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Arcana Coelestia # 9184

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9184. 'He shall surely endow her to be his wife' means a token of consent on his side to a rightful joining together. This is clear from the meaning of 'a dowry' and 'endowing' as a token of consent, dealt with in 4456; and from the meaning of 'to be a wife' as to establish a rightful joining together, for taking a woman to be his wife means being rightfully joined to her. In the spiritual sense a wrongful joining together exists when truth is joined to an affection that springs from a delight in gain or from a delight in the attainment of important positions; this kind of affection is present in people if they learn the Church's truths for the sake of those delights. Yet that joining together does no harm to those who later on are regenerated by the Lord, since those affections remain with them, but become subordinate to and serve an affection for truth learned for the sake of the good that belongs to useful service and to life. Those earlier affections occupy the last place, though they were seen previously to occupy the first. For when a person is being regenerated the order of his life is turned around, and in this way a wrongful joining together is turned into a rightful one.

[2] The reason why this change in a person can come about is that the truths of faith enter by way of hearing, thus through the external man, and the external man has no taste for anything except things of the world and of self, that is, delights that arise from gain and important positions. But when the internal man has been opened through regeneration, good flows in from the Lord by way of the internal man, and that good adopts and joins to itself the truths of faith which have entered through the external man. The more they are joined together, the more order is turned around, that is, what has been occupying the first place is now put in the last. When this happens the Lord draws towards Himself all aspects of life within a person, so that they face upwards. Then those things that are the Lord's and heaven's are seen by the person as ends, and the Lord Himself as the end of all ends, while the former things, the delights that go with gain and important positions, are seen as means to that end. It is well known that the means have their life solely from the end in view, and without that end have no life. Thus when the delights that go with gain and important positions have become the means the life they have is the life that comes from heaven, that is, from the Lord by way of heaven, the end for the sake of which they exist being the Lord. When the order of life in a person is like this, gain and important positions are a blessing to him; but if that order is turned around they are a curse to him. The truth that all things are a blessing when heavenly order exists in a person is the Lord's teaching in Matthew,

Seek first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33.

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

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Exodus 22

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1 If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.

2 If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.

3 If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

4 If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.

5 If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.

6 If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.

7 If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if the thief be found, let him pay double.

8 If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour's goods.

9 For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour.

10 If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it:

11 Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.

12 And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof.

13 If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn.

14 And if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good.

15 But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire.

16 And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.

17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.

18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

19 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.

20 He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.

23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;

24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

25 If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.

26 If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:

27 For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.

28 Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.

29 Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.

30 Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.

31 And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.