The Bible

 

Exodus 1:22

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22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

Commentary

 

God

  
Ancient of Days, by William Blake

When the Bible speaks of "Jehovah," it is representing love itself, the inmost love that is the essence of the Lord. That divine love is one, whole and complete in itself, and Jehovah also is one, a name applied only to the Lord. The divine love expresses itself in the form of wisdom. Love, then, is the essence of God -- His inmost. Wisdom -- the loving understanding of how to put love into action -- is slightly more external, giving love a way to express itself. Wisdom, however, is expressed in a great variety of thoughts and ideas, what the Writings collectively call divine truth. There are also many imaginary gods, and sometimes angels and people can be called gods (the Lord said Moses would be as a god to Aaron). So when the Bible calls the Lord "God," it is in most cases referring to divine truth. In other cases, "God" has reference to what is called the divine human. The case there is this: As human beings, we cannot engage the Lord directly as divine love. It is too powerful and too pure. Instead, we have to approach Him by understanding Him through divine truth. Divine truth, then, is the Lord in human form, a form we can approach and understand. Thus "God" is also used in reference to this human aspect, because it is an expression of truth.

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This video is a product of the New Christian Bible Study Corporation. Follow this link for more information and more explanations - text, pictures, audio files, and videos: www.newchristianbiblestudy.org

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1789

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1789. 'Your great reward' means the end in view realized in victories. This is clear from the meaning of 'reward' as the prize following conflicts brought about by temptations - here the end in view realized in victories, for the Lord never looked for any prize of victory for Himself. His prize of victories was the salvation of the whole human race. It was out of love towards the whole human race that He fought. When anyone fights out of that love he demands no prize for himself, since that love is such as wishes to give away and impart to others all that is its own, and to have nothing for itself. Consequently it is the salvation of the whole human race that is meant here by 'reward'.

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