Servants and Handmaids

Speaking of the House of Israel in the last days Isaiah said, “And the people shall take them and bring them to their place; yea, from far unto the ends of the earth; and they shall return to their lands of promise. And the house of Israel shall possess them, and the land of the Lord shall be for servants and handmaids” (2 Nephi 24:2).  I believe that what Isaiah is saying is that Israel will have been oppressed and the people who were of the lower class in society and trampled upon—i.e. servants and handmaids—will ultimately triumph and be blessed by the Lord.  But I’d like to think that we can take it literally in the sense that those who are the people of the Lord are indeed servants.  In other words, if we want to be God’s people, then we have to serve others.  Elder Marion G. Romney seemed to be saying this when he taught, “Service is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made.”  Jesus put it another way: “He that is greatest among you shall be your servant” (Matthew 23:11).  The Celestial Kingdom will not be made up of people who are waited upon by servants; rather it will be made up of those who have learned to truly serve others. 

            In numerous places in the book of Isaiah the Lord referred to His people as servants.  He said, “Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me” (Isaiah 44:21).  In another place He reiterated, “But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend….  Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away” (Isaiah 41:8-9).  Speaking of the blessings of the promised land for Jacob He said, “My servants shall dwell there” (Isaiah 65:9).  Surely in these references the Lord is not speaking of Israel as servants like we would think of them.  They are not serving God by doing for Him menial tasks that He doesn’t want to do for Himself (as servants in our society); rather they are serving Him by helping others among God’s children as King Benjamin taught so powerfully: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17).  Perhaps my favorite verse about being a servant in Isaiah is this declaration by the prophet: “And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength” (Isaiah 49:5).  Isaiah’s attitude was that his whole purpose was to be a servant to the Lord and the Lord’s people.  His mission was to help bring again Israel to Jehovah, and though he wouldn’t live to see that happen fully in his day, He still gloried in the Lord and his opportunity to serve.  As followers of the Savior we should remember that our lives were likewise meant for service and that His kingdom will be full of servants and handmaids.