Bibliorum

 

Exodus 23

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1 Gij zult geen vals gerucht opnemen; en stelt uw hand niet bij den goddeloze, om een getuige tot geweld te zijn.

2 Gij zult de menigte tot boze zaken niet volgen; en gij zult niet spreken in een twistige zaak, dat gij u neigt naar de menigte, om het recht te buigen.

3 Ook zult gij den geringe niet voortrekken en zijn twistige zaak.

4 Wanneer gij uw vijands os, of zijn dwalenden ezel, ontmoet, gij zult hem denzelven ganselijk wederbrengen.

5 Wanneer gij uws haters ezel onder zijn last ziet liggen, zult gij dan nalatig zijn, om het uwe te verlaten voor hem? Gij zult het in alle manier met hem verlaten.

6 Gij zult het recht uws armen niet buigen in zijn twistige zaak.

7 Zijt verre van valse zaken; en den onschuldige en gerechtige zult gij niet doden; want Ik zal de goddeloze niet rechtvaardigen.

8 Ook zult gij geen geschenk nemen; want het geschenk verblindt de zienden, en het verkeert de zaak der rechtvaardigen.

9 Gij zult ook den vreemdeling niet onderdrukken; want gij kent het gemoed des vreemdelings, dewijl gij vreemdelingen geweest zijt in Egypteland.

10 Gij zult ook zes jaar uw land bezaaien, en deszelfs inkomst verzamelen;

11 Maar in het zevende zult gij het rusten en stil liggen laten, dat de armen uws volks mogen eten, en het overige daarvan de beesten des velds eten mogen; alzo zult gij ook doen met uw wijngaard, en met uw olijfbomen.

12 Zes dagen zult gij uw werken doen; maar op den zevenden dag zult gij rusten; opdat uw os en uw ezel ruste, en dat de zoon uwer dienstmaagd en de vreemdeling adem scheppe.

13 In alles, wat Ik tot ulieden gezegd heb, zult gij op uw hoede zijn; en den naam van andere goden zult gij niet gedenken; uit uw mond zal hij niet gehoord worden!

14 Drie reizen in het jaar zult gij Mij feest houden.

15 Het feest van de ongezuurde broden zult gij houden; zeven dagen zult gij ongezuurde broden eten (gelijk Ik u geboden heb), ter bestemder tijd in de maand Abib, want in dezelve zijt gij uit Egypte getogen; doch men zal niet ledig voor Mijn aangezicht verschijnen.

16 En het feest des oogstes, der eerste vruchten van uw arbeid, die gij op het veld gezaaid zult hebben. En het feest der inzameling, op den uitgang des jaars, wanneer gij uw arbeid uit het veld zult ingezameld hebben.

17 Drie malen des jaars zullen al uw mannen voor het aangezicht des Heeren Heeren verschijnen.

18 Gij zult het bloed Mijns offers met geen gedesemde broden offeren; ook zal het vette Mijns feestes tot op den morgen niet vernachten.

19 De eerstelingen der eerste vruchten uws lands zult gij in het huis des HEEREN uws Gods brengen. Gij zult het bokje niet koken in de melk zijner moeder.

20 Ziet, Ik zende een Engel voor uw aangezicht, om u te behoeden op dezen weg, en om u te brengen tot de plaats, die Ik bereid heb.

21 Hoedt u voor Zijn aangezicht, en weest Zijner stem gehoorzaam, en verbittert Hem niet; want Hij zal ulieder overtredingen niet vergeven; want Mijn Naam is in het binnenste van Hem.

22 Maar zo gij Zijner stem naarstiglijk gehoorzaamt, en doet al wat Ik spreken zal, zo zal Ik uwer vijanden vijand, en uwer wederpartijders wederpartij zijn.

23 Want Mijn Engel zal voor uw aangezicht gaan, en Hij zal u inbrengen tot de Amorieten, en Hethieten, en Ferezieten, en Kanaanieten, Hevieten, en Jebusieten; en Ik zal hen verdelgen.

