AC 9514 - Good and Truth Together; AC 9527 - A Table

AC 9514 [1, 2]

Good without truth is not good,
and truth without good is not truth;
for good without truth has no quality,
and truth without good has no being;
for truth is the very form of good,
and there must be form
in order that there may be quality . . ..

Good also is to truth
as the body is to the arms and feet,
and in the case of flying creatures,
as the body is to the wings.
A body without arms and feet, or without wings,
cannot move itself,
but with their aid it moves itself.
Moreover in the Word
the body corresponds to good,
and the arms and wings to truths,
and also to the powers of good through truths.

AC 9527

And thou shalt make a table.
(Exodus 25:23)

That this signifies a receptacle of celestial things,
is evident from the signification of the "table,"
as being heaven,
in respect to the reception of such things
as are from the Lord there,
which are the good of love and the good of faith,
and the consequent blessedness and happiness.
These things are signified by a "table,"
because by "foods" are signified the celestial things
that belong to the good of love and of faith,
and the consequent wisdom and intelligence,
which even in common speech
are called heavenly foods,
and are likewise meant by "foods" in the Word.

~ Samuel Anoints Saul King ~

Then Samuel took a flask of oil
and poured it on Saul's head
and kissed him, saying,
"Has not the Lord anointed you leader
over His inheritance?"

(I Samuel 10:1)

AC 9492 - The Protection of Divine Good; AC 9293 - Soil and Seed; AC 9503 - The Divine Truth

AC 9492   

. . . for in the minds of those 
who are in the hells 
is seated hatred against the neighbor
and hatred against God;
and therefore they are infuriated
when they perceive the bliss of the upright.
But the good that proceeds from the Lord,
which encompasses heaven in general,
and the heavenly societies
and individual angels there in particular,
protects and represses the assaults,
and this continually.

AC 9293

. . . good is like the soil, 
and truth is like the seed.

AC 9503

That Divine truth is the Lord in heaven,
is because the Lord is good itself and truth itself,
both of which proceed from Him,
and that which proceeds from Him is Himself.
Hence it is that the Lord is heaven;
for the Divine truth which is from Him
and is received by the angels,
makes heaven;
consequently the more perfectly
the angels receive the Divine truth
which is from the Lord,
thus the more perfectly they receive the Lord,
the more perfect human forms they are,
and finally so perfect 
that their beauty surpasses belief.
. . . for they are heavenly loves and charities in form,
which form is the truly human form.
The reason why the angels are human forms,
is that the Divine in heaven is the Lord,
and they who receive from Him
the Divine truth in good
are images of Him. 

~ Samuel and the Philistines ~

When the Philistines heard
that Israel had assembled at Mizpah,
the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them.
And when the Israelites heard of it,
they were afraid because of the Philistines.
They said to Samuel,
"Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us,
that He may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines."
Then Samuel took a suckling lamb
and offered it up as a whole burnt offering to the Lord.
He cried out to the Lord on Israel's behalf,
and the Lord answered. him.

While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering,
the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle.
But that day
the Lord thundered with loud thunder
against the Philistines
and threw them into such a panic
that they were routed before the Israelites.
The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah
and pursued the Philistines,
slaughtering them along the way
to a point below Beth Car.

Then Samuel took a stone
and set up up between Mizpah and Shen.
He named it Ebenezer, saying,
"Thus far has the Lord helped us."
So the Philistines were subdued
and did not invade Israelite territory again.

Throughout Samuel's lifetime,
the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines.
The towns from Ekron to Gath
that the Philistines had captured from Israel
were restored to her,
and Israel delivered the neighboring territory
from the power of the Philistines.
And there was peace
between Israel and the Amorites.

(I Samuel 7:7-14)

AC 9474 - Celestial Good; the Good Which Is of Love

AC 9474 [2, 3]

. . . celestial good is the good of love from the Lord,
and consequently the good of love to the Lord.
The good is the very essential
 in each and all things of heaven and eternal life.

The good which is of love
does not come to perception except through truths,
for truth is the witness of good,
and is also the revelation of good,
and may be called the form of good.
The case herein is as with
the will and the understanding in man.
The will can manifest itself
only through the understanding,
for the understanding receives the good of the will,
and makes it clear.
Moreover the understanding is the form of the will,
and truth belongs to the understanding,
and good to the will.

