Genesis Chapter 25
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The Arrangement of The Heavens and The Glorification of The Lord's Rational and Natural Mind
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Genesis 25 reveals significant changes both in the Lord and in the Heavens of His Kingdom. It is abundantly clear why this section of Genesis was written, and very clear that it was revealed by the Lord to the writers of Genesis to help us understand a divine truth: for us to become productive citizens of His Kingdom we must change, we must become spiritual in order to live in and understand the spiritual world, His divine kingdom.
Beginning at chapter twelve of Genesis, the Lord has revealed to us how He slowly went about the process of glorifying His human while He was on earth. The Lord wants us to understand this process because it also relates to our journey of regeneration. The steps and stages are virtually the same, with one very important difference: the Lord, from his own power, brought about the changes needed to glorify His Human. That is a very important distinction that we need to understand. We cannot possibly regenerate ourselves; the end product would be solely evil. We need the Lord to guide us, to teach us, to reform and remake us in his image.
As we have been reading and learning from the story of Abraham, the Lord has revealed how each step of his Glorification brought Him closer to making His human essence Divine. These steps and stages are similar to our own in our process of regeneration. However, the temptations and the powers of hell that the Lord faced were much more severe than what we would ever encounter.
As scholars ponder the meaning of Genesis 1 and 2, for those of us who have been reading and understanding the inner meaning, the spiritual story the Lord has revealed gives us a good guidepost for understanding our process of regeneration. This chapter reveals one of the steps in our regeneration story, the process of taming our natural self, our human nature.
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Chapter Outline
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Verse 1. And Abraham took another wife; and her name was Keturah.
Verse 2. And she bore to him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
Verse 3. And Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan; and the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.
Verse 4. And the sons of Midian, Ephah and Epher, and Enoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah.
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The Heavens
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In the opening verses of this chapter the Divine story is revealing how the Lord is arranging Heaven and the church. In Genesis twenty-three it was revealed that divine truth (Sarah) has passed away. Divine truth cannot die, death and burials are worldly events not spiritual, and anything Divine will never die. What is really being revealed is the fact that Divine truth was lost or came to an end in the church on earth.
As we have come to understand from the earlier chapters of this Divine Book, churches come and go, they go through stages with the Lord fully aware of our human nature. The Lord will always work out a way to keep a connection with His flock. The opening story then to this chapter is how this will be done.
In the opening verse it reads "Abraham added, and took a new woman, and her name was Keturah." This signifies a new state for the Lord. Taking a woman, or bride, or wife, signifies a new church (Arcana Coelestia 915). Spiritually understood, a wife, bride, or woman, represents truth and a new church. Additionally, a man, husband, or bridegroom represents good and in the Word the Lord is referenced as such (John 3:29).
In Holy Scripture the symbolism of marriage is the union of good and truth. In the marriage of Abraham and Sarah, this spiritually represents the union of divine good with divine truth which then also represented the Celestial Heaven, the Heaven of Heavens (Nehemiah 9:6, Deuteronomy 10:14, 1 Kings 8:27, 2 Chronicles 2:6, Psalms 148:4, Ecclesiasticus 16:18).
The marriage of Abraham with Keturah, this signifies the union of divine good with a lesser divine truth or the essence of divine truth (Arcana Coelestia 3237). This union will represent a new heaven, a spiritual heaven and a new church, a spiritual church.
This divergence also represents how we receive the Lord. The Lord appears to everyone according to the nature of those who receive Him. Those who are celestial are a likeness of the Lord and their goodness comes from the Divine itself, the Lord. Further, the goodness that a celestial person has was implanted in their will by the Lord. Those who are spiritual are an image of the Lord and their goodness comes from faith in the Lord. The goodness of a spiritual person is implanted in their intellect by the Lord and from this a new will eventually be created. (Arcana Coelestia 3235)
From this we can see that the Lord is arranging the Heavens to accept different types of people based on how they have developed their understanding of the Lord and his Kingdom.
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Heavenly Societies
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In verses 2-4 of this chapter, we learn about the sons born to Abraham and Keturah. Of note is the number. Keturah will give birth to six sons and those sons will produce six additional sons. The number six signifies what is full, and it is used where the truths of good are being revealed. (Apocalypse Revealed 610:2) With the total number of offspring being twelve, this signifies faith and all things pertaining to faith. (Arcana Coelestia 3239)
In reading this chapter it is important not to focus on the characters of this divine story but what they represent. The Lord is revealing to us the make-up of this Heaven, the Spiritual Heaven. The sons represent the different societies that make up this Heaven with sons of sons representing a derivative of the first. The story is revealing that with the advent of the Lord and the glorification of His Human the Heavens will take shape based on how people come to know the Lord and accept the goodness and truth that he is bringing to us.
