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Leviticus 8

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1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

2 Take Aaron with his sons, their vestments, and the oil of unction, a calf for sin, two rams, a basket with unleavened bread,

3 And thou shalt gather together all the congregation to the door of the tabernacle.

4 And Moses did as the Lord had commanded. And all the multitude being gathered together before the door of the tabernacle,

5 He said: This is the word that the Lord hath commanded to be done.

6 And immediately he offered Aaron and his sons: and when he had washed them,

7 He vested the high priest with the strait linen garment, girding him with the girdle, and putting on him the violet tunick, and over it he put the ephod,

8 And binding it with the girdle, he fitted it to the rational, on which was Doctrine and Truth.

9 He put also the mitre upon his head: and upon the mitre over the forehead, he put the plate of gold, consecrated with sanctification, as the Lord had commanded him.

10 He took also the oil of unction, with which he anointed the tabernacle, with all the furniture thereof.

11 And when he had sanctified and sprinkled the altar seven times, he anointed it, and all the vessels thereof, and the laver with the foot thereof, he sanctified with the oil.

12 And he poured it upon Aaron's head, and he anointed and consecrated him :

13 And after he had offered his sons, he vested them with linen tunicks, and girded them with girdles, and put mitres on them as the Lord had commanded.

14 He offered also the calf for sin: and when Aaron and his sons had put their hands upon the head thereof,

15 He immolated it: and took the blood, and dipping his finger in it, he touched the horns of the altar round about. Which being expiated, and sanctified, he poured the rest of the blood at the bottom thereof.

16 But the fat that was upon the entrails, and the caul of the liver, and the two little kidneys, with their fat, he burnt upon the altar:

17 And the calf with the skin, and the flesh and the dung, he burnt without the camp, as the Lord had commanded.

18 He offered also a ram for a holocaust: and when Aaron and his sons had put their hands upon its head,

19 He immolated it, and poured the blood thereof round about upon the altar.

20 And cutting the ram into pieces, the head thereof, and the joints, and the fat he burnt in the fire,

21 Having first washed the entrails, and the feet, and the whole ram together he burnt upon the altar, because it was a holocaust of most sweet odour to the Lord, as he had commanded him.

22 He offered also the second ram, in the consecration of priests: and Aaron, and his sons put their hands upon the head thereof:

23 And when Moses had immolated it, he took of the blood thereof, and touched the tip of Aaron's right ear, and the thumb of his right hand, and in like manner also the great toe of his right foot.

24 He offered also the sons of Aaron: and when with the blood of the ram that was immolated, he had touched the tip of the right ear of every one of them, and the thumbs of their right hands, and the great toes of their right feet, the rest he poured on the altar round about:

25 But the fat, and the rump, and all the fat that covereth the entrails, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and with the right shoulder, he separated.

26 And taking out of the basket; of unleavened bread, which was before the Lord, a loaf without leaven, and a cake tempered with oil and a wafer, he put them upon the fat, and the right shoulder,

27 Delivering all to Aaron, and to his sons: wile having lifted them up before the Lord,

28 He took them again from their hands, and burnt them upon the altar of holocaust, because it was the oblation of consecration, for a sweet odour of sacrifice to the Lord.

29 And he took of the ram of consecration, the breast for his portion, elevating it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded him.

30 And taking the ointment, and the blood that was upon the altar, he sprinkled Aaron, and his vestments, and his sons, and their vestments with it.

31 And when he had sanctified them in their vestments, he commanded them, saying: Boil the flesh before the door of the tabernacle, and there eat it. eat ye also the loaves of consecration, that are laid in the basket, as the Lord commanded me, saying: Aaron and his sons shall eat them:

32 And whatsoever shall be left of the flesh and the leaves, shall be consumed with fire.

33 And you shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle for seven days, until the day wherein the time of your consecration shall be expired. For in seven days the consecration is finished:

34 As at this present it hath been done, that the rite of the sacrifice might be accomplished.

35 Day and night shall you remain in the tabernacle observing the watches of the Lord, lest you die: for so it hath been commanded me.