~ The Boy Samuel ~

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."
Then they would go home.
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.

The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli.
In those days the word of the Lord was rare;
there were not many visions.

(I Samuel 2:18-21; 3:1)

AC 9455 - Exodus 25; AC 9462, 9468 - What Should Be Collected; Remembering

AC 9455 - The Contents of Exodus 25

In this chapter is described the collection
that was made for the tabernacle,
for the tables therein,
and also for the garments of Aaron;
likewise the construction of the ark,
of the table for the bread,
and of the lampstand;
by which were represented
the heavens where the Lord is,
and all the celestial and spiritual things
which are from the Lord therein.
By the Habitation was represented heaven itself;
by the ark in it, the inmost heaven;
by the Testimony or law in the ark, the Lord;
by the breads of faces upon the table,
and by the lampstand, the celestial things;
and by the garments of Aaron the spiritual things,
which are from the Lord in the heavens.

AC 9462

And this is the collection
which you shall take from them;
gold, and silver, and brass;
and blue, and crimson, and scarlet double-dyed,
and fine linen, and goats' wool;
and skins of red rams, and badgers' skins,
and shittim wood;
oil for the luminary,
spices for the oil of anointing,
and for the incense of spices;
onyx stones, and stones for filling,
for the ephod, and for the breastplate.
(Exodus 25:3-7)

"And this is the collection
which you shall take from them,"
-- signifies that these things shall by all means be required;
"gold and silver,"
-- signifies good and truth in general;
"and brass,"
-- signifies external good;
"and blue,"
-- signifies the celestial love of truth;
"and crimson,"
-- signifies the celestial love of good;
"and scarlet double-dyed,"
-- signifies mutual love;
"and fine linen,"
-- signifies the truth thence derived;
"and goats' wool,"
-- signifies the good thence derived;
"and skins of red rams, and badgers' skins,"
-- signifies the external truths and goods
by which they are held together;
"and shittim wood,"
-- signifies the goods of merit which are from the Lord,
thus of the Lord alone;
"oil for the luminary,"
-- signifies the internal good
which is in mutual love and charity;
"spices for the oil of anointing,"
-- signifies the internal truths
that belong to the inaugurating good;
"and for the incense of spices,"
-- signifies for acceptable perception;
"onyx stones, and stones for filling,"
-- signifies spiritual truths and goods in general;
"for the ephod, and for the breastplate,"
-- signifies which should be for a covering
for external and internal celestial things.

AC 9468 [2, 8]

. . .  the things to be collected
are enumerated in this order;
namely, the inmost things first,
which were blue and crimson;
the more outward things in the second place,
which were scarlet double-dyed,
fine linen, and goats' wool;
and lastly the outermost things,
which were skins of red rams and badgers' skins . . ..

. . . it was customary in ancient time,
when significatives were in use,
to bind a scarlet thread
for the remembrance or recollection of a thing,
as we read of Perez the son of Tamar,
upon whose hand
"the midwife bound a double-dyed thread"
(Genesis 38:28, 30);
and as we read of the harlot Rahab,
who "bound a scarlet thread in the window,
that the spies might remember their promise"
(Joshua 2:18, 21).

~ Portions of Hannah's Prayer ~

"There is no one holy like the Lord;
there is no one besides You;
there is no Rock like our God.

"Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the Lord is God who knows,
and by Him deeds are weighed.

"The Lord brings death and makes alive;
He brings down to the grave and raises up.
The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
He humbles and He exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap . . ..

"For the foundations of the earth are the Lord's;
upon them He has set the world.
He will guard the feet of His saints,
but the wicked will be silenced in darkness."

(I Samuel 2:2-3, 6-8.5,9)
 

AC 9438 - Spirits and Angels; AC 9441 - The End of Creation; AC 9454 - "Born of God"

AC 9438

. . .spirits and angels . . . are with every person,
and that through them
a person has connection with heaven,
and through heaven with the Lord.
. . . when a person dies as to his body,
he lives as a spirit,
also in human form as before.

AC 9441

For the end of the creation of the universe is man;
in order that from man there may be an angelic heaven.

AC 9454

. . . to be "born of God"
denotes to be regenerated.

