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Numre 16

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1 Men Kora, en Søn af Jizhar, en Søn af Levis Søn Kehat, og Datan og Abiram, Sønner af Ejiab, en Søn af ubens Søn Pallu, gjorde Oprør.

2 De gjorde Oprør mod Moses sammen med 250 israelitiske Mænd, Øverster for Menigheden, udvalgte i Folkeforsamlingen, ansete Mænd.

3 Og de samlede sig og trådte op imod Moses og Aron og sagde til dem: "Lad det nu være nok, thi hele Menigheden er hellig, hver og en, og HE EN er i dens Midte; hvorfor vil I da ophøje eder over HE ENs Forsamling?"

4 Da Moses hørte det, faldt han på sit Ansigt.

5 Derpå talte han til Kora og alle hans Tilhængere og sagde: "Vent til i Morgen, så vil HE EN give til kende, hvem der tilhører ham, og hvem der er hellig, så at han vil give ham Adgang til sig; den, han udvælger, vil han give Adgang til sig.

6 Således skal I gøre: Skaf eder Pander, du Kora og alle dine Tilhængere,

7 og læg så i Morgen Gløder på og kom øgelse på for HE ENs Åsyn, så skal den, HE EN udvælger, være den, som er hellig; lad det nu være nok, I Levisønner!"

8 Fremdeles sagde Moses til Kora: "Hør nu, I Levisønner!

9 Er det eder ikke nok, at Israels Gud har udskilt eder af Israels Menighed og givet eder Adgang til sig for at udføre Arbejdet ved HE ENs Bolig og stå til Tjeneste for Menigheden?

10 Han har givet dig og med dig alle dine Brødre, Levis Sønner, Adgang til sig og nu attrår I også Præsteværdigheden!

11 Derfor, du og alle dine Tilhængere, som har rottet eder sammen mod HE EN, hvad er Aron, at I vil knurre mod ham!"

12 Da sendte Moses Bud efter Datan og Abiram, Eliabs Sønner, men de sagde: "Vi kommer ikke!

13 Er det ikke nok, at du har ført os bort fra et Land, der flyder med Mælk og Honning, for at lade os dø i Ørkenen, siden du oven i Købet vil opkaste dig til Herre over os!

14 Du har sandelig ikke ført os til et Land, der flyder med Mælk og Honning, eller givet os Marker og Vinbjerge! Tror du, du kan stikke disse Mænd Blår i Øjnene? Vi kommer ikke!"

15 Da harmedes Moses højlig og sagde til HE EN: "Vend dig ikke til deres Offergave! Ikke så meget som et Æsel har jeg frataget dem, ej heller har jeg gjort EN eneste af dem noget ondt!"

16 Og Moses sagde til Kora: "I Morgen skal du og alle dine Tilhængere komme frem for HE ENs Åsyn sammen med Aron;

17 og enhver af eder skal tage sin Pande, lægge Gløder på og komme øgelse på og frembære sin Pande for HE ENs Åsyn, 250 Pander, du selv og Aron skal også tage hver sin Pande!"

18 Da tog hver sin Pande, lagde Gløder på og kom øgelse på, og så stillede de sig ved indgangen til Åbenbaringsteltet sammen med Moses og Aron;

19 og Kora kaldte hele Menigheden sammen imod dem ved Indgangen til Åbenbaringsteltet. Da kom HE ENs Herlighed til Syne for hele Menigheden,

20 og HE EN talede til Moses og Aron og sagde:

21 "Skil eder ud fra denne Menighed, så vil jeg i et Nu tilintetgøre den!"

22 Men de faldt på deres Ansigt og sagde: "O Gud, du Gud over alt Køds Ånder, vil du vredes på hele Menigheden, fordi en enkelt Mand synder?"

23 Da talede HE EN til Moses og sagde:

24 "Tal til Menigheden og sig: Fjern eder fra Pladsen omkring Koras, Datans og Abirams Bolig!"

