The Bible

 

Postanak 21

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1 I Gospod pohodi Saru, kao što beše rekao i učini Gospod Sari kao što beše kazao.

2 Jer zatrudne i rodi Sara Avramu sina u starosti njegovoj u isto vreme kad kaza Gospod.

3 I Avram nadede ime sinu koji mu se rodi, kog mu rodi Sara, Isak.

4 I obreza Avram sina svog Isaka kad bi od osam dana, kao što mu zapovedi Bog.

5 A Avramu beše sto godina kad mu se rodi sin Isak.

6 A Sara reče: Bog mi učini smeh; ko god čuje, smejaće mi se.

7 I reče: Ko bi rekao Avramu da će Sara dojiti decu? Ipak mu rodih sina u starosti njegovoj.

8 A kad dete doraste da se odbije od sise, učini Avram veliku gozbu onaj dan kad odbiše Isaka od sise.

9 I Sara vide sina Agare Misirke, koja ga rodi Avramu, gde se podsmeva;

10 Pa reče Avramu: Oteraj ovu robinju sa sinom njenim, jer sin ove robinje neće biti naslednik s mojim sinom, s Isakom.

11 A to Avramu bi vrlo krivo radi sina njegovog.

12 Ali Bog reče Avramu: Nemoj da ti je krivo radi deteta i radi robinje tvoje. Šta ti je god kazala Sara, poslušaj; jer će ti se u Isaku seme prozvati.

13 Ali ću i od sina robinjinog učiniti narod, jer je tvoje seme.

14 I Avram ustav ujutru rano, uze hleba i mešinu vode, i dade Agari metnuvši joj na leđa, i dete, i otpusti je. A ona otišavši lutaše po pustinji virsavskoj.

15 A kad nesta vode u mešini, ona baci dete pod jedno drvo,

16 Pa otide koliko se može strelom dobaciti, i sede prema njemu; jer govoraše: Da ne gledam kako će umreti dete. I sedeći prema njemu stade glasno plakati.

17 A Bog ču glas detinji, i anđeo Božji viknu s neba Agaru, i reče joj: Šta ti je Agaro? Ne boj se, jer Bog ču glas detinji odande gde je.

18 Ustani, digni dete i uzmi ga u naručje; jer ću od njega učiniti velik narod.

19 I Bog joj otvori oči, te ugleda studenac; i otišavši napuni mešinu vode, i napoji dete.

20 I Bog beše s detetom, te odraste, i živeše u pustinji i posta strelac.

21 A živeše u pustinji Faranu. I mati ga oženi iz zemlje misirske.

22 U to vreme reče Avimeleh i Fihol vojvoda njegov Avramu govoreći: Bog je s tobom u svemu što radiš.

23 Zakuni mi se sada Bogom da nećeš prevariti mene ni sina mog ni unuka mog nego da ćeš dobro onako kako sam ja tebi činio i ti činiti meni i zemlji u kojoj si došljak.

24 A Avram reče: Hoću se zakleti.

25 Ali Avram prekori Avimeleha za studenac, koji uzeše na silu sluge Avimelehove.

26 A Avimeleh reče: Ne znam ko je to učinio; niti mi ti kaza, niti čuh do danas.

27 Tada Avram uze ovaca i goveda, i dade Avimelehu, i uhvati veru među sobom.

28 A Avram odluči sedam jaganjaca iz stada.

29 A Avimeleh reče Avramu: Šta će ono sedam jaganjaca što si odlučio?

30 A on odgovori: Da primiš iz moje ruke ono sedam jaganjaca, da mi bude svedočanstvo da sam ja iskopao ovaj studenac.

31 Otuda se prozva ono mesto Virsaveja, jer se onde zakleše obojica.

32 Tako uhvatiše veru na Virsaveji. Tada se diže Avimeleh i Fihol vojvoda njegov, i vratiše se u zemlju filistejsku.

33 A Avram posadi lug na Virsaveji, i onde prizva ime Gospoda Boga Večnog.

34 I Avram živeše kao došljak u zemlji filistejskoj mnogo vremena.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2625

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2625. 'At the appointed time' means when the Rational was such that it was receptive. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'time'. There are two things which appear to be indispensable while a person lives in the world because they exist as essential elements of the natural order - those two things being space and time. Living in the world or natural order therefore is living in space and time. But these two cease to have any existence in the next life. They do, it is true, appear to exist to some extent in the world of spirits, the reason for this being that spirits recently arrived from life in the body bring with them mental pictures of natural things. But subsequently they perceive that space and time do not exist in that life but states instead, and that states in the next life correspond to extensions of space and of time within the natural order - states in respect to Being corresponding to those of space, and in respect to Manifestation to those of time. Regarding space or place, see 1274, 1379, 1380, 1382.

[2] From this anyone may see what kind of mental pictures a person is able to have while in the world or natural order regarding things which belong to the next life and about many arcana of faith. He may see that such a person is unwilling to believe those things unless he can take them in by means of objects that exist in the world, indeed by sensory evidence. For he cannot do other than suppose that if he were to divest himself of his mental pictures that have been formed from space and time, more so to divest himself of space and time themselves, he would cease to be anything at all and so would have nothing left to him from which he could perceive with his senses or have thoughts of anything apart from that which was unintelligible to him. But in actual fact quite the reverse is the case: the life of angels is such that it is the wisest and happiest of all.

[3] This is the reason why people's ages mentioned in the Word do not in the internal sense mean ages but states, so that in this verse 'old age' does not mean old age. Nor does any number mean a number but some specific state, as in the case of 'a hundred years' mentioned further on. From this it now becomes clear that 'the appointed time' means the state when the rational was such that it was receptive.

[4] As regards the specific teaching presented here - that the Divine Rational received being and was given manifestation from the Lord's Divine spiritual united to His Divine celestial, when the days had been completed for him to cast off the human and when the Rational was such that it was receptive (meant in the internal sense by 'Sarah conceived and bore to Abraham a son in his old age, at the appointed time') - the following needs to be known:

The human has its beginnings in the inmost part of the rational, see 2106, 2194. The Lord advanced gradually towards the union of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence, and of the Divine Essence with the Human Essence, 1864, 2033, 2523.

He did so by His own power, 1921, 2025, 2026, 2083, through continuing temptations and repeated victories, 1690, 1737, 1813, and through receiving revelations repeatedly from His own Divine, 1616, 2500, till at length He cast out the whole human from the mother, 1414, 1444, 2574.

And in this way He made His Human - as to the Rational - Divine, as taught by the things that occur in this verse.

From all this it is evident how the explanation 'when the days had been completed for Him to cast off the human and when the Rational was such that it was receptive' is to be understood.

[5] Some idea of this matter may be had from what happens to people who are being regenerated. The celestial things of love, and the spiritual things of faith, are instilled into them by the Lord not all at once but gradually; and when by means of those things a person's rational has become such that it is able to be receptive, he is for the first time becoming regenerate, mostly by means of temptations in which he overcomes. While these experiences are taking place the days are being completed to cast off the old man and put on the new. Regarding man's regeneration, see 677, 679, 711, 848, 986, 1555, 2475.

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