24 Gij zult u voor hun goden niet buigen, noch hen dienen; ook zult gij naar hun werken niet doen; maar gij zult ze geheel afbreken, en hun opgerichte beelden ganselijk vermorzelen.

25 En gij zult den HEERE uw God dienen, zo zal Hij uw brood en uw water zegenen; en Ik zal de krankheden uit het midden van u weren.

26 Er zal geen misdrachtige, noch onvruchtbare in uw land zijn; Ik zal het getal uwer dagen vervullen.

27 Ik zal Mijn schrik voor uw aangezicht zenden, en al het volk, tot hetwelk gij komt, versaagd maken; en Ik zal maken, dat al uw vijanden u den nek toekeren.

28 Ik zal ook horzelen voor uw aangezicht zenden; die zullen van voor uw aangezicht uitstoten de Hevieten, de Kanaanieten en de Hethieten.

29 Ik zal hen in een jaar van uw aangezicht niet uitstoten, opdat het land niet woest worde, en het wild gedierte boven u niet vermenigvuldigd worde.

30 Ik zal hen allengskens van uw aangezicht uitstoten, totdat gij gewassen zijt en het land erft.

31 En Ik zal uw landpalen zetten van de zee Suf tot aan de zee der Filistijnen, en van de woestijn tot aan de rivier; want Ik zal de inwoners van dat land in uw hand geven, dat gij hen voor uw aangezicht uitstoot.

32 Gij zult met hen, noch met hun goden, een verbond maken.

33 Zij zullen in uw land niet wonen, opdat zij u tegen Mij niet doen zondigen; indien gij hun goden dient, het zal u voorzeker tot een valstrik zijn.

   

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #9224

Studere hoc loco

  
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9224. 'The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me' means also all the matters of faith that [are acquired] through them - that they are to be ascribed to the Lord and not to self. This is clear from the meaning of 'the firstborn of sons' as all matters of faith the Church possesses, dealt with in 2435, 6344, 7035, 7039, 7778, 8042; and from the meaning of 'giving to Me' as ascribing to the Lord, 'Jehovah' being used in the Word to mean the Lord. All matters of faith, meant by 'the firstborn of sons', are beliefs which spring from the good of charity; for faith comes into being from this good. Whether truths are acquired from the Word or from the teachings of the Church, they cannot by any means become matters of faith without the presence of good in which they can be implanted. The reason for this is that the understanding part of the mind is that which receives truths first, for it sees them and introduces them into the will; and when those truths are in the will they are in the person, the will being the person's true self. Anyone therefore who supposes that faith is faith with a person before the person wills it, and does it because he wills it, is very much mistaken. Nor before this do the truths of faith themselves have life in them. All that which belongs to the will is called good, because it is loved; thus truth becomes good, or faith becomes charity, when it is in the will.

[2] There are two controversies which have bothered the Church since earliest times. The first is whether faith is the firstborn of the Church or whether charity is; and the second is whether faith separated from charity brings salvation. The reason why these two controversies arose was that before a person has been regenerated he discerns the truths that are to become matters of faith but not the good that is the good of charity. For the truths of faith enter by the external route, that is to say, through hearing; they deposit themselves in the memory, and from there they appear in the understanding. But the good of charity flows in by the internal route - through the internal man from heaven, that is, from the Lord by way of heaven. Therefore it does not come to be discerned until the truths called matters of faith start to be loved for the sake of performing good and useful service and leading a good life, which happens when they come to belong to the will. This now explains why faith was declared to be the firstborn of the Church, and also why people attributed to it the rights of the firstborn, that is, the rights of priority and superiority over the good of charity, when in actual fact the good of charity is prior and higher, and the truth of faith only apparently so, see 3325, 3494, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 4977, 5351, 6256, 6269, 6272, 6273.