AC 9424 - The Word and Doctrine; AC 9430 - A Warning

AC 9424 [2-3]

. . . be it known that all the doctrine of the church
must be from the Word,
and that the doctrine
from any other source than the Word
is not doctrine in which there is anything of the church,
still less anything of heaven.
But the doctrine must be collected from the Word,
and while it is being collected,
the man must be in enlightenment from the Lord;
and he is in enlightenment
when he is in the love of truth for the sake of truth,
and not for the sake of self and the world.
These are those who are enlightened in the Word
when they read it,
and who see truth,
and from it make doctrine for themselves.
The reason of this is
that such communicate with heaven,
thus with the Lord;
and being enlightened by the Lord in this way
they are led to see the truths of the Word
such as they are in heaven;
for the Lord inflows through heaven
into their understandings,
because it is the man's interior understanding
that is enlightened.
And at the same time
the Lord flows in with faith,
by means of the cooperation of the new will,
a feature of which is to be affected with truth
for the sake of truth.
From all this it can now be seen how
the doctrine of truth and good
is given man by the Lord. 

That this doctrine supports the Word
in respect to its literal or external sense,
is plain to everyone who reflects;
for everyone in the church
who thinks from doctrine sees truths in the Word
from his doctrine and according thereto,
and explains those which do not coincide with it;
and those which seem to be opposed to it
he passes by
as though he did not see or understand them;
that all do so, even heretics, is known.
But those who are in the genuine doctrine of truth
from the Word,
and in enlightenment when they read the Word,
see everywhere truths that agree,
and nothing whatever that is opposed;
for they do not dwell upon what is said therein
according to appearances,
and according to the common apprehension of men,
because they know
that if the appearances are unfolded,
and as it were unswathed,
the truth is laid bare.
Nor are they led astray by falsities
from the fallacies of the external senses . . ..
Be it known that the internal sense of the Word
contains the genuine doctrine of the church.

AC 9430 [2]

Let all therefore beware
of injuring the Word in any way;
for they who injure it,
injure the Divine Itself.

AC 9422 - Sitting and Moving

AC 9422 [2, 3]

. . . "sitting" signifies remaining in a state;
for movements from place to place
signify changes of state of the interiors . . ..
Consequently "sitting" signifies
a permanent abiding in the state of the interiors.
Because "sitting" has such a signification,
therefore to sit was one of the rituals
received among the sons of Israel
when they represented
a permanent state of the interiors;
as in the book of Judges:

The sons of Israel came unto Bethel,
and wept, and sat there before Jehovah,
and fasted that day until the evening.
(Judges 20:26)

Jehovah, You have known
my sitting down and my rising up;
You have understood my thought afar off.
(Psalm 139:2) 
 

AC 9407 - "A Sapphire Stone"

AC 9407 [10-11]

. . .  "a sapphire stone"
denotes truth translucent from internal truths -
namely, a "stone" denotes truth,
and a "sapphire" translucence.

That all things of the Word
are translucent from the Lord,
is because the Divine truth which is from the Lord
is the one only thing from which are all things;
for that which is first is the one only thing
in what follows and derives from it,
because they are and come forth from it;
and Divine truth is the Lord.
Wherefore also in the supreme sense of the Word
nothing is treated of but the Lord alone,
His love, His providence,
His kingdom in the heavens and on earth,
and especially the glorification of His Human. 

~ With a Jawbone of a Donkey ~

Then Samson said,

"With a donkey's jawbone
I have made donkeys of them.
With a donkey's jawbone
I have killed a thousand men."

When he finished speaking,
he threw away the jawbone;
and the place was called Ramath Lehi.

Because he was very thirsty,
he cried out to the Lord,
"You have given your servant this great victory.
Must I now die of thirst
and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?"
Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi,
and water came out of it.
When Samson drank,
his strength returned and he revived.
So the spring was called En Hakkore,
and it is still there in Lehi.

Samson led Israel for twenty years
in the days of the Philistines.

(Judges 15:16-20)

AC 9398, 9399 - The Amazing Divine Truth

AC 9398

. . . "the Word was made flesh," that is, man,
in order that the Divine Itself under a human form
might teach truth Divine in actuality.

AC 9399 [1, 3]

For the Divine truth which is from the Lord
is continually flowing in with a person,
and forms his understanding;
and if you will believe it,
without this continual influx of the truth Divine
that proceeds from the Lord
a person can perceive and understand
nothing whatsoever.

