Commentary for Book of Mormon: Jacob 5 - 7

Chapter 5 -- The Allegory of the Vineyard

Introduction 

Chapter 5 features a beautiful allegory of the Lord's work in the scattering and gathering of Israel. Yet despite it's depth and acuteness in illustrating the Lord's ultimate work of gathering, some (or even many) my find it dense, boring, and difficult to read. And as a result, opt to either skip or skim through it. This is a shame, because the allegory provides important insight into the Lord's purposes -- particularly when it comes to the gathering of Israel. Understanding the Lord's purposes will help you understand how the Lord is working in you life to bring about his purposes. And it will also help you to understand the Lord's most important objective -- to bring about Zion.

It's likely quite apparent now, after having read these commentary posts, that Zion is a major emphasis throughout the first pages of the Book of Mormon. Nephi quotes Isaiah whose prophecies point to the final gathering of Israel, where peace and harmony reign. Nephi, in his own words, further stressing this concept of the end-time Zion. And Jacob does not skip a beat. To continue his emphasis, he quotes from the prophet Zeno's allegory of the vineyard. Thus keeping in line with the theme established by Nephi.

Yet, this theme of establishing Zion is not just a Nephi or Isaiah thing, but it's a scripture thing -- whether this be in the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, or Doctrine and Covenants. In each of those pages, Zion is at least present in the background. The writers of the Old Testament offer commentary about the failing of men and the lost hopes of bringing back Eden. For the Old Testament writers, the purpose of humanity, through Israel, was to bring about Zion. Jesus' parables, moreover, in the New Testament point to establishing Zion (The Kingdom of God) on earth. Lastly, Doctrine and Covenants is about God's efforts to establish Zion through the Gentiles.

Yet despite the writing about seeking for Zion, the scriptures reveal the sad reality that except for the city of Enoch, Zion was never realized. The Israelites failed to bring in Zion. Instead they followed after the example of their pagan neighbors. Likewise, the Jews rejected Christ during his ministry and Christ's disciples, despite their best efforts, failed to bring about Zion. And the early church of the Latter-Day Saints also failed to bring it about. Since Zion is the Lord's primary objective, the establishing of Zion rests upon our shoulders -- if we choose to accept.

This is meaningful because if we choose to rise to the calling, we are the servants of the vineyard in the final days to reap and sow, gathering and preserving the good fruit.

The Passages 

For this chapter, I will provide a copy of the relevant passages that I've annotated. The purpose of this is to give an overview while also tracking through the difficult parts of the passage. However, I encourage you to re-read the entire passage again to have fuller and more complete understanding.

5:3-9 -- The Tame Olive Tree

2 Hearken, O ye house of Israel, and hear the words of me, a prophet of the Lord.

3 For behold, thus saith the Lord, I will liken thee, O house of Israel, like unto a tame olive tree [Israel], which a man took and nourished in his vineyard; and it grew, and waxed old, and began to decay [Zenos will "liken" the House of Israel ("Israel") to a tame olive tree]

4 And it came to pass that the master of the vineyard [the Lord ("the master")] went forth, and he saw that his olive tree [Israel] began to decay; and he said: I will prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it, that perhaps it may shoot forth young and tender branches, and it perish not.

5 And it came to pass that he [the master/the Lord] pruned it, and digged about it, and nourished it according to his word.

6 And it came to pass that after many days it [the tame olive tree -- Israel] began to put forth somewhat a little, young and tender branches; but behold, the main top thereof began to perish.

7 And it came to pass that the master of the vineyard [the Lord] saw it, and he said unto his servant: It grieveth me that I should lose this tree [the tame olive tree -- Israel]; wherefore, go and pluck the branches from a wild olive tree [a different tree, representing the Gentiles], and bring them hither unto me; and we will pluck off those main branches [main branches of the tame olive tree] which are beginning to wither away, and we will cast them [tame olive tree] into the fire that they may be burned.

