophesied of the fall of Jerusalem, and were both ridiculed for it. Indeed, both their lives had been endangered
because of that prophecy. Verse 8 must
have been one of those “I-told-you-so” verses that validated Nephi’s faith. Perhaps he rejoiced over it. Whether he did or didn't, surely he rejoiced
over verse 14, for Nephi told us he delights in proving to his people the
coming of Christ. Isaiah wrote: “Behold,a virgin shall conceive, and shall bare a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel,” which means: God with us.
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