9223. “你要献上你五谷的初熟

之物和酒的初熟之物, 不可迟延” 表由于信的一切良善和真理皆来自主, 所以要把它们归于主, 不可归于自己. 这从 “初熟之物”,

“五谷”,

“酒” 和 “不可迟延” 的含义清楚可知:

“初熟之物” 是指那些必须占据首位的事物, 因而是指那些要为首的事物, 如下文所述;

“五谷” 是指信之真理的良善 (参看5295, 5410, 5959节);

“酒” 是指良善之真理, 因而是指信的良善之真理 (1798, 6377节);

“不可迟延” 当论及信之良善和真理时, 是指出于情感归于, 因为凡不是迟迟, 而是快速所行的, 都是出于爱和情感来行的 (7695, 7866节). 之所以表示归于主, 是因为初熟之物, 以及头生的, 都被归给耶和华, 并被耶和华归给亚伦和他的种; 在圣言中,

“耶和华” 表示主 (1736, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6303, 6945, 6956, 8274, 8864节). 因此, 由于 “五谷和酒的初熟之物” 是指信之良善和真理, 故意思是说, 它们要归于主, 因为它们来自主. 构成人的思维和意愿的一切都是流入的, 一切良善和真理皆来自主 (参看2886-2888, 3142, 3147, 4151, 4249, 5119, 5147, 5150, 5259, 5482, 5649, 5779, 5854, 5893, 6027, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7270, 7343, 8321, 8685, 8701, 8717, 8728, 8823, 8863, 9110节); 这些真理来自经历 (6053-6058, 6189- 6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626节).

要献给主的初熟之物是收割季的初熟之物和酿榨季的初熟之物, 以及剪羊毛时的初熟之物, 同样是水果的初熟之物. 收割季的初熟之物是又干又新鲜的谷穗, 以及要被摇动的禾捆, 后来禾场上的产物, 也就是糕饼; 而酿榨季的初熟之物是酒, 葡萄汁和油的初熟之物. 除此之外还有剪羊毛时的初熟之物, 以及装在筐子里献上的水果的初熟之物. 另外, 一切头生的都要献给主; 只是其中, 头生的人被救赎了, 未献为祭的头生动物也被救赎了, 如头生的驴, 骡, 马等等. 初熟之物和头生的都献给耶和华, 被耶和华交给亚伦和他的种, 因为以大祭司的职分来服事的亚伦和他的儿子代表主. 在本节,

“五谷和酒的初熟之物” 是指刚才所提到的收割季和酿榨季的一切初熟之物. 因为原文所用的词语是 “五谷的丰满” 和 “酒之泪”;

“丰满” 是指成熟并收割时的庄稼,

“泪” 是指滴落下来的液体. 当以内义来观之时, 从其初熟之物被献上的这几种产物可以看出初熟之物具体代表什么, 因为主吩咐给以色列人的一切宗教律例和仪式皆代表教会的内在事物.

“五谷” 表示信之良善,

“酒” 表示信之真理, 这一点可见于前面所提到的章节. 将初熟之物交给耶和华表示, 将信的一切良善和真理都归于主, 而不是归于自己是教会首先要做的事. 将它们归于主就是知道, 承认并相信这些事物来自主, 决非来自自己; 因为如前所示, 信完全来自主.

“初熟之物” 之所以具有这种含义, 是因为它们是供物和礼物, 是对大地出产的感谢, 也是对来自耶和华, 也就是主的赐福的承认, 因而是对一切事物皆来自祂的承认. 就内义而言, 它们是对其初熟之物被给出的收成, 五谷, 葡萄汁, 酒, 羊毛和水果所表示的信的一切良善和真理皆源于主的承认 (关于这些初熟之物, 可参看出埃及记 23:19; 34:26; 利未记 23:10, 11, 20; 民数记 15:19-21; 18:12, 13; 申命记 18:4; 26:1-11). 以西结书 (20:40) 和弥迦书 (7:1, 2) 中的 “初熟之物” 所表相同.

4570. 'But indeed Israel will be your name' means the nature of the internal natural, or the nature of the spiritual aspect of it, represented by 'Israel'; 'and He called his name Israel' means the internal Natural or the celestial-spiritual aspect of the Natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'name' as the essential nature, dealt with just above in 4568, and from the meaning of 'Israel' as the internal aspect of the Lord's natural and also the celestial-spiritual aspect of the Natural. No one can know why Jacob was called Israel unless he knows what the internal natural is and what the external natural is, and in addition what the celestial-spiritual aspect of the natural is. These matters have in actual fact been explained already, when Jacob was named Israel by the angel; but because they are the kind of things about which people know little, if anything, they need to be explained again.

[2] Two quite distinct and separate degrees exist in man - the rational and the natural. The rational constitutes the internal man and the natural the external; but the natural, like the rational also, has an external aspect of its own and an internal one. The external aspect of the natural is composed of the physical senses and of the impressions received from the world through these senses immediately. By means of his sensory impressions a person is in touch with things belonging to the world and to the body; and people who are confined solely to this natural are called sensory-minded because their thought goes scarcely at all beyond sensory experience. But the internal part of the natural is made up of ideas inferred - by the use of analysis and analogies - from what is in the external, even though it draws on and derives its ideas from sensory impressions. So the natural is in touch through the senses with things belonging to the world and to the body, and through ideas, arrived at by the use of analogy and analysis, with the rational, thus with things belonging to the spiritual world. Such is the composition of the natural. There is another part that exists between and has links with both of them - with the external aspect and with the internal - and so is in touch through the external with things in the natural world, and through the internal with those in the spiritual world. This external natural is represented specifically by 'Jacob', and the internal natural by 'Israel'. The situation is similar with the rational; that is to say, there is an external aspect and an internal, and a further one between the two. But this, in the Lord's Divine mercy, is to be discussed where Joseph is the subject, for 'Joseph' represents the external aspect of the rational.

[3] What the celestial-spiritual is however has been stated several times already - that essentially the celestial is good and the spiritual truth, so that the celestial-spiritual is that which is good resulting from truth. Now because the Lord's Church is both external and internal, and internal features of the Church had to be represented by the descendants of Jacob through things of an external nature, Jacob could not therefore be called Jacob any longer, but was called Israel - see what has been introduced already about these matters in 4286, 4292. Further to this it should be recognized that the terms celestial and spiritual are used both of the rational and of the natural. Celestial is used when people receive good, and spiritual when they receive truth from the Lord; for the good which flows from the Lord into heaven is called celestial, and the truth is called spiritual. In the highest sense the naming of Jacob as Israel means that the Lord progressed towards more interior aspects and made the Natural within Him Divine, both the external aspect of it and the internal. For in the highest sense that which is represented is the Natural itself.