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Deuteronomy 32

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1 Give·​·ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the sayings of my mouth.

2 My doctrine shall drip·​·down as the rain, what· I ·say shall stream as the dew, as the dewdrops upon the tender·​·herb, and as the raindrops upon the herb;

3 because I will proclaim the name of Jehovah; give ye greatness to our God.

4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are judgment: a God of faithfulness and no perversity, just and upright is He.

5 They have corrupted themselves, they are not His sons, it is their blemish; they are a twisted and contorted generation.

6 Do you thus recompense Jehovah, O foolish people and unwise? Is not He thy father that has bought thee? Has He not made thee, and established thee?

7 Remember the days of eternity, understand the years of generation and generation; ask thy father, and he will·​·tell thee; thine elders, and they will say it to thee.

8 When the Most·​·High caused the nations to inherit, when He separated the sons of man, He set·​·up the borders of the people according to the number of the sons of Israel.

9 For Jehovah’s portion is His people; Jacob is the region of His inheritance.

10 He found him in a land of wilderness, and in the void of howling solitude; He led· him ·around, He caused him to understand, He preserved him as the pupil of His eye.

11 As an eagle stirs·​·up its nest, flutters over its young, spreads its wings, takes them, bears them on its wings*;

12 So Jehovah alone did lead him, and there was no foreign god with him.

13 He made him ride on the high·​·places of the earth, that he might eat the bounty of the fields; and He made him to nurse on honey from the rock, and oil from the flinty rock;

14 butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, with fat of lambs and rams, of the sons of Bashan, and of the he-goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the unmixed blood of the grape.

15 But Jeshurun became·​·fat, and kicked; thou art become·​·fat, thou art·​·thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he abandoned God who made him, and disparaged the Rock of his salvation.

16 They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they Him.

17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God; to gods that they knew not, to new gods that came from nearby, at which your fathers shuddered not.

18 Of the Rock who begot thee thou hast been oblivious, and hast forgotten God who brought thee forth*.

19 And Jehovah saw it, and He disdained them, because of the provocation of His sons, and of His daughters.

20 And He said, I will hide My face from them, I will see what their posterity shall be; for they are a very perverse generation, sons in whom is no faithfulness.

21 They have moved Me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked Me with their vanities; and I will move them to jealousy with those who are not a people; I will provoke them with a foolish nation.

22 For a fire is ignited in My anger, and shall burn to the lowest hell, and shall eat·​·up the earth and her produce, and set·​·flame·​·to the foundations of the mountains.

23 I will add against them evils; I will consume·​·all My arrows on them.

24 They shall be burnt with famine, and devoured with embers, and with bitter disaster; I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of the snakes of the dust.

25 The sword outside, and terror from the chambers, shall bereave both the young·​·man and the virgin, the nursing infant with the man of gray·​·hairs.

26 I said, I would push· them ·to·​·the·​·corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from man;

27 except that I be·​·afraid of the provocation of the enemy, lest their adversaries should make· themselves ·unrecognizable, and lest they should say, Our hands are lifted·​·high, and Jehovah has not worked all this.

28 For they are a nation void* of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.

29 Would·​·that they were·​·wise, that they had·​·intelligence in this, that they would understand their future!

30 How should one pursue a thousand, and two put· myriads ·to·​·flight, except their Rock had sold them, and Jehovah had closed· them ·in?

31 For their rock is not as our rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.

32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of gall, the bitter clusters are theirs.

33 their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel gall of adders.

34 Is not this laid up in store with Me, and sealed among My treasures?

35 To Me belongs vengeance, and repayment; their foot shall move in due time; for the day of their downfall is near, and their fortunes* shall hurry upon them.

36 For Jehovah shall make·​·judgment for His people, and repent Himself for His servants; for He sees that their hand* is spent, and nothing is restrained or forsaken.

37 And He shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they confide,

38 which ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their poured·​·offerings? Let them rise·​·up and help you, and be a hiding·​·place over you.

39 See now that I, I am He, and there is no god with Me; I put·​·to·​·death, and I make·​·alive; I strike, and I heal; and there is none who can rescue from My hand.

40 For I lift up My hand to heaven, and say, I am alive to eternity.

41 If I sharpen My lightning sword, and My hand seizes on judgment; I will return vengeance to My adversaries, and will repay those who hate Me.

