Bible

 

Ezekiel 8

Studie

   

1 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.

2 Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the color of amber.

3 And he put forth the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh towards the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

4 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.

5 Then said he to me, Son of man, lift up thy eyes now the way towards the north. So I lifted up my eyes the way towards the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.

6 He said furthermore to me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should withdraw from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.

7 And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall.

8 Then said he to me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door.

9 And he said to me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.

10 So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping animals, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed around upon the wall.

11 And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up.

12 Then said he to me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; The LORD hath forsaken the earth.

13 He said also to me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.

14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD'S house which was towards the north; and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

15 Then said he to me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.

16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs towards the temple of the LORD, and their faces towards the east; and they worshiped the sun towards the east.

17 Then he said to me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and lo, they put the branch to their nose.

18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: my eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them.

   

Komentář

 

Weigh the mountains in a balance and the hills in scales

  

In Isaiah 40:12 'to weigh the mountains in a balance, and the hills in scales,' signifies that the celestial aspects of love and charity are from the Lord, and that He alone disposes their states.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 3101)

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 1322

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

1322. 'So that they do not hear each man the lip of his companion' means that all were at variance with one another, that is, one man was opposed to the next. This becomes clear from the words themselves. 'Not hearing a companion's lip' is not acknowledging what another says, and in the internal sense not acknowledging what another teaches, which is his doctrine - for 'lip' is doctrine, as shown above at verse 1. They do indeed acknowledge it with the lips but not with the heart, and assent with the lips is worthless when there is no assent in the heart. This is similar to the situation that exists with evil spirits in the next life, who are distinguished into separate communities just as good spirits are. But they are joined and held together by their having similar delusions and evil desires, so that they act together in persecuting truths and goods. So they have a common interest to hold them together. But as soon as that common interest ceases to exist one rushes at another, and their joy then consists in torturing one or more of their companions. The same applies in the world where doctrine and worship of this kind exist. People may be quite united in their acceptance of what is a matter of doctrine or religious practice, but the common interest holding them together is worship of self. And their acceptance is proportional to their ability to share in that common interest. But to the extent they cannot share or have any hope of sharing that common purpose they split up, for the reason mentioned just above, that not one of these people possesses any truth but every one has falsity in place of truth, and evil in place of good. This then is what is meant by 'Each man not hearing the lip of his companion'.

  
/ 10837  
  

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