2025. That 'I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land of your sojournings' means that the Lord acquired to Himself by His own powers all things meant by 'the land of sojournings' is clear from the meaning of 'sojourning' as receiving instruction, dealt with in 1463. And because man acquires life to himself chiefly through instruction in facts, matters of doctrine, and cognitions of faith, sojourning is consequently the life so acquired. When applied to the Lord it is the life which He obtained for Himself through cognitions, through the conflicts that constituted temptations, and through victories in temptations; and because He obtained it by His own powers, this is what 'the land of your sojournings' means here.

[2] That the Lord obtained all things for Himself by His own powers, and by His own powers united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence and Divine Essence to Human Essence, and that He alone in this way became righteousness, is quite clear in the Prophets, as in Isaiah,

Who is this coming from Edom, marching in the vast numbers of His strength? I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with Me. I looked around and there was no one helping; and I was astonished that there was no one upholding; therefore My own arm brought Me salvation. Isaiah 63:1, 3, 5.

'Edom' stands for the Lord's Human Essence, 'strength' and 'arm' for power. Plain statements to the effect that He acted from His own power are contained in the phrases 'no one helping' and 'no one upholding', and in that about His own arm bringing Him salvation.

[3] In the same prophet,

He saw that there was no one, and wondered that there was nobody to intercede; and His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness upheld Him. And He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head. Isaiah 59:16-17.

This similarly means that He acted by His own power, and in so doing became righteousness. That the Lord is righteousness is stated in Daniel,

Seventy weeks have been decreed to atone for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Daniel 9:24.

And in Jeremiah,

I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and He will reign as king and act with understanding, and He will execute judgement and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell in confidence. And this is His name which they will call Him, Jehovah our Righteousness. Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:15-16.

For this reason He is also called 'the Habitation of Righteousness' in Jeremiah 31:23; 50:7, and 'wonderful' and 'Hero' in Isaiah 9:6.

[4] The reason why the Lord so many times attributes to the Father that which is His own has been explained above in 1999, 2004; for Jehovah was within Him, and so within every single part of Him. Something similar in man may be used for illustration, although there can be no comparison. Within man is his soul, and because it is within him, the soul is within every individual part of him, that is to say, within every individual part of his thinking and every individual part of his activity. Anything that does not have his soul within it is not part of him. The Lord's soul was Life itself or Being (Esse) itself, which is Jehovah, for He was conceived from Jehovah; thus Life itself was present within every individual part of Him. And because Life itself, or Being (Esse) itself, which is Jehovah, belonged to Him in the way that the soul does to man, so that which was Jehovah's was His, which is what the Lord says in His statements about His being in the bosom of the Father, John 1:18, and about all things that the Father has being His, John 16:15; 17:10-11.

[5] From good which is Jehovah's He united the Divine Essence to the Human Essence, and from truth united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence, and so achieved every single thing all from Himself. Indeed His Human was left to Itself in order that of Himself He might fight against all the hells and overcome them; and because He had life within Himself, as stated, which was His own, He overcame them by His own power and strength, as is also clearly stated in the places quoted from the Prophets. So then, because He acquired all things to Himself by His own powers, He became Righteousness, cleared the world of spirits of hellish genii and spirits, and in so doing rescued the human race from destruction - for the human race is governed by means of spirits - and thus redeemed it. This is why the Old Testament Word speaks so often of Him as Rescuer and Redeemer, and also Saviour, as His name Jesus describes.

3758. Genesis 29

1. And Jacob lifted up his feet and went to the land of the sons of the east.

2. And he saw, and behold, a well in the field, and behold, three droves of a flock there, lying nearby it; for out of that well they watered the droves; and there was a large stone over the mouth of the well.

3. And all the droves would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from over the mouth of the well and water the flock; and they would put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.

4. And Jacob said to them, My brothers, where are you from? And they said, We are from Haran.

5. And he said to them, Do you know Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We do.

6. And he said to them, Does he have peace? ¹ And they said, [He has] peace; and behold, Rachel his daughter is coming with the flock.

7. And he said, Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together; water the flock, and go and pasture them.

8. And they said, We cannot until all the droves are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from over the mouth of the well, and we water the flock.

9. While he was still speaking to them Rachel came with the flock which was her father's, for she was a shepherdess.

10. And so it was, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the flock of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob came near and rolled the stone from over the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.

11. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept.

12. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son; and she ran and told her father.

13. And so it was, when Laban heard the news about Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things.

14. And Laban said to him, Surely you are my bone and my flesh. And he dwelt with him for a full month.

15. And Laban said to Jacob, Because you are my brother should you serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your reward be?

16. And Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger Rachel.

17. And Leah's eyes were weak; and Rachel was beautiful in form and beautiful in appearance.

18. And Jacob loved Rachel and said, I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.

19. And Laban said, It is better for me to give her to you than to give her to another man; remain with me.

20. And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they were in his eyes like a few days, because of his love for her.

21. And Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are completed, and I will go [in] to her.

22. And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast.

23. And so it was in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to him; and he came [in] to her.

24. And Laban gave to her Zilpah his servant-girl - to Leah his daughter to be her servant-girl.

25. And so it was in the morning, that behold it was Leah. And he said to Laban, What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? And why have you cheated me?

26. And Laban said, It is not done that way in our place, to give the younger before the firstborn.

27. Complete this week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you render with me for another seven years.

28. And Jacob did so and completed this week, and he gave him Rachel his daughter for his wife.

29. And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his servant-girl, to her to be a servant-girl.

30. And he came [in] also to Rachel, and he loved Rachel also, more than Leah; and he served with him yet another seven years.

31. And Jehovah saw that Leah was hated, and He opened her womb; and Rachel was barren.

32. And Leah conceived and bore a son; and she called his name Reuben, for she said, Because Jehovah has seen my affliction; for now my husband (vir) will love me.

33. And she conceived again and bore a son, and she said, For Jehovah has heard that I was hated and has given me this one also; and she called his name Simeon.

34. And she conceived again and bore a son, and she said, Now this time my husband (vir) will cling to me, because I have borne him three sons; therefore she called his name Levi.

35. And she conceived again and bore a son, and she said, This time I will confess Jehovah; therefore she called his name Judah. And she left off bearing.

CONTENTS

In this chapter 'Jacob' refers, in the internal sense, to the Lord's Natural, the subject being how the Good of Truth in His Natural was joined to a kindred good from a Divine source, meant by 'Laban'. First these were so joined through the affection for external truth, meant by 'Leah', and then through the affection for internal truth, meant by 'Rachel'.

Footnotes: