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Genesis 28

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1 Povolal pak Izák Jákoba, a požehnal jemu, a přikázal mu, řka: Nepojímej ženy ze dcer Kananejských.

2 Ale vstana, jdi do Pádan Syrské do domu Bathuele, otce matky své, a pojmi sobě odtud manželku ze dcer Lábana ujce svého.

3 A Bůh silný všemohoucí požehnejž tobě, a dejžť zrůst, a rozmnožiž tě, abys byl v zástup mnohého lidu.

4 A dejž tobě požehnání Abrahamovo, tobě i semeni tvému s tebou, abys dědičně obdržel zemi, v níž pohostinu jsi, kterouž dal Bůh Abrahamovi.

5 I odeslal Izák Jákoba, kterýžto šel do Pádan Syrské k Lábanovi synu Bathuele Syrského, bratru Rebeky matky Jákobovy a Ezau.

6 Vida pak Ezau, že požehnání dal Izák Jákobovi, a že ho odeslal do Pádan Syrské, aby sobě odtud vzal manželku, a že, když mu požehnání dával, přikázal mu, řka: Nepojmeš ženy ze dcer Kananejských;

7 A že by uposlechl Jákob otce svého a matky své a odšel do Pádan Syrské;

8 Vida také Ezau, že dcery Kananejské těžké byly v očích Izákovi otci jeho:

9 Tedy odšel Ezau k Izmaelovi, a mimo prvnější ženy své, pojal sobě za ženu Mahalat, dceru Izmaele, syna Abrahamova, sestru Nabajotovu.

10 Vyšed pak Jákob z Bersabé, šel do Cháran.

11 I trefil na jedno místo, na kterémžto zůstal přes noc, (nebo slunce již bylo zapadlo,) a nabrav kamení na místě tom, položil pod hlavu svou, a spal na témž místě.

12 I viděl ve snách, a aj, žebřík stál na zemi, jehožto vrch dosahal nebe; a aj, andělé Boží vstupovali a sstupovali po něm.

13 A aj, Hospodin stál nad ním, a řekl: Já jsem Hospodin, Bůh Abrahama otce tvého, a Bůh Izákův; zemi tu, na kteréž ty spíš, tobě dám a semeni tvému.

14 A bude símě tvé jako prach země; nebo rozmůžeš se k západu, i k východu, na půlnoci, i ku poledni; nad to požehnány budou v tobě všecky čeledi země, a v semeni tvém.

15 A aj, já jsem s tebou, a ostříhati tě budu, kamžkoli půjdeš, a přivedu tě zase do země této; nebo neopustím tebe, až i učiním, což jsem mluvil tobě.

16 Procítiv pak Jákob ze sna svého, řekl: V pravdě Hospodin jest na místě tomto, a já jsem nevěděl.

17 (Nebo zhroziv se, řekl: Jak hrozné jest místo toto! Není jiného,jediné dům Boží, a tu jest brána nebeská.)

18 Vstav pak Jákob ráno, vzal kámen, kterýž byl podložil pod hlavu svou, a postavil jej na znamení pamětné, a polil jej svrchu olejem.

19 Protož nazval jméno místa toho Bethel, ješto prvé to město sloulo Lůza.

20 Zavázal se také Jákob slibem, řka: Jestliže Bůh bude se mnou, a ostříhati mne bude na cestě této, kterouž já jdu; a dá-li mi chléb ku pokrmu a roucho k oděvu,

21 A navrátím-li se v pokoji do domu otce svého, a bude mi Hospodin za Boha:

22 Kámen tento, kterýž jsem postavil na památku, bude domem Božím; a ze všech věcí, kteréž mi dáš, desátky spravedlivě tobě dám.

   

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True Christian Religion # 24

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24. (v) THE PLURALITY OF GODS IN ANCIENT TIMES, AS WELL AS TODAY, WAS ENTIRELY THE RESULT OF A FAILURE TO UNDERSTAND THE DIVINE BEING.

It was shown above (8) that the oneness of God is inwardly impressed upon the mind of every person, since this idea forms the core of all the influences from God which affect the soul of man. But the reason why it has failed to come down into men's understanding is the lack of the pieces of knowledge which a person should have to enable him to climb up to meet God. For everyone needs to prepare the way for God, that is, to prepare himself to receive God, and pieces of knowledge are the means to this end. The following are the missing pieces of knowledge which prevent the understanding from penetrating to the point at which it can see that God is one and there can only be a single Divine Being, who is the source of all natural phenomena.

(1) The fact that no one up to now has known anything about the spiritual world, the home of spirits and angels, and the place where every person comes after death.

(2) Equally, that the spiritual world possesses a sun, which is pure love from Jehovah God, who is in its midst.

(3) That from that sun radiate heat, which is in essence love, and light, which is in essence wisdom.

(4) That as a result everything in that world is spiritual, working on the internal man and making up his will and understanding.

(5) That Jehovah God has given rise by this sun of His not only to the spiritual world and all the innumerable spiritual and substantial things in it, but also to the natural world with all the innumerable natural things in it, which are composed of matter.

(6) That up to now no one has known the difference between the spiritual and the natural, nor what the spiritual is in essence.

(7) Nor that there are three degrees of love and wisdom, which form the basis of the arrangement of the heavens of angels.

(8) That the human mind is divided into the same number of degrees, to enable it after death to be lifted into one of the three heavens, depending upon the way a person has lived and at the same time what he has believed.

(9) And finally that not a jot of all this could have come into being except from the Divine Being which is God in itself, and thus the first principle and beginning from which everything comes. These pieces of knowledge have up to now been missing, yet it is through them that a person must climb up and get to know the Divine Being.

[2] We say that a person climbs up, but it must be understood that it is God who lifts him up. A person has a free choice in acquiring knowledge; and he seems to get this for himself from the Word by means of the understanding, and thus smooths the path for God to come down and lift him up. The pieces of knowledge which enable the human understanding to climb, while God holds it in His hand and guides it, can be compared to the steps of the ladder seen by Jacob, which was set up on earth so that its top reached heaven and angels climbed up by means of it, and Jehovah stood above it (Genesis 28:12-13).

It is quite different when those pieces of knowledge are lacking, or a person treats them with contempt. Then the lifting of the understanding can be compared to a ladder erected from the ground to a first floor window of a magnificent palace, where men live, but not to the second floor windows where the spirits are, much less to the third floor windows where the angels are. The result is that such a person cannot escape from the atmospheres and material objects of the natural world, which occupy his eyes, ears and nose. From these he cannot help acquiring atmospheric and material ideas about heaven and the Being and Essence of God. Thought along these lines does not allow a person to make up his mind at all about God, whether He exists or not, or whether there is one God or several; much less, what His Being and Essence are like. It was this which led to the plurality of gods in ancient times, and still does to-day.

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