The Bible

 

Postanak 15

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1 Poslije tih događaja Jahve uputi Abramu riječ u ukazanju: "Ne boj se, Abrame, ja sam ti zaštita; a nagrada tvoja bit će vrlo velika!"

2 Abram odgovori: "Gospodine moj, Jahve, čemu mi tvoji darovi kad ostajem bez poroda; kad je mojoj kući nasljednik Eliezer Damaščanin?

3 Kako mi nisi dao potomstva - nastavi Abram - jedan će, eto, od mojih ukućana postati moj baštinik."

4 Ali mu Jahve opet uputi riječ: "Taj neće biti tvoj baštinik, nego će ti baštinik biti tvoj potomak."

5 Izvede ga van i reče: "Pogledaj na nebo i zvijezde prebroj ako ih možeš prebrojiti." A onda doda: "Toliko će biti tvoje potomstvo."

6 Abram povjerova Jahvi, i on mu to uračuna u pravednost.

7 Tada mu on reče: "Ja sam Jahve koji sam te odveo iz Ura Kaldejskoga da ti predam ovu zemlju u posjed."

8 A on odvrati: "Gospodine moj, Jahve, kako ću ja doznati da ću je zaposjesti?"

9 Odgovori mu: "Prinesi mi junicu od tri godine, kozu od tri godine, ovna od tri godine, jednu grlicu i jednog golubića."

10 Sve mu to donese, rasiječe na pole i metnu sve pole jednu prema drugoj; ptica nije rasijecao.

11 Ptice grabežljivice obarale se na leševe, ali ih je Abram rastjerivao.

12 Kad je sunce bilo pri zalazu, dubok san obuzme Abrama, a onda se na nj spusti gust mrak pun jeze.

13 Tada Bog reče Abramu: "Dobro znaj da će tvoji potomci biti stranci u tuđoj zemlji; robovat će i biti tlačeni četiri stotine godina,

14 ali narodu kojem budu služili ja ću suditi; i konačno će izići s velikim blagom.

15 A ti ćeš k ocima svojim u miru poći, u sretnoj starosti bit ćeš sahranjen.

16 Oni će se ovamo vratiti za četvrtog naraštaja, jer mjera se zlodjela amorejskih još nije navršila."

17 Kad je sunce zašlo i pao gust mrak, pojavi se zadimljen žeravnjak i goruća zublja te prođu između onih dijelova.

18 Toga je dana Jahve sklopio Savez s Abramom rekavši: "Potomstvu tvojemu dajem zemlju ovu od Rijeke u Egiptu do Velike rijeke, rijeke Eufrata:

19 Kenijce, Kenižane, Kadmonce,

20 Hetite, Perižane, Refaimce,

21 Amorejce, Kanaance, Girgašane, Jebusejce."

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1843

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1843. Thy seed shall be a stranger. That this signifies that charity and faith shall be rare, is evident from the signification of “a stranger,” and of “seed.” A “stranger” or “sojourner” signifies one that is not born in the land, so that he is not acknowledged as a native, and thus is looked upon as an alien. But “seed” signifies charity and its faith (as before shown, n. 255, 1025 verse 3). Because that is called “strange” which is looked upon as alien, and alien is that which is not in the land or of the land, it follows that it is that which is rare; and consequently it here means that charity and the faith of charity, which are the “seed,” will be rare. It is the time before the consummation that is here treated of, when there shall be “great darkness,” that is, falsities; the seed shall then be a stranger, that is, charity and faith will then be rare.

[2] That faith would be rare in the last times was foretold by the Lord when He spoke of the consummation of the age (Matthew 24:4-51; Mark 13:3-37; Luke 21:7-38), where everything that is said implies that charity and faith will be rare at those times, and that at last there will be none. The like is said by John in Revelation, and also in many passages of the Prophets, besides what is said in the historical parts of the Word.

[3] But by the faith that will perish in the last times there is meant nothing but charity, for there cannot possibly be any faith but the faith of charity. He who has not charity cannot have any faith at all, for charity is the very soil in which faith is implanted; it is its heart, from which it exists and lives. The ancients therefore compared love and charity to the heart, and faith to the lungs, both of which are in the breast. This comparison involves a real likeness, seeing that if a man should pretend to a life of faith without charity, it would be like having life from the lungs alone without the heart, which is manifestly impossible; and therefore the ancients called all things that pertain to charity things of the heart, and all things that pertain to faith without charity they said were of the mouth only, or of the lungs by the influx of the breathing into the speech. Thence came the ancient forms of speech concerning good and truth; that they must go forth from the heart.

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