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Tuomarit 3

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1 Ja nämät ovat ne pakanat, jotka Herra jätti Israelia kiusaamaan, kaikkia niitä, jotka ei mitään tietäneet kaikista Kanaanin sodista,

2 Ainoasti että Israelin lasten sukukunta olisivat oppineet sotimaan, ne jotka ei ennen sodasta mitään tietäneet;

3 Viisi Philistealaisten päämiestä ja kaikki Kanaanealaiset, Zidonilaiset ja Heviläiset, jotka asuivat Libanonin vuorella, BaalHermonin vuoresta Hamatiin asti.

4 Ja he jäivät kiusaamaan Israelia, että tiedettäisiin, tottelisivatko Herran käskyjä, jotka hän oli käskenyt heidän isillensä Moseksen kautta.

5 Kuin Israelin lapset asuivat keskellä Kanaanealaisia, Hetiläisiä, Amorilaisia, Pheresiläisiä, Heviläisiä ja Jebusilaisia,

6 Ottivat he heidän tyttäriänsä emännäksensä ja antoivat tyttäriänsä heidän pojillensa, ja palvelivat heidän jumaliansa.

7 Ja Israelin lapset tekivät pahaa Herran edessä, ja unhottivat Herran Jumalansa, ja palvelivat Baalia ja metsistöitä.

8 Niin julmistui Herran viha Israeliin, ja hän myi heidät KusanRisataimin, Mesopotamian kuninkaan käteen; ja Israelin lapset palvelivat KusanRisataimia kahdeksan ajastaikaa.

9 Ja Israelin lapset huusivat Herran tykö, ja Herra herätti heille vapahtajan, joka heitä vapahti, Otnielin, Kalebin nuorimman veljen Kenaksen pojan.

10 Ja Herran henki tuli hänen päällensä, ja hän oli tuomari Israelissa, joka myös läksi sotaan; ja Herra antoi KusanRisataimin, Syrian kuninkaan tulla hänen käsiinsä, että hänen kätensä tuli voimalliseksi KusanRisataimin päälle.

11 Ja maa lepäsi neljäkymmentä ajastaikaa; ja Otniel Kenaksen poika kuoli.

12 Mutta Israelin lapset tekivät vielä pahaa Herran edessä; niin vahvisti Herra Eglonin, Moabilaisten kuninkaan Israelia vastaan, että he pahaa tekivät Herran edessä.

13 Ja hän kokosi tykönsä Ammonin lapset ja Amalekilaiset, ja meni ja löi Israelin, ja omisti Palmukaupungin.

14 Ja Israelin lapset palvelivat Eglonia, Moabilaisten kuningasta kahdeksantoistakymmentä ajastaikaa.

15 Niin huusivat Israelin lapset Herran tykö, ja Herra herätti heille vapahtajan, Ehudin Geran pojan, Jeminin pojan, joka oli kurittu; ja Israelin lapset lähettivät hänen kanssansa lahjoja Eglonille, Moabilaisten kuninkaalle.

16 Ja Ehud teki itsellensä kaksiteräisen miekan, kyynärää pitkän, sitoi sen vaatteensa alle, oikean reitensä päälle,

17 Ja kantoi lahjat Eglonille, Moabilaisten kuninkaalle; ja Eglon oli sangen lihava mies.

18 Kuin hän oli lahjat antanut, päästi hän kansan, jotka olivat lahjoja kantaneet.

19 Ja palasi itse epäjumalista Gilgalissa ja sanoi: minulla on, kuningas, jotakin salaista sinulle sanomista. Niin hän sanoi: vaiti! Ja kaikki menivät ulos, jotka hänen ympärillänsä seisoivat.

20 Ja Ehud tuli hänen tykönsä, ja hän istui suvisalissa, joka hänellä oli, yksinänsä. Ja Ehud sanoi: minulla on Jumalan sana sinun tykös; niin nousi hän istuimeltansa.

21 Mutta Ehud ojensi vasemman kätensä ja otti miekan oikialta reideltänsä, ja pisti hänen vatsaansa,

22 Niin että kahva meni sisälle terän kanssa, ja lihavuus peitti kahvan; sillä ei hän vetänyt ulos miekkaa hänen vatsastansa; ja rapa vuoti ulos hänestä.

23 Ja Ehud läksi ulos takaoven kautta, ja sulki salin ovet jälkeensä ja lukitsi ne.

24 Kuin hän oli tullut ulos, menivät kuninkaan palveliat sisälle, näkivät salin ovet suljetuiksi ja sanoivat: taitaa olla, että hän peittää jalkojansa suvisalin kammiossa;

25 Ja odottivat niin kauvan, että he häpesivät: ja katso, ei heille kenkään salin ovia avannut; niin ottivat he avaimen ja avasivat: ja katso, heidän herransa makasi kuolleena maassa.

