9396. 'And he took the book of the covenant' means the Word in the letter to which the Word in heaven was joined. This is clear from the meaning of 'the book' as the Word in its entirety, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the covenant' as a joining together, dealt with in 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778. 'The book of the covenant' is used here to mean everything the Lord spoke from Mount Sinai, for verse 4 just above says, And Moses wrote all Jehovah's words. In a restricted sense therefore 'the book of the covenant' is used to mean the Word revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai, and in a broad sense to mean the Word in its entirety since this is the Divine Truth revealed by the Lord. And since it is through this Truth that the Lord joins Himself to a member of the Church, that Truth too is meant by 'the book of the covenant'; for 'a covenant' is a joining together.

[2] But the nature of the Lord's being joined to a member of the Church through the Word is unknown at the present day because heaven at the present day is closed. Scarcely anyone today talks to angels or spirits and therefore knows the way in which they understand the Word. But this was well known to the ancients, and especially to the most ancients; for talking to spirits and angels was common among them. The reason for this was that people in ancient and especially in most ancient times were more internal, for they thought in the spirit virtually separated from the body, whereas people today are more external and think in the body virtually separated from the spirit. So it is that heaven has seemingly forsaken mankind, for heaven's contact is with the internal man when this can be unshackled from the body, but not directly with the external man. This explains why the nature of the Lord's being joined to a person through the Word is unknown at the present day.

[3] Those whose thought is based on what the body perceives with the senses and not on what the spirit perceives with the senses cannot possibly do other than think that the meaning the Word has in heaven is like the meaning it has in the world, that is, in the letter. If it were said that the meaning the Word has in heaven is like the thought of the internal man, which is free from material ideas, that is, from worldly, bodily, and earthly ideas, this would be considered an absurdity at the present day, especially if it were said that the meaning the Word has in heaven is as different from the meaning it has in the world or in the letter as a heavenly paradise is from an earthly paradise, or as heavenly food and drink are from earthly food and drink. How great that difference is may be seen from the consideration that the heavenly paradise consists in intelligence and wisdom, heavenly food in every good of love and charity, and heavenly drink in every truth of faith rooted in that good. Is there anyone at the present day who would not be astounded to hear that when a paradise, garden, or vineyard is mentioned in the Word those in heaven do not perceive a paradise, garden, or vineyard but instead such things as are attributes of intelligence and wisdom coming from the Lord? Or that when food and drink are mentioned, for instance bread, flesh, wine, or water, those in heaven perceive instead such things as are aspects of the good of love and the truth of faith received from the Lord? Or that this perception of the Word comes about not as a result of interpretations of its statements nor by seeing them as comparisons, but that it is due to correspondences and is their actual and real perception of it? For the heavenly virtues of wisdom, intelligence, the good of love, and the truth of faith correspond in actual reality to those worldly objects. In the same way the internal man has been created to correspond to the external man, and so therefore has heaven, which resides in the internal man, to correspond to the world, which resides in the external man. The same is so with everything generally. The truth that the Word is understood and perceived in heaven according to correspondences, and that this level of meaning is the internal sense, has been shown everywhere in the explanations prior to this.

[4] Anyone who grasps what has just been stated is capable of knowing and in some manner perceiving that a person is joined by means of the Word to heaven and through heaven to the Lord, and that without the Word no such joining together would be possible. See what has been shown many times about these matters, in 2143, 7153, 7381, 8920, 9094 (end), 9212 (end), 9216 (end), 9357, and elsewhere. From all this it is now clear why Moses took the book of the covenant and read it in front of the people, and then sprinkled the blood over the people and said, Behold, the blood of the covenant. And the reason why all this was done was that in heaven 'the blood of a sacrifice' is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, which on our planet is the Word, see 9393. Since 'the covenant' means a joining together, and since Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, that is, the Word, is the means by which the joining together is accomplished, everything that belongs to Divine Truth from the Lord or belongs to the Word is called 'the covenant', such as the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written, also the judgements, statutes, and all else that is contained in the Books of Moses, and in general that is contained both in the Old Testament Word and in the New.