For anyone wishing to know more about the various Heavens, one should seek out the Swedenborg work titled Heaven and Hell.
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Verse 5. And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.
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The Gifts From Abraham
In verse five we learn that "Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac." As we have come to understand and revealed in the Divine story of Abraham, he has represented the Lord's Divine Spirit, his internal man. Isaac represents the Lord's rational mind, the middle mind, the mind where we rationalize all the things that we have learned from all the inflows that a human has.
Everything we see, hear, taste, touch, smell, all the learning we have done throughout our life, all the events we have memories of during our lifetime, all of these are rationalized by our middle mind. Also influencing our rational mind is the inflows from our eternal spirit. Once we come to understand that we have a spirit and we begin to listen, the inflows from this source begin to lead us and guide us in a heavenly direction. The story revealed here is how the Lord changed His rational mind and made it Divine.
All parts of the Lord's human essence are slowly being glorified and the Lord is revealing to us this story so that we understand how the process will be in our own journey. His glorification can be compared to our regeneration. As we learned from Genesis chapter one, there are steps and stages in our progress to rebirth so the stage the Lord is revealing here is about changing our rational mind to become heavenly. The gifts that Abraham is giving to Isaac are all of the celestial things of love. The Lord's rational mind has been changed, has been uplifted to Heaven and from this state He can now affect the lower mind and bring it into the same state.
For us and our journey, once the Lord is accepted into our life, when we have invited him to lead and guide us, he can then fill us with all of the gifts from Heaven and change our rational mind, which then leads to the Lord gaining control of our lower mind, our human nature. This is our rebirth, our resurrection to a new life, a life filled with the Lord's presence in all that we do, an image of our Heavenly Father (Genesis 1:27).
The story here is also about the Heavens. The Lord's Human Essence can also be compared to the Lord's Kingdom. The Lord's Rational Mind can be compared to the Celestial Heaven and the gifts that the Lord gives to those of that Heaven are all of the things of celestial love from the Lord (Arcana Coelestia 3245).
Verse 6. And to the concubines' sons, whom Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts; and he sent them away from being with Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastwards to the land of the east.
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The Gifts From Abraham to the Sons of Concubines
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At verse six we learn that "Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines." As explained above, the sons of Keturah represent different types of people in the Lord's spiritual heaven. The marriage of Abraham and Keturah signified the Lord's spiritual heaven with the sons of concubines representing those who are adopted by the Lord into that kingdom.
A spiritual person are those of the spiritual church and heaven. They live a life of goodness and truth derived from faith in the Lord. The goodness that they have has been implanted in their intellect by the Lord and is one of charity toward their neighbor. The truth that they live by is that of faith toward the Lord. They have learned this truth from the Lord's Word. These are those who have been regenerated or in the process of regeneration. The spiritual are those who are an image of the Lord.
A celestial person is someone who is in love to the Lord and reflects all of the Lord's love and wisdom. The Lord, in essence, shines through them, they are a likeness of the Lord (True Christian Religion 852). Celestial people are those of the highest heaven.
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Sending The Sons of Concubines Away from Isaac
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As described above, there are two separate and distinct Heavens in the Lord's Kingdom. The highest Heaven, the Heaven of Heavens (Deuteronomy 10:14, 1 Kings 8:27, 2 Chronicles 2:6, Psalms 148:4), is the Heaven closest to the Lord and inhabited by those who are filled with the Lord's love and wisdom.
The second heaven, the spiritual heaven, is inhabited by those who are in faith to the Lord and in charity to their neighbor. The sending of the "sons of concubines away from Isaac" indicates that this spiritual heaven is separate and distinct from the celestial heaven (Isaac). (Arcana Coelestia 3246)
Also revealed in this section of verses is the fact that "Abraham gave gifts to these sons of concubines." This then reveals that those who inherit the Lord's spiritual heaven are also filled by the Lord with his goodness but the truth they have is not a divine truth but an essence of divine truth. (Arcana Coelestia 3246:2)
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Verse 7. And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, a hundred and seventy-five years.
Verse 8. And Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full [of years]; and he was gathered to his peoples.
Verse 9. And Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him at the cave of Machpelah, at the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which faced Mamre.
Verse 10. The field which Abraham bought from the sons of Heth, there Abraham was buried and Sarah his wife.