[3] The reason why those who belong to the Church have been in the dark in regard to these matters is that they have failed to perceive that all things in the universe have connection with truth and good, and to be anything must have connection with both. They have also failed to perceive that in the human being there are two mental powers, the understanding and the will, and that truth has connection with the understanding and good with the will, and that without the connection with both nothing is made a person's own. Because these considerations have lain in the dark, and yet the ideas composing a person's thought are based on such considerations, the error could not be made plain to the natural man. Yet if it had at some time been made plain, members of the Church would have seen from the Word as in broad daylight that the Lord Himself had countless things to say about the good of charity, that this good ranks first in the Church, and that faith does not exist anywhere else than within that good. The good of charity consists in doing good because one wills it. They would also have seen the errors that teachings upholding faith separated from charity bring in with them. One such error is the idea that a person is able to will evil and believe truth, consequently that truth is in agreement with evil. Another is the idea that faith can cause the life of heaven to exist with a person who has the life of hell in him, therefore that one life can be transformed into the other, so that those in hell can be raised to heaven and lead among angels a life contrary to their former life. People entertaining such errors do not take into consideration the fact that if anyone leads a life contrary to the life already acquired in the world he is deprived of his life. Anyone who tries to do so is like those who are in the throes of death and end their life in dreadful torment. Errors like these and very many others are what the teachings upholding faith separated from charity bring in with them.

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

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #7778

Studere hoc loco

  
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7778. 'And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt will die' means the damnation of faith separated from charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'dying' as damnation, dealt with in 5407, 6119; and from the meaning of 'the firstborn' as the Church's faith through which charity comes, dealt with in 352, 2435, 6344, 7035. But 'the firstborn in the land of Egypt' is faith devoid of charity, about which see above in 7766.

[2] As regards faith devoid of charity, there is more to be said. Faith that is devoid of charity is not faith but merely knowledge of such things as constitute faith. For the truths of faith look to charity as their ultimate end in view, and later on proceed from charity as their first end in view. From this it is evident that the things which constitute faith do not exist with those who have no charity, even though they have a knowledge of the truths of faith, as is well known. This knowledge is what they call faith. And when they use the facts they know about the truth and good of faith to support falsities and evils, they no longer have the truths and forms of the good of faith because these come to be like the falsities and evils that such truths and forms of good serve. For now the very falsities and evils which they support are seen in them.

[3] Things that constitute genuine faith look upwards to heaven and the Lord, whereas those that constitute faith separated from charity look downwards - and when they support evils and falsities - to hell, from which too it is evident that faith separated from charity is not faith. All this goes to show what is meant by the damnation of faith separated from charity, that is to say, of the truth of faith when falsified and the good of faith when adulterated. For when truth has been falsified it is no longer truth but falsity, and when good has been adulterated it is no longer good but evil; and faith itself is no longer faith composed of truth and good but of falsity and evil, no matter what it looks and sounds like to outward appearance. Furthermore, and this is an arcanum, the character of anyone's faith is determined by the character of his life. If therefore his life is damned, so is his faith; for it is a faith composed of falsity when his life is a life of evil. It is not apparent in the world that this is so, but it is made plain in the next life. When the evil in that life are deprived of the truth and good they know there then emerge from evils the falsities which have lain hidden with those people.

[4] With some evil people a certain kind of conviction exists that the truth of faith is the truth; and this conviction too is thought to be faith. But it is not faith since it is induced by the intent to make it serve as the means by which wealth, important positions, and reputation can be acquired. As long as the truths they know are serving as the means to that end they love them for the sake of an evil intent. But when they no longer serve in that way they are abandoned, indeed are regarded as falsities. The term 'persuasive faith' is used to describe this kind of conviction, and it is what is meant by the Lord's words in Matthew,

Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy though Your name, and through Your name cast out demons, and do many mighty works in Your name? But then I will confess to them, I do not know you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. Matthew 7:22-23.

The same kind of faith is also meant by 'lamps without oil' with the five foolish virgins, who also said, Lord, Lord, open to us. But He replying said, Truly, I say to you, I do not know you. Matthew 25:11-12.

The truths of faith are meant by 'lamps', and the good of charity by 'oil', so that 'lamps without oil' are truths of faith devoid of the good of charity.

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