[5] The Tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written [were called the Covenant].

This may be seen in Moses,

Jehovah wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten words. Exodus 34:28.

In the same author,

I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which Jehovah made with you. Jehovah gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. I came down from the mountain, when the mountain was burning with fire; the two tablets of the covenant however were on my two hands. Deuteronomy 9:9, 11, 15.

And in the same author,

Jehovah declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the ten words which He wrote on tablets of stone. Take care, lest you forget the covenant of Jehovah your God, which He made with you. Deuteronomy 4:13, 23.

Because the two tablets had been laid up in the ark, which was in the middle or inmost part of the tabernacle, the ark was called the ark of the covenant, Numbers 10:33; 14:44; Deuteronomy 10:8, 31:9, 25-26; Joshua 3:3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17; 4:7, 9, 18; 6:6, 8; 8:33; Judges 20:27; 1 Samuel 4:3-5; 2 Samuel 15:24; 1 Kings 3:15; 6:19; 8:1, 6; Jeremiah 3:16.

[6] The Books of Moses were called the Book of the Covenant

This is clear from the ones found in the temple by Hilkiah the [high] priest, about which the following things are said in the second Book of Kings,

Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah.

And they read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant found in the house of Jehovah. 2 Kings 22:8; 23:2.

[7] The Old Testament Word was called the Covenant

This may be seen in Isaiah,

To those holding fast to My covenant I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than sons and daughters. Isaiah 56:4-5.

In Jeremiah,

Hear the words of this covenant. Cursed is the man who will not hear the words of this covenant which I commanded your fathers. Obey My voice, and do those things, according to all that I command you. Jeremiah 11:2-4.

In David,

All the ways of Jehovah are mercy and truth to those keeping His covenant and His testimonies. Psalms 25:10.

In the same author,

The mercy of Jehovah is from eternity to eternity on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children, to those keeping His covenant, and to those remembering His commandments. Psalms 103:17-18.

And in the same author,

They did not keep God's covenant and refused to walk in His law. Psalms 78:10.

Here 'God's covenant' is called God's law. 'The law' is used in a broad sense to mean the whole Word, in a narrower sense to mean the historical section of the Word, in a restricted sense the Word that was written through Moses, and in a very restricted sense the Ten Commandments, see 6752.

[8] The New Testament Word too is the Covenant

This may be seen in Jeremiah,

Behold, the days are coming in which I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant. This is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days: I will put My law in the midst of them, and will write it on their heart. Jeremiah 31:31-33.

'The house of Israel' stands for the spiritual Church, and 'the house of Judah' for the celestial Church. And in David,

I will also make Him the Firstborn, supreme over the kings of the earth; and My covenant will stand fast with Him. I will not profane ¹ My covenant, and the utterance of My lips I will not alter. Psalms 89:27-28, 34.

This refers to the Lord. 'My covenant will stand fast with Him' stands for the union of the Divine Himself and the Divine Human, thus also for the Word since the Lord's Divine Human was the Word made flesh, that is, made man (homo), John 1:1-3, 14.

[9] The reason why Divine Truth or the Word is a covenant or joining together is that the Word is the Divine from the Lord, thus is the Lord Himself; and this being so, when the Word is received by a person the Lord Himself is received. From this it is evident that it is through the Word that the Lord is joined to a person; and since the Lord is joined to the person, so too is heaven joined to that person. For heaven is called heaven by virtue of the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord and therefore from the Divine. This explains why those in heaven are said to be 'in the Lord'. Regarding the truth that the Divine joins Himself to those who love the Lord and keep His Word, see John 14:23.

[10] From all this it becomes clear that 'the blood of the covenant' means the Lord joined through heaven to a person by means of the Word, as also in Zechariah,

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be cut off; on the other hand He will speak peace to the nations; His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, through the blood of your covenant I will let out your bound ones from the pit in which there is no water. Zechariah 9:10-11.