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The Death of Abraham
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The Word is a spiritual book, filled with divine stories that reveal all aspects of our Lord and Savior. As we come to understand this section of Genesis, Abraham's story is one of representation, a story told using biblical correspondences to help us understand things of a spiritual nature. Now, the story is going to continue but the representatives are going to change.
On a spiritual level, there is no death as mentioned above, what there is can be compared to stages, a new aspect of our life as we continue in our journey with the Lord to eternity. What the Lord is revealing to us then with the worldly death of Abraham, is a new stage in the Lord's progress toward Glorification. What can be understood in Abraham's worldly life and death and its representation of the Lord, is revealed in the number given to Abraham's age at death being "one hundred years, and seventy years, and five years." As we have come to understand, numbers in the Word are used to signify states so the numbers related here reveal the following states or stages:
One Hundred Years - signifies a full state of unition.
Seventy Years - Signifies what is Holy and comprehending seven states.
Five Years - Signifies everything.
The worldly life of Abraham came to an end "and he was gathered to his peoples." This signifies that the actual man Abraham was with his people in the other life. Being "gathered to his people" is an ancient expression that signifies when we enter the Heavenly realm, we are gathered to the people we were with in our life on earth. (Arcana Coelestia 3252-3255)
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Abraham's Burial
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At verse nine we read that "Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, buried him (Abraham) in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre." That Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham is an indication that the story will now turn to focus on these two sons as they will now represent the Lord in the story of his glorification and the creation of new heavens and churches. Clearly this is spiritual language used in this verse, for what purpose would the Lord have to tell us such detail relating to a man’s death and burial.
In heaven there is no death, no burials, no sepulchers, so when these terms are used in the Word, they represent a resurrection. When a man dies in the world he rises to life in the next. Additionally, when a man is regenerated, he dies to his old life and rises again in a new life in the Lord.
Explained above in regards to the Heavens and churches, here in this verse Isaac represents the Lord in regards to the Celestial heavens and churches while Ishmael represents the Lord in regards to the spiritual heavens and churches. Being buried in the cave of Machpelah indicates those who are being regenerated and rising to new life in either of these heavens or churches. (Arcana Coelestia 3256)
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11. And so it was after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac his son; and Isaac dwelt in Beer Lahai Roi.
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God Blessed Isaac
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The storyline is now changing to focus on the two sons of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael. Verse eleven indicates that "God blessed Isaac" and that "Isaac dwelt at Beer-lahai-roi." This is further indication that Isaac will represent the Lord in the continuing story and that the rational mind of the Lord is living (dwelt) in divine light. In the previous chapter where it states that Isaac came from Beer-lahai-roi, and dwelt in the land of the south, this again is an indication that the rational mind of the Lord was born from divine good that came from divine truth itself. (Arcana Coelestia 3260-3261)
The Lord is relating to us the steps and stages he followed to Glorify his human. As stated before, our steps and stages are similar, and this is the reason for revealing this story and how we can apply this to our life. As we accept the Lord, He begins to change us. We begin to shed the old clothes of our past life and put on the new clothes of his truth and goodness. He changes our rational mind from a worldly mind to a heavenly mind. He is lifting us up into a heavenly life as we continue to walk the earth as an image of our Lord and Savior.
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Verse 12. And these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant-girl, bore to Abraham.
Verse 13. And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their births: Nebaioth, Ishmael's firstborn, and Kedar, and Abdeel, and Mibsam;
Verse 14. And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa;
Verse 15. Hadad, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
Verse 16. And these are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, in their villages, and in their fortified places; twelve princes of their peoples.
Verse 17. And these are the years of Ishmael's life, a hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his peoples.
Verse 18. And they resided from Havilah as far as Shur, which is opposite Egypt as you come towards Asshur. [His lot] fell opposite all his brothers.
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The Births of the Sons of Ishmael
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The story of this chapter takes another turn as we now focus on Ishmael, the son born to Abraham from Hagar, the handmaid of Sarah. The sons that are born to Ishmael will also represent the different types of people and the differing faiths of the spiritual church and heaven. Ishmael, referring back to earlier chapters of this section in Genesis, represented the Lord's rational mind, his initial natural rational before it gave way to Isaac, the divine rational. From this we can discern that Ishmael represents people who are naturally good. The people who are descendants of Ishmael, the Ishmaelites, represent people who are in simple good which could also be represented as well-disposed gentiles.
