8273. 'Jehovah is a man of war' means that the Lord provides protection against all evils and falsities, which come from the hells. This is clear from the meaning of 'a man of war' as one who fights against falsities and evils, that is, against the hells, and overcomes them, at this point one who provides a person protection against them. For as shown already, the Lord alone fights on behalf of a person and protects him when he is under attack from the hells; He does so constantly, especially in temptations, which are spiritual conflicts. The Lord is called 'a man of war', primarily because when He was in the world He fought alone, that is, all by Himself, against the hells, which at that time were for the most part open. They were attacking and attempting to bring under their control all without exception who were entering the next life. The reason why the devil's crew, that is, the hells, were prowling around in that way then was that the Divine passing through heaven, which was the Divine Human before the Lord's Coming, was not powerful enough to oppose the evils and falsities which had increased so enormously. Therefore the Divine was pleased to take upon Himself a Human Form and make it Divine. At the same time - through the conflicts to which He allowed Himself to be subjected - He cast the devil's crew into the hells, shut them in there, and made them subject to the heavens; also at the same time He restored the heavens themselves to order. These conflicts are the primary reason for calling the Lord 'a man of war'. And after them, when He had thereby conquered the hells and made Himself righteousness, He has been called such because with Divine power He provides people protection, doing so constantly, and especially in the conflicts brought by temptations.

[2] The truth that the Lord alone, all by Himself, fought against the hells and overcame them is presented in the following way in Isaiah,

Judgement is cast away backwards, and justice stands afar off, for truth has stumbled in the street, and uprightness cannot come in; while truth has been removed, and he who retreats from evil is insane. Jehovah saw, and it was evil in His eyes that there was no judgement. And He saw that there was no man (vir), and wondered that there was no intercessor therefore His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness lifted Him up. Consequently He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head. Isaiah 59:14-17.

This describes conditions at that time in both worlds and declares that the Lord all by Himself, alone, re-established things that were in a state of collapse. The like is stated elsewhere in the same prophet,

Who is this who comes from Edom, with spattered clothes from Bozra, He that is glorious in His apparel, marching in the vast numbers of His strength? I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples not a man (vir) was with Me. Consequently their victory ¹ has been sprinkled on My clothes. For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redeemed had come. I had looked around, but there was no helper, and I wondered, but there was no one to uphold; therefore My own arm brought salvation to Me. Isaiah 63:1-5.

These quotations make it clear that when in the world, the Lord fought alone against the hells and overcame them.

[3] So far as conflicts with and victories over the hells are concerned, the truth is that anyone who overcomes them once does so for evermore; for through victory he gains power over them, since in the same measure he consolidates within himself, and makes his own, the good of love and the truth of faith against which the hells afterwards do not dare to attempt anything. When He was in the world the Lord allowed Himself to endure conflicts brought by temptations from all the hells, and through those conflicts He made Divine the Human within Him and at the same time reduced the hells to a state of obedience for evermore, see 1663, 1668, 1690, 1692, 1737, 1813, 1820, 2776, 2786, 2795, 2803, 2814, 2816, 4287. So it is that the Lord alone has power over the hells for ever, and with Divine power fights on behalf of a person. This now explains why the Lord is called 'a man of war' and also 'a mighty man', as again in Isaiah,

Jehovah will go forth as a mighty man, as a man of wars He will arouse zeal; He will prevail over His enemies. Isaiah 42:13.

And in David,

Who is this King of glory? Jehovah strong and a mighty man, Jehovah a mighty man of war. Who is this King of glory? Jehovah Zebaoth (Jehovah of Hosts or Armies). Psalms 24:8, 10.

[4] Wherever 'war' is mentioned in the Word, spiritual war against falsities and evils - or what amounts to the same thing, against the devil, that is, the hells - is meant in the internal sense, 1664, 2686. The wars or battles which the Lord fought against the hells are the subject in the internal sense both in the historical sections of the Word and in its prophetical parts; and no less the subject are the Lord's wars or battles fought on behalf of man. With the Ancients, with whom the Lord's Church existed, there also existed a Word, having both a historical section and a prophetical part, which is not extant at the present day. Its historical section was called The Book of the Wars of Jehovah and its prophetical part The Utterances. That Word is referred to in Moses, Numbers 21:14, 27. The fact that the expression used in Numbers 21:27 means prophetical utterances is evident from the meaning the expression is given at Numbers 23:7, 18; 24:3, 15. The Wars of Jehovah in that Word meant the Lord's battles against and His victories over the hells when He was in the world. They also meant the battles fought after that, and the everlasting victories won by Him, on behalf of man, the Church, and His kingdom. The hells desire constantly to puff themselves up, for they yearn only to dominate; but they are kept in check by the Lord alone. Their attempts to exert themselves are seen as bubbles boiling up or as a person arching his back. But every time they attempt such a thing a large number of them are cast further down.

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1667. That 'twelve years they served Chedorlaomer' means that evils and falsities did not reveal themselves in childhood but were subservient to apparent goods and truths is clear from the representation and meaning of Chedorlaomer, and also from the meaning of those who were subservient to him, as explained above at verses 1-2, and from the meaning of 'twelve' as well. Chedorlaomer together with those mentioned above in verse 1 mean apparent goods and truths present with the Lord - thus His External Man as regards those things. Here Chedorlaomer stands for all who are named in verse 1 taken together, as is clear in addition from what follows, and also from the fact that he was king of Elam, the meaning of which has been dealt with already, namely faith deriving from charity, and here therefore truth and good. For faith and things belonging to faith are nothing but truths, while charity and things belonging to charity are nothing but goods

[2] Here however they are the goods that belong to earliest childhood, which though they appear to be goods are not in fact goods as long as hereditary evil is befouling them, for they have ingrained in them and clinging to them that which derives from self-love and love of the world. Whatever belongs to self-love or love of the world appears at the time to be good, but it is not. Nevertheless it must still be called good during the time it resides in an infant or child who as yet does not know what is truly good. Their ignorance or lack of knowledge excuses it, and their innocence makes it appear as good. The situation is different however when a person has undergone instruction and knows what good and evil are. Such good and truth as exist with a child before instruction is meant by Chedorlaomer.

[3] Their being subservient for twelve years means the whole time that such good and truth remain, for in the internal sense 'twelve' means all things constituting the faith that belongs to charity, that is, faith springing from charity, as also with Elam in Genesis 10:22. And as long as such good and truth reside in a person, whether in childhood or in any other period of his life, evils and falsities can achieve nothing, that is, evil spirits do not dare to do anything or to initiate anything evil, as is quite evident in the case of infants, well-behaved children, and simple hearted people. With them, even though evil spirits, that is, the worst of the devil's crew, were present they could nevertheless achieve absolutely nothing but are held in subjection, which is the meaning here of their being subservient for twelve years to Chedorlaomer.

[4] The reason they are kept in subjection during that time and are subservient is that the individual has not yet acquired to himself a sphere of evil desires and of falsities. Indeed evil spirits and genii are not allowed to operate except into those things a person has acquired through his own actions, not into those he has by heredity. Consequently before a person acquires such spheres to himself, evil spirits are subservient; but as soon as he does acquire them, those evil spirits present with him stream in and try to gain dominion, for they are then situated within his own sphere, and there find a certain delight or their very life - 'where the carcass is there will the eagles be gathered together'. ¹

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