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Amos 4

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1 Hør dette ord, I Basan-kyrSamarias fjell, I som undertrykker de ringe, som knuser de fattige, som sier til eders menn: Kom med vin, så vi får drikke!

2 Herren, Israels Gud, har svoret ved sin hellighet: Se, dager kommer over eder da I skal slepes bort med haker, og den siste levning av eder med fiskekroker,

3 og I skal gå ut gjennem murbruddene, hver rett frem for sig, og I skal bli slengt bort i palasset*, sier Herren. / {* seierherrens palass.}

4 Gå til Betel og synd, til Gilgal og synd til gagns, og bær hver morgen frem eders slaktoffer, hver tredje dag eders tiender,

5 og la røk av syret brød stige op som takkoffer og tillys frivillige offer og kunngjør det! For så vil I jo gjerne ha det, I Israels barn, sier Herren, Israels Gud.

6 Og jeg har da latt eder gå med tom munn i alle eders byer og latt eder mangle brød i alle eders hjem; men I har ikke omvendt eder til mig, sier Herren.

7 Jeg har forholdt eder regnet da det ennu var tre måneder igjen til høsten, og har latt det regne over en by, men ikke over en annen; et stykke land fikk regn, og et annet stykke blev fortørket, fordi det ikke kom regn på det,

8 og to, tre byer ravet avsted til en og samme by for å drikke vann, men fikk ikke nok; men I har ikke omvendt eder til mig, sier Herren.

9 Jeg har slått eder med kornbrand og rust; gresshoppene åt op eders mange haver og vingårder og fikentrær og oljetrær; men I har ikke omvendt eder til mig, sier Herren.

10 Jeg har sendt pest blandt eder likesom dengang i Egypten, jeg har drept eders unge menn med sverdet og latt eders hester bli hærfang, og jeg lot stanken fra eders hær stige op i eders nese; men I har ikke omvendt eder til mig, sier Herren.

11 Jeg har omstyrtet byer iblandt eder, således som Gud omstyrtet Sodoma og Gomorra, og I blev som en brand som er revet ut av ilden; men I har ikke omvendt eder til mig, sier Herren.

12 Derfor vil jeg gjøre med dig, Israel, så som jeg har sagt*. Og fordi jeg vil gjøre således med dig, så gjør dig rede til å møte din Gud, Israel! / {* AMO 2, 13 fg. 3, 11 fg. 4, 2 fg.}

13 For se, han som danner fjellene og skaper vinden og åpenbarer menneskene deres tanker, han som gjør morgenrøden til mørke og farer frem over jordens høider - Herren, hærskarenes Gud, er hans navn.

   

Commento

 

Exploring the Meaning of Amos 4

Da Helen Kennedy

In chapter 4 of the Book of Amos, verses 1-3 are talking about people who pervert the truths of the church. They will fall into falsities in outermost things.

In the Bible, fish represent "lower" things than mammals, so we can interpret the fishhooks in verse 2 as meaning being caught and held fast in natural or lower things.

Verses 4-6 are about acts of worship such as tithes and sacrifices. These look similar to genuine worship, but are only external sorts of things. We can tell because ‘teeth’ (in verse 6) represent ultimates or outermost things (see Secrets of Heaven 6380). It follows that “cleanness of teeth” would mean outermost things that look good but only imitate genuine worship. The Lord exhorts, “Yet you have not returned to me.”

Verses 7-8. Some things true will remain, when where there are too many false ideas, the truths don't get through. This can be seen where the Lord says, “I made it rain on one city; I withheld rain from another city... where it did not rain the part withered.” Again the Lord exhorts, “Yet you have not returned to me.”

Verse 9. Afterward all things of the church are falsified, shown by blight attacking the gardens, vineyards, fig tree and olive trees. The last three represent spiritual, natural and celestial things, or all the things of spiritual life. “Yet you have not returned to me,” says the Lord.

Verses 10-11. The Lord explains the devastating things he allowed to happen: plague in Egypt, death of young men by swords, stench in the camps, Sodom and Gomorrah. This is because they are profaned by sensual knowledges. Profanation means the mixing of good and evil together. (See Secrets of Heaven 1001[2]).

This extends to all things of the church, with the church being the Lord’s kingdom on earth (Secrets of Heaven 768[3]).

With profanation “as soon as any idea of what is holy arises, the idea of what is profane joins immediately to it,” (Secrets of Heaven 301).

Now there is hardly anything left. “Yet you have not returned to Me,” says the Lord again.

Verses 12-13: Because people adamantly remain in their profane ways, they are warned, “Prepare to meet your God!”. This is the God powerful and mighty, “who forms mountains, and creates the wind,” and even more close to home, “Who declares to man what his thought is.” As intimately a knowing as that is, the Lord’s love for all humanity is contained in His exhortations for them to turn themselves to Him.

See, for example, Luke 6:44-45, and True Christian Religion 373.

Dalle opere di Swedenborg

 

True Christian Religion #373

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373. VIII. Charity and faith are present together in good deeds.

In every deed which proceeds from a person his whole nature is fully present, as regards his mind, or essential character. By mind is meant the affection of his love and his thought from this; these form his nature and, in general terms, his life. If we consider deeds in this way, they are so to speak mirrors reflecting the person. This can be illustrated by similar facts about animals and wild beasts: an animal is an animal, and a wild beast is a wild beast, in every one of its acts. A wolf is a wolf in every one of its acts, a tiger is a tiger in every one of its, a fox is a fox in every one of its, and a lion is a lion in every one of its. Likewise a sheep and a kid in all of their acts. The same is true of man, but his nature is such as it is in the internal man. If in this he is like a wolf or a fox, every internal deed of his is wolf-like or fox-like; and on the other hand the same is true if he is like a sheep or a lamb. But the fact that he is like this in every one of his deeds is not plain in his external man, for this can be twisted round the internal, although this character lies concealed within. The Lord says:

The good man brings forth good from the good treasury of his heart, and the wicked man brings forth wickedness from the wicked treasury of his heart, Luke 6:45.

And again:

Every tree is known by its own fruit; they do not gather figs from thorns, nor harvest grapes from the bramble, Luke 6:44.

[2] After death it is vividly shown that such as a person is in his internal man, such he is also in all the details proceeding from him. For then he lives as an internal man, and the external is no more. There is good in a person, and every deed proceeding from him is good, when the Lord, charity and faith dwell in his internal man, as will be shown in the following order.

(i) Charity is having good will, and good deeds are doing good from a good will.

(ii) Charity and faith are merely unstable mental concepts unless, when possible, they are realised in deeds and come into existence together in them.

(iii) Charity alone does not produce good deeds, much less does faith alone, but charity and faith together do.

These propositions will be examined one by one.

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