10430. And thou, suffer Me. That this signifies that there should not be so stubborn an insistence, is evident from the signification of “to suffer,” when said by Jehovah of that nation, as being that there should not be so stubborn an insistence; for that nation was not chosen by the Lord, but was accepted because of its stubborn insistence (see n. 4290, 4293, 7051, 7439). For that nation, more than all other nations in the whole world, could practice fasting, lie on the ground, roll themselves in ashes, and be in mourning for whole days together, and not desist till they obtained what they wanted. But this insistence was solely for their own sake, namely, from a most ardent love of self and of the world, and not for the sake of the Divine. They who are such are indeed heard, and yet they do not receive into themselves anything of heaven and the church; but only such things as are of the world, provided they persevere in the statutes and laws in their outward form. From this it is that in the other life they are among the infernals, except some who have been in good, and except their little children. From this it is evident that by “thou suffer Me” is signified that there should not be so stubborn an insistence.
