265. Das Vorhandensein eines Wortes schon bei den Alten ergibt sich auch aus seiner Erwähnung durch Moses, der sogar einiges daraus in seine Schrift en aufgenommen hat. (4 Mose 21:14 f., 4 Mose 21:27-30) Die historischen Teile dieses Wortes trugen den Titel „Kriege Jehovahs“, die prophetischen aber den Titel „Aussprüche“. So hat Moses den historischen Teilen dieses Wortes beispielsweise die folgende Stelle entnommen: „Darum heißt es im Buch der Kriege Jehovahs: Vaheb in Suphah und die Bäche Arnon, und der Wasserlauf der Bäche, der sich neigt bis dahin, wo man wohnt in Ar und sich an die Grenze von Moab anlehnt.“ (4 Mose 21:14 f.)

Die Kriege Jehovahs wurden in diesem Wort ebenso wie in dem unsrigen als die siegreichen Kämpfe des Herrn mit den Höllen verstanden und bezeichnet, jene Kämpfe, die er zu der Zeit seines Kommens in die Welt ausfechten wollte. Viele Stellen der historischen Bücher unseres Wortes, zum Beispiel in den Kriegen Josuas, der Richter und der Könige Israels mit den Völkern des Landes Kanaan sind ebenfalls in diesem Sinn zu verstehen.

Den prophetischen Teilen des Alten Wortes hat Moses diese Stelle entnommen: „Darum sagen die Verkünder der Aussprüche: Kommt hinein nach Cheschbon! Aufgebaut und befestigt werde Sichons Stadt! Denn ein Feuer ging aus von Cheschbon, die Flamme aus Sichons Stadt, sie fraß Ar Moab und die Herren der Höhen von Arnon. Wehe dir, Moab! Verloren bist du, Volk von Kemosch, der seine Söhne zu Flüchtlingen machte und seine Töchter gefangen gab Sochon, dem König der Amoriter. Und wir schossen sie nieder. Cheschbon ist verloren bis gen Dibon. Wir haben es verwüstet bis gegen Nophach, das bis Medebah reicht.“ (4 Mose 21:27-30)14

Jenes Wort war ebenso wie das unsrige von Gott eingegeben. Das zeigt sich deutlich aus einer Stelle bei Jeremias, wo beinahe die gleichen Ausdrücke benutzt werden: „Ein Feuer geht von Cheschbon aus und eine Flamme zwischen Sichon hervor und frisst die Ecke von Moab und den Gipfel der Söhne von Schaon (gewöhnlich: der Söhne des Tosens oder Lärmens) Wehe dir, Moab, verloren ist das Volk des Chemosch, denn man hat deine Söhne in Gefangenschaft fortgeschleppt und deine Töchter ins Gefängnis.“ (Jeremia 48:45 f.)

Darüber hinaus wird noch ein weiteres prophetisches Buch des Alten Wortes angeführt, das David und Josua als das „Buch Jaschar“, bzw. das „Buch des Redlichen“ bezeichnen. Man liest: „David stimmte über Sau1 und Jonathan ein Klagelied an, und er sagte, um die Söhne Judas den Bogen zu lehren: siehe, es steht geschrieben in dem Buch Jaschar ….“ (2 Samuel 1:17 f.). Josua sprach: „Sonne, stehe still in Gibeon, und du, Mond, im Talgrund Ajalon! … Ist dies nicht geschrieben in dem Buch Jaschar?“ (Josua 10:12 f.)

