Bible

 

Exodus 19

Studie

   

1 In the third month, when the children of Israel had gone forth from the land of Egypt, the same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.

2 For they had departed from Rephidim, and had come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount.

3 And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;

4 Ye have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to myself.

5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure to me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

6 And ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak to the children of Israel.

7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.

8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people to the LORD.

9 And the LORD said to Moses, Lo, I come to thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.

10 And the LORD said to Moses, Go to the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their clothes,

11 And be ready against the third day: for on the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.

12 And thou shalt set bounds to the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up upon the mount, or touch the border of it: whoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:

13 There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through: whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

14 And Moses went down from the mount to the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.

15 And he said to the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.

16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that were in the camp trembled.

17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.

18 And mount Sinai was altogether in a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke of it ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount trembled greatly.

19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice.

20 And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.

21 And the LORD said to Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through to the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish.

22 And let the priests also who come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.

23 And Moses said to the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.

24 And the LORD said to him, Away, go down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: But let not the priests and the people break through, to come up to the LORD, lest he break forth upon them.

25 So Moses went down to the people, and spoke to them.

   

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 7573

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

7573. And Jehovah gave voices of thunder. That this signifies the withdrawal and separation of the communication with those who are in good and truth is evident from the signification of the “voices,” which are those of thunders, as being truths Divine that enlighten and perfect those who are in heaven, and that terrify and devastate those who are in hell; and because they devastate these latter, they signify the withdrawal and separation of the communication of those who are in good and truth, for in this way they are devastated. How this takes place is plain from what was said before (n. 7502, 7541, 7542, 7545, 7554), namely, that they who have been of the church, and from this have imbibed knowledges of truth and good from the Word, but have lived a life of evil, have communication with heaven through the truths and goods which they have brought with them from the world by having been in the church (that a man brings with him in the other life whatever he has known in the world, nay, whatever he has seen, heard, thought, spoken, willed, and done, see n. 2474, 2475, 2481-2486, 7398). This is the communication which is taken away when they are being devastated; and when this communication has been taken away, then also the truths and goods together with the knowledges thereof have also been taken away. For whatever is known by spirits, nay, by the angels, flows in through heaven from the Lord, thus by means of communications (see n. 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6613-6626). From all this it is evident what is meant by the withdrawal and separation of the communication with those who are in truth and good. As regards truth Divine in heaven and in hell, which truth is signified by the “voices,” the case is the same as it is with thunders on earth. On high mountains thunders are heard as a mild and gentle sound, whereas below on the earth they are heard as a terrific noise; and in the same way in heaven truth Divine is mild and gentle, but in hell is terrible.

[2] That “voices” which are thunders signify truths Divine that enlighten and perfect those who are in heaven, and that terrify and devastate those who are in hell, is plain from the following passages:

There shall be joy of heart; as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountains of Jehovah, unto the Rock of Israel; then shall Jehovah cause the glory of His voice to be heard, and shall make His arm see rest; in the indignation of anger, and the flame of a devouring fire, in scattering, and in inundation, and in hailstone. For by the voice of Jehovah shall Asshur be dismayed (Isaiah 30:29-31);

here “the voice of Jehovah” denotes truth Divine, which enlightens and perfects those who are in good, and terrifies and devastates those who are in evil.

In Joel:

The earth quaked before Him, the sun and the moon were blackened, and the stars withdrew their shining; and Jehovah uttered His voice before His army, His camp is very great; for numberless is he that doeth His word; for the day of Jehovah is great and very terrible (Joel 2:10-11); where the meaning is similar.

[3] In the same:

Jehovah shall roar from Zion, and shall utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but Jehovah shall be a refuge for His people, and a stronghold to the sons of Israel (Joel 3:16).

Here in like manner the “voice of Jehovah” denotes truth Divine; that it is said to be “from Jerusalem” is because by “Jerusalem” is signified the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, in which are they who are in good from truth, and in truth from good.

[4] In David:

Jehovah thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered His voice, hailstone and coals of fire; so that He sent out His arrows and scattered them; and many thunderbolts, and troubled them (Psalms 18:13-14);

“to utter His voice,” “hailstone,” and “coals of fire,” denote the devastation of truth and good through falsities, and the evils of cupidities. In the same:

The clouds dropped waters, the skies uttered a voice, Thine arrows also went abroad, the voice of Thy thunder into the world, the lightnings lightened the world (Psalms 77:17-18);

“a voice” denotes truth Divine, which enlightens those who are of the church.

[5] In the same:

The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters, the God of glory thundereth, even Jehovah upon great waters: the voice of Jehovah is in power: the voice of Jehovah is with honor: the voice of Jehovah breaketh the cedars, Jehovah hath broken in pieces the cedars of Lebanon: the voice of Jehovah cleaveth as flames of fire: the voice of Jehovah maketh the wilderness to tremble: the voice of Jehovah maketh the hinds to calve, and strippeth the forests (Psalms 29:3-9);

here “the voice of Jehovah” denotes truth Divine and its power, thus also the Word, because this is truth Divine.

[6] In John:

A strong angel coming down cried with a great voice, and when he cried the seven thunders uttered their voices. I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not (Revelation 10:1, 3-4);

“voices” denote truth Divine; “thunders,” those who carry it and bring it from heaven to earth. Everyone can see that by “thunders” and “voices” are signified Divine things, not thunders and sounds; and because they signify Divine things, and are called “the voices of Jehovah,” it is evident that they denote Divine truth. It was for this reason that when Jehovah descended upon Mount Sinai and promulgated Divine truth there were voices, lightnings, and thunders (Exodus 19:16; 20:18); and He spoke out of the midst of the fire (Deuteronomy 4:11-12; 5:22-25).

  
/ 10837  
  

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