[11] A person with no knowledge at all of the internal sense cannot see in these verses anything other than such things as are implied in their literal meaning, that is to say, that the chariot from Ephraim, horse from Jerusalem, and battle bow were going to be cut off, and in the final words that through 'the blood of the covenant' - meaning the Lord's blood - those buried in sins were going to be delivered, various ways being used to explain who exactly are meant by 'bound ones in the pit in which there is no water'. But a person who knows the internal sense of the Word sees that these verses refer to Divine Truth, and that after it has been laid waste, that is, is no longer received in belief and heart by anyone, it will be restored through God's truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Human, and that those who believe and do it will be joined by means of it to the Lord Himself. All this becomes clearer still from the inner meaning of individual words in these verses, for example from the meaning of 'chariot' as doctrine taught by the Church, 2760, 5321, 5945, 8215, and of 'Ephraim' as the Church's enlightened understanding, 5354, 6222, 6238; from the meaning of 'horse' as an understanding of the Word, 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6125, 6534, 8029, 8146, 8148, ² and of 'Jerusalem' as the spiritual Church, 2117, 3654, 9166; from the meaning of 'bow' as the doctrine of truth, 2686, 2709, and of 'battle' or 'war' as conflict involving truths, 1664, 2686, 8295.

[12] From these meanings it is evident that 'cutting off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow' means God's truth laid waste so far as any understanding of it in the Church is concerned, and that 'through the blood of the covenant those bound in the pit in which there is no water were going to be let out' means a restoration effected through Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Human. The meaning of 'blood' as Divine Truth and of 'the covenant' as a joining together has been shown above; and for the meaning of 'those bound in the pit' as members of the spiritual Church who were saved by the Lord's Coming into the world, see 6854. The description 'pit where there is no water' is used because 'water' means truth, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 7307, 8137, 8138, 8568, 9323.

Bilješke:

2842. 'And he said, By Myself I have sworn, says Jehovah' means unchangeable confirmation from the Divine, that is to say, regarding the things that follow. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'saying, by Myself I have sworn' and of 'says Jehovah', all of which imply confirmation, and indeed from the Divine, that is, from Himself. The Divine is unable to confirm from any other source than Himself, and that which He confirms is unchangeable because it is eternal truth. Whatever Jehovah or the Lord utters is eternal truth, Matthew 24:35, since it comes from the very Being (Esse) itself of truth. But He confirms a thing seemingly with an oath, as He does here and elsewhere in the Word, not because that thing is then more true, but because He addresses Himself to persons who do not accept Divine truth unless it is confirmed in that way. For such persons do not have any other idea of Jehovah or the Lord than of a human being who is able to declare a thing and to change his mind, as one reads of many times in the Word; but in the internal sense the situation is altogether different. Anyone may recognize that Jehovah or the Lord never confirms anything with an oath, but when Divine Truth itself, and the confirmation of it, passes down to that kind of person it is converted into the semblance of an oath. It is as it was with the devouring fire and the smoke that appeared over Mount Sinai before the eyes of the people when Jehovah or the Lord came down, Exodus 19:18; Deuteronomy 4:11-12; 5:22-24. In this case His glory in heaven, indeed His mercy, were seen by the people there, who were under the influence of evil and falsity, as fire and smoke, see 1861. Much the same applies to many things called the utterances or actions of Jehovah that are mentioned in the Word. From this it may become clear that 'by Myself I have sworn, says Jehovah' are words meaning unchangeable confirmation from the Divine.

[2] From many other places in the Word it becomes clear that when reference is made to Jehovah 'swearing' it means confirmation with someone who is like those that have just been referred to, as in David,

Jehovah is mindful of His covenant for ever, of the word He has commanded to a thousand generations, which He made with Abraham, and of His oath to Isaac. Psalms 105:8-9.