8 And behold, saith the Lord of the vineyard, I take away many of these young and tender branches [the young and tender branches from the tame olive tree], and I will graft them whithersoever I will; and it mattereth not that if it so be that the root of this tree will perish, I may preserve the fruit thereof unto myself; wherefore, I will take these young and tender branches [the young and tender branches from the tame olive tree], and I will graft them whithersoever I will.

9 Take thou the branches of the wild olive tree [Gentiles], and graft them in, in the stead thereof (in place of the main branches of the tame olive tree); and these which I have plucked off I will cast into the fire and burn them, that they may not cumber the ground of my vineyard. [the Lord destroys the main branches, representing the wicked population of Israel]

10 And it came to pass that the servant of the Lord of the vineyard did according to the word of the Lord of the vineyard, and grafted in the branches of the wild olive tree [the servant grafts the Gentiles into the Israel].

Question to consider from verses 1-9

• Why does Zenos mention the time frame between the growth of plants. What might that tell us about the Lord's working among us? 
• Since this allegory is representing events, what event might 

5:10; 13-14

10 And it came to pass that the servant of the Lord of the vineyard did according to the word of the Lord of the vineyard, and grafted in the branches of the wild olive tree [Gentiles].
...
13 And these [referring to the young and tender branches, which represent the remnant of Israel] will I place in the nethermost part of my vineyard, whithersoever I will, it mattereth not unto thee; and I do it that I may preserve unto myself the natural branches of the tree [the Lord plants the natural branches in far area of the vineyard so that he can preserve the natural branches by cultivating good fruit]; and also, that I may lay up fruit thereof against the season, unto myself; for it grieveth me that I should lose this tree and the fruit thereof.

14 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard went his way, and hid the natural branches [the young and tender branches -- the remnant] of the tame olive tree in the nethermost parts of the vineyard, some in one and some in another, according to his will and pleasure.

The Remnant of Israel

The Bible teaches us that even though the nation of Israel is numerous, only a small portion of the group actually believes in God. This group is referred to as the remnant.

Isaiah discussed the prospect of the remnant in Isaiah 10:

20 ¶ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
21 The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.

Although this passage refers to the end-times, is nevertheless is relevant for our purposes. In these verse we learn that the gathering of Zion is marked by the returning of the remnant that escaped from Israel and Judah. The focal point of the gathering of Israel is to reclaim the remnants who were led out of Israel and Judah by the Lord.

Consider the followoing statements by Nephi and Jacob, respectively

3 Wherefore, the things of which I have read are things pertaining to things both temporal and spiritual; for it appears that the house of Israel, sooner or later, will be scattered upon all the face of the earth, and also among all nations.
4 And behold, there are many who are already lost from the knowledge of those who are at Jerusalem. Yea, the more part of all the tribes have been led away; and they are scattered to and fro upon the isles of the sea; and whither they are none of us knoweth, save that we know that they have been led away.

And

21 But great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the isles of the sea; wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren.
22 For behold, the Lord God has led away from time to time from the house of Israel, according to his will and pleasure. And now behold, the Lord remembereth all them who have been broken off, wherefore he remembereth us also.

The three trees represent the remnants. Based on this understanding, which remnant group might the third tree represent? Who might the other trees (1) and (2) represent?

Questions to Consider

• In verse 14, why does Zenos or the Book of Mormon use the word "hid"in describing the manner in which the Lord is planting the branches? Why not use the verb "to plant"? What does this tell us about the Lord's motives?  

5:15; 17-20; 23-27

15 And it came to pass that a long time passed away, and the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Come, let us go down into the vineyard, that we may labor in the vineyard.
...
17 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard looked and beheld the tree in the which the wild olive branches had been grafted [the tame olive tree that had the "Gentile" branches grafted into it]; and it [the tame olive tree with Gentile branches] had sprung forth and begun to bear fruit. And he beheld that it was good; and the fruit thereof was like unto the natural fruit. [The grafting of the branches of the wild olive tree, at least at this point, has proven beneficial by yielding fruit]

18 And he said unto the servant: Behold, the branches of the wild tree have taken hold of the moisture of the root thereof, that the root thereof hath brought forth much strength; and because of the much strength of the root thereof the wild branches have brought forth tame fruit. [The master of the vineyard explains why the grafting was successful] Now, if we had not grafted in these branches, the tree thereof would have perished. And now, behold, I shall lay up much fruit, which the tree thereof hath brought forth; and the fruit thereof I shall lay up against the season, unto mine own self.

