Jacob has already demonstrated his love for Yahweh. Lehi’s blessing—that Yahweh will consecrate his affliction—may have stemmed from Lehi’s vision that Jacob would become a powerful preacher. This passage has echoes of the situation Joseph Smith faced in Liberty Jail when the Lord consoled him: “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes” (D&C 121:7–8).
Literature: Lehi uses Jacob’s afflictions as the departure point for his sermon on opposition in all things. Lehi doubtless wanted to preach this sermon to all of his sons and chose Jacob because he embodied the perfect model of enduring afflictions as a necessary part of mortality but being refined through them. Jacob’s goodness proved that afflictions did not necessarily tear one down.