Jared was bad enough, but after he gained the kingdom by having Akish kill his father, Akish then turned around and killed him. Verse 6 says everyone was wrapped up in secret combinations. It’s hard to fathom how fast a society can fall—yet we’re watching the same pattern unfold today in our own nation and across the world. Our prophets have warned us. Not everyone has listened.
Akish even starved one of his own sons. Another son, Nimrah, fled with a small group to dwell with Omer. Akish’s remaining sons won the hearts of the people—of course, with money. Filthy lucre. You can buy almost anything in this world, but you cannot buy peace. Eventually the sons went to war against their father, and nearly everyone was destroyed except Omer and the thirty souls who refused to live in wickedness. Thirty! That number still amazes me.
Omer was restored to his land, though he was getting old. (Side note: how big could his kingdom have been after so much devastation?) His son Emer became king, peace returned, and in sixty years they were strong and blessed in every good thing. Emer lived righteously enough to see Jesus (v22) and died in peace. The pattern is unmistakable: the Lord blesses those who love Him. Not always with wealth—but with peace. And isn’t that the blessing we all seek?
Coriantum, Emer’s son, was also good. He had no children until he was 102, after remarrying, and lived to 140. I can’t help wondering if people lived longer then because their land wasn’t polluted like ours. Today the soil is depleted, and poison is used to grow food. Yikes.
After Emer came Com, then Heth. As the people spread, wickedness returned. When life becomes easy, people seem to forget God. Heth embraced the old secret combinations and even killed his own father.
I was just talking with my daughter about how many young people today have never faced war, scarcity, or bondage. Many have become entitled, and hardship may be the only teacher they’ll listen to.
The prophets in Ether’s day warned the people to repent or face famine, but—as always—they were cast out. Then came the dearth: no rain, no food, and poisonous serpents driving away the flocks.
My 2020 pandemic note:
16 July 2020 — When the people finally humbled themselves, the Lord sent rain. Rain falls on everyone, which tells me they all humbled themselves. Could that happen today? Could an entire nation—or world—be humbled enough to plead with God for deliverance? If so, I fear great suffering would precede it.
Ether 12:27 reminds us that the Lord gives us weakness to make us humble. COVID made it painfully clear we can’t fix everything ourselves.
Five years later (2025):
COVID humbled many, and some saw the Lord’s hand sustaining them. But not enough hearts changed to stop the slide into wickedness. And now, the world feels even more unsettled than before.
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