25 Moses gik nu hen til Datan og Abiram, fulgt af Israels Ældste,

26 og han talte til Menigheden og sagde: "Træk eder tilbage fra disse ugudelige Mænds Telte og rør ikke ved noget af, hvad der tilhører dem, for at I ikke skal rives bort for alle deres Synders Skyld!"

27 Da fjernede de sig fra Pladsen om Koras, Datans og Abirams Bolig, og Datan og Abiram kom ud og stillede sig ved indgangen til deres Telte med deres Hustruer og Børn, store og små.

28 Og Moses sagde: "Derpå skal I kende, at HE EN har sendt mig for at gøre alle disse Gerninger, og at jeg ikke handler i Egenrådighed:

29 Dersom disse dør på vanlig menneskelig Vis, og der ikke rammer dem andet, end hvad der rammer alle andre, så har HE EN ikke sendt mig;

30 men hvis HE EN lader noget uhørt ske, så Jorden spiler sit Gab op og sluger dem med alt, hvad der tilhører dem, så de farer levende ned i Dødsriget, da skal I derpå kende, at disse Mænd har hånet HE EN!"

31 Og straks, da han havde talt alle disse Ord, åbnede Jorden sig under dem,

32 og Jorden lukkede sit Gab op og slugte dem og deres Boliger og alle Mennesker, der tilhørte Kora, og alt, hvad de ejede;

33 og de for levende ned i Dødsriget med alt, hvad der tilhørte dem, og Jorden lukkede sig over dem, og de blev udryddet af Forsamlingen.

34 Men hele Israel, der stod omkring dem, flygtede ved deres Skrig, thi de sagde: "Blot ikke Jorden skal opsluge os!"

35 Og Ild for ud fra HE EN og fortærede de 250 Mænd, der frembar øgelse.

36 Da talede HE EN til Moses og sagde:

37 "Sig til Eleazar, Præsten Arons Søn, at han skal tage Panderne ud af Branden og strø Gløderne ud noget derfra; thi hellige

38 er de Pander, der tilhørte disse Mænd, som begik en Synd, der kostede dem Livet. De skal udhamre dem til Plader til Overtræk på Alteret, thi de frembar dem for HE ENs Åsyn, og derfor er de hellige; de skal nu tjene Israelitterne til Tegn."

39 Da tog Præsten Eleazar Kobberpaladerne, som de opbrændte Mænd havde frembåret, og hamrede dem ud til. Overtræk på Alteret

40 som et Mindetegn for Israelitterne om, at ingen Lægmand, ingen, som ikke hører til Arons Efterkommere, må træde frem for at ofre øgelse for HE ENs Åsyn, for at det ikke skal gå ham som Kora og hans Tilhængere, således som HE EN havde sagt ham ved Moses.

41 Men Dagen efter knurrede hele Israels Menighed mod Moses og Aron og sagde: "Det er eder, der har, dræbt HE ENs Folk!"

42 Men da Menigheden samlede sig mod Moses og Aron, vendte de sig mod Åbenbaringsteltet, og se, Skyen dækkede det, og HE ENs Herlighed kom til Syne.

43 Da trådte Moses og Aron hen foran Åbenbaringsteltet,

44 og HE EN talede til Moses og Aron og sagde:

45 "Fjern eder fra denne Menighed, så vil jeg i et Nu tilintetgøre dem!" Da faldt de på deres Ansigt,

46 og Moses sagde til Aron: "Tag din Pande, læg Gløder fra Alteret på og kom øgelse på og skynd dig så hen til Menigheden og skaf den Soning, thi Vreden er brudt frem fra HE EN, Plagen har allerede taget fat!"

47 Da tog Aron det, således som Moses havde sagt, og løb midt ind i Forsamlingen. Og se, Plagen havde allerede taget fat blandt Folket, men han kom øgelsen på og skaffede Folket Soning.