4211. 'And called his brothers to eat bread' means [an invitation] to make the good from the Lord's Divine Natural their own. This is clear from the meaning of 'brothers' as those who were now to be joined together by the covenant, that is, by friendship, and in the internal sense as those who are governed by good and truth (for such people are called 'brothers', see 367, 2360, 3303, 3459, 3803, 3815, 4121, 4191); from the meaning of 'eating' as making one's own, dealt with in 3168, 3513 (end), 3832 (for meals taken together and feasts among the ancients meant making things their own and being joined together by means of love and charity, 3596); and from the meaning of 'bread' as good that stems from love, dealt with in 276, 680, 1798, 3478, 3735, and in the highest sense means the Lord, 2165, 2177, 3478, 3813. Since 'bread' in the highest sense means the Lord it therefore means everything holy which comes from Him, that is, it means everything good and true. And since no other good exists which is good except the good of love and charity, 'bread' therefore means love and charity. Sacrifices in former times had no other meaning, and for that reason were referred to by the single word 'bread', see 2165. And some of the flesh of the sacrifices was eaten so that the heavenly feast - that is, a joining together through good flowing from love and charity - might be represented. The same is meant today by the Holy Supper, for this has replaced sacrifices and feasts of consecrated things. The Holy Supper is in the Church an external practice that has an internal reality within it, and by means of this reality it joins one who is governed by love and charity to heaven, and by means of heaven to the Lord. For in the Holy Supper too 'eating' means making one's own - 'the bread' being celestial love and 'the wine' spiritual love - so much so that while it is being eaten by one in a state of holiness nothing else is perceived in heaven.

[2] The reason why the phrase 'making the good from the Lord's Divine Natural their own' is used is that the subject is the good that exists with the gentiles, for it is this good that 'Laban' represents now, 4189. When man is joined to the Lord he is not joined to His Supreme Divine itself but to His Divine Human, for man cannot have any idea at all of the Lord's Supreme Divine, because this lies so far beyond anything he can conceive of that it fades from view altogether and ceases to mean anything to him. But he is able to have an idea of His Divine Human. For everyone is joined through thought and affection to one of whom he can have some idea but not to one of whom he cannot have any idea. If, when a person thinks about the Lord's Human, holiness is present in his ideas he also thinks of the holiness which comes from the Lord and fills heaven, and at the same time he thinks of heaven, since heaven in its entirety corresponds to a complete human being, which correspondence has its origin in the Lord, 684, 1276, 2996, 2998, 3624-3649. This explains why it is not possible to be joined to the Lord's Supreme Divine, only to His Divine Human, and through that Divine Human to His Supreme Divine. Hence the statement in John 1:18 about nobody, except the only begotten Son, ever having seen God, also the statement about there being no way to the Father except through Him; as well as from the statement that He is the Mediator. The truth of all this can be plainly recognized from the fact that all within the Church who declare their belief in a Supreme Being and yet set the Lord at nought are people who have no belief in anything at all, not even in the existence of heaven or of hell, and who worship nature. And if such people are ready to learn from experience it will be clear to them that the wicked, even those who are extremely so, declare a like belief.

[3] But the way in which people think of the Lord's Human varies, one person's ideas being different from another's, and one person's more holy than another's. Those within the Church are able to think that His Human is Divine, and also that He is one with the Father, as He Himself says that the Father is in Him and He is in the Father. But those outside the Church are unable to do this, for one thing because they do not know anything about the Lord and for another because their idea of the Divine is gained solely from visible images and tangible idols. Nevertheless the Lord joins Himself to them by means of the good they do from the charity and obedience present within their crude notions of Him. And this is why mention is made here about them making the good from the Lord's Divine Natural their own. For when the Lord is joined to man the state of thought and consequent affection in him determines the exact nature of that conjunction. Those who have an entirely holy conception of the Lord and who at the same time have a true knowledge of and affections for what is good and true - as those within the Church are able to have - have been joined to the Lord as to His Divine Rational. Those however who do not have so holy a notion of Him and who do not have so interior a notion and affection, and yet the good of charity exists with them, have been joined to the Lord as regards His Divine Natural. And those whose holiness is cruder still are joined to the Lord as to His Divine Sensory Perception. This last type of joining is what is represented by 'the bronze serpent', in that those who looked at it recovered from serpent-bites, Numbers 21:9. This is the type of joining together which those among the gentiles have who worship idols and yet lead charitable lives in accordance with their own religion. From these considerations one may now see what is meant by making the good from the Lord's Divine Natural their own, meant by 'Jacob called his brothers to eat bread'.