10643. 'And break their pillars' means that falsities of evil are to be done away with. This is clear from the meaning of 'pillars' as representative signs of worship of the Lord which springs from truths, dealt with in 4580, 4582, 9388, 9389, and in the contrary sense as representative signs of idolatrous worship arising from falsities, 3727. The reason why pillars were signs representative of worship was that among the ancients it was customary to set up pillars, anoint them with oil, and in so doing make them holy objects. The ancients performed their worship chiefly on mountains, on hills, and in groves, where they set the pillars up. The reason why they set them up on mountains was that mountains served to mean the heaven where celestial love, which is love to the Lord, reigns; the reason why they set them up on hills was that hills served to mean the heaven where spiritual love, which is love towards the neighbour, reigns; and the reason why they set them up in groves was that groves served to mean heavenly wisdom and intelligence. All these had their origin in correspondences. The pillars which were set up in those places served as signs of Divine Truth; for the pillars were pieces of stone, and 'stone' means truth. And therefore in the Word the Lord in respect of Divine Truth is called the Stone of Israel. These then are the reasons why pillars were signs of worship of the Lord springing from truths.

[2] But when the representative signs of the Church which existed among the ancients began to be converted partly into what was idolatrous and partly into that which was magical, those signs were brought to an end, especially among the Israelite nation, which was idolatrous at heart. This is why idolatrous worship arising from falsities is also meant by 'pillars'. So it is with all worship when people become interested only in what is external, as happens when they regard self and the world as the end, and Divine things of the Church as the means. For then in the case of those who still engage in acts of worship, everything belonging to worship is turned into an idol, because outward forms without their inner realities are being worshipped. Consequently the truths contained in worship and religious teachings are turned into falsities; for they are falsified by the selfish and worldly thoughts entering into them, to which very many other notions become attached that take what is God's from those truths and assign them to self and the world. All this may also be recognized in the altars of the gentile nations; although they offered sacrifices on them in a similar way to the Israelite nation, those sacrifices were nevertheless abominations.

[3] The customary existence of pillars among the ancients, serving to mean the holiness of worship, is clear from the pillar erected by Jacob, described in Genesis as follows,

And Jacob took the stone which he had placed as his headrest, and placed it as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. And he said, If I come back in peace to my father's house, this stone which I have placed as a pillar will be God's house. Genesis 28:18, 21-22.

The same thing is clear from the twelve pillars set up by Moses at the foot of Mount Sinai, spoken of as follows in Exodus and dealt with in 9389,

Moses wrote all Jehovah's words. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of ¹ the mountain, and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. Exodus 24:4.

Also in Isaiah,

On that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to Jehovah at its border. Isaiah 19:19.

And in Hosea,

The children of Israel will sit many days with no king, and no prince, and no sacrifice, and no pillar. Hosea 3:4.

In these places worship springing from truths is meant by 'pillars', because stone was a sign of Divine Truth, as stated above; and a pillar anointed with oil was a sign of Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good.

[4] But when those representative objects began to be worshipped in an idolatrous manner, the command came for them to be overthrown and broken, as in the present verse and also in Exodus 23:24; Deuteronomy 7:5; 12:3. And since the Israelite nation was idolatrous at heart, to prevent them from setting up pillars on mountains and hills, or in groves, and worshipping them in an idolatrous manner, they were forbidden to set up pillars or to plant groves, even though for the ancients such things had been holy objects belonging to worship. The fact that this nation was forbidden to do so is clear in Moses,

You shall not plant for yourself a grove of any kind of tree beside the altar of your God which you shall make for yourself. And you shall not erect for yourself a pillar, which Jehovah your God indeed hates. Deuteronomy 16:21-22.

And the fact that they were forbidden to do so because they worshipped those objects in an idolatrous manner is clear in the first Book of Kings,

Judah ² did what was evil in the eyes of Jehovah; they built for themselves high places and pillars on every high hill, and under every green tree. 1 Kings 14:22-23.

The like is said about the children of Israel ³ , in 2 Kings 17:10. In Micah,

I will cut down your carved images and your pillars from the midst of you, and you will adore no more the work of your hands. And I will uproot your groves from the midst of you. Micah 5:13-14.

In Isaiah,

You inflamed yourselves among the gods under every green tree. Isaiah 57:5.

And in Ezekiel,

By means of the hoofs of his horses Nebuchadnezzar will trample all your streets, slay the people with the sword, and cause your mighty pillars ⁴ to come down to the ground. Ezekiel 26:11.

