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Postanak 21

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1 Jahve se sjeti Sare kako je rekao i učini joj kako je obećao:

2 Sara zače i rodi Abrahamu sina u njegovoj starosti - u vrijeme koje je Bog označio.

3 Abraham nadjene ime Izak svome sinu što mu ga Sara rodi.

4 I poslije osam dana obreza Abraham svoga sina Izaka, kako mu je Bog naredio.

5 Abrahamu bijaše stotinu godina kad mu se rodio sin Izak.

6 Sara reče: "Dade mi Bog da se nasmijem, i tko god to čuje nasmijat će mi se."

7 Još doda: "Tko bi ikad rekao Abrahamu: djecu će ti Sara dojiti! Ipak sina mu rodih u starosti".

8 Dijete je raslo i bilo od sise odbijeno. A u dan u koji Izak bijaše od sise odbijen Abraham priredi veliku gozbu.

9 Jednom opazi Sara gdje se sin koga je Egipćanka Hagara Abrahamu rodila igra s njezinim sinom Izakom,

10 pa reče Abrahamu: "Otjeraj tu sluškinju i njezina sina, jer sin sluškinje ne smije biti baštinik s mojim sinom - s Izakom!"

11 To je Abrahamu bilo nemilo, jer je i Jišmael bio njegov sin.

12 Ali Bog reče Abrahamu: "Nemoj se uznemirivati zbog dječaka i zbog svoje sluškinje; sve što ti kaže Sara poslušaj, jer će Izakovo potomstvo tebi ovjekovječiti ime.

13 I od sina tvoje sluškinje podići ću velik narod, jer je tvoj potomak."

14 Rano ujutro Abraham uze kruha i mješinicu vode pa dade Hagari; stavi to na njezina ramena, zajedno s dječakom, te je otpusti. Vrludala je amo-tamo po pustinji Beer Šebe.

15 Potrošivši vodu iz mješinice, ostavi dijete pod jednim grmom,

16 a sama ode i sjede nasuprot, daleko koliko luk može dobaciti. Govorila je u sebi: "Neću da vidim kako dijete umire." Sjedeći tako, udari u jecanje.

17 Bog ču plač dječaka te anđeo Božji zovne s neba Hagaru i reče joj: "Što ti je, Hagaro? Ne boj se! Jer je Bog čuo plač dječaka u njegovoj nevolji.

18 Na noge! Digni dječaka i utješi ga, jer od njega ću podići velik narod."

19 Tada joj Bog otvori oči pa ona opazi studenac. Ode i napuni vodom mješinicu pa napoji dječaka.

20 Bog je bio s dječakom te je rastao i odrastao. Živio je u pustinji te postao vješt u strijeljanju iz luka.

21 Dom mu bijaše u pustinji Paranu; a njegova mu majka dobavi ženu iz zemlje egipatske.

22 U to vrijeme Abimelek - koga je pratio Fikol, zapovjednik njegove vojske - reče Abrahamu: "Bog je s tobom u svemu što radiš.

23 Stoga mi se ovdje i sada zakuni Bogom da nećeš varati ni mene ni moju rodbinu i prijatelje nego da ćeš se prema meni i prema zemlji u kojoj sad boraviš ponašati pošteno, kao što sam se ja prema tebi ponio."

24 "Kunem se", odgovori Abraham.

25 Onda Abraham prekori Abimeleka zbog zdenca vode što su ga Abimelekove sluge bile prisvojile.

26 A Abimelek reče: "Ne znam tko je to učinio; ni ti me nisi o tome obavijestio, niti sam ja o tome čuo, osim danas."

27 Abraham uzme ovaca i goveda pa ih dade Abimeleku te njih dvojica sklope savez.

28 Potom Abraham razluči napose sedam janjaca od stada.

29 Nato Abimelek zapita Abrahama: "Što znači ovih sedam janjaca koje si na stranu stavio?"

30 A on odgovori: "Primi ovih sedam janjaca iz moje ruke da mi bude dokazom da sam ja iskopao ovaj zdenac."

31 Zato se ono mjesto nazvalo Beer Šeba; jer se njih dvojica ondje zakleše.

32 Pošto su sklopili savez kod Beer Šebe, Abimelek i zapovjednik njegove vojske Fikol odu i vrate se u zemlju Filistejaca.

33 Abraham zasadi kod Beer Šebe tamarisku i ondje zazove ime Jahve - Boga Vječnoga.

34 Dugo je vremena Abraham proveo u zemlji filistejskoj kao pridošlica.

   

Aus Swedenborgs Werken

 

Arcana Coelestia #2625

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2625. 'At the appointed time' means when the Rational was such that it was receptive. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'time'. There are two things which appear to be indispensable while a person lives in the world because they exist as essential elements of the natural order - those two things being space and time. Living in the world or natural order therefore is living in space and time. But these two cease to have any existence in the next life. They do, it is true, appear to exist to some extent in the world of spirits, the reason for this being that spirits recently arrived from life in the body bring with them mental pictures of natural things. But subsequently they perceive that space and time do not exist in that life but states instead, and that states in the next life correspond to extensions of space and of time within the natural order - states in respect to Being corresponding to those of space, and in respect to Manifestation to those of time. Regarding space or place, see 1274, 1379, 1380, 1382.

[2] From this anyone may see what kind of mental pictures a person is able to have while in the world or natural order regarding things which belong to the next life and about many arcana of faith. He may see that such a person is unwilling to believe those things unless he can take them in by means of objects that exist in the world, indeed by sensory evidence. For he cannot do other than suppose that if he were to divest himself of his mental pictures that have been formed from space and time, more so to divest himself of space and time themselves, he would cease to be anything at all and so would have nothing left to him from which he could perceive with his senses or have thoughts of anything apart from that which was unintelligible to him. But in actual fact quite the reverse is the case: the life of angels is such that it is the wisest and happiest of all.

[3] This is the reason why people's ages mentioned in the Word do not in the internal sense mean ages but states, so that in this verse 'old age' does not mean old age. Nor does any number mean a number but some specific state, as in the case of 'a hundred years' mentioned further on. From this it now becomes clear that 'the appointed time' means the state when the rational was such that it was receptive.

[4] As regards the specific teaching presented here - that the Divine Rational received being and was given manifestation from the Lord's Divine spiritual united to His Divine celestial, when the days had been completed for him to cast off the human and when the Rational was such that it was receptive (meant in the internal sense by 'Sarah conceived and bore to Abraham a son in his old age, at the appointed time') - the following needs to be known:

The human has its beginnings in the inmost part of the rational, see 2106, 2194. The Lord advanced gradually towards the union of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence, and of the Divine Essence with the Human Essence, 1864, 2033, 2523.

He did so by His own power, 1921, 2025, 2026, 2083, through continuing temptations and repeated victories, 1690, 1737, 1813, and through receiving revelations repeatedly from His own Divine, 1616, 2500, till at length He cast out the whole human from the mother, 1414, 1444, 2574.

And in this way He made His Human - as to the Rational - Divine, as taught by the things that occur in this verse.

From all this it is evident how the explanation 'when the days had been completed for Him to cast off the human and when the Rational was such that it was receptive' is to be understood.

[5] Some idea of this matter may be had from what happens to people who are being regenerated. The celestial things of love, and the spiritual things of faith, are instilled into them by the Lord not all at once but gradually; and when by means of those things a person's rational has become such that it is able to be receptive, he is for the first time becoming regenerate, mostly by means of temptations in which he overcomes. While these experiences are taking place the days are being completed to cast off the old man and put on the new. Regarding man's regeneration, see 677, 679, 711, 848, 986, 1555, 2475.

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