Samuel Talks to the Children of Israel

"If you fear the Lord and serve and obey Him
and do not rebel against His commands,
and if both you and the king who reigns over you
follow the Lord your God -- good!
But if you do not obey the Lord,
and if you rebel against His commands,
His hand will be against you,
as it was against your fathers.

"Now then, stand still and see this great thing
the Lord is about to do before your eyes!
Is it not wheat harvest now?
I will call upon the Lord to send thunder and rain.
And you will realize what an evil thing you did
in the eyes of the Lord
when you asked for a king."

Then Samuel called upon the Lord,
and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain.
So all the people stood in awe of the Lord and Samuel.

The people all said to Samuel,
"Pray to the Lord your God for your servants
so that we will not die,
for we have added to all our other sins
the evil of asking for a king."

"Do not be afraid," Samuel replied.
"You have done all this evil;
yet do not turn away from the Lord,
but serve the Lord with all your heart.
Do not turn away after useless idols.
They can do you no good,
nor can they rescue you,
because they are useless.

(I Samuel 12:14-21)

AC 2899, 2904 - Two Short Truths

AC 2899

. . . if the Word is read even by a little child,
the Divine things therein are perceived by the angels.

AC 2904 [2]

. . . for in the church there is no other truth
than that which is the Lord's.
Truth which is not from Him
is not truth . . ..

The Philistines Capture the Ark of the Lord

Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines.
. . . When the soldiers returned to camp,
the elders of Israel asked,
"Why did the Lord bring defeat upon us today
before the Philistines?"
Let us bring the ark of the Lord's covenant from Shiloh,
so that it may go with us
and save us from the hand of our enemies."

So the people sent men to Shiloh,
and they brought back
the ark of the covenant of the Lord Almighty,
who is enthroned between the cherubim.
And Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas,
were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

When the ark of the Lord's covenant came into camp,
all Israel raised such a great shout
that the ground shook.
Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked,
"What's all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?"

When they learned that the ark of the Lord
had come into camp,
the Philistines were afraid.
"A god has come into the camp," they said.
"We're in trouble!
Nothing like this has happened before.
Woe to us!

So the Philistines fought,
and the Israelites were defeated
and every man fled to his tent.
The slaughter was very great;
Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.
The ark of God was captured,
and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

(I Samuel 4:1, 3-8, 10-11)

AC 2876-2877, 2882 - Freedom and Reformation & Regeneration

AC 2876-2877

. . . it is an eternal law
that everyone should be in freedom
as to his interiors, that is,
as to his affections and thoughts,
in order that the affection of good and truth
may be implanted in him.

Whenever the affection of truth
and the affection of good
are implanted by the Lord,
which is done without man's knowledge,
he then takes in truth
and does good in freedom,
because from affection;
for when anything is done from affection,
then as before said there is freedom;
and the truth of faith conjoins itself
with the good of charity.
Unless a man had freedom
in everything he thinks and wills,
the freedom of thinking truth and of willing good
could never be instilled by the Lord into anyone;
for in order that a man may be reformed
he must think truth as of himself,
and do good as of himself;
and what is done as of one's self is done in freedom.
Unless this were so, there would never be
any reformation or regeneration.

AC 2882

. . . the freedom of thinking the truth of faith,
and of doing the good of charity,
all flows in from the Lord.
The Lord is Good itself and Truth itself;
and is from Him is their fountain.
All the angels are in such freedom,
and indeed in the very perception
that what we have just stated is the truth.
The inmost angels perceive
how much is from the Lord,
and how much from themselves;
and so far as it is from the Lord,
they are in happiness;
but so far as it is from themselves,
they are not in what is happy.

Samuel

Early the next morning
they arose and worshiped before the Lord
and then went back to their home at Ramah.
Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife,
and the Lord remembered her.
So in the course of time
Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son.
She named him Samuel, saying,
"Because I asked the Lord for him."