42 I will make· My arrows ·drunk from blood, and My sword shall eat·​·up flesh, from the blood of the slain and of the captivity, from the gall of revenging* the enemy.

43 Sing·​·aloud, O ye nations, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and will return vengeance upon His adversaries, and will make·​·atonement for His ground for His people.

44 And Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea* the son of Nun.

45 And Moses completed speaking all these words to all Israel;

46 and he said to them, Set your hearts to all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your sons to take·​·heed to do, all the words of this law.

47 For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life; and through this thing you shall prolong your days on the ground, whither you cross·​·over Jordan to possess it.

48 And Jehovah spoke to Moses that same day, saying,

49 Go·​·up to this mountain of Abarim, to Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, which is over before Jericho; and see the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel for a possession;

50 and die in the mountain whither thou goest up, and be gathered to thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in Mount Hor, and was gathered to his people;

51 because you trespassed against Me among the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribath Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you sanctified Me not in the midst of the sons of Israel.

52 For thou shalt see the land in·​·front·​·of thee; but thither thou shalt not go·​·in to the land which I give to the sons of Israel.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Arcana Coelestia # 8581

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8581. 'behold, I [will be] standing before you there on the rock in Horeb' means the Lord in respect of the truths of faith. This is clear from the meaning of 'the rock' as faith, in this instance faith received from the Lord, or the Lord in respect of faith, for Jehovah - that is, the Lord - says 'Behold, I [will be] standing on the rock'; and from the meaning of 'Horeb' as God's law. Consequently the words used here mean the Lord in respect of the truths of faith, which come from His law or the Word. The fact that 'the rock' means the Lord in respect of faith, and on man's side the faith he receives from the Lord, is clear from very many places in the Word, as in Moses,

Ascribe 1 greatness to our God, the Rock, whose work is perfect. He caused him to ride on 2 the heights of the land, and fed him with the produce of the fields; He caused him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock. But when Jeshurun became fat he kicked; he forsook God who made Him, and despised the Rock of his salvation. You have been unmindful of 3 the Rock who begot you, and have forgotten the God who formed you. Their Rock sold them, and Jehovah shut them up. For their rock is not like our Rock. When it is said, Where are their gods, the rock in which they trusted? ... Deuteronomy 32:3-4, 13, 15, 18, 30-31, 37.

From these verses it is evident that Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is the One who is called 'the Rock'. The fact that 'the Rock' is Jehovah or the Lord in respect of faith is made plain by every detail there in the internal sense.

[2] In Daniel,

You were watching, until a stone was cut out, not by means of hands; and it struck the statue on its feet, which were iron and clay, and smashed them to pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold together were smashed to pieces, and became like chaff from the summer threshing-floors; so that the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them. But the stone that struck the statue became a great rock and filled the whole earth. The God of heaven will cause a kingdom to arise that will never be destroyed, and also His kingdom will not be left to other people; it will crush and consume all those kingdoms, but will itself stand for ever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the rock, not by means of hands, and it smashed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold... Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45.

The subject here is the Lord and His kingdom, 'a stone' being used to mean faith, and 'a rock' the Lord in respect of faith. The fact that these things are meant by 'a stone' and 'a rock' is evident to anyone who gives thought to the matter. 'A stone' also means in the Word the truth that composes faith, see 643, 1298, 3720, 3769, 3771, 3773, 3789, 3798, 6426; therefore also the Lord in respect of Divine Truth is called 'the stone of Israel', 6426. The reason why 'a rock' means the Lord in respect of the truth of faith is that 'a rock' is also used to mean a fortress that withstands falsities. The actual fortress is the truth of faith, for this is what the battle against both falsities and evils is waged from.

[3] All this also makes it clear that in the following words in Matthew which the Lord addressed to Peter 'rock' is used to mean the Lord in respect of faith, and also faith received from the Lord,

I tell you, You Are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:18-19.

As regards 'rock' here, that it means the Lord in respect of faith, and faith received from the Lord, and that 'Peter' represents that faith, see Preface to Genesis 22, and also 3750, 4738, 6000, 6073 (end), 6344 (end). It is also evident to anyone who thinks properly that the power to open heaven and close hell for the good, and to open hell and close heaven for the wicked, is the Lord's alone, and that the reason why such power accompanies faith is that faith comes from the Lord, and so likewise is the Lord's; that is, the Lord Himself is within faith. All power in the next life too comes through the truth of faith springing from good, 4931, 6344, 6423, 8200, 8304. One who thinks properly may also conclude that the Lord's Church has not been built on some person, thus not on Peter, but on the Lord Himself, that is, on faith in Him.