. . . every person in the world
who is of sound reason
has the capacity of understanding truth Divine,
and consequently the capacity of receiving it,
in so far as he desists from evils . . ..

AC 9393 - The Holy Supper

AC 9393 [5]

. . . the Holy supper was instituted by the Lord
in order that by it
there might be a conjunction of all things of heaven,
that is, of all things of the Lord,
with the man of the church;
because in this supper
the flesh and the bread denote
the Divine good of the Lord's Divine love
toward the whole human race,
and man's reciprocal love to the Lord;
and the blood and the wine denote
the Divine truth proceeding
from the Divine good of the Lord's Divine love,
and this received in turn by man;
and in heaven to eat and drink these things
denotes appropriation and conjunction. 

 

AC 9387 - "And he rose up early in the morning."

AC 9387

And he rose up early in the morning.
(Exodus 24:$)

That this signifies joy from the Lord,
is evident from the signification of "rising up,"
as denoting elevation toward higher things;
and from the signification of "morning," and "early,"
as being the Lord,
and the things which are from Him,
such as peace, innocence, love, and joy.
The reason why "morning," and "early"
have this signification,
is that the seasons of the year,
which are spring, summer, autumn, and winter,
and also the times of the day,
which are morning, noon, evening, and night,
correspond to so many states in heaven.
Thus the morning corresponds to
the coming and presence of the Lord,
which exists when an angel
is in a state of peace, innocence,
and heavenly love, and thereby in joy.

AC 9372 - Soft and Shining; AC 9377 - Hard and Soft Hearts

AC 9372 [4]

That the Word in the ultimate, or in the letter,
is crude and obscure in the sight of men;
but that in the internal sense it is soft and shining,
is signified by their
"not seeing a man clothed in soft raiment,
for behold those who wear soft things
are in kings' houses."  (Luke 7:25)
That such things are signified by these words,
is plain from the signification
of "raiment," or "garments," as being truths;
and for this reason the angels appear
clothed in garments soft and shining
according to the truths from good with them.

AC 9377

And bow yourselves afar off.
(Exodus 24:1)

. . . this signifies humiliation
and adoration from the heart,
and then the influx of the Lord
That it also denotes adoration,
is because humiliation is the essential
of all adoration and of all worship,
for without humiliation
the Lord cannot be worshiped and adored,
for the reason that the Divine of the Lord
cannot flow into a proud heart,
that is, into a heart full of the love of self,
for such a heart is hard;
and is called in the Word a "heart of stone."
But the Divine of the Lord can flow into a humble heart,
because this is soft,
and is called in the Word a "heart of flesh."
Such a heart is receptive
of the influx of good from the Lord, that is, of the Lord.
From this it is that by "bowing oneself afar off"
is not only signified
humiliation and adoration from the heart,
but also the influx of the Lord then.
It is said the influx of the Lord,
because the good of love and of faith,
which flows in from the Lord, is the Lord.
That "afar off" denotes from the heart,
is because those who are in humiliation
remove themselves from the Lord,
for the reason that they regard themselves
as unworthy to approach the most holy Divine,
because while they are in humiliation
they are in the self-acknowledgment
that of themselves they are nothing but evil,
indeed, profane.
When they acknowledge this from the heart,
they are in true humiliation.

~ Gideon Takes Down Baal's Alter and the Asherah Pole ~

That same night the Lord said to him,
"Take the second bull from your father's herd,
the one seven years old.
Tear down your father's altar to Baal
and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.
Then build a proper kind of altar
to the Lord your God
on the top of this height.
Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down,
offer the second bull as a burnt offering."

So Gideon took ten of his servants
and did as the Lord told him.
But because he was afraid of his family
and the men of the town,
he did it at night rather than in the daytime.

In the morning
when the men of the town got up,
there was Baal's altar, demolished,
with the Asherah pole beside it cut down
and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!

They asked each other, "Who did this?"

When they carefully investigated,
they were told, "Gideon son of Joash did it."

The men of the town demanded of Joash,
"Bring out your son.  He must die,
because he has broken down Baal's altar
and cut down the Asherah pole beside it."

