His Hand Is Stretched Out Still.

“וְהָעָ֥ם לֹא־שָׁ֖ב עַד־הַמַּכֵּ֑הוּ וְאֶת־יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֹ֖ות לֹ֥א דָרָֽשׁוּ׃”

For one of Stef's school assignments, she asked her family members to help her brainstorm different sermons that are taught in the Old Testament in a single line. The example given was in Gen. 39 when Joseph of Egypt provides us with his timeless words, "There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?"

I've decided to gather information for a one-line sermon of my own. Stef, you are more than welcome to use any these ideas. The "one-liner" I have selected is repeated numerous times in the first chapters of Isaiah: For all this [apostasy] his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still." The EXAMPLES section towards the bottom is the best chunk if you only have a little time to read.

Isaiah 5:25
"Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still."

Isaiah 9:12,17,21
"The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still."
• • •
Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away,but his hand is stretched out still."
• • •
Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still."
Isaiah 10:4
"Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still."

Background:

Isaiah used his parable of the vineyard, in chapter 5, to illustrate the impending destruction and scattering of Israel (Judah). The first 23 verses list transgressions that let to the complete apostasy of Israel in that day. These same verses act as prophesy for the last days.

Verse 8. They built up great estates through wickedness. Though called by different names throughout history, land barons have always had an insatiable need for land. Many modern day land developers, for example, are not be satisfied until they swallow up every small plot of land around them. What is worse is that these covetous "businessmen" dedicate this land for private use, and forcing out others who might benefit from use of the land.

Verse 11. Endless drunkenness and partying prevail, with no regard for God. Pleasure is their God.

Verse 12. There is no knowledge of truth and true principles. Ignorance is a hindrance in any field of endeavor, but especially in spiritual things. Joseph Smith taught, "A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge." (Teachings, p.217)

Verse 18. They draw sin and iniquity with ropes of vanity. This is an idiomatic expression meaning, "they are tied to their sins like beasts to their burdens." In a word, addicts.

Verse 20. They pervert righteousness and goodness, calling them evil and try to pass off evil things as good. It is the nature of sinners to reject the reality of the consequences of their transgressions, and so they attempt to explain them away.

Verse 21. They are "wise in their own eyes" and lean on their own understanding and not faith in God. We see examples of this perversion in the lives of anyone who has become "self-sufficient and are prepared to lean unto their own understanding, even to the point where they think they are independent of God; and because of their worldly learning they feel that if they cannot prove physically, mathematically, or scientifically that God lives, they can and should feel free to question and even to deny God and Jesus Christ." (N. Eldon Tanner, Conference Report, Oct. 1968, pp.48-49)

Verse 23. They "justify the wicked for reward." An example of this would be declaring innocent those who are guilty for a bribe or declaring innocent men as guilty in order to silence them or take their possessions.

Interpretation:

In the Isaiah examples, this phrase is always proceeded by a description of plagues, calamities and judgments that will befall an unrepentant Israel. This phrase is in context to the Lord’s anger towards Israel’s arrogance/pride. LDS scholars often interpret the aforementioned phrase to mean “even though God is angry, his hand of mercy is still extended to Israel.” We see this interpretation in the CES Book of Mormon student manual:

“Isaiah prophesied that Israel would refuse to heed the Lord. Yet, in spite of Israel’s rejection of the Lord, ‘his hand is stretched out still’” (link)

A footnote to King James Version of Isaiah 9:12 further clarifies the phrase: "In spite of it all, the LORD is available if they will turn to him," and refers the reader to the Topical Guide heading "God, Access to."

However, the rest of the world would ask, "which way is God's palm facing? Is it turned upward in an inviting, lifting pose, or is it menacingly faced down" Multiple non-LDS translations illuminate a differing interpretation of what we naturally see as a message of mercy:

The Message Bible

“But even after that, he was still angry,his fist still raised, ready to hit them again.”

New Living Translation

“But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied. His fist is still poised to strike.”

Contemporary English Version

“But even this did not stop him from being angry, so he kept on punishing them.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible

“In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised to strike.”

New International Reader’s Version

“Even then, the Lord is still angry. His hand is still raised against them.”

New International Version

“Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.”

A little scary, yeah? It's no surprise that most agnostics don't want to learn more about God.

One scholar, Frank P. Miller, offers a similarly unmerciful interpretation the Lord's hand is stretched out in judgment against a rebellious nation. Moeller's commentary on Isaiah 9 reads:

"Here God declares himself as the one who is bringing these calamities. The reason: because the punishments have not turned the people to him. Since they continue in their abandonment of the source of their help he will allow further calamities to overtake them. ...There was more to come from the hand of a wrathful God. This series will only end with the complete destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel and their extinction as a political entity." [italics added]

However, we know from comparing similar phraseology from the Book of Mormon that the true intentions of the Lord, in this case, are indeed merciful. 2 Nephi 28:32 reads,

"Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts! For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts."

