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Exodus 24

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1 And he said to Moses, Go up to Jehovah, thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship afar off.

2 And let Moses alone come near Jehovah; but they shall not come near; neither shall the people go up with him.

3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the judgments; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words that Jehovah has said will we do!

4 And Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

5 And he sent the youths of the children of Israel, and they offered up burnt-offerings, and sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offering of bullocks to Jehovah.

6 And Moses took half the blood, and put [it] in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read [it] in the ears of the people; and they said, All that Jehovah has said will we do, and obey!

8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled [it] on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant that Jehovah has made with you concerning all these words.

9 And Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up;

10 and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were work of transparent sapphire, and as it were the form of heaven for clearness.

11 And on the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: they saw God, and ate and drank.

12 And Jehovah said to Moses, Come up to me into the mountain, and be there; and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law, and the commandment that I have written, for their instruction.

13 And Moses rose up, and Joshua his attendant; and Moses went up to the mountain of God.

14 And he said to the elders, Wait here for us, until we return to you; and behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matter, let him come before them.

15 And Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.

16 And the glory of Jehovah abode on mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

17 And the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain, before the eyes of the children of Israel.

18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and ascended the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 8819

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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

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