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Genesis 22

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1 And it cometh to pass after these things that God hath tried Abraham, and saith unto him, `Abraham;' and he saith, `Here [am] I.'

2 And He saith, `Take, I pray thee, thy son, thine only one, whom thou hast loved, even Isaac, and go for thyself unto the land of Moriah, and cause him to ascend there for a burnt-offering on one of the mountains of which I speak unto thee.'

3 And Abraham riseth early in the morning, and saddleth his ass, and taketh two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and he cleaveth the wood of the burnt-offering, and riseth and goeth unto the place of which God hath spoken to him.

4 On the third day -- Abraham lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the place from afar;

5 and Abraham saith unto his young men, `Remain by yourselves here with the ass, and I and the youth go yonder and worship, and turn back unto you.'

6 And Abraham taketh the wood of the burnt-offering, and placeth on Isaac his son, and he taketh in his hand the fire, and the knife; and they go on both of them together.

7 And Isaac speaketh unto Abraham his father, and saith, `My father,' and he saith, `Here [am] I, my son.' And he saith, `Lo, the fire and the wood, and where the lamb for a burnt-offering?'

8 and Abraham saith, `God doth provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son;' and they go on both of them together.

9 And they come in unto the place of which God hath spoken to him, and there Abraham buildeth the altar, and arrangeth the wood, and bindeth Isaac his son, and placeth him upon the altar above the wood;

10 and Abraham putteth forth his hand, and taketh the knife -- to slaughter his son.

11 And the messenger of Jehovah calleth unto him from the heavens, and saith, `Abraham, Abraham;' and he saith, `Here [am] I;'

12 and He saith, `Put not forth thine hand unto the youth, nor do anything to him, for now I have known that thou art fearing God, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only one, from Me.'

13 And Abraham lifteth up his eyes, and looketh, and lo, a ram behind, seized in a thicket by its horns; and Abraham goeth, and taketh the ram, and causeth it to ascend for a burnt-offering instead of his son;

14 and Abraham calleth the name of that place `Jehovah-Jireh,' because it is said this day in the mount, `Jehovah doth provide.'

15 And the messenger of Jehovah calleth unto Abraham a second time from the heavens,

16 and saith, `By Myself I have sworn -- the affirmation of Jehovah -- that because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only one --

17 that blessing I bless thee, and multiplying I multiply thy seed as stars of the heavens, and as sand which [is] on the sea-shore; and thy seed doth possess the gate of his enemies;

18 and blessed themselves in thy seed have all nations of the earth, because that thou hast hearkened to My voice.'

19 And Abraham turneth back unto his young men, and they rise and go together unto Beer-Sheba; and Abraham dwelleth in Beer-Sheba.

20 And it cometh to pass after these things that it is declared to Abraham, saying, `Lo, Milcah hath borne, even she, sons to Nahor thy brother:

21 Huz his first-born, and Buz his brother; and Kemuel father of Aram,

22 and Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel;

23 and Bethuel hath begotten Rebekah;' these eight hath Milcah borne to Nahor, Abraham's brother;

24 and his concubine, whose name [is] Reumah, she also hath borne Tebah, and Gaham, and Tahash, and Maachah.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #2796

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2796. As regards the Lord's assumption of the various states which are the subject here, these are inevitably unknown to man since he never stops to reflect on his changes of state. Yet these are taking place all the time both as regards matters of the understanding, or thoughts, and as regards those of the will, or affections. The reason he does not stop to reflect on them is his belief that all things in him follow in natural order, and that nothing higher exists which directs them. But in actual fact every single thing is regulated by means of the spirits and angels residing with him, and all states and changes of state are brought about from this and so are being directed by the Lord for ever towards ends which the Lord alone foresees. The truth of this has been made fully known to me through experience that has now lasted for many years. I have also been given to know and to notice which spirits and angels were with me, and which states they were bringing about. This I can positively declare, that they are the source of all states, even to the least detail, and that they are directed by the Lord in the manner described. I have also been given to know and to notice how each state includes many other states which do not show themselves, and which, all of them together, are seen as one general state, and that those states have been arranged into states which follow in order within their own sequence. With man all this is effected by the Lord, but with the Lord Himself when He lived in the world, He effected it by Himself since He was Divine, and the very Being (Esse) of His life was Jehovah.

[2] Knowledge regarding the changes of state in matters of the understanding and in those of the will with man, regarding the order in which they follow, and also regarding the sequence through which they pass, and regarding the way in which they are bent by the Lord as far as possible towards what is good, exists with angels. For the wisdom of angels is such that they perceive such matters to the last detail. Consequently these matters which have been revealed in the internal sense concerning changes of state with the Lord are perceptible clearly and distinctly to angels because they dwell in the light of heaven flowing from the Lord. They are also intelligible to some extent to man if he leads a life of simple good. But they are obscure and as nothing to those steeped in evil and also to those whose wisdom consists of demented ideas, for these ideas darken and extinguish their natural and rational light by means of many things which bring darkness, however much those people themselves imagine they have greater light than any others.

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