Church of Jesus Christ Study Session seeks to generate reflection about areas in the Restored Gospel. Whether it's Come Follow Me, a General Conference talk or a recent Gospel Topic, hopefully you'll find something to keep the Spirit of Christ in your life. Twitter - @mattsroberts90

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Today we (unfortunately) conclude our study of the Isaiah chapters within 2 Nephi, this time focusing on 2 Nephi 15:18-26. We consider the way these verses are being more and more fulfilled in our time and also discuss what the phrase 'hand is stretched out still' actually meant when Isaiah penned it. 

Book of Mormon Central: One important lesson to be drawn from this is to realize how easy it can be to misunderstand a particular phrase of scripture.9 As with Nephi’s people, modern readers often struggle to correctly read the ancient scriptures, not knowing enough “concerning the manner of prophesying among the Jews” (2 Nephi 25:1). 

While today it is easy to understand why people might commonly see the outstretched hand of God as a gesture of blessing, in the ancient world the hand of God was sometimes used in a negative sense, as it is in this case. This dramatically changes the way God is portrayed in these Isaiah passages. Rather than portraying God as angry yet still merciful, these verses focus on God in righteous indignation and divine wrath.