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Exodus 18

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1 Now news came to Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, of all God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, and how the Lord had taken Israel out of Egypt.

2 And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her away,

3 And her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom, for he said, I have been living in a strange land:

4 And the name of the other was Eliezer, for he said, The God of my father was my help, and kept me safe from the sword of Pharaoh:

5 And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to where Moses had put up his tent in the waste land, by the mountain of God.

6 And he said to Moses, I, your father-in-law, have come to you, with your wife and your two sons.

7 And Moses went out to his father-in-law, and went down on his face before him and gave him a kiss; and they said to one another, Are you well? and they came into the tent.

8 And Moses gave his father-in-law an account of all the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians because of Israel, and of all the troubles which had come on them by the way, and how the Lord had given them salvation.

9 And Jethro was glad because the Lord had been good to Israel, freeing them from the power of the Egyptians.

10 And Jethro said, Praise be to the Lord, who has taken you out of the hand of Pharaoh and out of the hand of the Egyptians; freeing the people from the yoke of the Egyptians.

11 Now I am certain that the Lord is greater than all gods, for he has overcome them in their pride.

12 Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, made a burned offering to God: and Aaron came, with the chiefs of Israel, and had a meal with Moses' father-in-law, before God.

13 Now on the day after, Moses took his seat to give decisions for the people: and the people were waiting before Moses from morning till evening.

14 And when Moses' father-in-law saw all he was doing, he said, What is this you are doing for the people? why are you seated here by yourself, with all the people waiting before you from morning till evening?

15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to get directions from God:

16 And if they have any question between themselves, they come to me, and I am judge between a man and his neighbour, and I give them the orders and laws of God.

17 And Moses' father-in-law said to him, What you are doing is not good.

18 Your strength and that of the people will be completely used up: this work is more than you are able to do by yourself.

19 Give ear now to my suggestion, and may God be with you: you are to be the people's representative before God, taking their causes to him:

20 Teaching them his rules and his laws, guiding them in the way they have to go, and making clear to them the work they have to do.

21 But for the rest, take from among the people able men, such as have the fear of God, true men hating profits wrongly made; and put such men over them, to be captains of thousands, captains of hundreds and of fifties and of tens;

22 And let them be judges in the causes of the people at all times: and let them put before you all important questions, but in small things let them give decisions themselves: in this way, it will be less hard for you, and they will take the weight off you.

23 If you do this, and God gives approval, then you will be able to go on without weariness, and all this people will go to their tents in peace.

24 So Moses took note of the words of his father-in-law, and did as he had said.

25 And he made selection of able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds and of fifties and of tens.

26 And they were judges in the causes of the people at all times: the hard questions they put before Moses; but on every small point they gave decisions themselves.

27 And Moses let his father-in-law go away, and he went back to his land.

   

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Morning

  
Two gorgeous red poppies -- one popped, and one just about to.

Morning comes with the rising of the sun, and the sun -- which gives life to the earth with its warmth and light -- represents the Lord in His divinity, bringing spiritual life through love and wisdom. Thus, the morning represents the coming of the Lord into our lives, and all the things that flow from it: the love, joy and enlightenment He brings; the peace and tranquility of passing the spiritual obscurity of night; the anticipation of the learning and usefulness of a new day; and the awareness of The Lord's renewed presence.

(Odkazy: Apocalypse Explained 179; Apocalypse Revealed 151; Arcana Coelestia 2333 [1-3], 2540, 2780, 5740, 8211, 8812, 10134, 10200, 10413; True Christian Religion 764 [1-2])

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Apocalypse Explained # 179

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179. Verse 28. And I will give him the morning star, signifies intelligence and wisdom from the Lord's Divine Human. This is evident from the signification of "stars," as being the knowledges of good and truth (See above, n. 72); and as they signify the knowledges of good and truth, they also signify intelligence and wisdom, for all intelligence and wisdom come by means of the knowledges of good and truth. It is evident also from the signification of "morning" as being the Lord in respect to His Divine Human, therefore "the morning star" means intelligence and wisdom from Him. "Morning" is often mentioned in the Word, and its signification varies according to the connection in the internal sense; in the highest sense it signifies the Lord, and also His coming; in the internal sense it signifies His kingdom and church, and their state of peace. Moreover, it signifies the first state of a new church, and also a state of love, and a state of illustration, consequently a state of intelligence and wisdom, and also a state of the conjunction of good and truth, the state in which the internal man is conjoined to the external. "Morning" has such various significations, because in the highest sense it signifies the Lord's Divine Human; it therefore also signifies all things that proceed from the Divine Human, for the Lord is in those things that proceed from Him, even so that it is He there.