It is similar with 'a covenant' as it is with 'an oath', for Jehovah or the Lord does not make a covenant with man. But when the subject is conjunction through love and charity, this is also presented in actual events as a covenant, see 1864. In the same author,

Jehovah has sworn and not repented, You are a Priest for ever after the manner of Melchizedek. Psalms 110:4.

This refers to the Lord. 'Jehovah has sworn' stands for unchangeable confirmation from the Divine, that is, that it is eternal truth.

[3] In the same author,

I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David My servant, I will continue your seed even for ever, and build your throne from generation to generation. Psalms 89:3-4.

This too refers to the Lord. 'Making a covenant with the chosen one, and swearing to David' stands for unchangeable confirmation or eternal truth. 'David' stands for the Lord, 1888; 'making a covenant' has regard to Divine Good, 'swearing' to Divine Truth. In the same psalm,

I will not profane My covenant, and the utterance of My lips I will not alter. Once and for all I have sworn by My holiness, I will not lie to David. Psalms 89:34-35.

Here also 'David' stands for the Lord. 'Covenant' here again has regard to Divine Good, 'utterance of the lips' to Divine Truth. They do so on account of the marriage of good and truth, which marriage exists in every individual part of the Word, dealt with in 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712.

[4] In the same author,

Jehovah has sworn the truth to David, from which He will not turn back, Of the fruit of your body ¹ I will set on your throne, provided your sons keep My covenant and My testimony which I teach them. Psalms 132:11-12.

'Jehovah has sworn the truth to David' plainly stands for the confirmation of eternal truth. Hence the statement 'from which He will not turn back'. As has been stated, 'David' is used to mean the Lord. This oath was sworn even to David because he was the kind of person who believed that the confirmation applied to himself and his descendants. For David was moved by self-love and love of his descendants, and this explains why he believed that what was declared - that is, as in the quotation above, that his seed would continue for ever and his throne from generation to generation - had reference to himself, when in fact what was said had reference to the Lord.

[5] In Isaiah,

This is as the waters of Noah to Me; as I swore that the waters of Noah should go no more over the earth, so I have sworn not to be angry with you. Isaiah 54:9.

Here 'swearing' stands for making a covenant and confirming it with an oath. As regards its being a covenant and not an oath, see Genesis 9:11. In the same prophet,

Jehovah has sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so will it be. Isaiah 14:24.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah has sworn by His right hand, and by His mighty arm. Isaiah 62:8.

In Jeremiah,

Hear the Word of Jehovah, all you of Judah dwelling in the land of Egypt, Behold, I have sworn by My great name, said Jehovah, that My name will no more be invoked by the mouth of every man (vir) of Judah who says, As lives the Lord Jehovih in all the land of Egypt. Jeremiah 44:26.

In the same prophet,

I have sworn by Myself, says Jehovah, that Bozrah will become a desolation. Jeremiah 49:13.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah Zebaoth has sworn by His own soul, Surely I will fill you with men (homo) as with the bruchus. ² Jeremiah 51:14.

In Amos,

The Lord Jehovih has sworn by His holiness, that, behold, the days are coming. Amos 4:2.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah has sworn by the excellence of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. Amos 8:7.

[6] In all these places Jehovah's having sworn by His right hand, by His great name, by Himself, by His own soul, by His holiness, and by the excellence of Jacob, means the confirmation that there is in Jehovah or the Lord. No confirmation by Jehovah is possible except from Himself. Jehovah's right hand, Jehovah's great name, Jehovah's soul, Jehovah's holiness, and the excellence of Jacob mean the Lord's Divine Human; through the latter confirmation came.

