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Génesis 23

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1 Y FUÉ la vida de Sara ciento veintisiete años: tantos fueron los años de la vida de Sara.

2 Y murió Sara en Kiriath-arba, que es Hebrón, en la tierra de Canaán: y vino Abraham á hacer el duelo á Sara y á llorarla.

3 Y levantóse Abraham de delante de su muerto, y habló á los hijos de Heth, diciendo:

4 Peregrino y advenedizo soy entre vosotros; dadme heredad de sepultura con vosotros, y sepultaré mi muerto de delante de mí.

5 Y respondieron los hijos de Heth á Abraham, y dijéronle:

6 Oyenos, señor mío, eres un príncipe de Dios entre nosotros; en lo mejor de nuestras sepulturas sepulta á tu muerto; ninguno de nosotros te impedirá su sepultura, para que entierres tu muerto.

7 Y Abraham se levantó, é inclinóse al pueblo de aquella tierra, á los hijos de Heth;

8 Y habló con ellos, diciendo: Si tenéis voluntad que yo sepulte mi muerto de delante de mí, oidme, é interceded por mí con Ephrón, hijo de Zohar,

9 Para que me dé la cueva de Macpela, que tiene al cabo de su heredad: que por su justo precio me la dé, para posesión de sepultura en medio de vosotros.

10 Este Ephrón hallábase entre los hijos de Heth: y respondió Ephrón Hetheo á Abraham, en oídos de los hijos de Heth, de todos los que entraban por la puerta de su ciudad, diciendo:

11 No, señor mío, óyeme: te doy la heredad, y te doy también la cueva que está en ella; delante de los hijos de mi pueblo te la doy; sepulta tu muerto.

12 Y Abraham se inclinó delante del pueblo de la tierra.

13 Y respondió á Ephrón en oídos del pueblo de la tierra, diciendo: Antes, si te place, ruégote que me oigas; yo daré el precio de la heredad, tómalo de mí, y sepultaré en ella mi muerto.

14 Y respondió Ephrón á Abraham, diciéndole:

15 Señor mío, escúchame: la tierra vale cuatrocientos siclos de plata: ¿qué es esto entre mí y ti? entierra pues tu muerto.

16 Entonces Abraham se convino con Ephrón, y pesó Abraham á Ephrón el dinero que dijo, oyéndolo los hijos de Heth, cuatrocientos siclos de plata, de buena ley entre mercaderes.

17 Y quedó la heredad de Ephrón que estaba en Macpela enfrente de Mamre, la heredad y la cueva que estaba en ella, y todos los árboles que había en la heredad, y en todo su término al derredor,

18 Por de Abraham en posesión, á vista de los hijos de Heth, y de todos los que entraban por la puerta de la ciudad.

19 Y después de esto sepultó Abraham á Sara su mujer en la cueva de la heredad de Macpela enfrente de Mamre, que es Hebrón en la tierra de Canaán.

20 Y quedó la heredad y la cueva que en ella había, por de Abraham, en posesión de sepultura adquirida de los hijos de Heth.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 2960

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2960. 'What is that between me and you?' means that he gave his assent yet still wished to achieve it by himself, that is to say, to be prepared or reformed. This becomes clear from the sense of the letter when applied to the internal sense in which reformation is the subject. Above, Ephron said, 'The field I give to you, and the cave that is in it I give to you' verse 11, and by this was meant their will to prepare themselves as regards those things that constitute the Church and faith, that is, to reform themselves. For the first state of those who are being reformed is such, see 2946; but when they are more advanced in cognitions of truth or faith, they have entered their second state. Then they do indeed give assent, yet they still wish to achieve it by themselves. It is this state which is dealt with in this verse, while the third state when they believe that their reformation is effected by the Lord will be described next.

[2] The reason these people are such at first has been stated above in 2946. But when they become more advanced in cognitions of truth or faith they do indeed acknowledge that their reformation is effected by the Lord, yet they still wish to achieve it by themselves. One reason for this is that the cloud of ignorance is dispersed only gradually; another is that it takes time for truth to be corroborated; and another is that the perfection of good comes with the acquisition of cognitions of truth. Good itself that has truth implanted in it leads people not only to acknowledge but also to believe that reformation comes from the Lord. This state is the third, and a fourth follows it, that is to say, a state when they perceive that it comes from the Lord. Few however attain it during their lifetime since it is an angelic state; but those who are regenerate do attain it in the next life. From this it is evident that in the internal sense here the member of the spiritual Church is described - the nature of his state when he has yet to develop, the nature of it when he starts to develop, and at length when he has developed.

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

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Vastations

Napsal(a) New Christian Bible Study Staff, Julian Duckworth

This word comes from the Latin term 'vastatio' which means "laying waste", or "throwing away." It is sort of like weeding a garden or proofreading a manuscript. People who are generally good or heavenly usually have some bits of selfishness or evil clinging inside them. And after they have entered the spiritual world, but before they have been led to their heavenly home, the Lord leads them to discover these evil loves so that they can be removed off to the side and, so to speak, be walled in. Then that person (an angel now) can live on in heaven without ever being troubled with them again.

The same thing, but in reverse, can occur in someone who is mostly evil, but sometimes has dim memories of a bit of conscience, or fragments of a happy but now left behind love. These too can be sealed away, so that they won’t trouble that evil person in his/her home in hell.

In neither case is this a punishment, the removal is done only to make their chosen life more comfortable. Either the good and happy loves of heaven or the selfish and scary lusts of hell are then untroubled by what is opposite.

Another way that the term ‘vastation’ is used is when a church is dying. People are always looking for an easier way to do things, including getting to heaven. To do things that are good goes against some of our evil instincts. We would rather have a way that is more in line with our selfishness. So a few rote mutterings or simple actions once in a while that don’t interrupt our self-centered normal life are set up so we can ‘get to’ heaven’ without losing anything we really want. And when, according this program, people stop doing what is genuinely good, the Lord starts to remove those truths that formed the church but that are now out of style, so that they won't be profaned. They become worthless to the people of that church, and they are ‘laid waste’.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 2959; Heaven and Hell 551-552)