Redaction analysis: Verses 36 -38 make their point structurally in addition to textually. In verse 36 Nephi gives us a paired set, and continues with paired sets in the next verses.
In these three verses Nephi is creating a parallel between the entry of Israel into their promised land with the journey (and subsequent entry) of the Lehites into their promised land. He makes his point by a logic of progression. Because God creates the land and his children to inhabit it, we must understand that God wants his children to inhabit land. Because there are both righteous and wicked nations, the righteous (having the Lord on their side) will prevail. The shift in meaning from the raising and destroying of verse 37 and the closely parallel verse 38 is the concept of God leading his children to that land. That final point was part of the historical example of Israel, and extemely to the point as Nephi attempts to build a ship so that they might also be lead to their promised land.