For millennia the promised blessing to Abraham has been unfulfilled. However, by the grace of God that long-awaited blessing can now be fulfilled through the knowledge that has been restored by The Sealed Book. Brought forth by the power of God from the plates of Mormon a modern-day seer has brought this precious knowledge to mankind. This knowledge is divinely purposed to transform the house of Israel into God’s righteous children who are prepared to receive the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant. Our Patriarch Abraham must surely be delighted that the families of the earth can now receive this wonderful blessing.
When God made a covenant with Abraham in Haran (Genesis 12:1-2 IV/12:1-3 KJV) and later conferred it on Isaac and Jacob, he promised to give Abraham and his descendants land, the prosperity of a great nation, and blessings. The covenant states:
Genesis 12:1-2, 12:1 Now, the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee;
12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee shall the families of the earth be blessed.
The blessing of the families of the earth is the part of the covenant that has not been fulfilled. It could be said that the birth and knowledge of Jesus Christ is the blessing referred to, but there are still many families of the earth who have yet to open their hearts to receive him as their Savior. Besides, Jesus came in the meridian of time and the particular blessing referred to in the Book of Mormon is a blessing that will be fulfilled in the latter days:
1 Nephi 3:237/14:17, Then at that day [when the wrath of God is poured out upon the great and abominable church], the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants which he hath made to his people, who are of the house of Israel.
1 Nephi 4:17/15:14, And at that day [in the latter days when Nephi’s seed have dwindled in unbelief] shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the Lord;
1 Nephi 4:28-29/15:18, 4:28 Wherefore, our father hath not spoken of our seed alone, but also of all the house of Israel, pointing to the covenant which should be fulfilled in the latter days;
4:29 Which covenant the Lord made to our father Abraham, saying, In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
However, we are reminded that the blessing will only be obtained through obedience:
Doctrine & Covenants 58:6g-6i/58:30-33, 58:6g Who am I that made man, saith the Lord, that will hold him guiltless that obeys not my commandments?
58:6h Who am I, saith the Lord, that have promised and have not fulfilled?
58:6i I command and a man obeys not, I revoke and they receive not the blessing; then they say in their hearts, This is not the work of the Lord, for his promises are not fulfilled. But woe unto such, for their reward lurketh beneath, and not from above.
God commanded the children of the covenant—Abraham and his seed—to be obedient. These verses focus on the promise of land to stress the need of obedience in the fulfillment of the covenant:
Genesis 17:4-14 IV/17:3-14 KJV, 17:4 And God talked with him, saying, My people have gone astray from my precepts, and have not kept mine ordinances, which I gave unto their fathers;
17:5 And they have not observed mine anointing, and the burial, or baptism wherewith I commanded them;
17:6 But have turned from the commandment, and taken unto themselves the washing of children, and the blood of sprinkling;
17:7 And have said that the blood of the righteous Abel was shed for sins; and have not known wherein they are accountable before me.
17:8 But as for thee, behold, I will make my covenant with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
17:9 And this covenant I make, that thy children may be known among all nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be called Abraham; for, a father of many nations have I made thee.
17:10 And I will make thee exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come of thee, and of thy seed.
17:11 And I will establish a covenant of circumcision with thee, and it shall be my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations; that thou mayest know forever that children are not accountable before me until they are eight years old.
17:12 And thou shalt observe to keep all my covenants wherein I covenanted with thy fathers; and thou shalt keep the commandments which I have given thee with mine own mouth, and I will be a God unto thee and thy seed after thee.
17:13 And I will give unto thee and thy seed after thee, a land wherein thou art a stranger; all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
17:14 And God said unto Abraham, Therefore thou shalt keep my covenant, thou and thy seed after thee, in their generations.
The blessing was reaffirmed and the importance of obedience was again stressed to Abraham when he was told to leave the ungodly city of Sodom:
Genesis 18:16-18 IV/18:16-19 KJV, 18:16 And the angels rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
18:17 And the angel of the Lord, said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which the Lord will do for him; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
18:18 For I know him, that he will command his children, and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him.
Abraham’s seed will one day become an obedient people who are worthy of the blessing. The Prophet Isaiah reminds us that it is God himself (“the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”) who will work to establish, through faith, the blessing to Abraham and his offspring. It is interesting to note the reference in verse 30, “shall the deaf hear the words of the book”:
Isaiah 29:25-32 IV/29:11-24 KJV, 29:25 For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men, save it be according to their faith.
29:26 And again it shall come to pass, that the Lord shall say unto him that shall read the words that shall be delivered him, Forasmuch as this people draw near unto me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precepts of men, therefore I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people; yea, a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise and learned shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent shall be hid.
29:27 And woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord. And their works are in the dark; and they say, Who seeth us and who knoweth us? And they also say, Surely, your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay.
29:28 But behold, I will show unto them, saith the Lord of hosts, that I know all their works. For, shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?
29:29 But behold, saith the Lord of hosts, I will show unto the children of men, that it is not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field; and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest.
