Knowing we are relatively faithless and rebellious, God has made His foreknowledge a matter of revelation and testimony by His prophets. He would like us to have faith in Him, but realizes that mostly we do not. So He helps us through our lack of faith by giving us the record of the prophets. Nephi’s record and counsel is one way to help us find faith in God’s existence and perfection. His record foretells and counsels.
If we accept it in faith, we have a marvelous record of God’s great foreknowledge. Of course, skeptics do not. Instead, they attempt to dismiss the entire Book of Mormon as a product exclusively of Joseph Smith (or conspirators with him). What is the real difference between the honest skeptic and the faithless “believer” who claims to accept Nephi’s record, but does not take its warning and counsel seriously? The skeptic is more honest.
The metaphors in this verse are interesting. Having an “iron sinew” for a neck suggests we have difficulty bowing our heads. We have difficulty submitting to God’s rule. We are self-willed. We are not willing to humbly submit to our Father in Heaven, even though He rules over all.
Our “brass brows” suggests part of our problem is our unwillingness to allow additional information into our minds. We have closed our minds and are not capable of receiving further light and knowledge. We don’t want to learn more.
Although the Lord is willing to teach us, we are not ready to learn. Christ’s lament to the Nephites in 3 Nephi 17: 2 is applicable to us, as well:
“I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand all my words which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this time.”
God does not reveal things to us when we are not willing to accept them. And our “brass brows” make it clear where the problem lies. We are not a willing audience for what God would like to make known to us. And so we move along in the dark, without the Divine light of truth being revealed to us. Or revealed to us in a diminished way, constituting far less than it could be, were we willing students who were ready to be taught. We fail to take advantage of the Perfect Teacher, and do nothing to allow Him to instruct us personally.