10402. 'Pull away the ear-jewels of gold from the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters' means drawing out of the literal sense of the Word such things as are favourable to external forms of love and to the immediate offspring of these loves. This is clear from the meaning of 'pulling away' as drawing out, at this point out of the literal sense of the Word since that sense is the subject; from the meaning of 'the ear-jewels of gold which are on the ears' as symbols representative of obedience to the delights belonging to external kinds of love and discernment of them, for obedience and discernment are meant by 'the ears', and the good of love - at this point the delight belonging to external kinds of love - is meant by 'gold', so that 'the ear-jewels of gold' are symbols representative of that obedience and discernment (for the meaning of 'the ears' as obedience and discernment, see 2542, 4652-4660, 8990, 9397, 10061; for that of 'gold' as the good of love, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881, so that when it has reference to external kinds of love, which are self-love and love of the world, 'gold' means the delight belonging to them, thus that which is evil, 8932; and the fact that 'ear-jewels' consequently are symbols representative of obedience and discernment, 4551); from the meaning of 'wives' as forms of good in the Church, dealt with in 3160, 4823, 6014, 7022, 8337, and therefore in the contrary sense as forms of evil there, 409; from the meaning of 'sons' as truths, and in the contrary sense as falsities, dealt with in 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, 4257, 6583, 6584, 9807; and from the meaning of 'daughters' as affections for truth and good, and therefore in the contrary sense as affections for falsity and evil, dealt with in 2362, 3963, 6729. From all this it is evident that 'pull away the ear-jewels of gold from the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters' means drawing out of the literal sense of the Word such things as are discerned to be obedient or favourable to the delights belonging to external forms of love and favourable to the major ideas resulting from these.

[2] The fact that 'ear-jewels' are symbols of obedience and discernment is clear in Hosea,

Contend with your mother, since she is not My wife, in order that she may remove her whoredoms from her sight ¹ , lest perhaps I strip her naked, and make her like a wilderness, and do not have mercy on her children, since she has said, I will go after my lovers, those giving me my bread and my water, my wool and my linen. And she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain and the new wine and the oil, and who multiplied the silver for her, and the gold they made for baal. And I will lay waste her vine and her fig tree. And I will visit on her ² the days of the baals to whom she burned incense and decked herself with her ear-jewels and her other jewellery, and went after her lovers and forgot Me. Hosea 2:1-13.

'Burning incense to and decking herself with ear-jewels for the baals' denotes worshipping the baals as gods and being obedient to them.

[3] Earlier parts of that chapter have also been quoted to allow it to be seen what the outward sense of the Word is like without the inward, and what it is like together with the inward, and so how the Word is understood by those who see its outward statements in isolation from what is inward, and how it is understood by those who see the outward statements from the point of view of that which is inward. Those who see the outward statements in isolation from what is inward inevitably take them literally. That is, they take them to mean that they should literally contend with the mother of the children of Israel; that she was literally no longer loved by Jehovah as a wife; that if she did not remove the whoredoms from herself she would literally be stripped naked and made like a wilderness, and Jehovah would not have mercy on her children, since she had said that she was going to go after her lovers who gave her bread, water, wool, and linen; that she did not know it was Jehovah who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and multiplied the silver; that they made the gold for baal; that for this reason her vine and her fig tree would be laid waste; and that there would literally be a visitation on her because she burned incense to the baals, decked herself with ear-jewels and other jewellery for them, and went after her adulterous lovers, forgetful of Jehovah.

[4] All this is the literal meaning, and so it is how those who see the outward statements in isolation from their inward meaning understand the Word, for it is how the Jews at the present day and also some Christians understand it. But that is not the real meaning of the Word, as all who have any degree of enlightenment may see. By 'mother', regarding whom all those things are stated, they do not understand a mother but the kind of Church that existed among that nation. They take each of the things stated regarding her to mean something that has to do with the Church; for all those things are such as follow in order from what is put forward or laid down first. That is how they take 'whoredoms', 'lovers', and 'children' or 'sons', then 'bread, water, wool, linen, grain, new wine, oil, silver, gold', after that 'vine and fig', and also 'incense' and 'ear-jewels'.

[5] What each of these serves to mean can be known from no other source than the internal sense. In this sense 'mother' and 'wife' mean the Church; 'making her naked, and like a wilderness' means leaving it without any good of love or truth of faith, truths of faith and forms of the good of love, of which it will be bereft, being meant by 'sons', 'bread and water', 'wool and linen', 'grain, new wine, oil, silver, and gold', and finally 'vine and fig'. The actual worship springing from obedience to falsities and evils, which take over for truths and forms of good, is meant by 'burning incense to the baals and being decked out with ear-jewels and other jewellery for them'.

'Mother' means the Church, see 289, 2691, 2717, 4257, 5581.

So does 'wife', 252, 253, 409, 749, 770, 7022.

'Her being made naked' means being deprived of forms of the good of love and the truths of faith, 9960.

'A wilderness' means a state devoid of the Church's truth and good, 2708, 3900, 4736, 7055.

'Whoredoms' means falsifications of truth, 2466, 2729, 4865, 8904, so that 'lovers' means those who falsify.

'Sons' means truths, and in the contrary sense falsities, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, 4257, 6583, 6584, 9807.

'Bread and water' means the good of love and truth of faith, 9323.

'Wool' means the good in the external man, 9470.

'Linen' means the truth there, 7601, 9959.

'Grain' means good from which truth may be obtained, 5295, 5410, 5959.

'New wine' means truth derived from good, 3580.

'Oil' means celestial good, 9780, 10261.

'Silver' means truth and 'gold' good in general, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914,

6917, 9881.