After he was weaned,
she took the boy with her,
young as he was,
along with a three-year-old bull,
an ephah of flour
and a skin of wine,
and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh.
When they had slaughtered the bull,
they brought the boy to Eli,
and she said to him,
"As surely as you live, my lord,
I am the woman who stood here beside you
praying to the Lord.
I prayed for this child,
and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him.
So now I give him to the Lord.
For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord."
And he worshiped the Lord there.

. . . But Samuel was ministering before the Lord -
a boy wearing a linen ephod.
Each year his mother made him a little robe
and took it to him
when she went up with her husband
to offer the annual sacrifice.
Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying,
"May the Lord give you children by this woman
to take the place of the one she prayed for
and gave to the Lord."
And the Lord was gracious to Hannah;
she conceived and gave birth
to three sons and two daughters.
Meanwhile, the boy Samuel
grew up in the presence of the Lord.

(I Samuel 1:16-20, 24-28; 2:18-28)

AC 2860 - These Are Also Saved

AC 2860

And it came to pass after these words

that it was told Abraham, saying,

Behold, Milcah, she also has borne children

unto Nahor, thy brother.

Uz his first-born, and Buz his brother,

and Kemuel the father of Aram.

And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash,

and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.

And Bethuel begat Rebekah:

these eight did Milcah bear to Nahor,

Abraham's brother.

(Genesis 22: 20, 21, 22, 23)

"It came to pass after these words,"

signifies the things done relating to those

who are within the church;

"that it was told Abraham, saying,"

signifies the Lord's perception;

"Behold, Milcah, she also has borne children

unto Nahor, thy brother"

signifies those out of the church

who are in brotherhood from good:

"Uz his first-born, and Buz his brother,

and Kemuel the father of Aram;

and Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash,

and Jidlaph, and Bethuel,"

signify various religions and their modes of worship;

"Bethuel begat Rebekah,"

signifies from good the affection of truth;

"these eight did Milcah bear to Nahor,

Abraham's brother,"

signifies a second class of those who are saved.

The Danites Take Micah and Laish

As they shouted after them,

the Danites turned and said to Micah,

"What's the matter with you

that you called out your men to fight?"

He replied,

"You took the gods I made, and my priest

and went away.

What else do I have?

How can you ask,

"What's the matter with you?"

The Danites answered,

"Don't argue with us,

or some hot-tempered men will attack you,

and you and your family will lose your lives."

So the Danites went their way,

and Micah, seeing that they were too strong from him,

turned around and went back home.

Then they took what Micah had made, and his priest,

and went on to Laish,

against a peaceful and unsuspecting people.

They attacked them with the sword

and burned down their city.

There was no one to rescue them

because they lived a long away from Sidon 

and had no relationship with anyone else. 

The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob.

The Danites rebuilt the city and settled there.

(Judges 18:23-29)

AC 2854 - The Lord's Coming; AC 2857 - The Rational After Temptation

AC 2854

. . . the arcanum of the Lord's coming into the world

is that He united in Himself

the Divine to the Human

and the Human to the Divine;

which could not be done

except through the most grievous things of temptations;

and thus that by that union

it became possible for salvation to reach the human race,

in which no celestial and spiritual, or even natural good,

any longer remained;

and it is this union which saves those

who are in the faith of charity.

It is the Lord Himself who shows the mercy.

AC 2857

. . . after temptations the rational was always elevated,

and this takes place also with man.

Every temptation in which a man overcomes,

elevates his mind and the things which belong to his mind;

for it confirms his goods and truths

and super-adds new ones.

Revenge With Foxes Tails

Later on, at the time of wheat harvestSamson took a young goat and went to visit is wife.He said, "I'm going to my wife's room."But her father would not let him go in.
"I was so sure you thoroughly hated her," he said,"that I gave her to your friend.Isn't her younger sister more attractive?Take her instead."
Samson said to them,"This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines;I will really harm them."So he went out and caught three hundred foxesand tied them tail to tail in pairs.He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails,lit the torchesand let the foxes loosein the standing grain of the Philistines.He burned up the shocks and standing grain,together with the vineyards and olive groves.
When the Philistines asked, "Who did this?"they were told, "Samson, the Timnite's son-in-law,because his wife was given to his friend."
So the Philistines went upand burned her and her father to death.Samson said to them,"Since you've acted like this,I won't stop until I get my revenge on you."He attacked them vicisouslyand slaughtered many of them.Then he went down and stayed in a cavein the rock of Etam.
(Judges 15:1-8)

AC 2549, 2550 - Stars and Sand

AC 2549

As the stars of the heavens.