[2] The Divine Human of the Lord in the highest sense is meant by "morning," because the Lord is the sun of the angelic heaven, and the sun of that heaven does not advance from morning to evening, or from rising to setting, as the sun of the world apparently does, but remains constantly in its place, in front above the heavens; consequently the sun is always in the morning there, and never in the evening. And since all the intelligence and wisdom that the angels have comes from the Lord as their sun, their state of love, and state of wisdom and intelligence, and in general their state of illustration is signified by "morning;" for these proceed from the Lord as a sun, and what proceeds from Him is Himself, for from the Divine nothing but what is Divine goes forth, and everything Divine is Himself. (That the Lord is the sun of the angelic heaven, and that from Him as a sun there exist all love, wisdom, and intelligence, and in general all illustration in respect to Divine truths, from which is wisdom, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 116-125, 126-143, 155, 156.)

[3] From this it can he seen why "morning" is so often mentioned in the Word when Jehovah or the Lord, His coming, His kingdom and church, and the goods thereof are treated of; as in the following passages, which I will cite by way of illustration. In the second book of Samuel:

The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me. He is as the light of the morning; the son riseth, a morning without clouds (2 Samuel 23:3, 4).

"The God of Israel" and "the Rock" is the Lord in respect to the Divine Human and Divine truth proceeding therefrom; "the God of Israel" because Israel is His spiritual church, and "the Rock" because His Divine in the spiritual church is Divine truth (See Arcana Coelestia 3720, 6426, 8581, 10580). As the Lord in the angelic heaven is a sun, and as all the light that angels have is therefrom, and as the sun there is continually in its morning, it is said, "He is as the light of the morning; the sun riseth, a morning without clouds."

[4] In David:

From the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth; thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek (Psalms 110:3, 4).

This is said of the Lord as about to come into the world; "from the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth" is conception from the Divine Itself, and the glorification of His Human thereby; "a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek," means that Divine good and Divine truth proceed from Him, for the Lord as priest is Divine good, and as king of holiness, who is, "Melchizedek," is Divine truth (See Arcana Coelestia 1725).

[5] In Ezekiel:

The cherubim stood at the east entrance of the gate of the house; the glory of the God of Israel was over them above (Ezekiel 10:19).

"Cherubim" signify the Lord in respect to providence and as to guard lest He be approached otherwise than by the good of love; "the east entrance of the gate of the house" signifies approach; "the house of God" is heaven and the church; the "east" is where the Lord appears as a sun, thus where He is continually as the morning; therefore it is said "the glory of the God of Israel was over them above."

[6] In the same:

The angel brought me to the gate that looketh towards the east; and behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east; and the earth was enlightened by His glory. And the glory of Jehovah came into the house by the way of the gate whose face is toward the east (Ezekiel 43:1, 2, 4).

Here, in the internal sense, the influx of the Lord into those who are in His kingdom and church is described; "the God of Israel" is the Lord in respect to the Divine Human and the Divine truth proceeding therefrom; "the house of God" is His kingdom and the church; "glory" is Divine truth as it is in heaven; "to come by the way of the east into the house" means from the sun, where it is continually in its morning. (That "glory" is Divine truth as it is in heaven, see Arcana Coelestia 4809, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429; that "the house of God" is heaven and the church in respect to good, and "temple" is the same in respect to truth, n. 3720; and that the "east," in the highest sense, is the Lord, because He is the sun of heaven, which is always in its rising and morning, consequently the "east" is the good of love from Him, see n. 3708, 5097, 9668)

[7] In the same:

The angel afterwards brought me back to the entrance of the house, where behold, waters issuing out from under the threshold of the house towards the east, they shall descend into the plain and come towards the sea, being sent forth into the sea that the waters may be healed; whence it comes to pass that every living soul that creeps, whithersoever the rivers come, shall live, whence there are exceeding many fishes, because these waters shall come thither, and they are healed, that everything may live whither the river shall come (Ezekiel 47:1, 8, 9).

Here also, the influx of the Lord from His Divine Human with those who are of His kingdom and church is described by pure correspondences. By "waters issuing out from under the threshold of the house towards the east," Divine truth proceeding from the Lord and flowing in with those that are in the east, that is, that are in the good of love to Him, is described. "The waters shall descend into the plain" and "into the sea," and "thereby the waters of the sea are healed," signifies influx into the natural man and into the knowledges which are therein; the "fishes therefrom" signifies many scientific truths in the natural man; that "everything shall live whither the river shall come" signifies that they should have life from Divine truth. That such thing are hereby signified there, no one can see except from the internal sense of the Word, yet every single expression therein involves arcana of man's regeneration by the Lord; but what is involved in each expression here will be disclosed in explainingRevelation 22:1, 2, of Revelation, where like things are mentioned.

