4601. 'That Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine' means the profanation of good by means of faith separated from charity; 'and Israel heard' means that this faith was cast aside. This is clear from the representation of 'Reuben' as faith present in doctrine and in the understanding, which is the attribute of the Church that is born first, dealt with in 3861, 3866, at this point when that faith has been separated from charity, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'lying with Bilhah his father's concubine' as the profanation of good, for committing adultery means perverting or adulterating forms of good, 2466, 2729, 3399, but 'lying with a father's concubine' profaning them; and from the meaning of 'Israel heard' as the fact that this faith was cast aside. In the proper sense the expression 'Israel heard' means that the spiritual Church knew this and assented to it, for 'hearing' means hearkening, while 'Israel' means the spiritual Church. But the fact that the true Church does not assent to it will be evident from what is going to be said about Reuben. In the internal sense however the meaning is that that faith was cast aside, for although Jacob's feelings and thoughts concerning this unmentionable and outrageous deed are not stated, his utter disgust and abhorrence is evident from his prophecy concerning Reuben,

Reuben, you my firstborn, are my strength and the beginning of my might, excelling in eminence, and excelling in power. Unstable as water, may you not excel, for you went up to your father's bed; then you profaned It. He went up to my couch. Genesis 49:3-4.

The same is also evident from the fact that because of what he did Reuben was deprived of the birthright, 1 Chronicles 5:1. These considerations show that 'Israel heard' means that that faith was cast aside. As regards the birthright meaning the faith of the Church, see 352, 2435, 3325.

[2] The profanation of good by faith separated from charity takes place when people acknowledge and believe the truth of the Church and its good and yet lead lives contrary to these. Indeed with those who in understanding and consequently in life separate matters of faith from those of charity, evil is joined to truth and falsity to good; and it is this joining together that is called profanation. The situation is different with those who, though they know what the truth and good of faith are, nevertheless do not in their hearts have any belief in these. See what has been stated and shown already concerning profanation in 301-303, 571, 582, 593, 1001, 1003, 1008, 1010, 1059, 1327, 1328, 2051, 2426, 3398, 3399, 3402, 3489, 3898, 4050, 4289; also that the profanation of good by faith separated from charity was represented by Cain when he killed Abel, by Ham when he was cursed by his father, and by the Egyptians when they were drowned in the Red Sea, 3325, ¹ as well as here by Reuben, 3325, 3870.

[3] In order that members of the spiritual Church might be saved the Lord miraculously separated the understanding part of their minds from the will part and imparted to the understanding the ability to accept a new will, 863, 875, 895, 927, 928, 1023, 1043, 1044, 2256, 4328, 4493. When therefore the understanding takes hold of and perceives the [truth and] good of faith and makes these its own, and yet the person's own will - that is, his will to do evil - reigns and rules, truth comes to be joined to evil and good to falsity. This joining of truth to evil and of good to falsity is profanation and is meant by eating and drinking in an unworthy manner in the Holy Supper. From people like this the good meant by the body and the truth meant by the blood [cannot] be separated; for when these have been joined to falsity and evil as described, they cannot be separated ever at all, and as a consequence the deepest hell awaits those persons. But those who know what the truth and good of faith are and yet in their hearts have no belief in them, as is the case with the vast majority of people at the present day, are unable to profane them because the understanding does not accept them and absorb them into itself.

[4] The subject here is the casting aside of this faith, for in what follows immediately after this the subject is truths and goods in their genuine order, and immediately after that the joining of these to the rational or understanding part, 'the sons of Jacob' who in the verses immediately after this are mentioned by name being truths and goods in that order, 'Isaac' the rational or understanding part, and 'Jacob's coming with his sons to Isaac' being in the internal sense that joining to the understanding part.

Fußnoten:

3489. To those within the Church it is not apparent that this is the condition of the Church, that is to say, that they treat with contempt and loathe everything to do with goodness and truth, and also show hostility towards those things, especially towards the Lord Himself. They do indeed attend places of worship, listen to sermons with some kind of reverence while they are there, go to the Holy Supper, and sometimes discuss those things with one another in a seemly way. The evil accordingly do the same things as the good, even exercising common charity or friendship to one another, and as a consequence others do not see in them any contempt for the goods and truths of faith, or therefore any contempt for the Lord, still less any loathing of these, and least of all any hostility towards them. But those very actions are outward forms, by which one person leads another astray, whereas the inward forms existing with members of the Church are completely different and the complete reverse of those outward forms. It is the inward forms which are described here and which are of that nature. The essential nature of these inward forms is presented visually in heaven; for the angels pay no attention to anything else than the things that are internal - to ends in view, that is, to people's intentions and wills, and to their thoughts stemming from these. How different these are from external things becomes clear from members of the Christian world entering the next life, regarding whom see 2121-2126.

[2] Indeed in the next life it is solely in accordance with internal things that people think and speak, for external things have been left behind with the body. There it is evident that however peaceable such people seemed to be in the world they nevertheless hated one another, and hated everything belonging to faith, hating the Lord above all else; for at the mere mention of the Lord's name in their presence in the next life a sphere not only of contempt but also of loathing and hostility towards Him clearly emanates from them and envelops them, including those who to outward appearances spoke about Him with reverence and also preached about Him. It is similar when charity and faith are mentioned. As to their inward form which is disclosed there, these people are such as they would have been while living in the world if external restraints had been released and taken away from them. That is, if they had not in the world feared for their lives and feared the law, and in particular if they had not feared for their reputation on account of the positions they strove and worked for, and of the wealth they desired and avidly sought after, they would on account of their deadly hatred have laid into one another, as their intentions and thought directed them. And without any conscience they would have seized other people's goods and also without any conscience would have butchered them, no matter how utterly innocent their victims may have been. Such is the nature of Christians interiorly at the present day, apart from a few who remain unknown. From all this it is evident what the nature of the Church is essentially.