[4] From all this one can see what kind of errors they are, and how great, which those people slip into who adhere strictly to the sense of the letter of the Word. One can see why leaders of the Church are all too ready to seize on the idea that such power was given to Peter and consequently to those who call themselves his successors, for that idea lends support to what is in their heart. One can see how difficult it is for them to let themselves be convinced that this passage has any other meaning, for each wishes to gain supreme power. All this also shows how vital it is to know what 'rock', 'the keys', 'the gates of hell', and very many other things mean in the internal sense.

[5] The fact that Jehovah is called 'the Rock', and that when He is called this the Lord in respect of faith is meant, many other places in the Word also go to prove, such as the following, which will be quoted without further explanation. In Isaiah,

Send the lamb of the ruler of the land from the Rock towards the wilderness, to the mountain [of the daughter] of Zion. Isaiah 16:1.

In the same prophet,

You have forgotten [the God] of your salvation, and have not called to mind the Rock of your refuge. Isaiah 17:10.

In the same prophet,

Asshur will fall by the sword, not of man (vir). Also his rock will pass away by reason of terror. Isaiah 31:8-9.

In the same prophet,

Let the inhabitants of the Rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Isaiah 42:11.

In the same prophet,

Pay attention to Me, you who are pursuing righteousness, who are seeking Jehovah. Look to the Rock from which you were hewn. Isaiah 51:1.

In Jeremiah,

Leave the cities and dwell in the Rock, O inhabitants of Moab. Jeremiah 48:28.

In the same prophet,

I am against you, O destroying mountain, destroying the whole earth. And I will stretch out My hand against you, and roll you down from the rocks, and make you into a mountain of burning. Nor will they take from you a stone for a corner, or a stone for foundations. Jeremiah 51:25-26.

This refers to Babel. In David,

He caused me to come up out of the pit of devastation, out of the muddy clay, and He set my feet upon a rock. Psalms 40:2.

In the same author,

From the end of the earth I cry to You, when my heart fails; You lead me to the Rock high up from me. Psalms 61:2.

In the same author,

I fed them with the fat of wheat, and with honey out of the rock I satisfied them. Psalms 81:16.

[6] Since 'a rock' meant the Lord in respect of faith, and faith received from the Lord, also the wondrous things spoken of in the Book of Judges took place on a rock,

The Angel of Jehovah told Gideon to take the flesh and unleavened bread and peace them on the rock, and pour out the broth. And fire went up from the rock and consumed the flesh and unleavened bread. Judges 6:20-21.

And elsewhere in the same book,

Manoah, Samson's father, took the kid of the she-goats and offered it on the rock. Then the Angel acted in a wondrous manner and ascended in the flame. Judges 13:19-20.

What meaning these things had becomes clear if what 'Gideon' and what 'Manoah, Samson's father' represented is discovered from the internal sense, also what was meant by 'the flesh and unleavened bread' and 'the broth', 'the kid of the she-goats' as well, and 'the fire'. For every single one of these was representative and had a spiritual meaning.

[7] Knowing that 'the Rock' means faith may lead also to an understanding of the reference to Moses' being pieced in the cleft of the rock when he was to see Jehovah, Exodus 33:20-23; for 'the cleft of the rock' means obscurity of faith. It is well known in the Churches that the rock in Horeb from which the water came out means the Lord; but now it has been shown that it means the Lord in respect of faith, and also that it means faith received from the Lord. A meaning similar to that which 'the rock in Horeb' possesses is also meant in the following words in Isaiah,

Say, Jehovah has redeemed His servant Jacob. At that time they will not thirst; in waste places He will lead them. He will make water flow for them from the rock, when He cleaves the rock so that water flows out. Isaiah 48:20-21.

The reason why the people were given the water from no other rock than the one in Horeb is that 'Horeb' means God's law; and the reason why God's law is meant by 'Horeb' is that the law was proclaimed from there. And faith which is received from the Lord is acquired from God's law, that is, from the Word; for through the Word the Lord teaches what faith is and also imparts faith.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. The Latin means literally I will give but the Hebrew means Give.

2. Reading equitare (to ride on) for evigilare (to arouse)

3. literally, You have given to forgetfulness

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