Don't refuse the waters of Shiloah that go softly

Last night, our Relief Society had a great discussion about simplifying our lives. We were talking about technology and the great power it has to help us be organized, record our lives, find ideas, and reach out to others. As we spoke of positive and negative parts of technology, I was reminded of a warning our stake primary presidency had given us. They told us not to go to the internet for ideas for our sharing times before we went to the Lord. There are so many resources online with great ideas. It is easy to fall into the trap of not asking the Lord what the kids in our own ward need and instead finding a fun and exciting idea that may not meet the needs of those we teach.

This morning as I read in 2 Nephi 18 (which is also Isaiah 8,) I found that the Lord warned of the very same kind of thing for them, but on a physical level. I don't understand the history as well as I'd like, but I've been trying to learn about it. In chaper 17, we find that Israel (not Judah) whose king is Pekah and united with Rezin, king of Syria to come up against Judah, whose king is Ahaz (father of Hezakiah). Ahaz, threatened by this, turns to Tiglath-Pilezer, king of Assyria, and forms a treaty. Much of this is very confusing to me because of a few erroneous thoughts:

1. Assyria and Syria are not the same country

2. Israel is not the same as Judah. Israel is comprised of the 10 tribes, all but Judah and Benjamin. Israel is often referred to as Ephraim (see Bible Dictionary Israel, kingdom of) and for the past 200 years (since 925 BC) had been divided from Judah.

Remember that the head of Syria is Damascus (2 Nephi 17:8) that is destroyed just a few years later by Assyria (see http://moellerhaus.com/7-8.htm for interesting history and commentary.) Israel is also destroyed by Assyria shortly after this prophecy, thus scattering the 10 tribes.

Here is a list of all of the nations involved and their kings:

Judah: Ahaz

Syria: Rezin

Israel (the 10 tribes): Pekah (often referred to as Remaliah's son out of contempt- Isaiah couldn't even say his name he did such terrible things to Judah. See 2 Chronicles 28:5,6)

Assyria: Tiglath-Pilezer

It says in verses 6 and 7:

6Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of ^aShiloah that go softly, and rejoice in ^bRezin and Remaliah’s son;

7Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of ^aAssyria and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks.

The waters of Shiloah were from a spring outside of Jerusalem whose waters were later diverted into Hezakiah's tunnel and saved Jerusalem during a siege by providing water for Jerusalem.

Rather than trusting in the Lord to solve their problems, Ahaz made a treaty with Assyria. This brought them into subjugation to Assyria and soon caused the destruction of Damascus and Israel. But Judah was eventually saved by the waters of Shiloah.

I love the analogy of the waters of Shiloah that go softly as compared to the roaring, overflowing flood of the Assyrians who overflow all their banks. It reminds me of the warning from our primary stake presidency to seek the guidance of the spirit before we go to the internet for information. Today, we have the threat of spiritual destruction by an overflowing river of information that can drown out the promptings of the spirit. What happens to a small, softly flowing river when mixed with an overflowing river? It disappears. We need to remember to not refuse the waters of Shiloah that go softly and drown ourselves instead in the overflowing river of information from the world.