19 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Come, let us go to the nethermost part of the vineyard [the part of the vineyard where the young and tender branches were planted], and behold if the natural branches of the tree have not brought forth much fruit also, that I may lay up of the fruit thereof against the season, unto mine own self.

20 And it came to pass that they went forth whither (where) the master had hid the natural branches of the tree, and he said unto the servant: Behold these [referring the the young and tender branches]; and he beheld the first that it had brought forth much fruit; and he beheld also that it was good. And he said unto the servant: Take of the fruit thereof, and lay it up against the season, that I may preserve it unto mine own self; for behold, said he, this long time have I nourished it, and it hath brought forth much fruit.
...
23 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Look hither; behold I have planted another branch of the tree also; and thou knowest that this spot of ground was poorer than the first. But, behold the tree. I have nourished it this long time, and it hath brought forth much fruit; therefore, gather it, and lay it up against the season, that I may preserve it unto mine own self.

24 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said again unto his servant: Look hither, and behold another branch also, which I have planted; behold that I have nourished it also, and it hath brought forth fruit.

25 And he said unto the servant: Look hither and behold the last. Behold, this have I planted in a good spot of ground; and I have nourished it this long time, and only a part of the tree hath brought forth tame fruit, and the other part of the tree hath brought forth wild fruit; behold, I have nourished this tree like unto the others.

26 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Pluck off the branches that have not brought forth good fruit, and cast them into the fire.

27 But behold, the servant said unto him: Let us prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it a little longer, that perhaps it may bring forth good fruit unto thee, that thou canst lay it up against the season.

In these verses, we learn that the Lord planted three different plants from the young and tender branches. The first branch was planted on poor ground, but still yielding much fruit. The second was planted on even poorer ground, and it also brought for much good fruit. The third, however, was planted on the best, but it brought forth a mix of tame and wild fruit. 

Here is a diagram to illustrate the state of the vineyard so far:

5:29-30; 32; 35; 37

29 And it came to pass that a long time had passed away, and the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Come, let us go down into the vineyard, that we may labor again in the vineyard. For behold, the time draweth near, and the end soon cometh; wherefore, I must lay up fruit against the season, unto mine own self.

30 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard and the servant went down into the vineyard; and they came to the tree whose natural branches had been broken off [the tame olive tree that had the branches of the wild olive tree grafted in], and the wild branches had been grafted in; and behold all sorts of fruit did cumber the tree. [The tame tree has produced much fruit]
...
32 But behold, this time it hath brought forth much fruit, and there is none of it which is good [Even though the tame olive tree brought forth much fruit, all the fruit is bad]. And behold, there are all kinds of bad fruit; and it profiteth me nothing, notwithstanding all our labor; and now it grieveth me that I should lose this tree.
...
35 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: The tree [tame olive tree] profiteth me nothing, and the roots thereof profit me nothing so long as it shall bring forth evil fruit.
...
37 But behold, the wild branches have grown and have overrun the roots thereof [the master explains the reason why the tame tree did not produce good fruit -- the branches of the wild olive tree (Gentiles) overan the roots]; and because that the wild branches have overcome the roots thereof it hath brought forth much evil fruit; and because that it hath brought forth so much evil fruit thou beholdest that it beginneth to perish; and it will soon become ripened, that it may be cast into the fire, except we should do something for it to preserve it.

5:38-40; 43; 45-46

38 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Let us go down into the nethermost parts of the vineyard, and behold if the natural branches have also brought forth evil fruit.

