聖書

 

Ezekiel 15

勉強

   

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

2 Son of man, what shall be made of the wood of the vine, out of all the trees of the woods that are among the trees of the forests?

3 Shall wood be taken of if, to do any work, or shall a pin be made of it for any vessel to hang thereon?

4 Behold it is cast into the fire for fuel: the fire hath consumed both ends thereof, and the midst thereof is reduced to ashes: shall it be useful for any work?

5 Even when it was whole it was not fit for work: how much less, when the fire hath devoured and consumed it, shall any work be made of it?

6 Therefore thus saith the Lord God: As the vine tree among the trees of the forests which I have given to the fire to be consumed, so will I deliver up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

7 And I will set my face against them: they shall go out from fire, and fire shall consume them : and you shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have set my face against them.

8 And I shall have made their land a wilderness, and desolate, because they have been transgressors, saith the Lord God.

   

解説

 

Neighbor

  

'The neighbor' is not only an individual person, but also people collectively, as a less or greater society, our country, the church, the Lord's kingdom, and above all, the Lord Himself. These people are 'the neighbor' to whom good is to be done from love. A society is our neighbor more than a single person, because it consists of many people. Our country is our neighbor more than a society because it is like a parent because a person is born in it, and is nourished and protected from injuries by it. The church is our neighbor more than our country, because one who provides for the church provides for the souls and eternal life of the people who dwell in his country. The Lord's kingdom is our neighbor in an even higher degree, because the Lord's kingdom consists of all in good, as well people on the earth as those in the heavens.

(参照: The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine 91-95)