Bible

 

Exodus 24

Studie

   

1 And he said to Moses, Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, and Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the chiefs of Israel; and give me worship from a distance.

2 And Moses only may come near to the Lord; but the others are not to come near, and the people may not come up with them.

3 Then Moses came and put before the people all the words of the Lord and his laws: and all the people, answering with one voice, said, Whatever the Lord has said we will do.

4 Then Moses put down in writing all the words of the Lord, and he got up early in the morning and made an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

5 And he sent some of the young men of the children of Israel to make burned offerings and peace-offerings of oxen to the Lord.

6 And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins; draining out half of the blood over the altar.

7 And he took the book of the agreement, reading it in the hearing of the people: and they said, Everything which the Lord has said we will do, and we will keep his laws.

8 Then Moses took the blood and let it come on the people, and said, This blood is the sign of the agreement which the Lord has made with you in these words.

9 Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the chiefs of Israel went up:

10 And they saw the God of Israel; and under his feet there was, as it seemed, a jewelled floor, clear as the heavens.

11 And he put not his hand on the chiefs of the children of Israel: they saw God, and took food and drink.

12 And the Lord said to Moses, Come up to me on the mountain, and take your place there: and I will give you the stones on which I have put in writing the law and the orders, so that you may give the people knowledge of them.

13 Then Moses and Joshua his servant got up; and Moses went up into the mountain of God.

14 And he said to the chiefs, Keep your places here till we come back to you: Aaron and Hur are with you; if anyone has any cause let him go to them.

15 And Moses went up into the mountain, and it was covered by the cloud.

16 And the glory of the Lord was resting on Mount Sinai, and the cloud was over it for six days; and on the seventh day he said Moses' name out of the cloud.

17 And the glory of the Lord was like a flame on the top of the mountain before the eyes of the children of Israel.

18 And Moses went up the mountain, into the cloud, and was there for forty days and forty nights.

   

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 8819

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

8819. 'And Mount Sinai was smoking, the whole of it' means the appearance of celestial good in the greatest obscurity. This is clear from the meaning of 'Mount Sinai' as celestial good, as immediately above in 8818; and from the meaning of 'smoking' as appearance in obscurity. Obscurity is used to mean the obscurity of faith such as those belonging to the spiritual Church possess when compared with those belonging to the celestial Church, 2708 (beginning), 2715, 2718, 2831, 2935, 2937, 3241, 3833, 6289. The greatest obscurity, meant by 'Mount Sinai was smoking, the whole of it' and by the statement just below that 'its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace', means the obscurity that clouded the understanding of the Israelite nation, before whom the appearance took place. For Jehovah or the Lord appears to everyone according to their true nature, 8788, 8814, so that He appears as love and the light of truth to those governed by good, but as an enemy and avenger to those ruled by evil. His appearance as such to the Israelite people is also clear from other places in Moses,

The appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain, before the eyes of the children of Israel. Exodus 24:16-17.

In the same author,

You came near and stood at the foot of 1 the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire even to the heart of heaven; there was darkness and cloud and thick darkness. And Jehovah spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. Deuteronomy 4:11-12; 5:22.

And in the same author,

It happened, when you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, and the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to Me and said, Why should we die? For this great fire will devour us; if we hear the voice of Jehovah our God any more we shall die. Deuteronomy 5:23-25.

[2] The reason why this should be so is that no person can help seeing God from such things as are present in himself. The person who is ruled by hatred, for example, sees Him from hatred; and one who is ruled by ruthlessness sees Him in ruthlessness. And on the other hand, the person who is governed by charity and mercy sees Him from these virtues and in them. It is like rays of light, which are converted into hideous colours when they fall on hideous forms, but into beautiful colours when they fall on beautiful forms. The meaning of 'smoke' as the obscurity of truth, and also as the thick darkness belonging to falsity, is clear in Isaiah 9:18-19; 34:9-10; Joel 2:30-31; Hosea 13:1, 3; Revelation 9:17-18; 18:2, 18; 19:3.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, stood under

  
/ 10837  
  

Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.