The Lord's spiritual church exists throughout the natural world. It is not confined to those who have the Word and would know of the Lord from being taught of faith and truth. They live in a natural light, they believe there is a God, that He created all things, and that He is good. This simple truth is born from natural goodness that comes from the Lord into our natural mind. These people, when they enter into the next life, are easily led into the higher truths and goodness that is shown and taught to them in that kingdom. (Arcana Coelestia 3263:2-3)
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The Sons of Ishmael
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As we have learned regarding the sons born of Keturah, the sons born of Ishmael, thus from Hagar and Abraham, are sons born of a lesser truth, an essence of divine truth. As explained above, Ishmael represents the natural mind born of the natural goodness of man. His sons, twelve in number, represent all of the different types of people, different faiths and religions, that are spread all over the world. The number twelve is the spiritual sign that signifies all of the different forms of faith and goodness that relates to the natural man. (Arcana Coelestia 3267:2-3)
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The Death of Ishmael
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As we now reach verses seventeen and eighteen of this chapter, we learn of the death of Ishmael. Mentioned above and explained in the death of Abraham, death does not mean death but an end to a representation and here the representation of the spiritual kingdom by Ishmael. Also mentioned here as it was concerning Abraham, Ishmael was also gathered to his peoples, meaning in the next life he was surrounded by those he knew in this life. Lastly, there is a reference to "they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria," this is a reference to intelligence and what flows from intelligence. These places symbolize truth, intelligence, and scholarly learning and the fact that "he fell upon the faces of all his brethren," indicates that the people identified as his brethren had contentions concerning truth, that his truth was superior. (Arcana Coelestia 3277, 1951)
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Verse 19. And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begot Isaac.
Verse 20. And Isaac was a son of forty years when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife.
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The Children Born to Isaac
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At verses nineteen and twenty the story returns to Isaac and the children that are born to him and Rebecca. As has been revealed in this chapter, Isaac is representing the Lord's Divine Rational mind and here in these verses it is re-emphasizing that this rational was born from the Divine itself represented by Abraham. As has been said before and is worth noting, the process of glorification for the Lord comes in stages. The Divine spirit is gaining control of the human, or better said, the human is giving way and allowing the Divine spirit to lead, and it is the rational mind that needs to change to allow this to happen. This change is brought about through temptations and combat that the Lord alone overcame, and it was Divine Truth (Rebecca) that the Lord uses to fight off evil and falsity.
This is the same for us in our journey to regeneration. As we give way and allow the Lord to guide us, He changes our rational mind, He does this with his truth. We are also dealing with our own temptations and combats, and it is the Lord who fights these battles using His truth to fend off all evil and falsity that we may encounter in our journey. (AC 3278)
The next step or stage in the Lord's Glorification process will be gaining control of His natural self, the lower mind, the mind that reacts to the natural world with the issues that we deal with on a day-to-day basis. This process will be revealed in the verses to come in this continuing story.
We must also remember, this story is being revealed for us to learn from it. The Lord overcame this world with all the evil and falsity that was put before Him. He has proven to us that it can be done and He is the one to lead us through our own fight against evil and falsity.
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Verse 21. And Isaac prayed to Jehovah on behalf of his wife because she was barren; and Jehovah granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
Verse 22. And the sons struggled together within her, and she said, If this is so, why am I [going through this]? And she went to inquire of Jehovah.
Verse 23. And Jehovah said to her, Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be separated from your bowels, and [one] people will prevail over [the other] people, and the greater will serve the less.
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Rebekah is Barren
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At verses twenty-one through twenty-three we learn that Rebekah is initially barren, this is setting up the next part of this divine story. The children to be born to Isaac and Rebekah will be the Lord's Divine natural or lower mind as explained above. The fact that Rebekah was initially barren indicates the divine natural was yet to come.
We are gaining a great insight from this story as to how the Lord glorified his human and with that, we can understand our process of regeneration. As has been said before, regeneration comes in steps and stages. For the Lord, when the He slowly filled his rational mind with goodness, that goodness needed to be conjoined with truth, and that truth comes from the natural mind.
Swedenborg describes this barren condition as follows: The Divine natural, or lower mind, had its origin from the Divine good of the rational mind (Isaac) as a father and from the Divine truth (Rebekah) therein as a mother. When the Divine natural is not yet, then the truth of the rational is said to be barren (Arcana Coelestia 3286).
The Lord recognizes, in himself, that His lower mind, His natural self, needs to be changed and He does what we should also do, He prays to his Heavenly Father for help and guidance. As the Lord is demonstrating in this section of verses, when we uncover something of ourselves that needs to change, we need to pray and ask for help and guidance, this is how we advance in our journey.
