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Numbers 15

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1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

2 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When ye come in unto the land of your dwellings, which I am giving to you,

3 then ye have prepared a fire-offering to Jehovah, a burnt-offering, or a sacrifice, at separating a vow or free-will-offering, or in your appointed things, to make a sweet fragrance to Jehovah, out of the herd, or out of the flock.

4 `And he who is bringing near his offering to Jehovah hath brought near a present of flour, a tenth deal, mixed with a fourth of the hin of oil;

5 and wine for a libation, a fourth of the hin thou dost prepare for the burnt-offering or for a sacrifice, for the one lamb;

6 or for a ram thou dost prepare a present of flour, two-tenth deals, mixed with oil, a third of the hin;

7 and wine for a libation, a third part of the hin, thou dost bring near -- a sweet fragrance to Jehovah.

8 `And when thou makest a son of the herd a burnt-offering or a sacrifice, at separating a vow or peace-offerings to Jehovah,

9 then he hath brought near for the son of the herd a present of flour, three-tenth deals, mixed with oil, a half of the hin;

10 and wine thou bringest near for a libation, a half of the hin -- a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah;

11 thus it is done for the one ox, or for the one ram, or for a lamb of the sheep or of the goats.

12 `According to the number that ye prepare, so ye do to each, according to their number;

13 every native doth thus with these, at bringing near a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah;

14 and when a sojourner sojourneth with you, or whoso [is] in your midst to your generations, and he hath made a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah, as ye do so he doth.

15 `One statute is for you of the congregation and for the sojourner who is sojourning, a statute age-during to your generations: as ye [are] so is the sojourner before Jehovah;

16 one law and one ordinance is to you and to the sojourner who is sojourning with you.'

17 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

18 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, In your coming in unto the land whither I am bringing you in,

19 then it hath been, in your eating of the bread of the land, ye heave up a heave-offering to Jehovah;

20 the beginning of your dough a cake ye heave up -- a heave-offering; as the heave-offering of a threshing-floor, so ye do heave it.

21 Of the beginning of your dough ye do give to Jehovah a heave-offering -- to your generations.

22 `And when ye err, and do not all these commands which Jehovah hath spoken unto Moses,

23 the whole that Jehovah hath charged upon you by the hand of Moses, from the day that Jehovah hath commanded, and henceforth, to your generations,

24 then it hath been, if from the eyes of the company it hath been done in ignorance, that all the company have prepared one bullock, a son of the herd, for a burnt-offering, for sweet fragrance to Jehovah, and its present, and its libation, according to the ordinance, and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering.

25 `And the priest hath made atonement for all the company of the sons of Israel, and it hath been forgiven them, for it [is] ignorance, and they -- they have brought in their offering, a fire-offering to Jehovah, even their sin-offering before Jehovah for their ignorance;

26 and it hath been forgiven to all the company of the sons of Israel, and to the sojourner who is sojourning in their midst; for to all the company [it is done] in ignorance.

27 `And if one person sin in ignorance, then he hath brought near a she-goat, daughter of a year, for a sin-offering;

28 and the priest hath made atonement for the person who is erring, in his sinning in ignorance before Jehovah, by making atonement for him, and it hath been forgiven him;

29 for the native among the sons of Israel, and for the sojourner who is sojourning in their midst -- one law is to you, for him who is doing [anything] through ignorance.

30 `And the person who doth [aught] with a high hand -- of the native or of the sojourner -- Jehovah he is reviling, and that person hath been cut off from the midst of his people;

31 because the word of Jehovah he despised, and His command hath broken -- that person is certainly cut off; his iniquity [is] on him.'

32 And the sons of Israel are in the wilderness, and they find a man gathering wood on the sabbath-day,

33 and those finding him gathering wood bring him near unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto all the company,

34 and they place him in ward, for it [is] not explained what is [to be] done to him.

35 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `The man is certainly put to death, all the company stoning him with stones, at the outside of the camp.'

36 And all the company bring him out unto the outside of the camp, and stone him with stones, and he dieth, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

37 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

38 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, and they have made for themselves fringes on the skirts of their garments, to their generations, and they have put on the fringe of the skirt a ribbon of blue,

39 and it hath been to you for a fringe, and ye have seen it, and have remembered all the commands of Jehovah, and have done them, and ye search not after your heart, and after your eyes, after which ye are going a-whoring;

40 so that ye remember and have done all My commands, and ye have been holy to your God;

41 I [am] Jehovah your God, who hath brought you out from the land of Egypt to become your God; I, Jehovah, [am] your God.'