In his Oct 2006 Conference address "Prophets in the Land Again," Jeffrey R. Holland reflected this interpretation of the phrase when he stated,

To all of you who think you are lost or without hope, or who think you have done too much that was too wrong for too long, to every one of you who worry that you are stranded somewhere on the wintry plains of life and have wrecked your handcart in the process, this conference calls out Jehovah’s unrelenting refrain, “[My] hand is stretched out still.” ...His is the pure love of Christ, the charity that never faileth, that compassion which endures even when all other strength disappears. I testify of this reaching, rescuing, merciful Jesus, that this is His redeeming Church based on His redeeming love..."

New Understanding:

God is angry with sin. He hates sin; not only does sin distract from the glory of God, but it also breaks the fellowship between God and His people. Whenever we read of God's anger in the Old Testament, we can infer that God is not angry with his children, but with the sin rooted inside of them. This principle may be simplified to an old adage, "hate the sin, love the sinner."

With this mentality, I have been able to develop a deeper understanding of two principles. First, I now realize that the wrathful, jealous and violent God depicted in the Old Testament centered His negative emotions not on specific peoples, but on the intolerable sin that was cultivated amongst them. Second, I can better relate to the parables regarding vineyards, wheat and tares on a more personal level: we are commanded to individually be weeding the fields of our own hearts and minds in preparation for the Savior's coming.

Those who think that God does not judge sin do not know the God of the OT. He will accomplish His purposes and fulfill His glory. God is never glorified by the sin of His people, but He will be glorified as He exposes it, judges it, and purges it from the lives of His people.

The hand of God can be used for our good and it can be our "bad". His hand can be used for gentle prodding in the right direction, steering away from a wrong paths. His hand can be for a comforting, encouraging touch. However, His hand could also be used for a good whipping for discipline, chastisement, and/or punishment.

Examples:

1. Heart Surgeon treating a patient with a heart disease.

A doctor has many opportunities to treat his patient at the various stages of heart disease. At first, the doctor would warn the patient to make changes in his diet or tell him to exercise differently. If that doesn't work for the patient, the doctor would then prescribe non-invasive medication to treat the disease. If the disease persists, the doctor may feel it necessary to operate. When a patient completely ignores the doctor, his heart disease will inevitably come to full term. The patient will experience cardiac arrest, and the doctor will do all he can to resuscitate him, typically by means of a painful shocks from a crash-cart. In Israel's case, God's Chosen People didn't even see a doctor until it was too late. In God's mercy, he attempted to treat them along every stage of their Spiritual degradation, but they wouldn't listen to him. Finally, the Great Doctor, could do nothing but allow the consequences of their choices consume them.

2. A Group "Intervention"

Isaiah warned in chapter 9 that Israel would sustain complete spiritual death because they chose to spiritually isolate their minds and hearts from the Lord. Recovery from spiritual death may cost the same pain and agony that would be required to arrive at the brink of and recover from physical death. In the Lord's wisdom, he might see fit that it would be to our eternal benefit to physically die in order to better root the evil and sin out of us from the confines of the Spirit World. From God's perspective, what we see as the utter destruction of a corrupt city could be compared to a godly group-intervention on the behalf of a city of sinners.

2. Performing Toenail Surgery.

How many times did my father warn me not to cut my toe nails too low on the sides? Time and time again, he informed me that improper trimming would result in ingrown nails; yet I would do it anyway. After enough times of over-cutting, an ingrown nail caused me enough pain that I turned to the experienced hand of my father to redeem the situation. With tears running down my face and with shouts of protest I held on to my dad's arm as he skillfully cut away the overlapping skin with a blade.

In this example the hand of my father could be seen as merciful and angry at the same time. Although his hand inflicted pain, the ultimate motivation behind the cutting was that of mercy and love. The sin, or infected skin in this example, had to be removed. It's growth was the consequence of my previous choices to cut my toe nails how I wanted and not how I was instructed.

4. Abusive spouses. (DC 121:39)

"We have learned from sad experience, it is the disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion." Until now, I never had a clear example of what this verse of scripture meant; I always assumed it referred to priesthood leaders and those they are responsible for. I realize now that this has heavy implications in a covenant marriage relationship. If a woman behaves in a way contrary to the dictates of her unrighteous, priesthood-holding husband, he might punish her because, in his mind, his law is infallible. Thinking he is God, he might hit his eternal companion and earnestly scold her by saying, "Why do you make me do this to you? If you would only behave, I wouldn't have to hit you."<---unrighteous and="" are="" because="" both="" br="" can="" dominion="" enforce="" for="" god="" gospel="" has="" his="" law="" love="" man="" neither="" of="" perfect.="" these="" traits.="" us="">


<---unrighteous and="" are="" because="" both="" br="" can="" dominion="" enforce="" for="" god="" gospel="" has="" his="" law="" love="" man="" neither="" of="" perfect.="" these="" traits.="" us="">Conclusion:

All men are in the need of God's grace. We need it not just on our death beds but throughout everyday of our lives. When we stray from His gospel and His grace, we suffer the natural consequences. In the Old Testament, these consequences are referred to as the wrath or justice of God. God's intolerance towards, or "anger" against, sin is absolute; yet so is His love for all of us, His children. Complying with the Plan of Salvation, Heavenly Father and our Savior, The Holy One of Israel, will not stand in the way of effects of agency exercised, but will always stand ready to succor us the moment we look to them.