The Bible

 

Hosea 6

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1 In their affliction they will rise early to me: Come, and let us return to the Lord:

2 For he hath taken us, and he will heal us: he will strike, and he will cure us.

3 He will revive us after two days: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. We shall know, and we shall follow on, that we may know the Lord. His going forth is prepared as the morning light, and he will come to us as the early and the latter rain to the earth.

4 What shall I do to thee, O Ephraim? what shall I do to thee, O Juda? your mercy is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goeth away in the morning.

5 For this reason have I hewed them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments shall go forth as the light.

6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice: and the knowledge of God more than holocausts.

7 But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant, there have they dealt treacherously against me.

8 Galaad is a city of workers of idols, supplanted with blood.

9 And like the jaws of highway robbers, they conspire with the priests who murder in the way those that pass out Sichem: for they have wrought wickedness.

10 I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel: the fornications of Ephraim there: Israel is defiled.

11 And thou also, O Juda, set thee a harvest, when I shall bring back captivity of my people.

   

Commentary

 

Morning

  
Two gorgeous red poppies -- one popped, and one just about to.

Morning comes with the rising of the sun, and the sun -- which gives life to the earth with its warmth and light -- represents the Lord in His divinity, bringing spiritual life through love and wisdom. Thus, the morning represents the coming of the Lord into our lives, and all the things that flow from it: the love, joy and enlightenment He brings; the peace and tranquility of passing the spiritual obscurity of night; the anticipation of the learning and usefulness of a new day; and the awareness of The Lord's renewed presence.

(References: Apocalypse Explained 179; Apocalypse Revealed 151; Arcana Coelestia 2333 [1-3], 2540, 2780, 5740, 8211, 8812, 10134, 10200, 10413; True Christian Religion 764 [1-2])

From Swedenborg's Works

 

True Christian Religion #248

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248. IX. The details of the Word all contain a marriage of the Lord and the church, and so a marriage of good and truth.

Up to now it has not been seen that the details of the Word contain a marriage of the Lord and the church, and so a marriage of good and truth. Nor could this be seen, because the spiritual sense of the Word has not before been revealed, and that marriage can only be seen by means of that sense. The Word has two senses hidden in its literal sense; these are called the spiritual and the celestial senses. In the spiritual sense the contents of the Word refer chiefly to the church, and in the celestial sense chiefly to the Lord. Again in the spiritual sense its contents refer to Divine truth, and in the celestial sense to Divine good. Hence there is this marriage in the Word. But this is not apparent except to those who have learned from the spiritual and celestial senses of the Word the meanings of the words and names. For certain words and names are used of good, and certain of truth, and some include both. So without this knowledge it was impossible to see this marriage in the details of the Word. This is the reason this secret was not previously revealed.

It is because this kind of marriage is contained in the details of the Word, that it so often uses two expressions which appear to repeat the same thing. Yet they are not really repetitions, but one refers to good, the other to truth; and the two taken together make this link and so form a single unit. This too is the source of the Divine holiness of the Word; for in every Divine act good is joined with truth and truth with good.

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