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Rebekah Conceives
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Soon after Isaac prays to Jehovah we learn that He blesses them with children. Rebekah conceives and gets pregnant and is blessed with twins. Continuing in our Divine story, this signifies the birth of the Divine rational or lower mind born from the Divine good of the rational as the father and the Divine truth of the rational as a mother.
This is another stage or step in the Lord's glorification, the subordination of the natural or lower mind to the rational mind or middle mind. How it is with man, as we progress in our journey to regeneration, we slowly yield to the calling of on inner spirit, our heavenly connection to the Lord. First our rational mind is changed and then, slowly, our natural mind, our worldly mind changes and adopts the goodness and truth we learn from the Lord and his Word. (Arcana Coelestia 3288)
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Rebekah's Pregnancy/The Struggle of the Sons Within Her
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As we continue to read from this chapter, soon we find that Rebekah is having a difficult pregnancy and is concerned. She prays to Jehovah for help and guidance. This struggle signifies the difficulty in taming our natural self, our worldly self. Everything we have learned in our life is coming into question as we continue the learn about Divine goodness and Divine truth. As we will soon learn, the Lord knows this, it is part of our journey.
When Rebekah prays to Jehovah as to why she is having a difficult pregnancy, He answers her prayers and reveals that she is pregnant with twins, two peoples. In our Divine story, this is revealing how the process is in reforming the natural or lower mind. The "two peoples" represent the truth of the natural, the peoples named first that will prevail over the other people. The "other people" is the good that comes from truth. This may seem confusing and is explained in the following.
Swedenborg explains that before a man is regenerated, he does good things from the truth he has learned or from his understanding. After regeneration, he does good things because they are good, nothing is compelling these acts other than goodness. (Arcana Coelestia 3293)
Swedenborg also explains that when we follow the teachings of the Commandments, this is a learned behavior and that we are being compelled to comply for fear of breaking the Law. Once we have been regenerated our Will has been changed and our acts of goodness comes from love of our neighbor. (Arcana Coelestia 3295)
The struggle of the two sons also reveals another important point in our understanding of regeneration. There is a process that we all will follow that allows for the slow transition from being a worldly person to becoming a spiritual person. We are slowly being adapted to the state that we must eventually become and that is adapted to a life in the Kingdom of Heaven. The transition of our natural self will be explained in the story of the two sons, Esau and Jacob.
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Verse 24. And her days were fulfilled to bring forth, and behold twins were in her womb.
Verse 25. And the first came forth red all over like a hairy garment, and they called his name Esau.
Verse 26. And after that came forth his brother, and his hand laid hold on Esau’s heel, and he called his name Jacob: and Isaac was a son of sixty years when she bares them.
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The Children Born to Isaac and Rebekah
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In this series of verses, we find that Rebekah gives birth to twins. This is signifying a new state for the Lord, he is bringing forth the twin elements of the Divine that make up His rational, Divine Truth and Divine Good.
This whole process of conception, pregnancy, and birth is a spiritual story about goodness and truth being planted as seeds (conception), sprouting (pregnancy), and birth (coming forth) into our natural mind. The Lord is revealing here the Divine order of all things that are from His creation. The Heavens are full of humans who all walked the earth and have followed a path just like this. When we turn toward the Lord, He slowly changes us by filling us with His goodness and truth.
Swedenborg also explains that the church of our Lord here on earth can be symbolized as a womb. It is where the marriage of good and truth can take place and bring forth a changed people or congregation. (Arcana Coelestia 3298)
As this story progresses the Lord will reveal in biblical correspondences exactly how He changed his natural mind, the lower or earthly mind. This will also relate to our story and can perhaps confirm how our stages and steps took the same order.
We read at verse twenty-five that the early stage of the birth of the Divine natural comes from the natural good of the life of truth. This is revealed in the correspondences of being "red all over" signifying the good of life, and "hairy like a garment" signifying that good is clothed with truth. (Arcana Coelestia 3300)
As we relate this story to our journey, we can understand what is being revealed. The stage of reforming or regenerating our natural mind begins with our rational mind planting the seeds of good and truth into our natural mind. This could also be understood as repentance. The seeds of good and truth are implanted by reading the Word and understanding the inner nature of the stories being revealed. As we begin to learn the Divine truth, the Lord infuses that truth with His goodness. We begin to understand the things of life that we thought were good and true really are not. This then leads to our changing, of letting go of the things that do not conform to Divine truth and good. However, there are many things in life that we have come to love, and the Lord wants to use these things that we love and infuse them with His truth to turn us from worldly self-gratifying acts to heavenly acts of kindness that are based on His truths. This can be a slow process one filled with positive steps and backward steps; these are the effects of combats or temptations that eventually leads us forward. We also need to understand that it is the Lord who fights these combats for us if we use His power, the power of prayer.