The same thing may in addition be seen in other places, which likewise show what is meant in the internal sense by 'pillars'.

Poznámky pod čarou:

3603. 'That you will break his yoke from above your neck' means that good would now be the means through which any joining together was effected - and that truth would be the truth of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'breaking the yoke from above the neck' as release. For 'the neck' means influx and communication and consequently a joining together, while 'a yoke above the neck' means a blocking and cutting off, see 3542; so that 'breaking the yoke from above the neck' means release from such blocking and cutting off, and consequently a joining together through good. It also means that truth becomes the truth of good, for when there is no longer any blocking or cutting off, good flows in and joins itself to truth.

[2] What is implied in all this may be seen from what has been stated and shown so far. But because few understand what is meant by the apparent priority of truth, and by the inferiority for the time being of good - the chief reason for their not understanding being that few stop to reflect on such matters, indeed they do not even reflect on the idea that good is distinct and separate from truth - [let some explanation be offered here]. None of those who pursue a life of self-love and love of the world are aware of what good is, for they do not believe in the existence of any other kind of good than that which is a product of that life. And being unaware of what good is they are also unaware of what truth is, for truth is the companion of good. They do, it is true, know from revelation that good consists in loving God and the neighbour, and truth in matters of doctrine drawn from the Word. But because they do not live according to those things they have no perception of that good and truth; for these are known to them but are not actually present in them. Indeed even those persons who are in the process of being regenerated do not know what good is until they have been regenerated. For prior to their regeneration they have supposed that truth is good and that acting in accordance with truth is good, when in fact it is not good that they are doing at that time but truth. While a person is passing through this state he is passing through that state which is described as Jacob and the blessing conferred on him. But once he passes on into the state in which he performs a good action from an affection for good, that is, once he has been regenerated, he passes into that state which is described in the blessing conferred on Esau.

[3] This may be illustrated from what happens to a person in the first and second stages of life, and after that in the third and fourth stages. During the first stage nothing more than his memory is involved in his knowing things in the Word and likewise matters of doctrine regarding faith. During this stage also he believes he is good when he knows many things from the Word and from doctrine and is able to apply some of them not to his own life but to the lives of others. During the second stage when he is more grown up he is not content to know only with his memory things in the Word and matters of doctrine but now begins to reflect on these with his own ability to think, and insofar as he adds anything to these from his own thought he is pleased by it. Consequently he is moved by an affection for truth which originates in some worldly love, which is also a means to his learning further things which would be neglected by him but for that worldly love. During the third stage however, if he is among such people as are able to be regenerated he starts to think about use, and in that case to reflect on what he reads in the Word and absorbs from doctrine for the sake of the use these serve. While he is passing through this state order is reversed; that is to say, truth is no longer placed first quite so much. But during the fourth stage, when it is the stage of his regeneration, because now the state is complete, dealt with in 2636, he loves the Word and matters of doctrine drawn from the Word - that is, he loves truth - for the sake of the good of life, and therefore loves them from a desire for the good of life. Thus good, which up to that time has apparently taken second place, now comes to occupy the first.

[4] The reason why good has apparently taken second place is that it has lain concealed inmostly within the person's entire affection. Nor has it been able to show itself because it has been surrounded by such things as those with which it could not accord, that is to say, by vain and worthless things like those that constitute worldly glory and self-glory. But once he has been regenerated these things depart and the good that has lain inmostly comes so to speak out of prison and enters into those things which are outside, and takes truths to itself, makes them the truths of good, and in this way manifests itself.

[5] During all this time the good present with a person is something which so to speak he does not consciously will, yet is present within his will - present in every detail of his thought and consequently in every detail of his activity. He is not aware of possessing this which he does not consciously will because he does not perceive anything present with himself apart from that which is his own, that is, which he does will. That which he does not will is twofold: on the one hand there is that which he has inherited from father and mother, on the other that which flows in from the Lord by way of heaven. While a person is growing up that which he has inherited from parents manifests itself more and more, if he is such that he does not allow himself to be regenerated. For he draws on evils from his heredity and makes them properly his own. But that which is not consciously willed yet flows from the Lord by way of heaven manifests itself in adult years with those who are being regenerated. With the latter this activity has in the meantime arranged and governed every single detail of thought, and also of will, though that activity has not been apparent.