Sacrifice and Seeds

1 Nephi 7:22 - 1 Nephi 8:1, NC 1 Nephi 2 pars. 5 - 6

And it came to pass that we did come down unto the tent of our father. And after I and my brethren and all the house of Ishmael had come down unto the tent of my father, they did give thanks unto the Lord their God, and they did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto him. And it came to pass that we had gathered together all manner of seeds of every kind, both of grain of every kind and also of the seeds of fruits of every kind.

I am curious, what is going on here?

Why is Nephi so particular to mention these times when sacrifice and offerings are offered to the Lord?

And it came to pass that he (Lehi) built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God. (1 Nephi 2:7, NC 1 Nephi)

And it came to pass that they (Lehi and Sariah) did rejoice exceedingly, and did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto the Lord; and they gave thanks unto the God of Israel. (1 Nephi 5:9, NC 1 Nephi )

First it is Lehi offering sacrifice.

Then it is Lehi and Sariah offering sacrifice together.

Now Ishmael and his family are involved in the offering of sacrifice as well.

I readily confess that I am not familiar with the law of Moses, which I assume has much to do with what is going on here.

And now when I, Nephi, had heard these words I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that, Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in the land of promise.  Yea, I also thought that they could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the law of Moses, save they should have the law.  And I also knew that the law was engraven upon the plates of brass. (1 Nephi 4:14 - 16, NC 1 Nephi)

And we did observe to keep the judgements and the statutes and the commandments of the Lord in all things according to the law of Moses. (2 Nephi 5:10, NC 2 Nephi)

I have looked into the matter a little and have found a couple of things that might be of interest and important in understanding what is occurring first with Lehi and then with Lehi and Sariah together and then it appears the group generally.

As I was looking into the offerings contained in the law of Moses I came across a table created by an Edward J Brandt that categorized the different offerings present in the law of Moses.

Pulling from the book of Leviticus and the other scriptures including the Book of Mormon the chart was organized to show the name of the ordinance and type of offering, emblematic objects used for the ordinance, the purpose of the ordinance, and when administered.

One of the offerings of the law of Moses was called a peace offering.

And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which he shall offer unto the Lord: If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, fried. Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings. And of it he shall offer one out of the whole offering for a heave offering unto the Lord, and it shall be the priest’s that sprinkles the blood of the peace offerings. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered. He shall not leave any of it until the morning. But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day also the remainder of it shall be eaten. But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire. And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offers it. It shall be an abomination, and the soul that eats of it shall bear his iniquity. (Leviticus 7:11 - 18, OC Leviticus 2 par.6)

As I understand what I have read, there was a three fold purpose to the peace offering.

1) A thank offering given to thank God for all the blessings He had given.
2) A vow offering signifying the taking or renewing of a covenant or vow
3) A free-will offering signifying the voluntary reception of a covenant with all the attendant responsibilities and consequences.

I found an instance in the Old Testament of a group involved in a peace offering in 2 Chronicles 29, OC 2 Chronicles 16.

This is the reign of King Hezekiah.

Israel had been in a general state of apostasy and Hezekiah turned things around.

Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.  
He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, and said unto them, Hear me, you Levites; sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord, and turned their backs. Also, they have shut up the doors of the porch and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel. Wherefore, the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he has delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as you see with your eyes; for behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.  
Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us. My sons, be not now negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that you should minister unto him and burn incense.
Then the Levites arose: Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari: Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites: Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah; and of the sons of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah; and of the sons of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel.
And they gathered their brethren and sanctified themselves, and came according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord. And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord, into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron. Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the Lord. So they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days, and in the sixteenth day of the first month, they made an end.
Then they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, and the altar of burnt offering with all the vessels thereof, and the showbread table with all the vessels thereof. Moreover, all the vessels which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away in his transgression have we prepared and sanctified, and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.
Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city and went up to the house of the Lord. And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he-goats for a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood upon the altar. They killed also the lambs and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar. And they brought forth the he-goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation, and they laid their hands upon them, and the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar to make an atonement for all Israel; for the king commanded the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.
And he set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king’s seer, and Nathan the prophet; for so was the commandment of the Lord by his prophets. And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began with the trumpets and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel. And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded until the burnt offering was finished.
And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves and worshipped. Moreover, Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord, with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.
Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now you have consecrated yourselves unto the Lord. Come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings, and as many as were of a free heart, burnt offerings. And the number of the burnt offerings which the congregation brought was seventy bullocks, a hundred rams, two hundred lambs — all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep. But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings. Wherefore, their brethren the Levites did help them until the work was ended, and until the priests had sanctified themselves (for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests). And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for every burnt offering.
So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order. And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people; for the thing was done suddenly. (2 Chronicles 29:1 - 36, OC 2 Chronicles 16 pars. 1 - 12)

As a group we have learned that we cannot make a covenant with God.  God can extend a covenant to us and we can choose to accept or reject that covenant.

I believe that God put it into the heart of Hezekiah that He, God, wanted to renew His covenant to Hezekiah and the people of Israel.

When the sacrifices were made Hezekiah made mention of sacrifices and thank offerings and it mentions that as many as were of a free heart brought these thank offerings in.