29:30 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book; and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness; and the meek also shall increase, and their joy shall be in the Lord; and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
29:31 For, assuredly as the Lord liveth, they shall see that the terrible one is brought to naught, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off, and they that make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of naught.
29:32 Therefore, thus saith the Lord who redeemed Abraham concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale; but when he seeth his children, the work of my hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.
Considering this passage of scripture, how is it that “Jacob shall not now be ashamed”? The last verse answers this question. It explains that when the descendants of Jacob recognize the works that God is performing, the people will sanctify (hallow) God’s name, they will sanctify (declare holy) the Lord God (the Holy One of Jacob), and they will exhibit fear (godly fear) to him (the God of Israel). Then, the seed of Jacob will be worthy of the promised blessing. Undoubtedly, Abraham will be delighted that the covenant made thousands of years ago will, at last, be fulfilled. The Book of Mormon and The Sealed Book are the instruments that God is using to bring this knowledge of the covenants and, therefore, the knowledge of salvation to all of the house of Israel. As we will see shortly, the promised blessing is the advent of Zion on the earth.
The title page of the Book of Mormon states that the book contains the covenants pertaining to the house of Israel. The Lord describes the Book of Mormon, as published today, and The Sealed Book as instruments to restore the knowledge of the covenants to Abraham’s descendants. The title page states that the first purpose of the book
“is to shew unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off for ever;”
The Sealed Book says:
Acts of the Three Nephites 1:3, And now, before you suppose that this is foolish; I want to remind you that there are many mysteries that remain hidden, which no one knows but God himself. And behold, it was by the wisdom of God that these records were preserved; with the purpose of increasing the knowledge of his people in the fullness of times; being an instrument in the hands of God to accomplish his great and eternal designs among the children of men.
The restoring of this knowledge of the covenants to the house of Israel will take place through the grafting of the natural branches of the house of Israel by the Gentiles. Nephi, son of Lehi and Sariah, told his brothers:
1 Nephi 4:16-33/15:13-20, 4:16 And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the grafting in of the natural branches through the fullness of the Gentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in unbelief, yea, for the space of many years and many generations, after the Messiah shall be manifested in body unto the children of men, then shall the fullness of the gospel of the Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the remnant of our seed;
4:17 And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the Lord;
4:18 And then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him;
4:19 Wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer, and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved.
4:20 And then at that day, will they not rejoice and give praise unto their everlasting God, their rock and their salvation?
4:21 Yea, at that day, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine?
4:22 Yea, will they not come unto the true fold of God?
4:23 Behold, I say unto you, Yea: they shall be remembered again among the house of Israel;
4:24 They shall be grafted in, being a natural branch of the olive tree, into the true olive tree;
4:25 And this is what our father meaneth;
4:26 And he meaneth that it will not come to pass, until after they are scattered by the Gentiles;
4:27 And he meaneth that it shall come by way of the Gentiles, that the Lord may shew his power unto the Gentiles, for the very cause that he shall be rejected of the Jews, or of the house of Israel:
4:28 Wherefore, our father hath not spoken of our seed alone, but also of all the house of Israel, pointing to the covenant which should be fulfilled in the latter days;
4:29 Which covenant the Lord made to our father Abraham, saying, In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
4:30 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, spake much unto them concerning these things;
4:31 Yea, I spake unto them concerning the restoration of the Jews, in the latter days;
4:32 And I did rehearse unto them the words of Isaiah, who spake concerning the restoration of the Jews, or of the house of Israel;
4:33 And after they were restored, they should no more be confounded, neither should they be scattered again.
The Sealed Book, in the explanation of the allegory of the good olive tree, elaborates on the grafting:
Acts of the Three Nephites 14:34, And the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant, What shall we do for this tree, that it may again store its good fruit for me? And the servant said to his master, "Look, because you have grafted branches of the wild olive tree, that is, the Gentiles in the natural olive tree, through Christ, then they nourished the roots, so that they are alive and not dead; see, therefore, that they are still good”.
Furthermore, the effectiveness of the graft is described in The Sealed Book. This graft will direct God’s people to the path of light :
Acts of the Three Nephites 14:38-39, 14:38 But, behold, the Lord of the vineyard cut off the trees that obstructed this piece of land, and planted another tree in his place, fulfilling the promise which Joseph the son of Jacob had obtained from God the Father, when he told him that he would raise from his loins a "fair branch" to the house of Israel; and being righteous, though he is Gentile, will be counted as being part of the natural olive tree; for he will be truly a descendant of Joseph; not the Messiah, but that "graft" of which Lehi prophesied, which is to come in the fullness of the Gentiles in the last days, when your descendants have degenerated, fallen into unbelief, yea, for the space of many years and for many generations after the Messiah manifests himself in person to the children of men, then the fulness of my gospel shall come to the Gentiles; and of the Gentiles, to the remnant of your descendants. 14:39 Yea, to bring the Gentiles out of the darkness, which shall be upon the earth in those days; nevertheless, this graft will be a seer who will guide my people again to the path of light.
Abraham must surely be delighted with this wonderful assurance from the One who made the covenant that the promised blessing will come