3381. 'Because Abraham hearkened to My voice' means the union of the Lord's Divine Essence with the Human Essence by means of temptations. This is clear from the representation of 'Abraham' as the Lord even as to the Divine Human, dealt with in 2833, 2836, 3251, and from the meaning of 'hearkening to My voice' when it has reference to the Lord, as uniting the Divine Essence to the Human Essence by means of temptations, for it is in connection with temptations that in the Word obedience is attributed to the Lord. The mention of Abraham's hearkening here is a reference to what was said about him in Chapter 22, When God tempted him He told him to take his son and offer him as a burnt offering, verses 1-2. And when he hearkened to His voice it is said,

Now I know that you fear God and have not withheld your only son from Me. By Myself I have sworn, says Jehovah, that because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will certainly bless you, and I will certainly multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens. Genesis 22:12, 16-17.

'Not withholding your only son from Me', which was 'hearkening to His voice', means the union of the Human and the Divine effected by means of the final degree of temptation, see 2827, 2844.

[2] That these considerations are meant by hearkening to the voice of Jehovah, or the Father, is also evident from the Lord's words uttered in Gethsemane, in Matthew,

My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless not as I will but as You will. Again, for the second time, My Father, if this cup cannot pass from Me unless I drink it, Your will he done. Matthew 26:39, 42; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42.

But because Jehovah or the Father was within Him, that is, He was in the Father and Father in Him - John 14:10-11 - 'hearkening to Jehovah's voice' is used to mean that the Lord through temptations united the Divine to the Human by His own power, as is also clear from the Lord's own words in John,

As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father, and I lay down My life, ¹ for the sheep. For this reason the Father loves Me, that I lay down My life, ¹ so that I may receive it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself; I have power to lay it down and I have power to receive it again; this commandment I have received from My Father. John 10:15, 17-18.

Through temptations the Lord united His Divine Essence to His Human Essence by His own power, see 1663, 1668, 1690, 1691 (end), 1725, 1729, 1733, 1737, 1787, 1789, 1812, 1820, 2776, 3318 (end).

Poznámky pod čarou:

1663. 'That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, that is, Zoar' means just so many kinds of evil desires and false persuasions against which the Lord fought. This too becomes clear from the meaning of these kings and these nations that are mentioned, and from what follows as well. Which particular evil desires and which particular false persuasions are meant by each individual one would also take too long to explain. The meaning of Sodom and Gomorrah, also of Admah and Zeboiim, as well as Zoar, has been dealt with briefly already. They are the most general or most universal kinds of evils and falsities; and these, which are meant in the internal sense, here follow in their own sequence.

[2] The fact that the Lord underwent and suffered the severest of temptations, more severe than anybody else has ever done, is not so well known from the Word, where all that is mentioned is His being in the wilderness forty days and being tempted by the devil. But although the temptations He experienced at that time have been described only briefly, those brief statements nevertheless embody all, as in Mark 1:12-13, which records that He was there with wild animals, which mean the worst of the hellish crew. And the events afterwards recorded about the devil taking Him up on to the pinnacles of the temple and on to a high mountain are nothing else than representatives of very severe temptations He experienced in the wilderness, which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be described later on.