(Genesis 22:17)

That this signifies

the multitude of the knowledges of good and truth,

is evident from the signification of the "stars,"

as being the knowledges of good and truth.

AC 2550

And as the sand which is upon the sea shore.

(Genesis 22:17)

That this signifies the multitude

of corresponding memory knowledges,

is evident from the signification of the "sea,"

as being memory-knowledges in general, 

or a gathering of them;

and from the signification of "sand,"

as being memory-knowledges 

specifically or particular.

Memory-knowledges are compared to "sand,"

because the little stones of which sand is made,

in the internal sense signify memory-knowledges.

It is here said that they shall be multiplied

"as the stars of the heavens,

and also "as the sand of the sea shore,"

because the stars or knowledges

have relation to the rational,

but the sand of the sea shore

or memory-knowledges to the sea shore

to the natural.

When the things of the rational man,

namely, the goods and truths of knowledges,

agree with those of the natural man,

namely, with memory-knowledges,

so that they make a one,

or mutually confirm each other,

they then correspond.

To this correspondence

the Lord reduces the rational and natural things of man

when He regenerates him, or makes him spiritual.

From this cause it is

that both the stars of the heavens 

and the sand of the sea shore are here mentioned;

otherwise one would have been sufficient.

A Round Loaf of Barley Bread

Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.

During that night the Lord said to Gideon,

"Get up, go down against the camp,

because I am going to give it into your hands.

If you are afraid to attack,

go down to the camp with your servant Purah

and listen to what they are saying.

Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp."

So he and Purah his servant went down 

to the outpost of the camp.

The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other

eastern peoples had settled in the valley,

thick as locusts.

Their camels could no more be counted

than the sand on the seashore.

Gideon arrived

just as a man was telling a friend his dream.

"I had a dream," he was saying,

"A round loaf of barley bread

came tumbling into the Midianite camp.

It struck the tent with such force

that the tent overturned and collapsed."

His friend responded,

"This can be nothing other than

the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite.

God has given the Midianites and the whole camp

into his hands."

(Judges 7:8-14)

AC 2842 - To Confirm by an Oath

AC 2842 [9]

. . . it is known that internal men,
that is, those who have conscience,
have no need to confirm anything by an oath;
and that they do not so confirm.
To them oaths are a cause of shame.
They can indeed say with some assertion
that a thing is so,
and can also confirm the truth by reasons;
but to swear that it is so, they cannot.
They have an internal bond by which they are bound,
namely, that of conscience.
To super-add to this an external bond,
which is an oath,
is like imputing to them
that they are not upright in heart.
The internal man is also of such a character
that he loves to speak and act from freedom,
but not from compulsion;
for with them
the internal compels the external,
but not the reverse. 

Deborah

After Ehud died,
the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin,
a king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.
The commander of his army was Sisera,
who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim.
Because he had nine hundred iron chariots
and had cruelly oppressed
the Israelites for twenty years,
they cried to the Lord for help.

Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth,
was leading Israel at that time.
She held court under the Palm of Deborah
between Ramah and Bethel
in the hill country of Ephraim,
and the Israelites came to her
to have their disputes decided.

(Judges 4:1-5)

AC 2839 - Faith Implanted in Charity

AC 2839

With charity and with faith the case is this:
charity without faith is not genuine charity,
and faith without charity is not faith.
That there may be charity, 
there must be faith;
and that there may be faith, 
there must be charity;
but the essential itself is charity;
for in no other ground
can the seed which is faith be implanted.
From the conjunction of the two
mutually and reciprocally
is the heavenly marriage,
that is, the Lord's kingdom.
Unless faith is implanted in charity
it is mere memory-knowledge;
for it goes no further than the memory;
there is no affection of the heart which receives it;
but when it is implanted in charity,
that is, in the life, 
it becomes intelligence and wisdom. 

