Isaiah and Zenos

This week in our Book of Mormon class we began our discussion on Isaiah's writings by examining a unique and beautiful aspect of this Prophet-poet's words.  This aspect was one of timelessness.  The words of Isaiah can be looked at as prophecy for his own day, Christ's time, or these last days, and will remain true under all three points of view.  For one passage that we touched on briefly in class I found added beauty by comparing the words from Isaiah 5 (or 2nd Nephi 15) and the words from Zenos in Jacob 5.  Of all the comparisons to make in these chapters my favorite is as follows:

What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? (2 Nephi 15:4)

But what could I have done more in my vineyard? Have I slackened mine hand, that I have not nourished it? (Jacob 5:47)

 The Lord poses the powerful rhetorical question to the house of Israel (2 Nephi 15:3, Jacob 5:1) with the implied answer that the Lord, in all situations, does all that he can for his covenant people.  The Lord doesn't slacken his hand or withhold his graces from any.  After our discussion on the timelessness of Isaiah I found it beautiful and comforting to find such a passage in the writings of Isaiah.  The Lord won't just do everything in his power in Isaiah's day, or in Christ's day, but is just as willing to aid us in our own lives and in our modern-day struggles.  There are many things to be learned from Isaiah, and I feel I've merely scraped the surface of the meanings of some of his passages.  But as I've delved into his words I've found great, yet simple, treasures of knowledge and understanding about how God worked anciently, and how I can look for God to work in my life today.