36 And Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord spoke by the hand of Moses.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 925

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925. 'Jehovah smelled an odour of rest' means that worship stemming from these was pleasing to the Lord, that is to say, worship stemming from charity and from faith deriving from charity, meant by 'a burnt offering', as stated in the previous verse. In various places in the Word it is said that 'Jehovah smelled an odour of rest', especially that from burnt offerings, and wherever this occurs that which is pleasing or acceptable is meant. For references to His smelling an odour of rest from burnt offerings, see Exodus 29:18, 25, 41; Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17; 23:12-13, 18; Numbers 28:6, 8, 13; 29:2, 6, 8, 13, 36; also from other sacrifices, Leviticus 2:2, 9; 6:15, 21; 8:21, 28; Numbers 15:3, 7, 13. They are also called 'that which has been made by fire as an odour of rest to Jehovah' which means that it stems from love and charity. In the Word when 'fire' or 'made by fire' is used in reference to the Lord and to worship of Him, it means love. And the same applies to 'bread', which also is why representative worship by means of burnt offerings and sacrifices is called 'bread offered by fire to Jehovah as an odour of rest', Leviticus 3:11, 16.

[2] The reason why 'an odour' means that which is pleasing and acceptable, and so why in the Jewish Church an odour was also representative of that which is pleasing and is ascribed to Jehovah or the Lord, is that good stemming from charity, and the truth of faith deriving from charity, correspond to sweet and pleasant odours. What the correspondence itself is and the character of it becomes clear from the spheres in heaven which surround spirits and angels. The spheres there are spheres of love and faith, and are clearly perceived. These spheres are such that when a good spirit or angel, that is, a community of good spirits or angels, approaches, the nature of the spirit or angel - that is, of the community - as regards love and faith is, as often as the Lord pleases, instantly perceived. It is perceived even when they are a long way off, more so still when they are closer at hand. This is unbelievable but nevertheless perfectly true. Such is the communication in the next life, and such the perception. Consequently, when the Lord pleases there is no necessity to make extensive enquiries to discover the character of a soul or spirit, for it is recognizable the moment he approaches. It is to these spheres that spheres belonging to odours in the world correspond. That they do correspond in this way becomes clear from the fact that when the Lord pleases the spheres of love and faith are readily converted in the world of spirits into spheres of sweet and pleasant odours, which are clearly perceived.

[3] From these considerations it is now clear from where and why 'an odour of rest' means that which is pleasing, why in the Jewish Church an odour became a representative, and why 'an odour of rest' is here ascribed to Jehovah or the Lord. 'An odour of rest' is descriptive of peace, that is, of the pleasantness of peace. Peace in one embrace takes in every single feature of the Lord's kingdom; for the state of the Lord's kingdom is a state of peace. It is within the state of peace that all the happy states occur which flow from love and faith in the Lord. All that has now been stated shows not only what representatives were essentially, but also why the Jewish Church had an altar for burning incense in front of the veil and the Mercy-seat, why offerings of frankincense accompanied sacrifices, and also why so many fragrant substances were used in incense, in frankincense, and in the anointing oil too. It shows therefore what 'an odour of rest', 'incense', and 'fragrances' mean in the Word, namely celestial things of love, and spiritual things of faith deriving from these, in general everything pleasing that derives from love and faith.

[4] As in Ezekiel,

On My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel, there all the house of Israel, all of it in the land, will serve Me; there I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions, and the first fruits comprising your gifts in all your holy acts. Through the odour of rest I will accept you. Ezekiel 20:40-41.

Here 'an odour of rest' has reference to burnt offerings and gifts, that is, to worship stemming from charity and attendant faith, which worship is meant by burnt offerings and gifts, and is consequently acceptable, which is meant by 'the odour'. In Amos,

I hate, I reject your feasts, and I will not smell your solemn assemblies 1 [as a pleasant odour], for though you offer Me your burnt offerings and gifts, they will not be accepted. Amos 5:21-22.

This clearly means that which is pleasing or acceptable. The passage which describes Isaac's blessing Jacob instead of Esau reads,

Jacob went near and Isaac kissed him. He smelled the odour of his clothes, and he blessed him and said, See, the odour of my son, like the odour of a field that Jehovah has blessed. Genesis 27:26-27.

'The odour of his clothes' means natural good and truth whose pleasantness stems from their harmony with celestial and spiritual good and truth. Their pleasantness is described by 'the odour of the field'.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, cessations i.e. cessations from work

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