39 And it came to pass that they went down into the nethermost parts of the vineyard [the part of the vineyard where the young and tender branches were planted]. And it came to pass that they beheld that the fruit of the natural branches had become corrupt also; yea, the first and the second and also the last; and they had all become corrupt. [All of the trees from the young and tender branches are not producing good fruit]

40 And the wild fruit of the last had overcome that part of the tree which brought forth good fruit, even that the branch had withered away and died.
...
43 And behold this last [the third tree], whose branch hath withered away, I did plant in a good spot of ground; yea, even that which was choice unto me above all other parts of the land of my vineyard.
...
45 And thou beheldest that a part thereof brought forth good fruit, and a part thereof brought forth wild fruit; and because I plucked not the branches thereof and cast them into the fire, behold, they have overcome the good branch that it hath withered away. [Failure to remove the wild fruit meant that the wild fruit overcame the good fruit]

46 And now, behold, notwithstanding all the care which we have taken of my vineyard, the trees thereof have become corrupted, that they bring forth no good fruit; and these I had hoped to preserve, to have laid up fruit thereof against the season, unto mine own self. But, behold, they have become like unto the wild olive tree, and they are of no worth but to be hewn down and cast into the fire; and it grieveth me that I should lose them.

5:48; 52; 54-63

48 And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: Is it not the loftiness of thy vineyard—have not the branches thereof overcome the roots which are good? And because the branches have overcome the roots thereof, behold they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking strength unto themselves. Behold, I say, is not this the cause that the trees of thy vineyard have become corrupted?
...
52 Wherefore, let us take of the branches of these which I have planted in the nethermost parts of my vineyard [branches from the three trees], and let us graft them into the tree from whence they came [the tame olive tree]; and let us pluck from the tree [the tame olive tree] those branches whose fruit is most bitter, and graft in the natural branches of the tree in the stead thereof [The master will remove the wild fruit from the tame olive tree and in its place, graft the branches from the three trees].
...
54 And, behold, the roots of the natural branches of the tree which I planted whithersoever I would are yet alive; wherefore, that I may preserve them [the roots] also for mine own purpose, I will take of the branches of this tree [the tame olive tree], and I will graft them [the branches from the three trees] in unto them. Yea, I will graft in unto them the branches of their mother tree, that I may preserve the roots also unto mine own self, that when they shall be sufficiently strong perhaps they may bring forth good fruit unto me, and I may yet have glory in the fruit of my vineyard. [The master aims for the roots of the tame olive tree to be strong enough to give nourishment to the branches from the three trees that have been grafted in]

55 And it came to pass that they took (the branches) from the natural tree which had become wild, and grafted in unto the natural trees, which also had become wild.

56 And they also took of the natural trees [the three trees] which had become wild, and grafted into their mother tree.

57 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Pluck not the wild branches from the trees, save it be those which are most bitter; and in them ye shall graft according to that which I have said.
...
65 And as they begin to grow [referring to all the olive trees in the vineyard] ye shall clear away the branches which bring forth bitter fruit, according to the strength of the good and the size thereof; and ye shall not clear away the bad thereof all at once, lest the roots thereof should be too strong for the graft, and the graft thereof shall perish, and I lose the trees of my vineyard.
...
67 And the branches of the natural tree will I graft in again into the natural tree;

68 And the branches of the natural tree will I graft into the natural branches of the tree; and thus will I bring them together again, that they shall bring forth the natural fruit, and they shall be one. [The master will combine the branches into one tree]

69 And the bad shall be cast away, yea, even out of all the land of my vineyard; for behold, only this once will I prune my vineyard.
...
75 And it came to pass that when the Lord of the vineyard saw that his fruit was good, and that his vineyard was no more corrupt, he called up his servants, and said unto them: Behold, for this last time have we nourished my vineyard; and thou beholdest that I have done according to my will; and I have preserved the natural fruit, that it is good, even like as it was in the beginning. And blessed art thou; for because ye have been diligent in laboring with me in my vineyard, and have kept my commandments, and have brought unto me again the natural fruit, that my vineyard is no more corrupted, and the bad is cast away, behold ye shall have joy with me because of the fruit of my vineyard.

76 For behold, for a long time will I lay up of the fruit of my vineyard unto mine own self against the season, which speedily cometh; and for the last time have I nourished my vineyard, and pruned it, and dug about it, and dunged it; wherefore I will lay up unto mine own self of the fruit, for a long time, according to that which I have spoken.