The story of the birth of Esau first reveals that it is the good of life (Esau) who comes first, with truth (Jacob) being born second. In Holy Scripture, goodness and truth are brothers and are also understood as charity and faith. As mentioned above, the Lord will use the things that we love to lead and guide us to regeneration. The things that we love are the good of life spoken of here but as our natural is changed, as we are being reborn, our new natural will initially be clothed with truth. (AC 3301)
At verse twenty-six it reveals that "Isaac was a son of sixty years when she bares them." As mentioned many times in the various explanations of sacred scripture, numbers signify states not years. The Word is a spiritual document that relates Heavenly concepts for the benefit of man's spiritual growth. The number sixty is a combination of many spiritual concepts; six signifying combat; ten signifying all things; twelve signifying things of faith; five signifying much. Thus, sixty signifies a full time and state as to the implementation of truth. Isaac, now representing the Lord, then indicates the new state the Lord had attained in the process of glorification. (Arcana Coelestia 3306)
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Verses 27, 28. And the boys grew up: and Esau was a man skillful in hunting, a man of the field; and Jacob was a perfect man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because his hunting was in his mouth; and Rebekah loved Jacob.
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The Boys Grow Up
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These verses are revealing a new state in the Lord's progress to glorification. The boys referenced here, as explained in the previous verse, relates to the Divine good and truth that is growing in the Lord's natural mind. Like a plant or tree, the seeds that have been planted are now growing and producing good fruit. For us and our journey, our actions in this new state reflect the heavenly nature that is blooming inside us. (Arcana Coelestia 3308)
Also referenced here is the fact that "Esau was a man skillful in hunting, a man of the field." This signifies the good of life from truths we have learned in our life to this point. The truths we have learned thus far can be understood as two kinds; there are sensuous truths which are the things we have learned from our senses about the world around us, and there are memory knowledges which pertain to those things we learn from study or have been taught. As this verse pertains to the Lord and his growth from childhood to a young man, He would have been taught from an early age about the Tora and about His Heavenly father, He would have been driven by His Divine love for His fellow man. (Arcana Coelestia 3309)
The reference here to "skillful in hunting" signifies someone who is good at teaching and persuading others from an affection for truth. From what we have learned from New Testament writings, the Lord was an excellent teacher who brought complex subjects down to the earthly level of man's understanding. (Arcana Coelestia 3309:2)
Also referenced in this verse is that Esau (the good of life), was "a man of the field." This signifies the good of life from doctrinal things. As one comes to understand the frequent uses of correspondences in the Word, there are many references to "earth " or "land" or "ground" and to "field." The reference to "earth" and "land," in a good sense, signifies the Lord's Kingdom in the Heavens and the church on earth. The reference to "ground" is more restricted and signifies everywhere the church is. A "field" signifies doctrine thus the place where seeds are planted to bring forth fruit.
What is being revealed here then is the fact that doctrinal things are being conjoined with the good things of life. As mentioned above in the prior verse, the Lord will use our ingrained goodness, the things that we love that are truly good, and conjoin that with his truths. In this way we are slowly changed from a man of the world to a man of Heaven. Not that he wants us to pullback from the world, He wants us to show our spiritual goodness to others through kind acts of love and charity. We are then being an image of the Lord in all of our works for others.
The reference to Jacob, that he "was a perfect man," signifies what he represents in this story, the doctrine of natural truth or one who is in truth or of truth. That he "dwelled in tents" is a reference to his desire to worship his Heavenly Father. In the most ancient times, a man of the church who was in love to the Lord performed his holy worship in tents. Tents then became a symbol of holy worship. (Arcana Coelestia 3311-3312)
As this story unfolds, we can begin to see how these ancient writers used this story to reveal Divine truths about the Lord's Glorification and how these truths can be applied to our understanding regarding our process. The Lord is changing His natural mind and He begins this reformation with the good of life, his natural goodness. Eventually, as we will learn in the upcoming verses, truth will supplant this natural goodness and become the ruling nature of the Lord and for us in our journey.
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Isaac Loved Esau
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At verse twenty-eight we learn that "Isaac loved Esau, because hunting was in his mouth." This signifies that the Divine good of the Divine rational (Isaac) loved the Divine natural (Esau) because of what he represents, the good of life (hunting) and that it was a natural affection (in his mouth).
