In a chapter of the first volume of The Mortal Messiah, “The Soil in Which the Root Was Planted,” Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote that our Savior “was to be planted in arid soil; to grow up as a tender plant, as a root out of dry ground. Babylonia, Persia, Egypt, Syria, Greece, and Rome—each in turn—had ploughed in the fields of [Canaan, or Israel]. Each had reaped harvests without dunging the land. The early rains of revelation and the latter rains of prophetic guidance had not watered the soil for centuries. The thistles and weeds and briers of sin encumbered the vineyards. There was a famine of hearing the word of the Lord.” 25
One characteristic of dry ground that once was wet is that it becomes very hard. This is especially true of certain soils that become sun-baked; they become hardened and impenetrable. The Lord, as the fountain of living waters (Jeremiah 2:13), would come to irrigate the arid soil so that “the desert [could] rejoice, and blossom as the rose” (Isaiah 35:1).
Just as the rock was smitten to bring forth water for thirsting Israelites (Numbers 20:11), so the Lord himself was smitten to provide the living water of eternal life for all who would come and drink.
“No form … no beauty”—Jews expected supernatural glory in their Messiah. Some imagined that their King would be fabulously wealthy, handsome, and in every way attractive, and that he would come with great fanfare and applause. His purposes would be well-known and publicized, and there would be no question about who he was. Everyone would recognize him at a glance. President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: “It is expressed here by the prophet that he had no form or comeliness, that is, he was not so distinctive, so different from others that people would recognize him as the Son of God. He appeared as a mortal man.” 26
“He Shall Grow Up Before Him as a Tender Plant and as a Root Out of Dry Ground”
In a chapter of the first volume of The Mortal Messiah, “The Soil in Which the Root Was Planted,” Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote that our Savior “was to be planted in arid soil; to grow up as a tender plant, as a root out of dry ground. Babylonia, Persia, Egypt, Syria, Greece, and Rome—each in turn—had ploughed in the fields of [Canaan, or Israel]. Each had reaped harvests without dunging the land. The early rains of revelation and the latter rains of prophetic guidance had not watered the soil for centuries. The thistles and weeds and briers of sin encumbered the vineyards. There was a famine of hearing the word of the Lord.” 25
One characteristic of dry ground that once was wet is that it becomes very hard. This is especially true of certain soils that become sun-baked; they become hardened and impenetrable. The Lord, as the fountain of living waters (Jeremiah 2:13), would come to irrigate the arid soil so that “the desert [could] rejoice, and blossom as the rose” (Isaiah 35:1).
Just as the rock was smitten to bring forth water for thirsting Israelites (Numbers 20:11), so the Lord himself was smitten to provide the living water of eternal life for all who would come and drink.
“No form … no beauty”—Jews expected supernatural glory in their Messiah. Some imagined that their King would be fabulously wealthy, handsome, and in every way attractive, and that he would come with great fanfare and applause. His purposes would be well-known and publicized, and there would be no question about who he was. Everyone would recognize him at a glance. President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: “It is expressed here by the prophet that he had no form or comeliness, that is, he was not so distinctive, so different from others that people would recognize him as the Son of God. He appeared as a mortal man.” 26