2798. “亚伯拉罕取了燔祭的柴” 表公义的功德. 这从前面的解释和说明 (2784节) 清楚可知, 故无需要进一步解释.

2798a.“放在 (他儿子) 以撒身上” 表它, 就是公义的功德与神圣理性相联结. 这从 “以撒” 的代表性和 “放在以撒身上” 的含义清楚可知: “以撒” 是指主的神圣理性, 如前面频繁所述; “放在以撒身上” 是指联结它. 他被称为 “他儿子”, 是因为主的神性人不仅从耶和华成孕, 还从耶和华出生. 从主的圣言清楚可知, 主从耶和华成孕, 故祂被称为 “至高者的儿子”, “神的儿子”, “父的独生子” (马太福音 2:15; 3:16-17; 16:13-17; 17:5; 27:43, 54; 马可福音 1:10; 9:7, 9; 14:61-62; 路加福音 1:31-32, 35; 3:21-22; 9:35; 10:22; 约翰福音 1:14, 18, 50; 3:13, 16-18; 5:20-27; 6:69; 9:34-35, 38; 10:35-36; 20:30-31), 此外在很多其它地方, 祂称耶和华为祂的 “父”.

从圣言还能清楚可知, 祂和其他人一样, 从童女马利亚出生. 但祂再次出生, 也就是变成神性时, 是通过在祂里面的耶和华, 就生命的存在而言, 耶和华就是祂自己. 神性本质与人性本质是彼此相互融合的, 以便祂将神性本质与人性本质, 并人性本质与神性本质融合起来 (参看 1921, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2083, 2508, 2523, 2618, 2628, 2632, 2728, 2729节). 由此清楚可知, 主凭自己的力量在自己里面将人性变成神性, 并由此变成公义. 当主经历最内在的试探时, 联结神圣理性的, 是公义的功德. 祂通过神圣理性争战, 并且这神圣理性是恶魔所攻击反对的, 直到祂也荣耀那神圣理性. 这些就是 “亚伯拉罕把燔祭的柴放在他儿子以撒身上” 在内义上所表示的事, 这些也是这些话被阅读时, 天使所觉察到的事.

People who are truly in love know that marriage is one of the greatest blessings the Lord has given people. But, these days, there's a lot of confusion and doubt about marriage.

Let's take a look at what the Bible says about it, beginning at the very beginning. The very fact that the Lord has created us male and female (Genesis 1:27) seems to indicate that marriage is the intended condition for people.

In the Adam and Eve story, the Lord says, "It is not good that the man should be alone." (Genesis 2:18). Therefore, He creates Eve. It's a very ancient story that depicts marriage as part of His plan for people.

God's blessing on the first marriage makes this even more clear: "And God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply.'" (Genesis 1:28)

Not only does marriage have the Lord's blessing - it is also phrased as a commandment in this passage from the prophet Jeremiah: "Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel.... Take wives and beget sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters--that you may be increased there, and not diminished.'" (Jeremiah 29:6)

King Solomon said, "He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord." (Proverbs 18:22)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus has a telling response to the Pharisees who are quizzing him about divorce:

Jesus answered, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female', and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate'." (Matthew 19:4-6)

In the text of the Bible, there are also frequent references to a marriage between the Lord and His Church, where the church is made up of the people who love the Lord and follow his commandments. This is a different sort of marriage than the one between husband and wife, but some of the same ideals of love and reciprocity and conjunction are presented.

"As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you." (Isaiah 62:5)

"Your Maker is your husband: The Lord of Hosts is His name." (Isaiah 54:5)

"'Turn, O backsliding children,' says the Lord, 'for I am married to you.'" (Jeremiah 3:14)

"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." (Revelation 19:7).

See also Jeremiah 31:32; Isaiah 49:18, 61:10; Jeremiah 2:32; Hosea 2:2, 2:19; Ezekiel 16; Matthew 22:2-9; 25:1-10; Luke 5:34; Revelation 21:2, 9; 22:17, etc.

From all this, it's pretty clear that there's strong support in the Bible for marriage.

That said, there are also some passages that have led people in other directions. In some of Paul's letters, there are some things which can be taken to mean that marriage is less chaste than celibacy. And, in answering a question from the Saduccees, Jesus says that in heaven, they neither marry nor are given in marriage. What did he mean by that? It has a deeper meaning than appears on the surface, but it's often been misinterpreted. We will dig into these issues in separate topics, or in an extension to this one... but, overall, the Bible's pretty clear that marriage is part of the Lord's design for us, and that our physical, earthly marriages represent a spiritual marriage, too.