Lehi was faithful in fulfilling his calling to teach of the Messiah and call his people to repentance. They wanted to kill him because of his teachings. Objections to true teachings are usually a cover-up for not wanting to abandon sins.
The Lord warned Lehi in a dream to take his family and depart into the wilderness. Why Lehi? What qualified this citizen of the kingdom of Judah, a descendant of Manasseh, to lead a colony of Israelites through the wilderness to a new promised land? Lehi understood and could guide a diverse society. Members of tribes other than Judah had taken up residence in the land of Jerusalem years before. First Chronicles 9:3 notes, “In Jerusalem dwelt of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim, and Manasseh.’’ Lehi, Laban, and Ishmael were all from the tribes of Joseph.
The scriptural record contains hints that Lehi was wealthy (1 Nephi 2:4; 3:16, 22). The Mediterranean world was alive with mercantile activity in this period of time, with Syria and Canaan serving as a hub of sea and land commerce at the place where continents and cultures came together. Caravans traversed Judah from all directions: side roads off the coastal highway and the King’s Highway; the distant Frankincense Trail; pilgrims’ highways and trade routes connecting Moab, Edom, and Arabia with Gaza and Egypt. Lehi could have been a trained and experienced caravaneer and trader. He knew what provisions to prepare and what route to take. Knowing how God has worked in other periods of history, we believe it is not unlikely that he selected a man who, in addition to his spiritual maturity and responsiveness, was already adapted to the particular task at hand, in this case desert travel and survival. He was the right man for the right time. 2