The Bible

 

Jueces 2

Study

   

1 Y El ángel de Jehová subió de Gilgal á Bochîm, y dijo: Yo os saqué de Egipto, y os introduje en la tierra de la cual había jurado á vuestros padres; y dije: No invalidaré jamás mi pacto con vosotros;

2 Con tal que vosotros no hagáis alianza con los moradores de aquesta tierra, cuyos altares habéis de derribar: mas vosotros no habéis atendido á mi voz: ¿por qué habéis hecho esto?

3 Por tanto yo también dije: No los echaré de delante de vosotros, sino que os serán por azote para vuestros costados, y sus dioses por tropiezo.

4 Y como el ángel de Jehová habló estas palabras á todos los hijos de Israel, el pueblo lloró en alta voz.

5 Y llamaron por nombre aquel lugar Bochîm: y sacrificaron allí á Jehová.

6 Porque ya Josué había despedido al pueblo, y los hijos de Israel se habían ido cada uno á su heredad para poseerla.

7 Y el pueblo había servido á Jehová todo el tiempo de Josué, y todo el tiempo de los ancianos que vivieron largos días después de Josué, los cuales habían visto todas las grandes obras de Jehová, que el había hecho por Israel.

8 Y murió Josué hijo de Nun, siervo de Jehová, siendo de ciento y diez años.

9 Y enterráronlo en el término de su heredad en Timnath-sera, en el monte de Ephraim, el norte del monte de Gaas.

10 Y toda aquella generación fué también recogida con sus padres. Y levantóse después de ellos otra generación, que no conocían á Jehová, ni la obra que él había hecho por Israel.

11 Y los hijos de Israel hicieron lo malo en ojos de Jehová, y sirvieron á los Baales:

12 Y dejaron á Jehová el Dios de sus padres, que los había sacado de la tierra de Egipto, y fuéronse tras otros dioses, los dioses de los pueblos que estaban en sus alrededores, á los cuales adoraron; y provocaron á ira á Jehová.

13 Y dejaron á Jehová, y adoraron á Baal y á Astaroth.

14 Y el furor de Jehová se encendió contra Israel, el cual los entregó en manos de robadores que los despojaron, y los vendió en manos de sus enemigos de alrededor: y no pudieron parar más delante de sus enemigos.

15 Por donde quiera que salían, la mano de Jehová era contra ellos para mal, como Jehová había dicho, y como Jehová se lo había jurado; así los afligió en gran manera.

16 Mas Jehová suscitó jueces que los librasen de mano de los que los despojaban.

17 Y tampoco oyeron á sus jueces, sino que fornicaron tras dioses ajenos, á los cuales adoraron: apartáronse bien presto del camino en que anduvieron sus padres obedeciendo á los mandamientos de Jehová; mas ellos no hicieron así.

18 Y cuando Jehová les suscitaba jueces, Jehová era con el juez, y librábalos de mano de los enemigos todo el tiempo de aquel juez: porque Jehová se arrepentía por sus gemidos á causa de los que los oprimían y afligían.

19 Mas en muriendo el juez, ellos se tornaban, y se corrompían más que sus padres, siguiendo dioses ajenos para servirles, é inclinándose delante de ellos; y nada disminuían de sus obras, ni de su duro camino.

20 Y la ira de Jehová se encendió contra Israel, y dijo: Pues que esta gente traspasa mi pacto que ordené á sus padres, y no obedecen mi voz,

21 Tampoco yo echaré más de delante de ellos á ninguna de aquestas gentes que dejó Josué cuando murió;

22 Para que por ellas probara yo á Israel, si guardarían ellos el camino de Jehová andando por él, como sus padres lo guardaron, ó no.

23 Por esto dejó Jehová aquellas gentes, y no las desarraigó luego, ni las entregó en mano de Josué.

   

Commentary

 

Hills

  

'Hills' signify the goods of charity.

(References: Arcana Coelestia 6435, 10438)

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9434

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

9434. 'And the sight of Jehovah's glory was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel' means Divine Truth beaming brightly with the good of love in heaven itself, but harmful and ruinous with those restricted to its outward level, separated from the inward. This is clear from the meaning of 'the sight of Jehovah's glory' as the appearance presented by Divine Truth emanating from the Lord (the fact that 'the sight of' means the appearance presented before the eyes is self-evident; and for the meaning of 'Jehovah's glory' as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, see 9429); from the meaning of 'fire' as love in both senses, dealt with in 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324, in this instance God's love itself; from the meaning of 'the top of the mountain' as the inmost part of heaven, for 'Mount Sinai' means heaven, 9420, 9427, and its highest point, which is called 'the top' and the peak, means its inmost part, 9422; from the meaning of 'devouring' as consuming, and so harming and ruining; and from the representation of 'the children of Israel' as those restricted to outward things, apart from inward ones, dealt with often above. From all this it becomes clear that 'the sight of Jehovah's glory was like a [devouring] fire on the top of the mountain' means Divine Truth beaming brightly with the good of love in heaven itself; and the statement that it was 'like a devouring fire in the eyes of the children of Israel' means that with those restricted to its outward level, apart from the inward, it was harmful and ruinous.

