Bible

 

Numbers 15

Studie

   

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.'

   

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 9223

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

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

  
/ 10837  
  

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

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 5893

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

5893. 'There have been two years of famine in the midst of the land' means states 1 when there is a lack of good in the natural mind. This is clear from the meaning of 'years' as states, dealt with in 487, 488, 493, 893; from the meaning of 'famine' as a lack of good (for 'bread' in the spiritual sense is the good of love, and 'food' is the good of truth, so that 'famine' or 'hunger' is a lack of good, while 'thirst' is a lack of truth); and from the meaning of 'in the midst of the land' - the land of Egypt - as the natural mind, dealt with in 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301. The expression 'in the midst' is used because the midst or middle is the inmost part, 1074, 2940, 2973. Where good resides. 'Two years' are states when good and truth exist joined together, since 'two' means a joining together, 5194; but in the present use of the expression a joining together that has not yet been effected is meant since they are 'two years of famine'.

[2] The implications of this are as follows: Truths must be present in the natural mind if good is to do its work, and those truths must be brought into it through an affection belonging to genuine love. Everything without exception in a person's memory has been brought into it through some love, and having become joined to that love remains in the memory. This also applies to the truths of faith; if they have been brought in through a love of truth, those truths become joined to and remain there with that love. Once they have become joined to it the following is then the situation: If the affection is evoked again, the truths that have been joined to it reappear at the same time; and if the truths are evoked again, the affection to which they have been joined reappears at the same time. This being so, when a person is being regenerated - which happens in adult life because he is unable before this to think for himself about the truths of faith - he is governed by angels sent by the Lord. They govern him by maintaining in him the truths which he has become convinced are truths, and by maintaining in him through those truths the affection to which they have been joined. And because that affection - an affection for truth - has its origin in good, he is then led step by step towards good.

[3] A considerable amount of experience has proved the truth of this to me. For I have noticed that when evil spirits have thrust evils and falsities at me, the angels from the Lord present at the time have maintained in me the truths implanted in me previously and have thereby withheld me from those evils and falsities. From this it has also been evident that the truths of faith which, through an affection for truth, have become rooted in me serve as a level into which angels can operate, so that people who do not have this level laid down in them cannot be led by angels but allow themselves to be led by hell. For without it the operation of the angels cannot become established anywhere and so passes away from them. That level for angels to operate into cannot however be acquired unless the truths of faith have been put into service and thus have been implanted in the person's will and through this in his life. It is also worth mentioning that when the operation of the angels into the truths of faith present with a person takes place, it is rarely plain to see, that is to say, so plain that thought about the truth operated into is aroused. Rather, a general notion of things in keeping with that truth, and the affection that goes with it, is produced. For that operation by the angels is effected by means of an imperceptible inflowing which, when a visual presentation of it is made, looks like an inflowing beam of light. That light is made up of countless truths present within good which focus on one particular truth known by a person and which, while they sustain the truth in him, also sustain the love that belongs to that truth. This is the way the angels raise a person's mind above falsities and protect it from evils. Yet the person is totally unaware of any of this.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. a state is probably intended here, cp 5891

  
/ 10837  
  

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