77 And when the time cometh that evil fruit shall again come into my vineyard, then will I cause the good and the bad to be gathered; and the good will I preserve unto myself, and the bad will I cast away into its own place. And then cometh the season and the end; and my vineyard will I cause to be burned with fire.

Question to consider

• Is there a difference between pruning the vineyard and burning it? When does the master say he'll prune and when does it say that he'll burn the vineyard? 
• In verse 77, what does it mean that "evil fruit shall again come into" the vineyard? What events could that be referring to? Is such an event before or after Zion. (see Revelation 20) 
• How does the Lord go about grafting in the good branches? Does he do it all at once or incrementally? Why does he either do it all at once or incrementally? What might this say about how the Lord's judgment works? 

Chapter 6 

Chapter 6 consists of Jacob explaining the key theme of Zeno's allegory: in a future day, the Lord will gather all of the "branches" into one. Jacob's explanation also provides clarification on certain points. What follows are explications of those points:

6:3 -- The world burned with fire. Perhaps some of us believe that the imagery of fire is metaphorical. That is, the image of fire is being used to indicate the degree of the Lord's judgment, instead of the kind or type of the Lord's judgment. Jacob's statements here, joined with Zeno's, strongly indicate that the world will literally be burned with fire.

6:4 -- How merciful is our God.

Jacob teaches that God is merciful and his mercy is shown by having his hands stretched forth "all the day long" to the House of Israel. This statement is particularly insightful when we take a broad view of the Israelite's behavior throughout their existence. From the beginning of their status as a nation, which started humbly from the seed of Jacob, the Israelites failed to humble themselves and fully receive God. And despite this, God pursued the Israelites over and over again, giving them multiple chances to repent and come unto him.

Consider the Lord's statement

8 How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.
9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city. (Hosea 11:8-9)

Here, Hosea portrays God's anguish and hesitation in bringing judgment on Israel. Can you feel the tension?

Consider the Lord's remark through the prophet Jeremiah:

18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.
19 ¶ My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

The Hebrew word for bowels refers to the internal organs, usually digestive organs such as intestines or stomach. Metaphorically, the term is used to describe the person's inner being (similar to how word "heart" is used in the scriptures). Thus God's remark of "my bowels, my bowels" reveals that the Lord is deeply pained in the coming judgment to be unleashed on Judah. He feels the pain deep within himself.

6:4-5 -- Come with full purpose of heart.

And although the Lord loves everyone, those who don't harden their hearts are saved. And only those people are saved. To avoid having a hard heart requires that one repents and is fully reconciled with God. To repent, however, is more than just saying sorry. But it means to "come with a full purpose of heart" AND to "cleave unto God." To cleave is to adhere to, or to unite or to be united closely in interest or affection; to adhere with strong attachment. Thus repentance requires us to not only have our hearts right, but that we strongly adhere to him. This means that God is our focus.

Moreover, notice that this type of cleaving grows over time. Jacob states that we are to cleave to God as God "cleaveth unto his." This means that our relationship with God will progressively grow more and more intimate, with each step leading to further devotion and adherence to God.

Last, we are to cleave unto God now, before it's too late. Notice that in verse 4-5 Jacob refers to the Lord's hand being unto the people all the day long. Is there a significance for why Jacob uses the word "day"? I think so. And here's why. In verse 5, Jacob exhorts us to come unto God while God's "arm of mercy is extended" towards us in the light of day. In other words, Jacob is saying that we should come unto God while it's still day -- while there is still time. This means then the Lord’s hand of mercy will not be outstretched for forever. His hand it only stretched out during the "day". When the "night" comes there is no more time to repent.

6:8-10 -- Will Ye...?

Jacob asks the following question to the wicked. Will they

1. Reject these words, words of the prophet, and all the words which have been spoken about Christ
2. Deny the good word of Christ and the power of God
3. Quench the Holy Spirit

To me, it seems that Jacob is outlining the progression of wickedness. First, the wicked reject Christ's teachings. Second, as a consequence of rejecting his teaching, they then deny the world and the gift of the Holy Ghost. And a result of deny the reality of the Gift of the Holy Ghost, they quench -- silence, extinguish -- it from their existence. 