[2] The implications of all this are that there are two kinds of love which are complete opposites, heavenly love and hellish love. Heavenly love consists of love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour; hellish love consists of self-love and love of the world. Those with whom hellish loves reign are in hell, whereas those with whom heavenly loves reign are in heaven. For love is what constitutes the actual life within a person; without the love there is no life whatever. In everyone the heat and fire that his life possesses originate in his love; without that animating heat and fire he has no life, as is plainly evident. From this it follows that the character of the love determines the character of the life, and therefore that the character of the love determines that of the person. This being so, anyone can know from what his loves are whether he has heaven within himself or hell. The love present in a person is like a fire or flame, and in addition constitutes, as has been stated, the fire or flame of life; and the faith present there is like the light radiating from that fire or flame, and in addition constitutes the light which enlightens the more internal parts of his understanding. This also reveals the character of the light which gives rise to faith among those governed by heavenly love and the character of the light which gives rise to faith among those ruled by hellish love. The latter kind of light gives rise to faith that is no more than persuasion, which in itself is not faith at all, only a conviction that something is so, dictated by selfishness and worldliness, see 9363-9369. In the Church at the present day spiritual life, which is eternal life, is thought to lie in faith alone, thus in faith without the good works of heavenly love. But anyone who gives thought to the matter can see from the things which have now been stated what the character of that life is.

[3] Something must be said next about what Divine fire, that is, Divine Love, is like among those governed by heavenly love and what it is like among those ruled by hellish love. Among those governed by heavenly love it is God's fire or love constantly creating and renewing the interior parts of the will and enlightening the interior parts of the understanding. But among those ruled by hellish love it is God's fire or love constantly harming and ruining; and the reason for this is that among these people God's love meets with contrary feelings that destroy it. For it is turned into the fire or love of self and the world, and so into contempt for others in comparison with themselves, into feelings of enmity towards all who do not support them, thus into feelings of hatred, feelings of vengeance, and finally the readiness to behave brutally. This is why Jehovah's fire appeared before the eyes of the children of Israel as a devouring or consuming one. For being restricted to outward things, apart from inward, they were ruled by selfish and worldly love.

[4] The fact that this fire was to them a devouring and consuming one is again evident elsewhere in Moses,

It happened, when you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, and the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. And you said, Lo, Jehovah our God has caused us to see His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire. Why therefore should we die? For this great fire will devour us; if we hear the voice of Jehovah our God any more we shall certainly die. Deuteronomy 5:23-25.

See also what has been shown in 6832, 8814, 8819, and the places quoted in 9380 showing that the character of this people was such. There are other places in the Word in which 'devouring fire' is used in reference to the wicked and means ruination, for example in Joel,

The day of Jehovah is coming, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a day of cloud and gloom. Fire devours before them, 1 and behind them a flame burns. The land before them is like the garden of Eden, but behind them a desolate wilderness. 2 Joel 2:1-3.

[5] In Isaiah,

Jehovah will cause His glorious voice 3 to be heard, in the flame of a devouring fire. Isaiah 30:30.

In the same prophet,

Who among us will dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us will dwell with the hearths of eternity? Isaiah 33:14.

In the same prophet,

You will be punished 4 by Jehovah with the flame of a devouring fire. Isaiah 29:6.

In Ezekiel,

Your descendants will be devoured by fire. Ezekiel 23:25.

In these places 'a devouring fire' is the fire of desires that spring from self-love and love of the world, for this fire is that which consumes a person and ruins the Church. This was also represented by the fire that went out from before Jehovah, which devoured Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu, because they put foreign 5 fire in their censers, Leviticus 10:1-2. 'Putting foreign fire in censers' means introducing worship that springs from a love other than that which is heavenly. Such fire means selfish and worldly love, and every desire arising from it, see 1297, 1861, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324, 7575, 9141.

Footnotes:

1. i.e. the great and strong people who will invade the land

2. literally, a wilderness of ruination

3. literally, the glory of His voice

4. literally, visited

5. i.e. unauthorized or profane

  
/ 10837  
  

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