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Joshua 9

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1 And it came to pass, when all the kings who were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite heard these things,

2 That they assembled themselves, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.

3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai,

4 They did work craftily, and went and made as if they had been embassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine-bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;

5 And old shoes and patched upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy.

6 And they went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him, and to the men of Israel, We have come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us.

7 And the men of Israel said to the Hivites, It may be ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you?

8 And they said to Joshua, we are thy servants. And Joshua said to them, Who are ye? and whence come ye?

9 And they said to him, From a very far country thy servants have come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt,

10 And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth.

11 Wherefore our elders, and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, Take provisions with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us:

12 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go to you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is moldy:

13 And these bottles of wine which we filled, were new, and behold, they are rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.

14 And the men took of their provisions, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.

15 And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation swore to them.

16 And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors, and that they dwelt among them.

17 And the children of Israel journeyed, and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim.

18 And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes.

19 But all the princes said to all the congregation, We have sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them.

20 This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we swore to them.

21 And the princes said to them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood, and drawers of water to all the congregation; as the princes had promised them.

22 And Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, Why have ye deceived us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us?

23 Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bond-men, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.

24 And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how the LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were greatly afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.

25 And now, behold, we are in thy hand: do as it seemeth good and right to thee to do to us,

26 And so did he to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.

27 And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the LORD, even to this day, in the place which he should choose.

   

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Meeting the new baby

To "meet" someone can be positive or negative: it can be a welcoming and greeting, or it can be "meeting" them in battle. Both meanings are reflected in the internal sense of the Bible. In positive meetings between people, "meeting" represents a joining and communication between the spiritual states the people represent. In negative ones, however -- and especially in cases where the Lord is pictured as meeting someone -- it stands for opposition between the states. It's worth noting here that according to the Writings the Lord never actually opposes anyone. The Lord is love itself, and He is continually loving everyone and willing them to be good and move toward heaven. But when people reject His love and move away, it creates the appearance that He is opposing them, despite the fact that His attitude and stance toward all of us never changes.

In Genesis 14:17, this signifies to submit oneself. (Arcana Coelestia 1721)

In Genesis 19:1, this signifies acknowledgment, and also the effect that love for others has. (Arcana Coelestia 2326)

In Genesis 24:65, this signifies for the purpose of union. (Arcana Coelestia 3205)

In Genesis 29:13, this signifies agreement which unites. (Arcana Coelestia 3806)

In Genesis 32:6, this signifies that the good of love flowing into truth. (Arcana Coelestia 4247)

In Exodus 4:14, this signifies reception or to come prepared to receive divine truth. (Arcana Coelestia 7000)

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Arcana Coelestia # 4247

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4247. 'The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to your brother, to Esau, and he also is coming to meet you' means that good flows in constantly so as to make them, that is to say, truths, its own. This is clear from the meaning of 'brother', who in this case is Esau, as good - that is to say, the good of the Lord's Divine Natural, dealt with above; and from the meaning of 'coming to meet' as flowing in, dealt with below. And because flowing in is meant, making its own is meant also.

[2] From what has been stated several times already on these matters one may see what the situation is with regard to good and truth, and with the influx of good into truth, and in this connection with good making truth its own. That is to say, one may see that good flows constantly into truth, and truth receives good, since truths are the vessels for good. The only vessels into which Divine Good can be placed are genuine truths, for good and truth match each other. When a person is moved by the affection for truth, as everyone is at first prior to being regenerated, good is constantly flowing in even then, but as yet it has no vessels, that is, no truths in which to place itself or make its own; for nobody at the outset of regeneration possesses any cognitions as yet. But because good at that time is flowing in constantly it produces the affection for truth, for there is no origin to the affection for truth other than the constant endeavour of Divine good to flow in. This shows that even at that time good occupies the first position and plays the leading role, although it seems as though truth did so. When a person is being regenerated however, which takes place in adult years when he possesses cognitions, good reveals itself, for he is then moved not so much by the affection for knowing truth as for doing it. For previously truth had been in the understanding, but now it is in his will, and when in his will it is in the person's true self, since the will constitutes the person's true self. With man the recurrent cycle of events exists in which every fact and every bit of knowledge is introduced through sight or hearing into his thought-process, and from there into his will, then passing from the will through thought into action. A similar cycle also exists starting from the memory which is so to speak an inner eye or inner sight. Starting from that inner sight it passes through the thought-process into the will, and from the will through thought into action; or else if some obstacle stands in the way it passes into the endeavour to act, that endeavour being actualized the moment the obstacle is removed.

[3] All of this shows the way in which good flows into truth and makes it its own. That is to say, it shows that first of all truths which belong to faith are introduced through hearing or sight and are then stored away in the memory, from where they are raised up one after another into the person's thought-process and at length introduced into his will. Once in the will they pass from there through thought into action, or if they are not able to pass into action they remain in the endeavour. The very endeavour is internal action, for as often as the opportunity exists it is made an external action. It should be realized however that although there is this cycle of events it is nevertheless good which produces the cycle. For the life which comes from the Lord flows solely into good, and thus through good, doing so from things that are inmost. It may be seen by anyone that the life flowing in through the things that are inmost produces the cycle, for without life nothing is produced. And since the life which comes from the Lord flows only into good and through good, good is consequently that which produces and that which flows into truths and makes them its own, to the extent that a person possesses cognitions of truth and at the same time is a willing recipient.

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