How it is with man, as our rational mind grows in goodness and truth it begins to influence our natural self, our natural mind so that the things we have come to love about life are brought into unition with our rational self and the things we have learned from the Lord. (Arcana Coelestia 3313)
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Rebekah Loved Jacob
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Rebekah, who represents Divine truth of the rational mind, loves Jacob because of what he represents, i.e. the doctrine of natural truth.
It is the union good and truth that constitute the rational mind of a spiritual or heavenly man. It is also the union of good and truth that constitute the natural mind as well. Good loves good and truth loves truth and when these are united the blessing of the Lord flow in. Initially man does good by constraint, it is the rule of law that keeps his behavior in check. But as we learn and are influenced by teachings from the Word, the Lord's goodness, his love, opens our hearts and we begin to do good because it is good. (Arcana Coelestia 3314)
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Verses 29, 30. And Jacob boiled pottage, and Esau came from the field, and he was weary. And Esau said to Jacob, Cause me to sup I pray of the red, this red, for I am weary; therefore he called his name Edom.
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Jacob Boiled Pottage (Stew)
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Jacob, who represents Divine Truth of the natural mind in our Lord as a youth, at this verse we learn that Jesus is amassing the many things one is to learn about doctrinal things. The reference to boiling means amassing or gathering with pottage or stew meaning a chaotic mass.
As with anyone who is traveling down the path to regeneration, we are gathering many different bits of information that can be found in the Word or learned from teachings at our local churches. We are amassing this information piece by piece and at times it can feel very chaotic or unorganized. These doctrinal things are not put into order by themselves or by us. It is our Lord's goodness that flows into us and begins to put things in order in the exact proportion to the amount of action we take in what we learn.
We have learned that we should love our neighbor, but how can we love our neighbor if we don't take some type of action to show that love. We have learned that we should not steal, but if we really think about this statement, we might find that we might be continually stealing time from our employer or even robbing ourselves from opportunities that present themselves to us in our life. This list can run all the way through the Commandments. The key take-away from this learning point is that we need to be taking action on the blessings the Lord is giving us. This is how we grow and advance on our path to regeneration. (Arcana Coelestia 3316)
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Esau Came From the Field
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Esau represents the Divine in the developing natural mind of our Lord in his youth. As explained above, Esau stands for the good of life, the natural goodness that is initially born within us. Coming in from the field signifies that the good of life, His natural goodness, has been in the field working or going about life. A field in the Word means doctrine or whatever relates to doctrine. As a field is prepared or cultivated for planting, it is then ready for the Sower to be planted with things related to faith and spiritual truths.
On our journey, we can only go so far with natural goodness. However, when we have prepared ourselves, when our mind is ready to be planted with things of faith and spiritual truths, the Lord will use our natural goodness and fill it with His goodness and His Truth. (Arcana Coelestia 3317)
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Esau Was Weary
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As we go about our journey there are many inherited evils and falsities that we have to deal with. Our natural goodness can only go so far without some type of guidepost to keep us on track. Of course, there are the natural laws of society, and there are the natural laws we may have learned from parents and teachers, but these can only go so far when we are dealing with our own spirituality. This is where doctrine comes in to help us find our way.
In the story being revealed here, we find that Esau was weary when he came in from the field. This signifies a state of combat for we can be weary after dealing with some type of spiritual combat.
As we are being regenerated, the inflow of the Lord's Divine Love needs to find a receptive home. This home is the vessels of our rational and natural mind. These vessels are what are called truths, the things we have learned in our journey through life. The things that we have learned that do not align to Divine Truth, the things that could be categorized as false or evil, must be changed, this is called repentance. These changes come about through temptations. As we learn real truth, we begin to identify the evil and falsity within us. These temptations begin to loosen the grip that evil and falsity have over us and as we turn away from these things, the Lord flows into those spaces left behind and conjoins with the new truths we have learned. (Arcana Coelestia 3318)
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Esau Wants to Eat some of the Stew that Jacob has Made
The Divine story has a major turning point at this part of the verse. Esau is weary, he has been in the field all day doing the things that Esau was known to do. He is tired and hungry, and the stew Jacob has cooked up probably smells really good at this moment.