[8] In David:

I have waited for Jehovah, my soul doth wait, my soul waiteth for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning, the watchmen for the morning; for with Him is much redemption, and He will redeem Israel (Psalms 130:5-8).

Here the Lord's coming into the world, and His reception by those that are in the good of love are treated of. The Lord's coming is signified by "I have waited for Jehovah, my soul doth wait for the Lord, for with Him is much redemption, and He shall redeem Israel;" and His reception by those that are in the good of love is signified by "more than watchmen for the morning, the watchmen for the morning." Here "morning" in the highest sense signifies the Lord, and in the internal sense His kingdom and church; and "watchmen for the morning" signify those who wait for the Lord's coming, who are those that are in the good of love, since to those the Lord is "coming."

[9] That "morning" signifies the Lord's coming into the world and then a new church is evident from the following passages.

In Daniel:

Unto evening and morning, two thousand three hundred, then the holy (sanctum) shall be justified. The vision of the evening and the morning, which has been told, is truth (Daniel 8:14, 26). "Evening" signifies the last time of the former church, and "morning" the first time of the new church, thus the Lord's coming.

In Isaiah:

Crying to me from Seir, Watchman, 1 what of the night? watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night (D an. Isaiah 21:11, 12).

Here also the Lord's coming is treated of; "night" is the last time of the former church, and "morning" the first of the new. (What is signified by "calling out of Seir," see Arcana Coelestia 4240, 4384.) In Ezekiel:

The end is come, the end is come, the morning is come upon thee, O inhabitant of the land; behold the day cometh, the morning is gone forth (Ezekiel 7:6, 7, 10).

Here likewise the Lord's coming and the end of the former church and the beginning of a new one are treated of. In Zephaniah, where similar things are meant:

Jehovah in the morning, in the morning, He shall bring His judgment to light, nor shall He fail (Zephaniah 3:5).

[10] As "morning" signifies the Lord, His coming, also His kingdom and church, as also the good of love from Him, what is meant by "morning" in the following passages can be seen.

In David:

Cause me to hear Thy mercy in the morning (Psalms 143:8).

In the same:

I will sing aloud of Thy mercy in the morning (Psalms 59:16).

In the same:

O satisfy us in the morning with Thy mercy; that we may sing aloud and be glad all our days (Psalms 90:14).

In the same:

O Jehovah, in the morning shalt Thou hear my voice; in the morning I will set myself in order for Thee (Psalms 5:3).

In the same:

God is in the midst of her; God shall help him 2 at the turning of the morning (Psalms 46:5).

In the same:

O God, my God, in the morning do I seek Thee (Psalms 63:1).

In Isaiah:

In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to blossom (Isaiah 17:11).

In the same:

Jehovah is 3 their arm every morning (Isaiah 33:2).

In the same :

Jehovah 4 hath given me the tongue of the learned; he hath awakened me every morning (Isaiah 50:4).

In Jeremiah:

I speak unto you every morning (Jeremiah 7:13; 11:7; 25:3, 4). From the signification of "morning" it can be seen what is meant by the following:

That manna fell in the morning (Exodus 16:12, 13, 21).

That Jehovah descended in the morning from Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:16);

That the priest kindled wood upon the altar every morning and placed thereon the whole burnt-offering (Leviticus 6:12). Also what is involved in the command respecting the sacrifice of the passover:

Thou shalt sacrifice the passover at the going down of the sun. Then thou shalt eat it; and thou shalt turn in the morning and go into thy tents (Deuteronomy 16:6, 7).

"They should sacrifice the passover when the sun went down," because "the setting of the sun" signified the last time of the church; that "they should turn in the morning," signified the establishment of a new church, thus the Lord's coming. These things are cited that it may be known what is signified by the "morning star," which the Son of man would give, namely wisdom and intelligence from the Lord's Divine Human. And as those who receive wisdom and intelligence from the Lord also receive Him, for the Lord is in the wisdom and intelligence that are from Him, even so that He is the wisdom and intelligence with them, the Lord Himself also is called "the Morning Star" in Revelation:

I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and Morning Star (Revelation 22:16).

He is likewise called a Star (Numbers 24:17).

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. The Latin has "Watchman, watchman," the Hebrew has it only once.

2. In Hebrew: "help her" as found in Apocalypse Revealed 151; True Christian Religion 764; Coronis 5.

3. The Hebrew has "be Thou their arm," as also found in Arcana Coelestia 4933, 8211.

4. The Hebrew has "Lord Jehovih," as also found in Arcana Coelestia 3869[1-14].

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.