48 Og som han stod der midt imellem døde og levende, hørte Plagen op.

49 Men de, der omkom ved Plagen, udgjorde 14700 Mennesker foruden dem, der omkom for Koras Skyld.

50 Så vendte Aron tilbage til Moses ved Indgangen til Åbenbaringsteltet, efter at Plagen var ophørt.

   


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Arcana Coelestia # 10177

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10177. 'And you shall make an altar for burning incense' means that which is representative of the Lord, of His hearing and receiving with pleasure everything of worship that springs from love and charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'an altar for burning incense' as that which is representative of such things of worship as are raised up to the Lord. The fact that they are things springing from love and charity will be evident from what follows below. 'An altar' has the same meaning as whatever is placed on it; and this is so because the altar is that which contains and whatever is placed on it is the contents, and container and contents make a single unit, like a table and the bread that is on it or a cup and the wine that is in it.

[2] The reason why an altar and not a table was made for burning incense was that among the Israelite nation altars were the chief representative signs of worship springing from love. For fire burned on them, and 'fire' means the love and charity from which worship springs. Regarding altars, that they were the chief representative signs of worship, see 4192, 4541, 8623, 8935, 8940, 9714.

[3] The reason why the altar of incense represented the hearing and receiving of everything of worship that springs from love and charity was that the creation of the cloud of smoke was a sign of that which is raised up on high, and the odour of the smoke was a sign of that which is pleasing, consequently of that which is heard and received by the Lord. And what springs from love and charity, this alone is pleasing to and received by the Lord. This also explains why that altar was overlaid with gold and was called the golden altar; for 'gold' means the good of love and charity, see the places referred to in 9874, and what has been stated in 9874, 9881.

[4] The reason why that alone which springs from love and charity is pleasing to the Lord, and is therefore heard and received by Him, is that love constitutes all that a person is; for a person is such as his love is. This explains why angels in heaven live as embodiments of love and charity. To them the form of love and charity is the human form, because the Lord, who is within them and gives them form, is - as to His Divine Human - Divine Love itself. From their faces therefore, from their speech, from their gestures, and especially from the spheres of their affections which flow out of them to a long way off, one can perceive clearly what kinds of love reign in them.

[5] And since love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour originate in the Lord, and since love is a spiritual bonding, whatever emanates from these is heard and received by the Lord. Any holy and religious respect paid to Him that does not spring from them is indeed heard but it is not received with pleasure. It is a hypocritical holiness and respect, something merely outward, devoid of anything inward. Outward holiness devoid of anything inward reaches no further than the outskirts of heaven and dwindles away there. But outward holiness springing from inward reaches right on into heaven, according to the essential nature of that inward holiness, thus reaches towards the Lord. For outward holiness devoid of that inward holiness is a product solely of the lips and movements of the body, whereas outward holiness springing from inward comes at the same time from the heart. Regarding these two kinds of holiness, see what has been stated and shown in 8252-8257.

[6] In the tent of meeting outside the veil there was the table on which the loaves of the presence were laid, also the lampstand with its lamps, and the altar of incense. The loaves of the presence represented love to the Lord, the lamps of the lampstand represented charity and faith, and the incense on the altar represented worship springing from them, which is why it was burned every morning and every evening, when the lamps were 'adorned'. From this as well it is evident that the burning of incense represented worship of the Lord which springs from love and charity. The actual tent in which those objects resided represented heaven, where all worship is such. The loaves represented celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, see 9545; the lampstand represented spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour and the good of faith, 9548-9561; and the tent represented heaven, 9457, 9481, 9485, 9784, 9963.

[7] When the word 'worship' is used the holiness which is expressed by means of prayers, adorations, thanksgivings, and similar acts of devotion that emanate from inward feelings of love and charity should be understood. These constituents of worship are what should be understood by 'the burning of incense', as may be recognized from the following places: In David,

My prayers are acceptable, [as] incense before You. Psalms 141:2.

In John,

The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Revelation 5:8.

In the same book,

An angel holding a golden censer ... And much incense was given to him, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. The smoke of the incense went up from the prayers of the saints. Revelation 8:3-4.