But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him,
"Are you going to plead Baal's cause?
Are you trying to save him?
Whoever fights for him
shall be put to death by morning!
If Baal really is a god,
he can defend himself
when someone breaks down his altar."
So that day they called Gideon "Jerub-Baal," saying,
"Let Baal contend with him,"
because he broke down Baal's altar.

(Judges 6:25-32)

AC 9348 - The Loves of Self and the World; Dread and Fear

AC 9348 [1, 2]

. . . all evils spring
from the loves of self and of the world,
and the loves of self and of the world are born with man,
and from this he feels the delight of his life
from the moment of his birth;
indeed, from this he has life.
Wherefore these loves,
like the unseen currents of a river,
continually draw the thought and the will of man
away from the Lord to self,
and away from heaven to the world,
thus away from the truths and goods of faith
to falsities and evils.
Reasonings from the fallacies of the senses
are then of especial force,
and also the literal sense of the Word
wrongly explained and applied.

These two sources of error,
and also those previously mentioned,
are what are meant in the spiritual sense of the Word
by "snares," "nooses," "pits," "nets," "ropes," "gins,"
and also by "frauds" and "deceits" . . ..
"Dread" and "fear" denote
a disturbance and commotion of the mind
when it hesitates between evils and goods,
consequently between falsities and truths . . ..

~ The Lord Visits Gideon ~

Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,
and for seven years
He gave them into the hands of the Midianites.

The angel of the Lord came
and sat down under the oak in Ophrah
that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite,
where his son Gideon
was threshing wheat in the winepress
to keep it from the Midianites.
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon,
he said, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior."

"But sir," Gideon replied,
"if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?
Where are all His wonders
that our father told us about when they said,
'Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?'
But now the Lord has abandoned us
and put us into the hand of Midian."

The Lord turned to him and said,
"Go in the strength you have
and save Israel out of Midian's hand.
Am I not sending you?"

"But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel?
My clan is the weakest in Manasseh,
and I am the least in my family."

The Lord answered,
"I will be with you,
and you will strike down all the Midianites together."

Gideon replied,
"If now I have found favor in Your eyes,
give me a sign that it is really You talking to me.
Please do not go away until I come back
and bring my offering and set it before You."

And the Lord said, "I will wait until you return."

Gideon went in, prepared a young goat,
and from an ephah of flour
he made bread without yeast.
Putting the meat in a basket
and its broth in a pot,
he brought them out
and offered them to Him under the oak.

The angel of God said to him,
"Take the meat and the unleavened bread,
place them on this rock,
and pour out the broth."
And Gideon did so.
With the tip of the staff that was in his hand,
the angel of the Lord touched the meat
and the unleavened bread.
Fire flared from the rock,
consuming the meat and the bread.
And the angel of the Lord disappeared.
When Gideon realized
that it was the angel of the Lord,
he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign Lord!
I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!"

But the Lord said to him,
"Peace! Do not be afraid.
You are not going to die."

So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there
and called it The Lord is Peace.
To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

(Judges 6:1, 11-24)
 

AC 9335 - The Removal of Falsities and Evils; AC 9336 - Regeneration, Slowly, Carefully

AC 9335 [2]

. . . falsities can only be removed by truths;
and evils can only be removed by goods.

AC 9336 [1-3]

. . . with the man who is being regenerated
all things are disposed
according to the order of heaven;
for the regenerate man is a heaven in the least form,
and therefore there is in him
an order like that which is in heaven.

When a man is born,
in respect to hereditary evils
he is a hell in the least form;
and he also becomes a hell
insofar as he takes the hereditary evils to himself,
and adds to them things which are his own.
Hence it is that both from birth and from actual life
the order of his life
is opposite to the order of heaven;
for from his own
a man loves himself more than the Lord,
and the world more than heaven;
when yet the life of heaven
consists in loving the Lord above all things
and the neighbor as oneself.
From this it is evident
that the former life, which is of hell,
must be utterly destroyed
(that is to say, the evils and falsities must be removed),
in order that the new life,
which is the life of heaven,
may be implanted.
This cannot possibly be done hastily;
for every evil that is rooted in with its falsities
has a connection with all evils and their falsities;
and such evils and falsities are innumerable,
and their connection is so complex
that it cannot be comprehended,
not even by the angels,
but only by the Lord.
From this it is evident
that the life of hell with a man
cannot be destroyed suddenly;
for if it were, he would straightway expire;
and neither can the life of heaven
be implanted suddenly,
for if it were, he would also expire. 

