6442. 'He will seize in the morning, he will devour the spoil' means that the deliverance takes place when the Lord is present. This is clear from the meaning of 'the morning' in the highest sense as the Lord, dealt with in 2405, 2780 - therefore 'he will seize in the morning' means that the rescue and deliverance of the good takes place when the Lord is present; and from the meaning of 'devouring the spoil' as taking to Himself those He rescued and delivered. For the meaning of 'devouring' as taking and joining to oneself, see 3168, 3513 (end), 3596, 5643; and as for the meaning of 'the spoil' as those who have been rescued and delivered, this is self-evident. Because the Lord is spoken of in the Word as One who rescues and delivers the good, the expressions to seize, prey, spoil, and plunder are also used in reference to Him. This is clear from what was stated above in verse 9 about Judah, 'A lion's cub is Judah; from the plunder you have gone up, my son', meaning that from the Lord through the celestial comes deliverance from hell, see 6368. It is also clear from other places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

Jehovah's roaring is like that of a lion, He roars like young lions, and growls, and lays hold of the plunder so that no one rescues it. Isaiah 5:29.

In the same prophet,

As a lion roars, and a young lion over his prey, so Jehovah Zebaoth will come down to fight on Mount Zion. Isaiah 31:4.

In Jeremiah,

I will rescue you on that day, I will surely rescue you; but let your life ¹ be as spoil to you, for the reason that you have put your trust in Me. Jeremiah 39:17-18.

In Zephaniah,

Wait for Me, said Jehovah, until the day I rise up to the plunder. Zephaniah 3:8.

In Isaiah,

I will divide for Him among many, so that He may divide the spoil with the strong. Isaiah 53:12.

The whole chapter in which this verse appears refers to the Lord.

[2] The meaning of 'devouring the prey (or spoil)' as taking to oneself good things that have been seized by the evil is clear in Balaam's prophetic utterance in Moses,

See, a people will rise up like an old lion, and like a young lion will lift itself up. He will not rest until he has devoured the prey. Numbers 23:24.

From all these quotations it is evident that 'prey', 'spoil', and 'plunder mean the rescue and deliverance of the good by the Lord. The truth that 'Benjamin' represents is said to be what rescues and delivers, because power is an attribute of truth, 3091, 4931, though it derives such power from good, 6344, 6423.

Footnotes:

4931. CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE GRAND MAN - continued

IN THIS SECTION THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THE HANDS, THE ARMS, THE FEET, AND THE LOINS WITH IT

It has been shown already that the whole of heaven bears resemblance to a human being, together with each of his organs, members, and viscera. It has been shown too that this is so because heaven bears resemblance to the Lord; for the Lord is the All in all of heaven, so much its All that, properly speaking, heaven is essentially Divine Good and Divine Truth received from the Lord. For this reason heaven is distinguished into many so to speak separate provinces, as many as there are in a person's viscera, organs, and members, with which also there is a correspondence. Unless such a correspondence existed of the human being with heaven, and through heaven with the Lord, he could not remain in existence for even a single moment, all things being held in connection with one another by means of influx.

[2] But all those provinces are linked to two kingdoms - the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom. The first of these - the celestial kingdom - is the kingdom of the heart within the Grand Man; the second - the spiritual kingdom - is the kingdom of the lungs there. And in the same way as in the human being, the heart reigns, and so do the lungs, in every single part of the Grand Man. These two kingdoms combine in a marvellous way. Their combination likewise is represented in the combination of the heart and lungs in the human being, and in the combined workings of the two within each member and interior organ.

[3] While a person is an embryo, that is, while still in the womb, he is in the kingdom of the heart. But once he has struggled out of the womb he enters the kingdom of the lungs. Then, if he allows the truths of faith to lead him into the good of love, he returns from the kingdom of the lungs within the Grand Man to the kingdom of the heart. For thereby he enters the womb a second time and is born again. Once again those two kingdoms become combined in him, but the order has been turned around. Previously the kingdom of the heart in him was under the control of the lungs, but now the kingdom of the lungs comes under the control of the heart. That is, first of all the truth of faith has dominion in him, but afterwards the good of charity does so. For the correspondence of the heart with the good of love and that of the lungs with the truth of faith, see 3635, 3883-3896.