'Vine' means the internal spiritual Church, 1069, 6376, 9277.

'Fig' means the external good of that Church, 217, 4231, 5113.

'Burning incense' means worship, 10177, 10298.

'Ear-jewel' is a symbol representative of obedience, 4551, so that 'being decked out with it' means offering obedience.

[6] When all the entities listed immediately above are understood instead of or in conjunction with the people or things that serve to mean them, the nature of the Word discerned on a spiritual level, thus the nature of the spirit within it, becomes apparent. All who read the Word are sustained by the Lord on that level of meaning; but none receive and accept it apart from those whose interiors are open. And since these receive it within the cognitions or knowledge they possess, they accept it so far as they can understand it, that is, in the measure and manner that their power of understanding can be enlightened through the cognitions or knowledge in their possession. In addition to this, they are affected in a general way by the holiness that radiates from the Word.

Footnotes:

2813. 'He bound Isaac his son' means the state of the Divine rational which, in this condition as regards truth, was about to undergo the last degrees of temptation. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'binding', and also of 'Isaac his son' - of 'binding' as the assuming of a state for undergoing the last degrees of temptation, as may become clear from the consideration that anyone in a state of temptation is altogether like one who has been bound or fettered; and from the meaning of 'Isaac his son' as the Lord's Divine Rational, here as regards truth, see 2802, 2803. The whole genuine rational part of the mind consists of good and of truth. The Lord's Divine Rational as regards good could not suffer, nor undergo temptations, for no genius or spirit initiating temptations is able to get near Divine good, as this stands above their every endeavour to tempt. But Divine truth once it had been bound was that which could be tempted, for illusions, and still more falsities, are what invade it and so tempt it. Indeed some idea of Divine truth can be formed, but not of Divine good except by beings who have perception and are celestial angels. It was Divine truth that people no longer acknowledged at the time of the Lord's Coming into the world, and therefore it was Divine truth from which the Lord underwent and suffered temptations. Divine truth within the Lord is that which is called the Son of Man, whereas Divine good within Him is that which is called the Son of God. Speaking of the Son of Man the Lord many times says that He is to suffer, but He never says this when He refers to the Son of God. The fact that He speaks of the Son of Man, or Divine truth, having to suffer, is clear in Matthew,

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him and deliver Him to the gentiles to mock and scourge Him, and to crucify [Him]. Matthew 20:18-19.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said to His disciples, Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of sinners. Matthew 26:45.

In Mark,

Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, but after three days rise again. Mark 8:31.

In the same gospel,

It is written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt. And the Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men who will kill Him; but when He has been killed He will rise again on the third day. Mark 9:12, 31.

In the same gospel,

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes who will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the heathens. They will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him; but on the third day He will rise again. Mark 10:33-34.

In the same gospel,

The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of sinners. Mark 14:41.

In Luke,

The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day rise again. Luke 9:22, 44.

In the same gospel,

We are going up to Jerusalem where everything will be accomplished that has been written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man. He will be delivered to the gentiles, and will be mocked, and suffer insults, and be spat upon. And they will scourge and kill Him, but on the third day He will rise again. Luke 18:31-33.

In the same gospel,

The angel said to the women, Remember what He told you while He was still in Galilee, saving that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again. Luke 24:6-7.

[2] In all these places 'the Son of Man' is used to mean the Lord as regards Divine truth - that is, as regards the Word in its internal sense - which was to be rejected by the chief priests and the scribes, suffer insults, be scourged, spat on, and crucified. This is made quite clear by the fact that the Jews took every single thing literally, applying and misappropriating it to themselves, and had no wish to know anything whatever about the spiritual sense of the Word and about a heavenly kingdom. They believed, as they do even today, that when He came the Messiah would raise up their kingdom above all the kingdoms of the earth. From this it is evident that it was Divine truth which was rejected, insulted, scourged, and crucified by them. Whether you speak of Divine truth or of the Lord as regards Divine truth it amounts to the same, for the Lord is Truth itself just as He is the Word itself, 2011, 2016, 2533 (end).

[3] Also implied in the Lord's rising again on the third day is the fact that Divine truth, or the Word as to its internal sense - as it was understood in the Ancient Church - will be brought back to life again at the close of the age, which also is 'the third day', 1825, 2788. And this is the reason why it is said that the Son of Man, that is, Divine truth, will appear at that time, Matthew 24:30, 37, 39, 44; Mark 13:26; Luke 17:22, 24-26, 30; 21:27, 36.

[4] The fact that the Son of Man is the Lord as regards Divine truth is clear from the places quoted already and further still from the following: In Matthew,

He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world. At the close of the age the Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all offences. Matthew 13:37, 41-42.

Here 'the good seed' means truth, 'the world' men, 'he who sows it' the Son of Man, and 'offences' falsities. In John,

The crowd said, We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains for ever. Why therefore do you say, The Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? Jesus answered them, The Light is with you for a brief while. Walk, as long as you have the Light, lest the darkness overtakes you, for he who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. As long as you have the Light believe in the Light, that you may be sons of the Light. John 12:34-36.

Here, when the crowd ask, 'Who is the Son of Man?' Jesus speaks in His reply about the Light, which is truth, and says that He Himself is the Light or Truth in which they ought to believe. Regarding the Light which comes from the Lord, and which is Divine Truth, see 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 1619-1632.

[5] But as for the truth that the Son of God, or the Lord as to the Good within His Divine human, could not be tempted, as stated above, this is evident also from the Lord's reply to the tempter, in the gospels,

The tempter said, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down, for it is written, He will give His angels charge regarding you, lest you strike your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, Again it is written, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. Matthew 4:6-7; Luke 4:9-12.