20
As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them.
Ezekiel 7:20
Ezekiel 15
1
And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2
Son of man, What is the vine-tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?
3
Shall wood be taken of it to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel upon it?
4
Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it suitable for any work?
5
Behold, when it was whole, it was fit for no work: how much less then shall it be fit for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?
6
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As the vine-tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
7
And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I set my face against them.
8
And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord GOD.
Elder (older)
In general, things that are “elder” in the Bible represent spiritual states that come before others. For example, of the two sisters Jacob married, Leah was the elder, and represents the affection for true ideas about external life. Rachael, the younger, represents the affection for true ideas about internal life, the life of the mind and spirit. Together they represent the Lord’s advance, while he was growing up as the human Jesus, from the affection for external ideas to the affection for internal ones.
(References: Arcana Coelestia 1222, 3819)