Here's an illustration of how this progression of wickedness might occur: 

Many people, even those who are members, reject the words of Christ on a daily basis. This rejection is often the result of people allowing worldly beliefs to influence how they approach scripture reading. For instance, people develop a certain conception of who God is and box God into that conception. Instead of allowing the scriptures to teach them about God's character, they choose to twist and distort the text's meaning to match their own philosophy. This approach is tantamount to rejection, as they intentionally choose to ignore what the scriptures are trying to teach. 

As a result of rejecting the scriptures, many people are on the path to denying the good word of Christ and the power of God. Having rejected the light and truth contained in the scriptures, God's power is lessened over time until it's nonexistent. Even if God shows his power, such manifestation are explained away by modern "science". As a result, the person witnesses less and less of God's power. 

The final step is to quench -- to extinguish God's power. Having denied manifestations of God's power for so long, the person is now to at the point of extinguishing any semblance of the supernatural. Here the plan of salvation (redemption) is mocked, because it as does not affect a person. God's effort to save the person have been frustrated by his or her unwillingness to hearken to God. 

The result of this incrementally rejection of God until the power of God is quenched is that the perosn guilty of doing this will have to "stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God" and be cast off into hell -- "whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever, which lack of fire and brimstone is endless torment."

Let us make sure we are not guilty of doing any of these. But since it's still "day" there is still time to repent.

6: 11 -- Enter at the Strait Gate

Jacob concludes this theme with the ultimate truth. To avoid the lake of fire and brimstone, we must repent. And we repent by entering in at the strait gate, which gate is baptism of both water and fire. 

Chapter 7 

7: 1-5 -- Characteristics of Shem 

Some year later after Jacob spoke to the Nephites at the temple, we learn that a man, called Sherem, came "among the people" to teach false doctrine and lead many astray. The following are Sherem's characteristics. 

• Declare unto the Nephites that Christ is not coming 
• Falter the people in order to overthrow the doctrine of Christ 
• Labored diligently that he might lead many away 
• Learned and education inasmuch that he had a "perfect knowledge of the language of the people" which allowed him to lead many of the Nephites away through flattery. 

From this list, are a few notable points. First, those who seek to lead us away from Christ work hard to do so. Their efforts are long and hard, and they are relentless to disprove God and lead people away from Christ. This inversely means that those who seek to bring others to Christ, must also work hard to bring people unto Christ. If the devil does't sleep (so the speak), then we shouldn't either. 

7:5;12 -- Characteristics of Jacob 

Juxtaposed to Sherem's characteristics is that of Jacob, who Sherem desires to lead away from Christ. Yet, Jacob explains why his faith was could not be shaken: 

• Received many revelation concerning Jesus Christ 
• Seen angels
• Hear the voice of the Lord speaking 

And in verse 12, Jacob writes that he has "heard and seen" 

As stated in a previous post, Jacob's experiences are available to all. This is important to realize because it also is the key to not losing one's faith. A significant number of LDS people are leaving the church due to information they have learned online. Part of this responsibility restx on the Church, who naively assumed that it could just ignore the tough parts of Church history, and who emphasized following the prophet, instead following God through personal revelation. The other part, however, is on the members themselves. Instead of seeking out manifestations (witnesses) from heaven like Jacob, members were content going through the motions. Lacking of these manifestations resulted in many having a weak faith that could be easily swayed. 

There is not doubt that there are a good number of church history that is difficult and hard to understand. But the answer to not losing you faith is to seek for God and witnesses of his existence. If you've obtained witnesses of his existence, then it what happened in church history doesn't matter, since it's all about knowing God. This is not to say that researching and reading into church history isn't helpful. Sometimes it's good to be acquainted with the ickier parts. But what I do mean is that researching and reading church history won't be enough if you don't have witnesses of God's existence. 

Jacob's faith was able to withstand Sherem's attack because Jacob knew of God's existence. If we expect to maintain our faith, we should follow Jacob's example.