As has been revealed in this story about the Lord's journey to glorification, this story also relates to us and our journey to regeneration. Esau saying to Jacob "cause me to eat I pray of the red, this red" signifies a longing for doctrinal things. To "sup' means communicated and conjoined and "red" means that which is apparently good. Jacob changing Esau's name to Edom signifies the point when good is being conjoined to the doctrinal things of truth. (Arcana Coelestia 3320)
In the Word a name signifies a quality, a spiritual aspect of who the name relates to. When the Lord changed the name of Simon to Peter, it was just after Peter reached a spiritual milestone, he professed the faith that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. Here in this story Esau represents the prior state of the natural before it was conjoined with truth. The name Edom, wherever used in the Word, will represent the new state of the Lord's natural, the state of good conjoined with truth.
This also marks a new state in our development, when the Lord begins to conjoin His goodness with the truths we are beginning to learn from the Word, we are one step closer to becoming a spiritual man. (Arcana Coelestia 3322)
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Verses 31–33. And Jacob said, Sell me as this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold I am going to die, and for what is this birthright to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me as this day; and he swore unto him, and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
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Esau Sells His Birthright
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The story that has been unfolding now takes a major turn at this verse, when Esau sells his birthright to Jacob it symbolizes the fact that the good of life now recognizes that Divine truth can now be first.
As we relate this story to our journey and what we are learning, we should realize that we can only go so far with natural goodness, eventually we learn that the Lord's truths must lead us on our journey to regeneration and to becoming a spiritual person.
The good of life, or natural goodness, is the ground onto which truths can be sown. As we continue to learn and grow, as we prepare the ground, we are cultivating our natural self to receive the inflow from the Lord that changes us both inwardly and outwardly.
The natural good, our Esau state, is given initial priority. This is our first state where we have found delight in the love of self and the world and where we have grown to believe that this is good. These delights apply themselves to our character and form our initial belief system, they become our truths. These truths can produce an affection for more truth. These truths are also useable for honor, gain, or for reputation in the world. All of these things can excite an affection for truth even though they are not really good and true, they are evil. The lord permits these things in our first state because it creates an affection for truth and goodness. Intelligence and wisdom will come in time. Eventually, through these truths a man is introduced to real goodness, he is introduced to charity. When a man begins to act in the goodness of charity, he begins to understand what real goodness is and what real truths are. When we understand real goodness and real truth, we also begin to perceive what is false and untrue. (Arcana Coelestia 3330)
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Verse 34. And Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up and went away; and Esau despised the birthright.
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Jacob Feeds Esau Bread and the Pottage of Lentils
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This verse is revealing what was explained in the prior verse, that our natural self is gifted with the good of truth (bread) and the good of doctrinal things (Pottage or Stew). Bread is the symbolism for the good of love and the good of truth. This is what the Lord offered to his disciples at the last supper, the good of love and the good of truth. The pottage of Lentils represents the good of doctrinal things. All of these come from the doctrine of truth represented in this story by Jacob.
These things mark the progress we encounter as we continue on our journey of regeneration. First, we learn the doctrine of what is really true, this comes to us from the Word. As we begin to learn real truth, this should begin to have an effect on us. Then, by taking a mental view of these doctrinal things, we are affected by the truths in them, we begin to understand. Lastly, as our understanding has been uplifted, our will to live according to these truths is affected, this is what gives us the real goodness of life. Our journey of regeneration advances from the doctrine of truth to the good of life.
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Esau Despised His Birthright
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The ending of this divine story is very telling. "Esau went away, he despised his birthright." Once we learn real truth, we advance. Going away means to advance into things of the good of life and birthright means priority. We are growing and learning and will do this for all of eternity. The Lord has many things to show us, many things to learn and this happens just one step at a time.
Swedenborg explains that nothing can enter into our minds and remain there unless there is a certain affection or love that introduces it. This affection, or love, with which the thing that enters connects itself will remain there because of this connection.
This is how the Lord regenerates us. Using our loves, he introduces His truths, they then connect themselves and begin to reform our loves into things that are more appropriate to a life of goodness based on His truths.
The Lord's truths are introduced to us from the Word. A prime example can be found in the opening of the New Testament as follows:
1) The Gospel of Matthew- This opens our faith.
2) The Gospel of Mark- This proclaims our faith.
3) The Gospel of Luke- This elevates our understanding.
4) The Gospel of John- This opens our spirituality.
These four Gospels will elevate one's understanding of the Lord's truths and help one advance on their journey to the Lord. (I've found Ray and Star Silverman's explanations of the Gospels to be really helpful; you can find them on this site, starting with the first chapter of Matthew, here: https://newchristianbiblestudy.org/multi/bible_king-james-version_matthew_1/explanation_a-study-of-the-gospel-of-matthew-chapter-1).