After Joshua

After the death of Joshua,
the Israelites asked the Lord,
"Who will be the first to go up
and fight for us against the Canaanites?"

The Lord answered,
"Judah is to go;
I have given the land into their hands."

Then the men of Judah
said to the Simeonites their brothers,
"Come up with us into the territory allotted to us,
to fight against the Canaanites.
We in turn will go with you into yours."
So the Simeonites went with them.

When Judah attacked,
the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites
into their hands
and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.

(Judges 1:1-4)

AC 2832 - Relying on Natural Facts

AC 2832

For the more anyone relies on natural facts
and keeps his mind fixed on these
where truths of faith are concerned,
the more he loses the light of truth;
and when he loses this light
he loses the life of truth as well.
Anyone may recognize this,
if he stops to reflect,
from his experience of people
who say they are unable to believe anything
unless they grasp that it is so
through sensory evidence
or through factual knowledge. 

Joshua Warns: "Be Very Careful"

". . . be very careful
to keep the commandment and the law
that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you:
to love the Lord your God,
to walk in all His ways,
to obey His commands,
to hold fast to Him
and to serve Him with all your heart
and all your soul."

(Joshua 22:5)

AC 2831 - "Tangled Tree"

AC 2831 [ 8]

They saw every high hill,
and every tangled tree,
and there they sacrificed their sacrifices.
(Ezekiel 20:28)

A "tangled tree" denotes
the things which are dictated not by the Word,
but by one's own memory-knowledge.

Simeon's Share

The inheritance of the Simeonites
was taken from the share of Judah,
because Judah's portion was more than they needed.
So the Simeonites received their inheritance
within the territory of Judah.

(Joshua 19:9)

AC 2826 - "Fear of God"

AC 2826 [13]

. . . the "fear of God" is worship,
either from fear,
or from the good of faith,
or from the good of love.
But the more there is of fear in the worship,
the less there is of faith,
and the less still of love;
and on the other hand,
the more of faith there is in the worship,
and especially the more there is of love,
the less there is of fear.
There is indeed a fear within all worship,
but under another appearance
and another condition,
and this is holy fear.
But holy fear is not so much
the fear of hell and of damnation,
as it is of doing or thinking anything against the Lord
and against the neighbor,
and thus anything against
the good of love and the truth of faith.
It is an aversion,
which is the boundary
of the holy of love and the holy of faith
on the one side;
and as it is not a fear of hell and damnation,
as before said,
those have it who are in the good of faith;
but those have less of it
who are in the good of love,
that is, who are in the Lord. 

Thirty-one Kings in All

These are the kings of the land
that Joshua and the Israelites conquered
on the west side of the Jordan,
from Baal Gad in the valley of Lebanon
to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir
(their lands Joshua gave as an inheritance
to the tribes of Israel
according to their tribal divisions --
the hill country, the western foothills,
the Arabah, the mountain slopes,
the desert and the Negev --
the lands of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites,
Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites):

the king of Jericho . . . one
the king of Ai (near Bethel) . . . one
the king of Jerusalem . . . one
the king of Hebron . . . one
the king of Jarmuth . . . one
the king of Lachish . . . one
the king of Eglon . . . one
the king of Gezer . . . one
the king of Debir . . . one
the king of Geder . . . one
the king of Hormah . . . one
the king of Arad . . . one
the king of Libnah . . . one
the king of Adullam . . . one
the king of Makkedah . . . one
the king of Bethel . . . one
the king of Tappuah . . . one
the king of Hepher . . . one
the king of Aphek . . . one
the king of Lasharon . . . one
the king of Madon . . . one
the king of Hazor . . . one
the king of Shimron Meron . . . one
the king of Acshaph . . . one
the king of Taanach . . . one
the king of Megiddo . . . one
the king of Kedesh . . . one
the king of Jokneam in Carmel . . . one
the king of Dor (in Naphoth Dor) . . . one
the king of Goyim in Gilgal . . . one
the king of Tirzah . . . one
thirty-one kings in all.