[7] Jehovah's or the Lord's swearing to give the land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants, in the internal sense means confirmation that He would grant the heavenly kingdom to those in whom love and faith in Him are present. These are the ones who are meant in the internal sense of the Word by the sons and descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that is, of the patriarchs. The same was also represented in the actual historical granting of the land of Canaan to their descendants; and the Church as it existed at that time among them represented the Lord's heavenly kingdom, as also did the land itself. For 'the land' and 'the land of Canaan' in the internal sense is the Lord's kingdom, see 1413, 1437, 1607. This explains why it is said in Moses,

That you may prolong your days on the land which Jehovah swore to your fathers to give to them, and to their seed, a land flowing with milk and honey; so that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your sons, on the land which Jehovah swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the days of the heavens above the earth. Deuteronomy 11:9, 21.

From all these places it may now become clear that Jehovah's 'swearing' was representative of confirmation, and indeed of unchangeable confirmation, as is plainer still in Isaiah,

By Myself I have sworn; out of My mouth has gone forth the word of righteousness, which will not return, that to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear. Isaiah 45:23.

[8] In addition to this, those who belonged to the Jewish representative Church were commanded when confirming covenants with an oath, likewise when confirming vows, as well as promises, and also guarantees, to swear by the name of Jehovah. The reason they were commanded - or to be exact, merely permitted - to do so was that the confirmation of the internal man would in that way also be represented. Thus it was that in those times oaths sworn by the name of Jehovah were like everything else, that is to say, they were representatives. The fact that such was commanded, that is, permitted, is clear in Moses, You shall fear Jehovah your God, and serve Him, and swear by His name; you shall not go after other gods. Deuteronomy 6:13-14.

Elsewhere in the same author,

You shall fear Jehovah your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. Deuteronomy 10:20.

In Isaiah,

He who blesses himself in the land will bless himself by the God of truth, and he who swears in the land will swear by the God of truth. Isaiah 65:16.

In Jeremiah,

If you will return, O Israel, says Jehovah, to Me may you return. And if you are removing your abominations from My sight do not waver. And swear, As Jehovah lives, in truth, in judgement, and in righteousness. Jeremiah 4:1-2.

In the same prophet,

If they will diligently learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, they will be built up in the midst of My people. Jeremiah 12:16.

The fact that they also swore by the name of Jehovah, that is, swore to Jehovah, [is evident] in Isaiah,

Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel and who came out of the waters of Judah, who swore by the name of Jehovah and made mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth and not in righteousness. Isaiah 48:1.

In the same prophet,

On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt which speak with the lip of Canaan and swear to Jehovah Zebaoth. Isaiah 19:18.

In Joshua it is said that the leaders of the congregation swore to the Gibeonites by Jehovah God of Israel, Joshua 9:18-19.

[9] From this it is clear that they were permitted to swear by the name of Jehovah or by Jehovah. But it is also clear that such swearing was nothing else than a representative of confirmation of the internal man. It is well known that internal people, that is, those who possess conscience, have no need to confirm anything by means of an oath; and that they do not so confirm. By them oaths are regarded with disapproval. They are indeed able to assert quite categorically that something is so, and also to confirm the truth with the aid of reasons; but to swear that a thing is so they cannot. They are governed by an internal bond - that of conscience. The addition to this of an external bond, which is an oath, is a kind of insinuation that they are not upright in heart. What is more, the internal man is such that he loves to speak and act in freedom and not under compulsion, for with such persons the internal controls the external, and not the reverse. People who possess conscience therefore do not swear oaths, still less do those do so who possess the perception of good and truth, that is, who are celestial people. The latter do not even, by means of reasons, confirm anything for themselves or for others, but they merely say that something is so, or else is not so, 202, 337, 2718. Consequently they are further removed still from any swearing with an oath.

[10] For these reasons, and because oaths belonged among representatives which were to be brought to an end, the Lord teaches in the following words in Matthew that one should not swear at all,

You have heard that it was said, You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord your oaths. But I say to you, You shall not swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your words be, Yes, yes; No, no; anything beyond this is from evil. ³ Matthew 5:33-37.

These words are used to mean that one should not swear at all by Jehovah or by anything whatever that is Jehovah's or the Lord's.

Bilješke: