¶ "Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.
"There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up." ~ Old Testament | Isaiah 51:17-18

    Isaiah is prophesying of Judah, of Jerusalem, in that day of the war of Armageddon. Never has Judah, the tribe thereof, had any son of her that had led Judah in the paths of righteousness. "There is none" of Judahs' sons that have come forth to guide Judah, who is that tribe of Jerusalem. "Neither is there any [of her sons] that taketh her my the hand of all the sons whom she hath brought up."

That is quite a statement for the Lord to have made by way of his prophet Isaiah. Ever since Judah had become associated with Jerusalem in the days of David has there been a son of Jerusalem, a son of Judah, that has come forth to lead Judah/Jerusalem by the hand in the paths of righteousness. So what about King David and the righteous Kings of Judah and Jerusalem such as Josiah? Did they not lead Jerusalem in righteousness?

David did lead Judah, Jerusalem, righteously until David did sin by the taking of Bathsheba and so on. Certainly Josiah was a most righteous king. So was Hezekiah considered a king of Judah and Jerusalem in righteousness. God had granted Hezekiah 15 extra years of life upon his appeal unto the Lord. Are not they considered to be the sons of Judah? They were the sons of Obed who was of the bloodline of Boaz. And Boaz was a Jew of Judah.

So how are the kings of Judah eliminated from not being considered as the sons of Judah, of Jerusalem? It has been presented and stated a number of times that Obed was raised up to the dead house of Mahlon and Elimelech, that their seed was not lost in Israel according to the Law of Moses, the Law of God (Deut. 25:5-10 and Ruth 4:5 & 10). So even though Boaz was acting as the kinsman surrogate redeemer in raising up seed to his maternally related kinsmen, and Obed was biologically of the blood of Boaz; Boaz was not the legal and lawful parent of Obed. Mahlon the first husband of Ruth was the legal and lawful parent to Obed, and Obed was of the seed and the recognized son of the last living representative of that family, Naomi the wife of Elimelech (Ruth 4:17 (13-17)).

Now the Jewish Rabbis have further asserted that Elimelech, being the kinsman of Boaz, was therefore also of the tribe of Judah. But if Elimelch and his son Mahlon were of the tribe of Judah, then how is it said that 'none' of the sons of Judah have stood forth to properly lead Judah of Jerusalem? Therefore this previously cited verse would also be suggestive evidence that Elimelch and his son Mahlon were not of Judah but only related to Boaz by a maternal relationship. There was one who was more closely and properly related to Elimelch who could have played the role of surrogate redeemer, Such a One—Paloni Almoni, but he did not. He deferred unto Boaz. Perhaps he was of the tribe of Ephraim, an Ephrathite like was Elimelech and Mahlon.

"NOW the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
"For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's:)" ~ Old Testament | 1 Chronicles 5:1-2

With the fact that Obed was legally and rightfully to be considered the son of Mahlon in Israel, the fact that Judah usurps to the ancestry regardless of, or instead of the birthright of Joseph makes more sense. Mahlon and Elimelech were heirs of Joseph and Ephraim. They were the holders of the birthright. And there was that very opporunity for Judah to usurp to the birthright, then held in the seed of David, son of Jesse, son of Obed. For Boaz was the biological father of Obed. But he was not the legal father of Obed according to the Law of God by way of the Law of Moses.

So Judah did, in the absense of the Kingdom of Israel, the lost tribe of Ephraim, usurp themselves in the Jewish kept record has being the only tribe remaining in Israel, and therefore, even those Joseph held the birthright; it was but Judah who remain and therefore had prevailed. And Judah laid claim to the ancestry of the Messiah through that came by David, even though the birthright remained in Joseph.

Isaiah's word, which was the Lord's word, first qouted above, established that none in Judah of Jerusalem was a righteouos son of Judah who had stood forth to lead Judah by the hand. There had been none in all the history of Judah and Jerusalem. And even though there had been David in those days that he stood in righteouosness before the Lord, and such as Josiah and Hezekiah; because they were of the house of Mahlon and NOT Boaz, then they were not of Judah either. So there had been no sons born of Judah who had ever step forth to lead Jerusalem, the Kingdom of Judah. And even though David and the rest of the Kings of Jerusalem were biologically born of the bloodline of Judah, that was NOT enough for them to be rightfully considered to be of the seed of Judah.

Yes, they were biologically born of the blood of Boaz, of Judah, and even so stepulated by Jacob that the sceptre or lawgiver would be but from between the feet of Judah (Gen. 49:10); that biological bloodline was NOT enough to over rule the Law of God, that they had all been deemed to be of the seed of Joseph and his son Ephraim and of the covenant birthright. And this dispite that the Jewish scribe did set out according to the design of those of the tribe of Judah, that they were going to keep the genealogy unto themselves according to the promised Messiah to have come forth from Judah, despite that birthright held in Joseph and his son Ephraim.

The tradition of the Jews have long prevailed in representing Israel. Even though it was those of the Jews who had long persecuted the prophets and had led the people to reject the testimonies' and witnesses' of the prophets that Jesus was to be the promised Messiah to come, was it was such that Lehi also testified of to the Jews as being.

"Therefore, I would that ye should know, that after the Lord had shown so many marvelous things unto my father, Lehi, yea, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, behold he went forth among the people, and began to prophesy and to declare unto them concerning the things which he had both seen and heard.
"And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world.
"And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. ... " ~ Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 1:18-20

Here the Book of Mormon illustrated that there had been a number of the prophets of the Lord who had declared the coming of the Messiah unto the Jews, but they had rejected them. And Lehi they did seek to kill, not becuase he but preached that Jerusalem would be destroyed like Jeremiah had been doing, but that Lehi had further taught of the coming Messiah who would come among men to presume the right to rule over them, he providing for them redemption.

The Jews, though they did usurp to the genealogy to the promised Messiah, they did further deny his coming for they knew that in the day that his should come, He the Messiah, even Shiloh, or Jesus Christ; would take the rule of leadership from them. And they would not that he would do so to the point that when the Savior did come and declare himself to them, they did take him and crucify him and state for his blood to be upon their hands and the hands of their children. And this is why they have for so long drank of the dregs of perecution themselves for so many years themselves. For this is exactly what they had done unto those that believed in and served the Lord for so many years, and when the Son did come they took him and killed him as well (Matthew 21:33-45—Parable of the Husbandmen.).

Now again, it was not only those rulers of the Jews who were not of Judah, but of Obed, Jesse, and David, who were actually descended of Joseph. But it was also the Messiah who was of the rightful and legal descent of the house of Joseph. He being raised up to be of the seed of the dead. That is that Obed his ancestor had been raised up as the first born son of Ruth to be the seed of Ruth's first husband Mahlon according to the Law of God. And thus all the Kings of Judah from David on were truly but of the house of Joseph, though biologically of the bloodline of Judah.

Despite all their entrappings to the other claim of the genealogy being of Judah. It was of Joseph and the birthright that the heir did come to claim him right to the vineyard. The proof of this is in their claims against Jesus made by the Jews was that he was a Samaritan. This Jesus was indeed, being of a mixed, but birthright descend of Jesse, Ephraim or of the house of Joseph (D&C 113:4).

"Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
"Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.
"And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death." ~ New Testament | John 8:48-51

Now then again, Jesus is that Messiah ben Joseph of the birthright covenant of God. And so is such as Obed, Jesse and David of the house of David, by whom Jesus did have claim to being King of the Jews and also all of Israel. And thus Jesus is also rightly considered Messiah ben David, which David is also of the house of Joseph, though the Jews would claim him by their claim to his genealogy from Boaz the surrogate kinsman redeemer unto Mahlon the Ephrathite/Epraimite.

¶ Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:

"And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.
"And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.
"Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.
"But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
"But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.
"And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
"When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?"

"They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

"Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
"Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
"And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."

"And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them."

~ New Testament | Matthew 21:33-45 ~