Joshua 22: The tribes of Reuben, Gad and half Manasseh return.

With the land of Canaan now settled by Israel, the time had come for the men of Reuben, Gad, and one half of Manasseh to return to the other side of the Jordan, where their wives, children, cattle and sheep were left. The men of these two and a half tribes had been ordered to fight alongside the other tribes of Israel, and only then to return home.

They left, and when they came to the banks of the River Jordan, they built a large altar to the Lord. When the rest of Israel caught word of this, they wanted to go to war with these tribes, because they felt the altar was a sacrilege - Israel had the tabernacle for its worship of the Lord. They sent Phineas the priest to ask why they had built the altar. These tribes across the Jordan replied that in the future, the people of Israel may move against them, and reject them. They said the altar would serve as a witness to their worship of the Lord, just as the Israelites in Canaan worshiped. This answer pleased the priest, and when he told the leaders of Israel, it pleased them too.

The spiritual meaning of this episode is a very important one for us. The tribes living on the other side of the River Jordan stand for the worldly activities of our outward life, which in themselves are a very important part of our spiritual life. These actions make up the external part of spiritual life, in which we are able to do good (see Swedenborg’s work, Arcana Caelestia 9824[2]).

The tribes building an altar to God portrays our understanding that all the good we do, and all the use we provide, is possible because of the Lord. He is the giver of all good, which is why we must serve the Lord. Without use, spiritual thoughts and beliefs do not have a foundation (Arcana Caelestia 9473[3]).

Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh said that the people of Israel might cut them off in the future. In spiritual terms, this would be to separate spiritual life and external life in daily living. This would result in such things as hypocrisy, and faith without charity, both of which are a threat to our spiritual well-being (see Swedenborg’s work, Doctrine of Life 4).

The altar, which was built on Canaan’s side of the Jordan before these tribes crossed over, was to stand as a witness to the union between the tribes within Canaan and the tribes across the Jordan, as one nation before the Lord (Arcana Caelestia 9714).

This unity means that we must be equally present in three areas of life: in the depths of our heart, in our worship and adoration of the Lord; in our mind, in our understanding and delight in the Lord’s Word with all its truth; and in our outward actions, where our acknowledgement of the Lord as our God leads us to be sincere, just, moral, fair, compassionate and dedicated to the service of God.

The answer from the three tribes pleased the priest and, in turn, the leaders of Israel. This reception represents our affirmation that ‘being spiritual’ does not take the place of helping others, but really demands that we serve the Lord in our daily actions (see Swedenborg’s work, Apocalypse Explained 325[4]).

8431. Jehovah is giving you flesh to eat in the evening means that at the end of a state good will become their own through delight. This is clear from the meaning of 'the evening' as the end of a state, dealt with above in 8426; and from the meaning of 'flesh' as a proprium made alive, or a heavenly proprium which a person possesses from the Lord, thus the good of love, dealt with in 148, 149, 780, 3813, 7850, 8409 (beginning), though here the good of faith is meant since it was the flesh of a bird that flies, called 'selav'. For 'a bird that flies' means that which is spiritual or belongs to faith, so that 'its flesh' means the good of faith, at this point the natural man's good, which is delight. It should be recognized that 'manna' means the internal or spiritual man's good, while 'selav' means the external or natural man's good, which is called delight. That they have these meanings is made clear by the fact that the manna was given in the morning but the selav in the evening; and what was given in the morning means spiritual good, and what was given in the evening means natural good, or delight. For a morning state in the next life occurs when spiritual good, the internal man's good, is in evidence and natural or the external man's good is obscured, and an evening state occurs when natural good, the external man's good, is in evidence and spiritual or the internal man's good is obscured. These states also alternate with each other in this way, to the end that a person may be made more perfect, and especially to the end that good may become the person's own, which is accomplished in an evening state through delight.