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 9223

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9223. '[And] you shall not be slow [to offer] the firstfruits of your grain and the firstfruits of your wine' means that since all the good and the truth of faith come from the Lord they are to be ascribed to Him, not to self. This is clear from the meaning of 'the firstfruits' as those things which must occupy first place, thus which are the chief of them all, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'grain' as the good of the truth of faith, dealt with in 5295, 5410, 5959, and from the meaning of 'wine' as the truth of good, thus the truth of the good of faith, dealt with in 1798, 6377; and from the meaning of 'not being slow', when it has reference to the good and truth of faith, as ascribing from affection, since that which is done not slowly but swiftly is done from love and affection, 7695, 7866. The reason why ascribing to the Lord is meant is that the firstfruits, like the firstborn also, were given to Jehovah, and by Jehovah to Aaron and his seed, 'Jehovah' being used in the Word to mean the Lord, 1736, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6303, 6945, 6956, 8274, 8864. Consequently since the firstfruits of grain and wine are forms of the good and the truths of faith, the meaning is that they are to be ascribed to the Lord since they come from Him. For the truth that everything composing a person's thought and will flows in, and the truth that all goodness and truth come from the Lord, see 2886-2888, 3142, 3147, 4151, 4249, 5119, 5147, 5150, 5259, 5482, 5649, 5779, 5854, 5893, 6027, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7270, 7343, 8321, 8685, 8701, 8717, 8728, 8823, 8864, 9110, 9111; and the same truths from experience, 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626.

[2] The firstfruits that were to be offered to the Lord were the firstfruits of the harvest and the firstfruits of vintage, 1 also the firstfruits of shearing, and the firstfruits of fruit too. The firstfruits of the harvest were parched and fresh ears of grain, also a sheaf that was to be waved, and afterwards products of the threshing-floor, which were cakes, while the firstfruits of vintage were the firstfruits of wine, must, and oil. In addition to these there were the firstfruits of shearing the flock, and also the firstfruits of fruit, which were offered in a basket. In addition also all the firstborn were offered to the Lord, though the firstborn of human beings were redeemed, as also were the firstborn of animals that were not offered in sacrifices, such as those of asses, mules, horses, and the like. Firstfruits and firstborn were offered to Jehovah and were given by Jehovah to Aaron and his seed because Aaron and his sons, who served in the office of high priest, represented the Lord. In the present verse 'the firstfruits of grain and of wine' is used to mean all the firstfruits of harvest and vintage that have been referred to immediately above. For the words used in the original language are 'the fullness of grain' and 'the tear of wine', 'fullness' being the harvest when it has ripened and also been gathered in, and 'tears' drops of fluid that trickle down.

[3] What was represented specifically by firstfruits - for all the religious laws and practices which the Lord commanded the children of Israel represented internal aspects of the Church - becomes clear when the particular products whose firstfruits were offered are considered in the internal sense. 'Grain' means the good of faith and 'wine' the truth of faith, as may be seen in the places referred to above. Giving firstfruits to Jehovah was a sign that the ascription of every good and truth of faith to the Lord and not to self was the first thing of the Church. Ascribing them to the Lord consists in knowing, acknowledging, and believing that they spring from the Lord and in no way at all from self; for as shown above, faith comes entirely from the Lord. The reason why 'the firstfruits' have this meaning is that firstfruits were offerings and gifts which were thanksgivings for the fruits of the earth. They were the acknowledgement of blessings from Jehovah, that is, from the Lord, and therefore the acknowledgement that all things came from Him. In the internal sense they are the acknowledgement [that He is the Source] of every good and truth of faith, which are meant by harvest, grain, oil, must, wine, wool, and fruit, whose firstfruits were given. Regarding these 'firstfruits', see Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Leviticus 23:10-11, 20; Numbers 15:19-21; 18:12-13; Deuteronomy 18:4; 26:1-11; and 'firstfruits' have a similar meaning in Ezekiel 20:40 and Micah 7:1-2.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. i.e. the time or season when grapes and other fruits such as olives are harvested

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

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Arcana Coelestia # 4151

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4151. 'And Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them' means that they belonged to the affection for interior truth. This is clear from the representation of 'Rachel' as the affection for interior truth, dealt with in 3758, 3782, 3793, 3819, and from the meaning of 'stealing' as taking away that which is cherished and holy, dealt with in 4112, 4113, 4133. It was stated above that Rachel's stealing the teraphim or Laban's gods meant a change as regards truth of the state represented by 'Laban', see 4111. That change of state is described further still in this verse and in those immediately following; for the change came about when the good represented by 'Laban' had been separated from the good meant by 'Jacob' and so through that separation passed into a different state. For the truths that had appeared to him to be his own when the two kinds of good were joined together were regarded in such a way that it seemed as though they had been taken away. This is the reason why Laban complained bitterly about the teraphim, and why he searched the tents for them, though he did not find them. For the truths which in the good sense are meant by 'the teraphim', 4111, were not his but belonged to the affection for truth meant by 'Rachel'.

