Ang Bibliya

 

Deuteronomy 33

pag-aaral

   

1 This is the blessing, with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.

2 He said, "Yahweh came from Sinai, And rose from Seir to them. He shone forth from Mount Paran. He came from the ten thousands of holy ones. At his right hand was a fiery law for them.

3 Yes, he loves the people. All his saints are in your hand. They sat down at your feet; [Everyone] shall receive of your words.

4 Moses commanded us a law, An inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.

5 He was king in Jeshurun, When the heads of the people were gathered, All the tribes of Israel together.

6 "Let Reuben live, and not die; Nor let his men be few."

7 This is [the blessing] of Judah: and he said, "Hear, Yahweh, the voice of Judah. Bring him in to his people. With his hands he contended for himself. You shall be a help against his adversaries."

8 Of Levi he said, "Your Thummim and your Urim are with your godly one, whom you proved at Massah, with whom you strove at the waters of Meribah;

9 who said of his father, and of his mother, 'I have not seen him;' Neither did he acknowledge his brothers, Nor did he know his own children: For they have observed your word, and keep your covenant.

10 They shall teach Jacob your ordinances, and Israel your law. They shall put incense before you, and whole burnt offering on your altar.

11 Yahweh, bless his substance. Accept the work of his hands. Strike through the hips of those who rise up against him, of those who hate him, that they not rise again."

12 Of Benjamin he said, "The beloved of Yahweh shall dwell in safety by him. He covers him all the day long. He dwells between his shoulders."

13 Of Joseph he said, "His land is blessed by Yahweh, for the precious things of the heavens, for the dew, for the deep that couches beneath,

14 for the precious things of the fruits of the sun, for the precious things of the growth of the moons,

15 for the chief things of the ancient mountains, for the precious things of the everlasting hills,

16 for the precious things of the earth and its fullness, the good will of him who lived in the bush. Let [the blessing] come on the head of Joseph, On the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

17 The firstborn of his herd, majesty is his. His horns are the horns of the wild ox. With them he shall push the peoples all of them, [even] the ends of the earth: They are the ten thousands of Ephraim. They are the thousands of Manasseh."

18 Of Zebulun he said, "Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out; and Issachar, in your tents.

19 They shall call the peoples to the mountain. There they will offer sacrifices of righteousness, for they shall draw out the abundance of the seas, the hidden treasures of the sand."

20 Of Gad he said, "He who enlarges Gad is blessed. He dwells as a lioness, and tears the arm, yes, the crown of the head.

21 He provided the first part for himself, for there was the lawgiver's portion reserved. He came [with] the heads of the people. He executed the righteousness of Yahweh, His ordinances with Israel."

22 Of Dan he said, "Dan is a lion's cub that leaps out of Bashan."

23 Of Naphtali he said, "Naphtali, satisfied with favor, full of the blessing of Yahweh, Possess the west and the south."

24 Of Asher he said, "Asher is blessed with children. Let him be acceptable to his brothers. Let him dip his foot in oil.

25 Your bars shall be iron and brass. As your days, so your strength will be.

26 "There is none like God, Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens for your help, In his excellency on the skies.

27 The eternal God is [your] dwelling place. Underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrust out the enemy from before you, and said, 'Destroy!'

28 Israel dwells in safety; the fountain of Jacob alone, In a land of grain and new wine. Yes, his heavens drop down dew.

29 You are happy, Israel. Who is like you, a people saved by Yahweh, the shield of your help, the sword of your excellency! Your enemies shall submit themselves to you. You shall tread on their high places."