There are thousands and thousands of arcana,
of which scarcely a single one is known to man,
whereby a man is led by the Lord
out of the life of hell into the life of heaven.
. . . As man knows scarcely anything of these matters,
many have fallen into errors
about the liberation of man from evils and falsities
(that is, the forgiveness of sins),
believing that through mercy
the life of hell in a man
can be instantly turned into the life of heaven in him;
when yet the whole act of regeneration is mercy,
and none are regenerated except those
who receive the mercy of the Lord
in faith and life while in the world . . ..

AC 9325 - A Person's Natural

AC 9325 [10]

. . . it is a person's natural which first receives
the truths out of the Word from the Lord,
and that it is the last to be regenerated,
and that when it has been regenerated,
the whole person is regenerated . . .

~ After Joshua Died ~

After that whole generation
had been gathered to their fathers,
another generation grew up,
who knew neither the Lord
nor what He had done for Israel.
Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord
and served the Baals.

(Judges 2:10-11)

AC 9310 - What Is In and What Is From

AC 9310

Because My name is in the midst of him.
(Exodus 23:21)

That this signifies that from Him
is all the good of love and truth of faith,
is evident from the signification of
the "name of Jehovah,"
as being all in one complex
by which God is worshiped,
thus all the good of love and truth of faith;
and from the signification of "in the midst of him,"
as being what is in Him,
thus also what is from Him;
for the good of love is of such a nature
that what is in it,
is also from it in others,
because it has the power of communicating itself.
For it is a characteristic of love
that it wishes everything of its own
to be out of itself in others;
and as this is effected from the Divine Itself
through and out of its Divine Human,
therefore also the Lord as to the Divine Human
is called "the name of Jehovah".  

~ Joshua Dies ~

After these things,
Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord,
died at the age of a hundred and ten.
And they buried him in the land of his inheritance,
at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim,
north of Mount Gaash.

(Joshua 24:28-30)

AC 9300 - "Truths of Good" and "Goods of Truth"

AC 9300 [2]

They are called "truths of good" and "goods of truth,"
because with the man who is being regenerated,
and still more so
with him when he has been regenerated,
truths are of good,
and goods are of truth;
for truths make the life of the understanding,
and good makes the life of the will.
Moreover, with the regenerate man
the understanding and the will make one mind,
and communicate reciprocally,
the truths which are of the understanding
with the good which is of the will,
and the good which is of the will
with the truths which are of the understanding.
They flow into each other
scarcely otherwise than as the blood flows
from the heart into the lungs,
and there back again into the heart;
and then from the left ventricle of the heart
into the arteries,
and from these through the veins
back again into the heart.
Such an idea may be formed
about the reciprocal action of good and truth in man
from his understanding into his will,
and from his will into his understanding.
That an idea about the reciprocal action
of the truth of faith and the good of charity
in the understanding and the will,
may be obtained especially
from the lungs and the heart,
is because
the lungs correspond to the truths which are of faith,
and the heart to the good which is of love.

~ So Everyone Gets Settled ~

So the Lord gave Israel
all the land He had sworn to give their forefathers,
and they took possession of it and settled there.
The Lord gave them rest on every side,
just as he had sworn to their forefathers.
Not one of their enemies withstood them;
the Lord handed all their enemies over to them.
Not one of all the Lord's good promises
to the house of Israel failed;
every one was fulfilled.

(Joshua 21:3-45)

AC 9286 - Regeneration Is; AC 9296 - The Blessing of the Feast of Ingathering

AC 9286 [2]

. . . regeneration is liberation from hell
and introduction into heaven by the Lord;
for the man who is being regenerated
is first purified from falsities,
then the truths of faith
are implanted with him in the good of charity,
and lastly this good itself is implanted,
and when this is done the man has been regenerated,
and is then in heaven with the Lord.

AC 9296 [2-3]

Thou shalt make for thee
the feast of tabernacles seven days,
after thou hast gathered in from thy threshing-floor
and from thy winepress.
And Jehovah thy God shall bless thee in all thy produce,
and in every work of thy hands.
(Deuteronomy 16:13, 15).
    
