Bible

 

Postanak 9

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1 I Bog blagoslovi Noja i sinove njegove, i reče im; rađajte se i množite se i napunite zemlju;

2 I sve zveri zemaljske i sve ptice nebeske i sve što ide po zemlji i sve ribe morske neka vas se boje i straše; sve je predano u vaše ruke.

3 Šta se god miče i živi, neka vam bude za jelo, sve vam to dadoh kao zelenu travu.

4 Ali ne jedite mesa s dušom njegovom, a to mu je krv.

5 Jer ću i vašu krv, duše vaše, iskati; od svake ću je zveri iskati; iz ruke samog čoveka, iz ruke svakog brata njegovog iskaću dušu čovečiju.

6 Ko prolije krv čovečiju, njegovu će krv proliti čovek; jer je Bog po svom obličju stvorio čoveka.

7 Rađajte se dakle i množite se; narodite se veoma na zemlji i namnožite se na njoj.

8 I reče Bog Noju i sinovima njegovim s njim, govoreći:

9 A ja evo postavljam zavet svoj s vama i s vašim semenom nakon vas,

10 I sa svim životinjama, što su s vama od ptica, od stoke i od svih zveri zemaljskih što su s vama, sa svačim što je izašlo iz kovčega, i sa svim zverima zemaljskim.

11 Postavljam zavet svoj s vama, te odsele neće nijedno telo poginuti od potopa, niti će više biti potopa da zatre zemlju.

12 I reče Bog: Evo znak zaveta koji postavljam između sebe i vas i svake žive tvari, koja je s vama do veka:

13 Metnuo sam dugu svoju u oblake, da bude znak zaveta između mene i zemlje.

14 Pa kad oblake navučem na zemlju, videće se duga u oblacima,

15 I opomenuću se zaveta svog koji je između mene i vas i svake duše žive u svakom telu, i neće više biti od vode potopa da zatre svako telo.

16 Duga će biti u oblacima, pa ću je pogledati, i opomenuću se večnog zaveta između Boga i svake duše žive u svakom telu koje je na zemlji.

17 I reče Bog Noju: To je znak zaveta koji sam učinio između sebe i svakog tela na zemlji.

18 A behu sinovi Nojevi koji izađoše iz kovčega: Sim i Ham i Jafet; a Ham je otac Hanancima.

19 To su tri sina Nojeva, i od njih se naseli sva zemlja.

20 A Noje poče raditi zemlju, i posadi vinograd.

21 I napiv se vina opi se, i otkri se nasred šatora svog.

22 A Ham, otac Hanancima, vide golotinju oca svog, i kaza obojici braće svoje na polju.

23 A Sim i Jafet uzeše haljinu, i ogrnuše je obojica na ramena svoja, i idući natraške pokriše njom golotinju oca svog, licem natrag okrenuvši se da ne vide golotinje oca svog.

24 A kad se Noje probudi od vina, dozna šta mu je učinio mlađi sin,

25 I reče: Proklet da je Hanan, i da bude sluga slugama braće svoje!

26 I još reče: Blagosloven da je Gospod Bog Simov, i Hanan da mu bude sluga!

27 Bog da raširi Jafeta da živi u šatorima Simovim, a Hanan da im bude sluga!

28 I požive Noje posle potopa trista pedeset godina.

29 A svega požive Noje devet stotina pedeset godina; i umre.

   

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Wine

  

Wine played a key role in the ancient world, where safe, reliable water sources were scarce. It could be stored for long periods of time; if lightly fermented it was rich in sugar content; it was high in mineral content; it tasted good and generally had intoxicating qualities. Thus it was a valuable commodity and treated with reverence.

Wine is, of course, made from grapes. Grapes – sweet, juicy, nutritious and full of energy-rich fructose – represent the Lord's own exquisite desire to be good to us. That's powerful stuff! But grapes have a short shelf life; you might eat a bunch for a burst of energy, but you can't exactly carry them around with you for long-term sustenance. And so it is with desires for good: They tend to come to us in energizing bursts, but fade away fairly quickly. We need something more stable and lasting.

At some point in the distant past people figured out that if you squeeze the juice from the grapes and let it ferment, the result is a liquid that offers that stability: wine. The spiritual meaning works the same way; if we examine our desires for good, try to understand and think about how to apply them, what we will get are concepts about what good really is, how to recognize it and how to make it happen. And just like the wine, these ideas offer stability and portability. For instance, finding a wallet full of cash on the sidewalk might severely test our desire to be honest, but the idea that "you shall not steal" is pretty hard to shake.

Wine, then, on the deepest level represents divine truth flowing from divine goodness – the true principles that arise from the fact that the Lord loves us and desires everything good for us.

Wine comes in many varieties, though, and is used in many ways. Depending on context it can represent truth that arises from a desire for good on much more mundane levels. You want your children to be healthy so you make them brush their teeth even though they complain and it's a pain in the neck; the truth that brushing their teeth is good for them is wine on a very day-to-day level.

In some cases wine can also actually represent good things that arise from true ideas, something of a reverse from its inmost meaning. This happens when we are in transitional stages, setting higher ideas and principles above our less-worthy desires in an effort to reshape our actions. In that case our principles are the things being squeezed, with good habits the result.

There is also, of course, a darker side to wine. There is a good deal of debate about just how much alcohol wine had in Biblical times, and some of it may indeed have been more like concentrated grape juice. But there are also many references to wine and drunkeness, so some of it, at least, was fairly potent.

On a spiritual level, getting drunk on wine represents relying too much on our ideas, taking logic to such an extreme that we forget the good things we were trying to achieve in the first place.

(Odkazy: Apocalypse Explained 376 [1-40], 1152; Apocalypse Revealed 316, 635; Arcana Coelestia 1071 [1-5], 1727, 3580 [1-4], 5117 [7], 6377, 10137 [1-10]; The Apocalypse Explained 329 [2-4]; The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine 219)