[2] These matters cannot be made plain except from things that take place in the next life. For things taking place in the next life near a person in this life seem to him to occur within him. And virtually the same is so with spirits in the next life. When communities of spirits which are governed by intermediate good are in association with angels it seems to them, altogether so, as though they possessed as their own the truths and goods which are the angels'; indeed those spirits are not aware of them being anything other than their own. But when they are separated they then realize that this is not true. They too therefore complain bitterly, believing that those goods and truths have been taken away from them by the angels with whom they have been in association. These are the considerations that are meant in the internal sense by 'teraphim' in this verse and those immediately following.

[3] In general the situation is that no one ever possesses good or truth that is his own but that all good and truth flow in from the Lord, doing so both immediately and through angelic communities serving as intermediaries. Nevertheless it seems as though that good or truth is his own, and the reason for this is that these may be made over to him as his own until the time when he enters that state in which he may know, then acknowledge, and at length believe that they are not his but the Lord's. It is also well known from the Word and thereby in the Christian world that all good and all truth are derived from the Lord and nothing good at all from man. Indeed the teachings of the Church which are drawn from the Word declare that of himself man cannot even strive after good and so cannot will it, and as a consequence cannot do it, since the doing of good springs from the willing of it. They also declare that the whole of faith is received from the Lord, so that man cannot have the smallest measure of belief unless it flows in from the Lord.

[4] These ideas are declared in the teachings of the Church and are taught in sermons. But few, indeed very few people, really believe them, as is proven by their presumption that life in its entirety exists inherently within themselves, and by the fact that scarcely any believe that life is something inflowing. Man's life in its entirety consists in being able to think and being able to will, for if that ability to think and to will is taken away no life remains at all. And the very essence of life consists in his thinking what is good and willing what is good, and also in his thinking what is true and willing that which he thinks is true. Since these abilities, according to teachings from the Word, are not man's but the Lord's and they flow in from the Lord by way of heaven, people who have any power of judgement and who are capable of reflecting could from this fact deduce that life in its entirety is something which inflows.

[5] The same applies to evil and falsity. According to teachings drawn from the Word the devil is constantly trying to lead man astray and constantly breathing evil into him. This also is why, when anyone has committed a serious crime, it is said that he has allowed the devil to lead him astray. This again is the truth and yet few if any believe it. For just as all good and truth come from the Lord, so all evil and falsity come from hell, that is, from the devil - hell being the devil. This also shows that just as all good and truth are things that flow in, so too are all evil and falsity, and as a consequence every thought of evil or willing of it flows in too. Since these too are things that flow in, those who have any power of judgement and reflection may deduce that life is something which flows in, though it seems to exist inherently in man.

[6] The truth of this has been demonstrated on many occasions to spirits who had recently arrived in the next life from the world. But some of them have said, If all evil or falsity too is something that flows in, then no evil or falsity at all can be attributed to them and they are free from blame since such evil or falsity comes from somewhere else. But they were told in reply that they had made that evil and falsity their own through their belief that when they had thought or willed anything they had acted independently, by themselves. Yet if that which is truly so had been believed by them they would not then have made that evil and falsity their own. For in that case they would have believed also that all good and truth come from the Lord; and if they had believed this, they would have allowed themselves to be led by the Lord and so their state would have been different. In that case also the evil which had entered their thought and will would have had no effect on them; that is to say, evil would not have come out of them but good, since, according to the Lord's words in Mark 7:15, it is not the things going in which affect a person but those coming out of him.

[7] Many are able to know this but few believe it. Even those who are evil can do so, but they still do not believe it since they prefer their own ideas, which they love to such an extent that when it is demonstrated to them that everything is such that it flows in they become worried and demand fiercely that they be allowed to live according to their own ideas, saying that if these are taken away from them they could not go on living. Such is the belief even of people who do know. These matters have been stated so that people might know what it is like with those communities of spirits which are governed by intermediate good, both when they are joined to others and when they are separated from them. That is to say, when joined to others they are not aware of the goods and truths being anything other than their own, when in fact they are not theirs.

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