The Bible

 

Exodus 23:14-19 : The Three Annual Festivals

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14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.

15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)

16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.

19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9290

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9290. 'As I commanded you' means in keeping with the laws of order. This is clear from the meaning of 'commanding', when done by the Lord, as Divine Truth emanating from Him, for that Truth contains and teaches the commandments that have to do with life and with worship. This Divine Truth constitutes order itself in the heavens, and truths compose the laws of that order, 1728, 1919, 2258, 2447, 5703, 7995, 8700, 8988. From this it is evident that 'as I commanded you' means in keeping with the laws of order.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2258

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2258. 'Will not the Judge of the whole earth execute judgement?' means that Divine Good cannot effect this in the manner of truth separated from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the Judge of the whole earth', and also from the meaning of 'judgement'. 'The Judge of the whole earth' means in the internal sense good itself from which truth goes forth. This was also represented in the representative Church by the priests being at the same time judges. As priests they represented Divine Good, and as judges Divine Truth. But 'the Judge of the whole earth' means both, and this from the meaning of 'the earth', dealt with in various places in Volume One. But to confirm these matters at this point from the representatives of that Church would take too long. 'Judgement' however means truth, as shown above in 2235. From the meaning of these words, and at the same time from the train of thought in the internal sense, it becomes clear that 'will not the Judge of the whole earth execute judgement?' means that Divine Good cannot effect this in the manner of truth separated from good.

[2] To understand these matters it should be recognized that there are two things which constitute the order of the whole of heaven and are from there present in the universe, namely good and truth. Good is the essential constituent of order, and all aspects of it are forms of mercy. Truth is the secondary constituent of order, and all its aspects are truths. Divine Good adjudges all people to heaven, but Divine Truth condemns them all to hell. Consequently if the Lord's mercy, which is the very nature of Good, were not eternal, all men - however many these may be - would be condemned. This is what is meant here by the statement that Divine Good cannot effect this thing in the manner of truth separated from good. See also what is stated on these matters in Volume One, in 1728. But the reason the evil are condemned to hell is not that Divine Good is separated from Divine Truth, but that man separates himself from Divine Good; for the Lord in no way sends anyone down to hell, but man sends himself down, as stated frequently already. Also, seeing that the Divine Good is joined to Divine Truth, it should be recognized that unless the evil were separated from the good, the evil would do harm to the good and would be constantly endeavouring to destroy order. Thus the prevention of the good from suffering harm is an act of mercy. It is the same in earthly kingdoms. If evils went unpunished a whole kingdom would be steeped in evils, and this being so it would perish. For that reason kings and judges are showing greater mercy when they punish evils and remove from society those who commit them than when they show undue leniency towards the same.

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