26 Mutta Ehud pakeni heidän viipyissänsä, ja meni ohitse epäjumalain kuvia, ja pääsi Seiratiin asti.

27 Ja kuin hän sinne tuli, puhalsi hän torveen Ephraimin vuorella. Ja Israelin lapset menivät hänen kanssansa alas vuorelta, ja hän heidän edellänsä.

28 Ja hän sanoi heille: seuratkaat minua, sillä Herra on antanut teidän vihamiehenne Moabilaiset teidän käsiinne. Ja he seurasivat häntä, ja voittivat Jordanin luotuspaikat Moabiin päin, ja ei sallineet yhdenkään mennä ylitse;

29 Ja tappoivat Moabilaisia sillä ajalla lähes kymmenentuhatta miestä, kaikki parhaat ja väkevät sotamiehet, niin ettei yhtäkään heistä päässyt.

30 Ja niin tulivat Moabilaiset painetuksi sillä ajalla Israelin lasten kätten alle; ja maa lepäsi kahdeksankymmentä ajastaikaa.

31 Hänen jälkeensä tuli Samgar Anatin poika, ja hän löi kuusisataa Philistealaista karjan kaareksella; ja hän vapahti myös Israelin.

   


SWORD version by Tero Favorin (tero at favorin dot com)

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Exploring the Meaning of Judges 3

Napsal(a) New Christian Bible Study Staff, Julian Duckworth

Judges 3: In which we hear about the nations who remain in the land; and about the judges Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar.

This chapter begins with a very important set of statements about the nations still undefeated in the land. First, it says that the Lord would test Israel by means of these nations; secondly, that this test would “teach [the new generations] war”; and finally, that this would reveal whether or not Israel would obey the Lord. The text goes on to say that Israel now took the daughters of other nations to be wives, and also gave their own daughters to the sons of other nations.

Being ‘tested’ by the Lord refers to the temptations and spiritual conflicts we must experience during regeneration. The Lord does not test in order to make us falter, or to see how much we can endure. Rather, the testing is to make us stronger and more steadfast in our intention to follow the Lord (see Swedenborg’s work, True Christian Religion 126).

The new generations who would not have known war stand for those future states, in which we might begin to let go, and forget what the Lord has done for us. While all external wars should cease, we will always need to quell the spiritual wars within us. The key to victory is in our willingness to obey the Lord’s commandments. This wish to obey the Lord must be imprinted in our hearts and minds (see Swedenborg’s work, Doctrine of Faith 50).

‘Taking the daughters of other nations as wives’ describes the ways in which the spiritual marriage of good and truth in us becomes perverted. When our evil desires harm truths, and false ideas harm genuine loves, our sense of what is right becomes so distorted that we have no principles left to follow.

Because Israel kept forgetting the Lord and worshipping other gods, the Lord raised judges to deliver Israel. This chapter tells the stories of three judges, and we will examine the spiritual meaning of each.

The first judge discussed in this chapter was Othniel (see Judges 1). Israel was taken by Chushan-Rishathaim, the king of Mesopotamia, for eight years. His name means ‘the blackness of injustice”. Othniel delivered Israel from captivity, and there was peace for forty years. Spiritually, this describes our power, given to us by the Lord, to break free from evil wishes and thoughts. The number ‘forty’ describes the temptations we must overcome in doing this (see Swedenborg’s work, Arcana Caelestia 8098).

The next judge, Ehud, ruled at the time when Eglon, a Moabite king, took Israel captive for eighteen years. Ehud made a long, double-edged dagger and went to the king to pay tribute. When those with him were leaving, he stayed and said to King Eglon, “I have a gift for you from God”, and plunged the dagger into the king’s belly so that his fat covered the blade. Then he left, locking the doors behind him, and Eglon’s servants eventually found their king dead. Ehud then attacked, and freed Israel from the Moabites.

The meaning of this graphic event is to show the power of the truth when it is used to combat evil. Eglon was fat, representing the seemingly large and imposing nature of evils. The double-edged dagger stands for the power of the Word. It went straight into the king’s fat belly, which stands for the absolute power of the Word to tear down evils and falsities. This then allows us to reassert our leading intentions, and return to our service for the Lord (see Apocalypse Revealed 52).

The third and final judge mentioned in this chapter was Shamgar, who killed six hundred Philistines with an ox goad and delivered Israel. The Philistines – who later became a major enemy of Israel – stand for the belief that faith alone will save us, without any need for good actions in life. This can have an insidious influence on us and needs constant attention, represented by the number six hundred. The ox goad (prodder) indicates that we need to keep pushing ourselves to do good, just as an ox is prodded to work strenuously (Arcana Caelestia 1198).