   

Mula sa Mga gawa ni Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia # 4299

Pag-aralan ang Sipi na ito

  
/ 10837  
  

4299. 'For I have seen God face to face, and my soul is delivered' means that He suffered the severest temptations, seemingly attributable to the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing God' as going closer to Him by means of interior things, that is to say, by means of goods and truths, and consequently as presence, dealt with in 4198; and from the meaning of 'the face' as interior things, dealt with in 1999, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, and so as thoughts and affections, for affections and thoughts are interior things because they belong to the disposition and mind (animus et mens) and reveal themselves in the face; and from the meaning of 'my soul is delivered' as suffering God's presence. The fact that all these words mean that He suffered the severest temptations seemingly attributable to the Divine, cannot be seen from anything else than the immediate causes and the remote causes of temptations. The evils and falsities present with a person which lead him into temptations, and therefore the evil spirits and genii who instill them are the immediate causes, 4249. Nevertheless, no one can be tempted, that is, undergo any spiritual temptation, except him who has a conscience. Indeed spiritual temptation is nothing else than the torture of a person's conscience, and consequently none can be tempted but those who are governed by celestial and spiritual good. For the latter have conscience, but all others do not; indeed they do not even know what conscience is.

[2] Conscience is a new will and a new understanding received from the Lord, and so is the Lord's presence with a person, a presence which becomes all the closer the more the person is stirred by the affection for good or for truth. If the closeness of the Lord's presence exceeds the amount of affection for good or for truth in him, he enters into temptation. The reason why is that the evils and falsities which reside with him, and which are moderated by the goods and truths residing with him, cannot suffer that closer presence. This becomes clear from the following things that happen in the next life: Evil spirits cannot by any means move towards any heavenly community without starting to feel distress and torment; also, evil spirits cannot stand angels looking at them because they are instantly tormented and collapse unconscious. And in addition there is the fact that hell is remote from heaven, for the reason that it cannot suffer heaven, that is, the Lord's presence in heaven. This explains why in the Word it is said in reference to evil spirits,

Then they will begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. Luke 23:30.

And elsewhere,

They will say to the mountains and rocks, Rush down on us and hide us from the face of Him who is seated on the throne. Revelation 6:16.

Also the sphere of cloud and thick darkness which emanates from the evils and falsities of those in hell looks like a mountain or rock beneath which they are hidden, see 1265, 1267, 1270.

[3] From these considerations it can now be recognized that 'I have seen God face to face and my soul is delivered' means the severest temptations, seemingly attributable to the Divine. Temptations and torments do seem to be attributable to the Divine because they arise, as has been stated, through the Lord's Divine presence. Yet they do not originate in the Divine or the Lord but in the evils and falsities residing with the person who is being tempted or tormented. From the Lord nothing else proceeds but a holiness which is good and true and merciful, and it is this holiness - which is good, true, and merciful - that those subject to evils and falsities cannot suffer; for such evils and falsities are opposite or contrary to it. Evils, falsities, and lack of mercy are bent all the time on doing violence to those qualities belonging to holiness; and in the measure they assail these, they themselves suffer torment. And when they assail them and consequently suffer torment they imagine that it is the Divine who torments them. These are the considerations meant by 'seemingly attributable to the Divine'.

[4] It was well known to the ancients that no one can see Jehovah face to face and live, and from them knowledge of the same came down to the descendants of Jacob. This explains why they were so glad when they saw any angel and remained alive, as in the Book of Judges,

Gideon saw that he was the angel of Jehovah, therefore Gideon said, O Lord Jehovih! Inasmuch as I have seen the angel of Jehovah face to face. And Jehovah said to him, Peace be to you; do not fear, for you will not die. Judges 6:22-23.

In the same book, Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, for we have seen God. Judges 13:22.

And in Moses, Jehovah said to Moses, You cannot see My face, for no man will see Me and live. Exodus 33:20.

[5] The reason why it is said of Moses that he spoke to Jehovah face to face, Exodus 33:11, and that Jehovah knew him face to face, Deuteronomy 34:10, is that He showed Himself to him in a human form suited to his reception, which was an external form - as a bearded old man sitting with him, as I have learned from angels. For the same reason the Jews had no other idea of Jehovah than of one who was very old with a long white beard, who was better able to perform miracles than other gods. They did not have the idea of His being the most holy because they did not know what holiness was, let alone that they could not in any way see the holiness proceeding from Him because they were governed by bodily and earthly love devoid of internal holiness, 4289, 4293.

  
/ 10837  
  

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