The prophet-king foretells the fate of any people, who, having known the Lord, His marvelous ways, and His might, apostatize therefrom, and, who, thus knowingly transgress His laws. "He will deliver them up." Without the strength of His sustaining arm to uphold them, they will become weak, like the Lamanites, who at that time were an idle and a degenerate people. The Lord will not preserve the followers of Laman in their condition of slothfulness, as He had protected the Nephites when they obeyed His laws. Otherwise, King Benjamin says, "They must have fallen into the hands of the Lamanites, and become the victims to their hatred."
King Benjamin recognized the fact that if their forefathers had not repented of evil ways and had not coupled with it a determination to do the Lord's will, they would have been left to their own devices, which at strongest were not very strong. He does not say, but, we know that when left alone, man's utmost strength is absolute weakness, and his wisdom but a mixture of foolishness and folly, when compared to the wisdom and the understanding of the Lord. Frequently the Nephite historians point to this truth expressed here in the words of King Benjamin!