This would seem to imply to me that these folks were offering thanks to God and willingly taking upon themselves the covenant and responsibilities that God was extending at that time to them.

Is it possible that following this pattern of peace offerings in the law of Moses that Lehi first gave thanks and accepted a covenant from God and then Lehi and Sariah together so that Sariah becomes part of it as well and then Ishmael and his family along with all of Lehi's family also become part of this new covenant God extended?

Was God intending to make of Lehi a great nation through this action?

Was it important for a covenant to be extended and for all who were to be led out to voluntarily receive the covenant before their journey into the wilderness to the promised land?

Is this a record of the exact times when the covenant the Lord extended through Lehi was received by these several parties?

Was the peace offering the mechanism God established in the law of Moses for those under the law to accept and receive covenants He extended to them?

Is this same experience what happened with the people of King Benjamin?

And it came to pass that after Mosiah had done as his father had commanded him and had made a proclamation throughout all the land, that the people gathered themselves together throughout all the land, that they might go up to the temple to hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them. And there were a great number, even so many that they did not number them, for they had multiplied exceedingly and waxed great in the land. And they also took of the firstlings of their flocks, that they might offer sacrifice and burnt offerings according to the law of Moses, and also that they might give thanks to the Lord their God, who had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, and who had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies, and had appointed just men to be their teachers, and also a just man to be their king, who had established peace in the land of Zarahemla, and who had taught them to keep the commandments of God, that thereby they might rejoice and be filled with love towards God and all men. (Mosiah 2:1 - 4, NC Mosiah 1 par 5)

Were King Benjamin's people bringing peace offerings that included thank offerings to the temple, along with the burnt offerings, to sacrifice in order to thank God and accept a covenant?

We know from what King Benjamin had told his son Mosiah that a covenant was going to be extended (And I give unto them a name that shall never be blotted out, except it be through transgression)  and I would suppose that information was given out as the invitation to come to the temple was given.

Would it be important for such covenant receiving experiences to be "on record" so to speak?

King Benjamin thought it expedient to record the names of all who received the extended covenant at that time.

Is it possible that these references to these sacrifices with Lehi and Ishmael and their households is a record of such a covenantal event; to have on record those who voluntarily accepted it?

If this happens to be a correct appraisal of what is happening in these sections of 1 Nephi and the law of Moses has been fulfilled, what then would now be the mechanism, instead of offering peace offerings, to accept a bonafide covenant from God?

What would that all look like?

How would such a covenant come about?

There is so so so much that could be discussed and looked into concerning this matter and it is impossible to do more than just barely touch on the subject here.

It is another curiosity that Nephi who deliberately stated, And it mattereth not to me that I am particular to give a full account of all the things of my father for they cannot be written upon these plates, for I desire the room that I may write of the things of God., would use space on the plates to record that they had gathered seeds.

What is the purpose of recording this?

Further on in the record we read that they used the seeds.

And it came to pass that we did begin to till the earth, and we began to plant seeds; yea, we did put all our seeds into the earth which we had brought from the land of Jerusalem. And it came to pass that they did grow exceedingly; wherefore, we were blessed in abundance. (1 Nephi 18:24, NC 1 Nephi 5 par. 33)

But why did they need to gather seeds to begin with?

Didn't the promised land have a nation on it right before that lasted thousands of years?

Wouldn't there already be seeds of fruit and grains and so forth?

Was the destruction of the Jaredites so complete that even new seeds were required to begin anew?

Interestingly the brother of Jared was commanded to do the same thing.

And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord according to that which had been spoken by the mouth of Jared. And it came to pass that the Lord did hear the brother of Jared and had compassion upon him, and said unto him, Go to and gather together thy flocks, both male and female of every kind, and also of the seed of the earth of every kind, and thy family, and also Jared thy brother and his family, and also thy friends and their families, and the friends of Jared and their families. (Ether 1:41, NC Ether 1 par. 3)

A question comes to mind.

Is there a symbol of the Lord's work in all the earth in these acts?

As one looks at what the Lord is doing with these folks is it a parallel of the Lord gathering seeds (people) of every kind and planting them in a new place to raise up seed (children worthy of preservation) to Himself?

This is what the Lord declared to the brother of Jared.

And when thou hast done this, thou shalt go at the head of them down into the valley which is northward, and there will I meet thee, and I will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the land of the earth. And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me — of thy seed, and the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee — a great nation. And there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed upon all the face of the earth. And this I will do unto thee because this long time which ye have cried unto me.

It would appear that the brother of Jared became a Father of many nations after the order of the Son of God like unto Adam. He made of the brother of Jared a great nation.

Just as the Lord commanded the children of Israel to keep Him in remembrance in all that they did day by day wouldn't the gathered seeds in new ground growing up in abundance bring to the remembrance of those who had been gathered and led out that they had been led out by the Lord for that purpose; to bring forth children in abundant righteousness?

Do gathered seeds hold promise?

Does the Lord gather seed of the earth of every kind (people of every nation kindred and tongue) and lead them out to precious lands to plant them in the desire to obtain fruit?

By abundant fruit springing from the gathered seeds are the promises continued to the next generations?

If these exercises of gathering seeds are in the Book of Mormon for a symbol then they are a very powerful symbol indeed.