(Joshua 12: 7-24)
_______________________________________

[AC 4642 / 3]

What real connection
do genealogical details have with the Word;
do they have anything Divine within them?
But all names in the Word
have spiritual realities as their meaning.

AC 2822 - Consolation

AC 2822

All consolation after temptation is instilled into good,
for from good is all joy;
and from good it passes into truth.

The Covenant Renewed at Mount Ebal

Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal
an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel,
as Moses the servant of the Lord
had commanded the Israelites.
He built it according to what is written
in the Book of the Law of Moses --
an altar of uncut stones,
on which no iron tool had been used.
On it they offered to the Lord
burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings.
There, in the presence of the Israelites,
Joshua copied on stones 
the law of Moses, which he had written.
All Israel, aliens and citizens alike,
with their elders, officials and judges,
were standing on both sides
of the ark of the covenant of the Lord,
facing those who carried it --
the priests, who were Levites.
Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim
and half of them in front of Mount Ebal,
as Moses the servant of the Lord
had formerly commanded when he gave instructions
to bless the people of Israel.

Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law --
the blessings and the curses --
just as it is written in the Book of the Law.
There was not a word
of all that Moses had commanded
that Joshua did not read
to the whole assembly of Israel,
including the women and children,
and the aliens who lived among them.

(Deuteronomy 8:30-35)

AC 2813, 2814 - Truth Divine

AC 2813 [1, 2]

It was Truth Divine which was no longer acknowledged
when the Lord came into the world,
and therefore it was that from which
the Lord underwent and endured temptations.
Truth Divine in the Lord
is what is called the "Son of man,"
but Good Divine is what is called the "Son of God."
Of the "Son of man" the Lord says many times
that He was to suffer,
but never of the Son of God.

. . . by the "son of man"
is meant the Lord as to Truth Divine,
or as to the Word in its internal sense,
which was rejected by the chief priests and scribes,
was shamefully entreated, scourged,
spit upon, and crucified . . ..
Whether you say Truth Divine,
or the Lord as to Truth Divine, it is the same;
for the Lord is the Truth itself,
as He is the Word itself.

AC 2814

The Truth Divine in the Lord's Human Divine,
which underwent the temptations,
and which has been treated of,
is not the Divine Truth itself,
for this is above all temptation;
but it is rational truth, such as the angels have,
consisting in the appearances of truth,
and is what is called the "Son of man,"
but before the glorification.
But the Divine Truth
in the Lord's glorified Divine Human
is above appearances,
nor can it possibly come to any understanding,
and still less to the understanding of man,
nor even to that of angels,
and thus not at all to anything of temptation.
It appears in the heavens
as light which is from the Lord.

Jericho

Now Jericho was tightly shut up
because of the Israelites.
No one went out and no one came in.

Then the Lord said to Joshua,
"See I have delivered Jericho into your hands,
along with its king and its fighting men.
March around the city once with all the armed men.
Do this for six days.
Have seven priests carry
trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark.
One the seventh day,
march around the city seven times,
with the priests blowing the trumpets.
When you hear them sound
a long blast on the trumpets,
have all the people give a loud shout;
then the wall of the city will collapse
and the people will go up,
every man straight in."

Joshua said to the two men
who had spied out the land,
"Go into the prostitute's house
and bring her out
and all who belong to her,
in accordance with your oath to her."