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Apocalypse Revealed # 52

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52. And issuing from His mouth a sharp two-edged sword. This symbolizes a dispersion of falsities by the Lord by means of the Word and doctrine drawn from it.

Swords are often mentioned in the Word, and they symbolize nothing else than truth combating falsities and destroying them. In an opposite sense they also symbolize falsity combating truths. For wars in the Word symbolize spiritual wars, which are those of truth against falsity, and of falsity against truth. Therefore the weapons of war symbolize the means by which the combat is carried on in these wars.

It is apparent that the sword here means a dispersion of falsities by the Lord, because it was seen to issue from His mouth, and to issue from the Lord's mouth is to do so from the Word, for the Lord spoke it with His mouth. Furthermore, because the Word is understood by means of doctrine drawn from it, this too is symbolically meant.

It is called a sharp two-edged sword because it pierces the heart and soul.

[2] To show that the sword here means a dispersion of falsities by the Lord by means of the Word, we will cite some passages which mention a sword, from which the reality of this can be seen. Namely:

A sword against... Babylon, ...her princes and her wise men! A sword against the liars, that they may become fools! A sword against her mighty men, that they may be dismayed! A sword against her horses and her chariots...! A sword against her treasures, that they may be plundered! A drought upon her waters, that they may be dried up! (Jeremiah 50:35-38)

The subject here is Babylon, and by it are meant people who falsify and adulterate the Word. Consequently the liars who are to become fools, the horses and chariots with a sword upon them, and the treasures that will be plundered symbolize their doctrinal falsities. The waters that will have a drought upon them that they may be dried up symbolize truths, as may be seen just above in no. 50.

[3] ...prophesy and say..., "A sword... is sharpened and also polished! Sharpened to make a great slaughter... Let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain, a sword for a great slaughter, piercing the innermost recesses, that... stumbling blocks may be multiplied." (Ezekiel 21:9-15, 19-20)

A sword here means also the laying waste of truth in the church.

Jehovah will contend... with His sword against all flesh, and the slain by Jehovah shall be multiplied. (Isaiah 66:16)

Here and elsewhere in the Word, the slain by Jehovah are what people are called who perish as a result of falsities.

On all the desolate heights in the wilderness the plunderers have come, ...the sword of Jehovah devouring from one end of the land to the other. (Jeremiah 12:12)

At the peril of our lives we bring in our bread, because of the sword in the wilderness. (Lamentations 5:9)

Woe to the worthless shepherd who deserts the flock! A sword shall be against his arm and against his right eye. (Zechariah 11:17)

The sword against the shepherd's right eye is falsity in his intellect.

...the sons of men are set on fire..., their tongue a sharp sword. (Psalms 57:4)

Behold, they belch with their mouth; a sword is in their lips. (Psalms 59:7)

(The workers of iniquity) sharpen their tongue like a sword... (Psalms 64:3)

A sword has similar symbolic meanings elsewhere, as in Isaiah 13:15; 21:14-15; 37:6-7, 38; 31:7-8, Jeremiah 2:30; 5:12; 11:22; 14:13-18, Ezekiel 7:15; 32:10-12.

[4] It can be seen from this what the Lord meant by a sword in the following places:

(Jesus said that He did not come) to bring peace on the earth... but a sword. (Matthew 10:34)

(Jesus said,) ."..he who does (not) have a purse... and... knapsack..., let him sell his garments and buy (a sword)...." (The disciples) said, "Lord, look, here are two swords." And He said..., "It is enough." (Luke 22:36, 38)

...all who take the sword will perish by the sword. (Matthew 26:51-52)

Regarding the end of the age, Jesus says,

They will fall by the edge of the sword, and be taken captive among all the nations. And (finally) Jerusalem will be trampled... (Luke 21:24)

The end of the age is the final period of the church. The sword is falsity destroying truth. The nations are evils. The Jerusalem which will be trampled is the church.

[5] It is apparent from this, now, that a sharp sword issuing from the mouth of the Son of Man symbolizes a dispersion of falsities by the Lord by means of the Word.

So, too, in the following places in the book of Revelation:

...to the one who sat on (the fiery red horse)...there was given... a great sword. (Revelation 6:4)

From the mouth (of Him who sat on the white horse) came a sharp sword, that with it He might strike the nations... ...the rest were killed with the sword... of Him who sat on the horse. (Revelation 19:15, 21)

He who sat on the white horse means the Lord in relation to the Word, something that is openly stated there in verses 13 and 16.

The like is meant in the book of Psalms:

Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One... ride upon the word of truth... Your arrows are sharp... (Psalms 45:3-5)

The subject is the Lord. Moreover, elsewhere:

Let the saints exult... and let a two-edged sword be in their hand. (Psalms 149:5-6)

And in Isaiah:

(Jehovah) has made My mouth like a sharp sword. (Isaiah 49:2)

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.