9223. '[And] you shall not be slow [to offer] the firstfruits of your grain and the firstfruits of your wine' means that since all the good and the truth of faith come from the Lord they are to be ascribed to Him, not to self. This is clear from the meaning of 'the firstfruits' as those things which must occupy first place, thus which are the chief of them all, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'grain' as the good of the truth of faith, dealt with in 5295, 5410, 5959, and from the meaning of 'wine' as the truth of good, thus the truth of the good of faith, dealt with in 1798, 6377; and from the meaning of 'not being slow', when it has reference to the good and truth of faith, as ascribing from affection, since that which is done not slowly but swiftly is done from love and affection, 7695, 7866. The reason why ascribing to the Lord is meant is that the firstfruits, like the firstborn also, were given to Jehovah, and by Jehovah to Aaron and his seed, 'Jehovah' being used in the Word to mean the Lord, 1736, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6303, 6945, 6956, 8274, 8864. Consequently since the firstfruits of grain and wine are forms of the good and the truths of faith, the meaning is that they are to be ascribed to the Lord since they come from Him. For the truth that everything composing a person's thought and will flows in, and the truth that all goodness and truth come from the Lord, see 2886-2888, 3142, 3147, 4151, 4249, 5119, 5147, 5150, 5259, 5482, 5649, 5779, 5854, 5893, 6027, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7270, 7343, 8321, 8685, 8701, 8717, 8728, 8823, 8864, 9110, 9111; and the same truths from experience, 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626.

[2] The firstfruits that were to be offered to the Lord were the firstfruits of the harvest and the firstfruits of vintage, ¹ also the firstfruits of shearing, and the firstfruits of fruit too. The firstfruits of the harvest were parched and fresh ears of grain, also a sheaf that was to be waved, and afterwards products of the threshing-floor, which were cakes, while the firstfruits of vintage were the firstfruits of wine, must, and oil. In addition to these there were the firstfruits of shearing the flock, and also the firstfruits of fruit, which were offered in a basket. In addition also all the firstborn were offered to the Lord, though the firstborn of human beings were redeemed, as also were the firstborn of animals that were not offered in sacrifices, such as those of asses, mules, horses, and the like. Firstfruits and firstborn were offered to Jehovah and were given by Jehovah to Aaron and his seed because Aaron and his sons, who served in the office of high priest, represented the Lord. In the present verse 'the firstfruits of grain and of wine' is used to mean all the firstfruits of harvest and vintage that have been referred to immediately above. For the words used in the original language are 'the fullness of grain' and 'the tear of wine', 'fullness' being the harvest when it has ripened and also been gathered in, and 'tears' drops of fluid that trickle down.

[3] What was represented specifically by firstfruits - for all the religious laws and practices which the Lord commanded the children of Israel represented internal aspects of the Church - becomes clear when the particular products whose firstfruits were offered are considered in the internal sense. 'Grain' means the good of faith and 'wine' the truth of faith, as may be seen in the places referred to above. Giving firstfruits to Jehovah was a sign that the ascription of every good and truth of faith to the Lord and not to self was the first thing of the Church. Ascribing them to the Lord consists in knowing, acknowledging, and believing that they spring from the Lord and in no way at all from self; for as shown above, faith comes entirely from the Lord. The reason why 'the firstfruits' have this meaning is that firstfruits were offerings and gifts which were thanksgivings for the fruits of the earth. They were the acknowledgement of blessings from Jehovah, that is, from the Lord, and therefore the acknowledgement that all things came from Him. In the internal sense they are the acknowledgement [that He is the Source] of every good and truth of faith, which are meant by harvest, grain, oil, must, wine, wool, and fruit, whose firstfruits were given. Regarding these 'firstfruits', see Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Leviticus 23:10-11, 20; Numbers 15:19-21; 18:12-13; Deuteronomy 18:4; 26:1-11; and 'firstfruits' have a similar meaning in Ezekiel 20:40 and Micah 7:1-2.

Poznámky pod čarou:

7058. 'And Moses told Aaron all Jehovah's words' means an influx of truth going forth directly from the Lord's Divine into truth that goes forth in an indirect way, and instruction in specific doctrinal teachings. This is clear from the meaning of 'telling' as influx, dealt with in 5966; from the representation of 'Moses' as truth going forth directly from the Lord's Divine, dealt with in 7010, 7054; from the representation of 'Aaron' as truth that goes forth in an indirect way from the Lord's Divine, dealt with in 7009; and from the meaning of 'all Jehovah's words' as specific doctrinal teachings. Instruction is meant by 'Moses told Aaron' those things, because instruction from the Divine is effected by means of influx, meant by 'telling'. From all this it is evident that 'Moses told all Jehovah's words' means an influx of truth going forth directly from the Lord's Divine into truth that goes forth in an indirect way, and instruction in specific doctrinal teachings.

[2] As regards instruction in specific doctrinal teachings, it is imparted when truth going forth directly from the Lord's Divine is joined to truth that goes forth in an indirect way; for then perception is imparted, see above in 7055. The two kinds of truth are joined together especially among the angels who are in the third or inmost heaven, those who are called celestial. They have a keen perception of both, and from that a clear feeling of the Lord's presence. The reason for this is that they more than others are governed by good, for in them the good of innocence is present. As a consequence they are nearest the Lord, surrounded by flashing and so to speak burning light, for they see the Lord as the Sun, whose radiating light has that appearance because they are so near Him.

[3] The expression 'truth going forth directly from the Lord's Divine' is used even though the subject here in the internal sense is the Lord when He was in the world and called upon His Father as if He were separate from Himself. But the situation then, as stated a number of times already, was that the Divine itself or Jehovah was within Him; for He had been conceived from Jehovah, whom for that reason He also called His Father, while calling Himself His Son. But at that time the weak Human inherited from His mother had come to the forefront in the Lord; and to the extent that it did so, Jehovah or the Divine itself which was within Him seemed to be absent, whereas to the extent that the Human that had been glorified or made Divine had come to the forefront in the Lord, Jehovah or the Divine itself was present, there in the Human itself. From this one may now know how to understand the idea that truth which had gone forth directly from the Divine came from the Lord's Divine.