(Deuteronomy 6:1-5, 22)
 

AC 2803 - From Eternity

AC 3803 [3]

And because the Divine Good
cannot be and come forth without the Divine Truth,
nor the Divine Truth without the Divine Good,
but the one in the other mutually and reciprocally,
it is therefore manifest
that the Divine Marriage was from eternity;
that is, the Son in the Father,
and the Father in the Son,
as the Lord Himself teaches in John:

And now O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thyself,
with the glory which I had with Thee
before the world was.
(John 17:5, 24)

But the Divine Human which was born from eternity
was also born in time;
and what was born in time, and glorified, is the same.
That is why it is that the Lord so often said
that He was going to the Father who sent Him;
that is, that He was returning to the Father.

Rahab

Then Joshua son of Nun
secretly sent two spies from Shittim.
"Go, look over the land," he said,"especially Jericho."
So they went and entered the house
of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.

The king of Jericho was told,
"Look!  Some of the Israelites
have come here tonight to spy out the land."
So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab:
"Bring out the men who came to you
and entered your house,
because they have come to spy out the whole land."

But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them.
She said, "Yes, the men came to me,
but I did not know where they had come from.
At dusk, when it was time to close the gate,
the men left.
I don't know which way they went.
Go after them quickly.
You may catch up with them."
(But she had taken them up to the roof
and hidden them under the stalks of flax
she had laid out on the roof.)
So the men set out in pursuit of the spies
on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan,
and as soon as the pursuers had gone out,
the gate was shut.

So she sent them away and they departed.
And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

When they left,
they went into the hills and stayed there three days,
until the pursuers had searched all along the road
and returned without finding them.
Then the two men started back.
They went down out of the hills,
forded the river
and came to Joshua son of Nun
and told him everything that had happened to them.
They said to Joshua,
"The Lord has surely given the whole land
into our hands;
all the people are melting in fear because of us."

(Joshua 2:1-7, 21-24)

AC 2799 - Swords and Knives

AC 2799 [1, 22, 23]

. . . the knife used for sacrifices
signified the truth of faith,
but a sword truth combating;
and as a knife is rarely mentioned in the Word,
for a secret reason to be mentioned presently,
we may show what a "sword" signifies.
A "sword" in the internal sense
signifies the truth of faith combating,
and also the vastation of truth,
and in the opposite sense falsity combating,
and the punishment of falsity.

But the reason that a knife
is seldom mentioned in the Word,
is that there are evil spirits in the other life
who are called "knifers,"
at whose side there appear knives hanging;
for the reason that they have such a brutal nature
that they wish to cut everyone's throat with the knife.
Hence it is that "knives" are not mentioned,
but "little swords" or "swords;"
for as these are used in combats,
they suggest the idea of war,
and thus of truth combating. 

. . . all the weapons of war in the Word
signify things which belong to spiritual combat,
and each one something specific . . ..

Portions of the Song of Moses

And Moses recited the words of this song
from beginning to end
in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:

Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;
hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
Let my teaching fall like rain
and my words descend like dew,
like showers on new grass,
like abundant rain on tender plants.

I will proclaim the name of the Lord.
O, praise the greatness of our God!
He is the Rock,
His works are perfect,
and all His ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is He.

The Lord will judge His people
and have compassion on His servants
when He sees their strength is gone
and no one is left, slave or free.
He will say:
"Now where are their gods,
the rock they took refuge in,
the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offerings?
Let them rise u to help you!
Let them give you shelter!

"See now that I myself am He!
There is no god besides Me.
I put to death and I bring to life,
I have wounded and I will heal,
and no one can deliver out of My hand.
I lift My hand to heaven and declare:
As surely as I live forever,
when I sharpen My flashing sword
and My hand grasps it in judgment,
I will take vengeance on My adversaries
and repay those who hate Me.
I will make My arrows drunk with blood,
while My sword devours flesh:
the blood of the slain and the captives,
the heads of the enemy leaders."

Rejoice, O nations, with His people,
for He will avenge the blood of His servants;
He will take vengeance on His enemies
and make atonement for His land and people.

Moses came with Joshua son of Nun
and spoke all the words of this song
in the hearing of the people.
When Moses finished reciting
all these words to all Israel,
he said to them,
"Take to heart all the words
I have solemnly declared to you this day,
so that you may command your children
to obey carefully all the words of this law.
They are not just idle words for you --
they are your life.
By them you will live long in the land
you are crossing the Jordan to possess."

