Jacob 5 - 7

Zena presented a wonderful lesson on Jacob 5 on 7th August - although I will post it first to retain the order of the lessons!

I thought I'd present some explanatory visual images of Zenos' allegory first:

This provides a good visual overview of the storyline of the allegory. From the Institute manual, the interpretations of the symbols appears:

The vineyard = The world
Master of the vineyard; Lord of the vineyard = God
Servants = The Lord’s prophets
Tame olive tree = The house of Israel, the Lord’s covenant people
Wild olive tree = Gentiles, or non-Israelites (later in the allegory the wild branches are apostate Israel)
Branches = Groups of people
The roots of the tame olive tree = The covenants the Lord makes with His children, a constant source of strength and life to the faithful
The fruit = The lives or works of men
Digging, pruning, fertilizing = The work the Lord does for His children to help them be obedient and fruitful
Transplanting the branches = Scattering groups of people throughout the world, or restoring them to where they came from
Grafting = The joining of one group of people to another; referring to scattered Israel, it also means to “come to the knowledge of the true Messiah” (see 1 Nephi 10:14)
Decaying branches = People dying spiritually from sin and apostasy
Casting branches into the fire = God’s judgments

Using the above diagram and interpretation of the symbols and your scripture journal, review Jacobs 5 and make some notes about what the allegory means to you.  What does it teach you about the house of Israel?  About Gods love for his people?  About the power of covenants?  What does reading this allegory inspire you to do?