[8] Since incense was a sign of worship and of its being raised up, thus of its being heard and received by the Lord, Moses commanded [those who rebelled against him] to take censers with incense in them, and to burn it before Jehovah, in order that they might consequently know whom Jehovah would choose, thus whom He would hear, Numbers 16:1ff. And when the people grumbled Aaron ran with incense, into the midst of the congregation, when a plague began, and in so doing stopped it, Numbers 16:46-48. In Malachi,

From the rising of the sun even to its setting Jehovah's name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense has been offered to My name, and a pure minchah. Malachi 1:11.

'A pure minchah' is added because the good of love is meant by it, 10137. In Moses,

The sons of Levi will teach Jacob [Your] judgements and Israel Your law. They will put incense in Your nose, and burnt offering on Your altar. Deuteronomy 33:10.

The expression 'putting incense in the nose' is used because perception is meant by 'the nostrils', 4624-4634. 'Burnt offering' is added here because by this too that which springs from the good of love is meant.

[9] But in the contrary sense 'burning incense' means worship springing from contrary loves, namely self-love and love of the world, for example burning incense to other gods, Jeremiah 1:16; 44:3, 5; burning incense to idols, Ezekiel 8:11; 16:18; and burning incense to the baalim, Hosea 2:13.

[10] Because the burning of incense served to mean such things as rise upwards to and are accepted with pleasure by the Divine it was also one of the religious practices among gentiles. The use of frankincense, censers, and incense-boxes by the Romans and other nations is well known from historical evidence. That kind of religious practice was derived from the Ancient Church, which was spread through many regions of Asia, such as Syria, Arabia, Babylon, Egypt, and Canaan. That Church had been a representative Church, thus a Church consisting in outward forms that represented inner realities, that is, celestial and spiritual things. A large number of religious practices, one of which was the burning of incense, were passed on from that Church to surrounding nations, and from these through Greece into Italy. Another practice like this was the care of the perpetual fire entrusted to chaste virgins whom they called the Vestal Virgins.

[11] The incense that was burned in the Ancient Church, and consequently in the Israelite Church, was prepared from fragrant substances, such as stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense, because perception was meant by an odour, and delightful perception by a fragrant odour, see 925, 1514, 1517-1519, 3577, 4624-4634, 4748, 10054. But 'frankincense' in particular means the truth of faith, and therefore when frankincense is mentioned in the Word oil, bread, minchah, or else gold, by which the good of love is meant, is linked with it, as in Isaiah,

All those from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of Jehovah. Isaiah 60:6.

Similarly those who came from the east, in Matthew,

Wise men from the east came, seeking the Lord who had then been born ... opening their treasures; and they presented gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:1-2, 11.

In the Word those who were from the east and were called 'sons of the east' mean people who possessed the cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, see 3249, 3762. 'Sheba' has the same meaning, 1171, 3240. And for the meaning of 'gold' as the good of love, see the places referred to in 9874 or 9881.

[12] In Jeremiah,

They will bring burnt offering and sacrifice, and minchah, and frankincense. Jeremiah 17:26.

'Minchah' in like manner means the good of love, 9992, 10137. From all this it is evident that in the Word 'frankincense' means truth that composes faith; for where good is spoken of in the Word, so too is truth, on account of the heavenly marriage, which is that of goodness and truth, in every single part of it, see the places referred to in 9263[end], 9314. For the same reason also oil as well as frankincense was placed on a minchah, Leviticus 2:1-2, 15, though not on a minchah required for a sin offering, Leviticus 5:11, nor on a minchah for jealousy, Numbers 5:15. The reason why they were not placed on these minchahs was that such minchahs were presented for expiation from evils, and as long as a person is at the stage of expiation he cannot receive the good of love or truth of faith, because evils stand in the way. It is different after they have been expiated or removed.

[13] The good of love cannot be imparted to anyone unless at the same time the truth of faith is as well. For good brings truth into being, and in that truth it acquires a particular quality and receives an outward form. This was why every minchah had frankincense on it, as did the loaves of the presence which were laid on the table in the tent of meeting, Leviticus 24:7, the good of love being meant by 'loaves', 3478, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 8410, 9323, 9545, 10040, 10137.

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