(Deuteronomy 32:1-4, 36-47)

AC 2795 - Not "Isaac", but "The Boy"

AC 2795

As the Lord's most grievous and inmost temptations
are treated of in this chapter (Genesis 22),
all the states that He assumed
when He underwent these temptations are described.
The first state is described in the third verse,
the second state in this verse,
the third state in the verse next following,
and the rest afterwards.
But these states cannot be expounded
to the common understanding
unless many things are first known,
not only respecting the Lord's Divine,
as here represented by Abraham,
but also respecting His Divine Human
as represented by Isaac,
and respecting the state of this rational
when He engaged in and underwent
the combats of temptation (this being the "boy");
and also what and of what quality
the former rational was,
and also the natural which it had;
and likewise what the state was
when the one was adjoined to the other,
and what the state was
when they were more or less separated.
Moreover many things concerning temptations
must be known,
as what exterior and interior temptations are,
and consequently what were the inmost
and most grievous temptations the Lord had,
and which are treated of in this chapter.
So long as these things are unknown,
the things contained in this verse
cannot possibly be described to the comprehension;
and if they should be described, even most clearly,
they would still appear obscure.
To the angels,
who are in the light of heaven from the Lord,
all these things are manifest and clear,
indeed blessed,
because they are most heavenly.
 
Here we will merely say
that the Lord could not be tempted at all
when He was in the Divine Itself,
for the Divine is infinitely above all temptation;
but He could be tempted as to His human.
This is the reason why
when He was to undergo
the most grievous and inmost temptations,
He adjoined to Himself the prior human,
that is, the rational and the natural of it,
as described in verse 3;
and why He afterwards separated Himself from these,
as is said in this verse (5);
but nevertheless retaining something
by means of which He could be tempted;
which is the reason why it is not here said,
"Isaac my son," but "the boy,"
by whom is meant the Divine rational in such a state,
namely, in a state of truth,
prepared for the most grievous
and inmost combats of temptations.
That neither the Divine Itself
nor the Divine Human could be tempted,
must be evident to everyone simply from the fact
that not even the angels can approach the Divine,
much less the spirits who induce temptations,
and still less the hells.
Consequently it is manifest
why the Lord came into the world,
and put on the human state itself with its infirmity;
for thus He could be tempted as to the human,
and by means of the temptations subjugate the hells,
and reduce each and all things
to obedience and into order,
and save the human race which had removed itself
so far away from the supreme Divine.


 

The Lord Renews a Covenant With the Children of Israel

Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them:

Carefully follow the terms of this covenant,
so that you may prosper in everything you do.
All of you are standing today
in the presence of the Lord your God --
your leaders and chief men,
your elders and officials,
and all the other men of Israel,
together with your children and your wives,
and the aliens living in your camps
who chop your wood and carry your water.
You are standing here
in order to enter into a covenant
with the Lord your God,
a covenant the Lord is making with you this day
and sealing with an oath,
to confirm you this day as His people,
that He may be your God as He promised you
and as he swore to your fathers,
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
I am making this covenant, with its oath,
not only with you who are standing here with us today
in the presence of the Lord our God
but also with those who are not here today.

(Deuteronomy 29:2, 9-15)

AC 2781- Order of Service

AC 2781 [9]

. . .  the natural man ought to serve the rational,
and the rational to serve the spiritual;
but the spiritual ought to serve the celestial,
and the celestial to serve the Lord.
This is the order in which
one is subordinated to another. 

If You See

If your see our brother's ox or sheep straying,
do not ignore it
but be sure to take it back to him.
If the brother does not live near you
or if you do not know who he is,
take it home with you
and keep it until he comes looking for it.
then give it back to him.
Do the same
if you find your brother's donkey
or his cloak or anything he loses.
Do not ignore it.

If you see your brother's donkey
or his ox fallen on the road,
do not ignore it.
Help him get it to its feet.

(Deuteronomy 22:1-4)