As by this feast is signified the worship of the Lord
from a grateful mind
on account of the implantation of good,
and thus on account of
complete liberation from damnation,
it shall first be explained
what the implantation of good is.
It has already been everywhere shown
that man has two faculties of life,
namely, the understanding and the will;
and that the understanding is allotted to
the reception of truth,
and the will to the reception of good;
for there are two things
to which all things in the universe,
both in heaven and in the world,
bear relation, namely, truth and good.
From this it is also evident
that these two make the life of man,
and that the truth of faith and the good of charity
 make his new life,
and that unless both of these
have been implanted in man
he has no new life.
In what way the truth which is of faith
is sown and implanted in man,
is known in the church;
but it is not as yet so well known
in what way the good which is of charity is implanted.
When he is a little child,
man receives good from the Lord,
and this good is the good of innocence,
such as little children have.
This good makes the beginning of the new will in man,
and in the succeeding age it grows
in accordance with his life of innocence
with his companions
and in accordance with his life
of goodness and obedience
toward his parents and masters,
but still more with those
who afterward suffer themselves to be regenerated.
This the Lord foresees,
and provides according to the state of life that follows;
for in every present moment the Lord foresees evil,
and provides good;
and this He does from the first thread of life
even to eternity.
Afterward, when the man grows up
and begins to think from himself,
so far as he is then carried away
by the delights of the loves of self and of the world,
so far this new willing,
or beginning of a new will,
is closed;
and so far as he is not carried away by these delights,
so far it is opened,
and is also perfected. 

But how it is perfected by the implantation of truth,
shall now be told.
This new will, which is from the good of innocence,
is the dwelling place through which
the Lord enters into man
and excites him to will what is good,
and from willing to do it.
This influx works in the man
in proportion as he desists from evils.
From this he has the faculty of knowing,
of perceiving, reflecting upon, and understanding
moral and civil truths and goods
in accordance with the delight of use.
Afterward the Lord flows in through this good
into the truths of doctrine of the church with the man,
and calls forth from the memory
such as are of service to the use of life,
and implants these in the good,
and so perfects the good.
It is from this that the good with a man
is wholly in accordance with the use of life.
If the use of life is for the neighbor
(that is, for the good of our fellow citizen,
of our country, of the church, of heaven),
and for the Lord,
then this good is the good of charity.
But if the use of life is only for self and the world,
then this beginning of the new will is closed,
and beneath it is formed a will
from the evils of the loves of self and of the world,
and from this an understanding is formed of falsities.
This latter will is closed above and open beneath,
that is, closed to heaven and open to the world.
From all this it is evident how truths
are planted in good, and form it;
and also that when a man is good
he is in heaven with the Lord;
for as before said,
the new will, in which is the good of charity,
is the dwelling place of the Lord,
and consequently is heaven in man;
and the new understanding thence derived
is as it were the tabernacle
through which He comes in and goes out.

~ Casting Lots for the Land ~

The whole assembly of the Israelites 
gathered at Shiloh
and set up the Tent of Meeting there.
The country was brought under their control,
but there were still seven Israelite tribes
who had not yet received their inheritance.
So Joshua said to the Israelites:
"How long will you wait
before you begin to take possession of the land
that the Lord, the God of your fathers,
has given you?
Appoint three men from each tribe.
I will send them out to make a survey of the land
and to write a description of it,
according to the inheritance of each.
Then they will return to me.
You are to divide the land into seven parts.
Judah is to remain in its territory on the south
and the house of Joseph in the north.
After you have written descriptions
of the seven parts of the land
bring them here to me
and I will cast lots for you
in the presence of the Lord our god.
The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you,
because their priestly service of the Lord
is their inheritance.
And Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh
have already received their inheritance
on the east side of the Jordan.
Moses the servant of the Lord gave it to them."

As the men started on their way to map out the land,
Joshua instructed them,
"Go and make a survey of the land
and write a description of it.
then return to me,
and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh
in the presence of the Lord."
So the men left and went through the land.
they wrote its description on a scroll,
town by town, in seven parts,
and returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh.
Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh
in the presence of the Lord,
and there he distributed the land to the Israelites
according to their tribal divisions.

(Joshua 18:1-10)

AC 9278 - The Sixth and Seventh Day

AC 9278 [2-3]

Man is born into loving the world and himself
more than heaven and the Lord.
And because this is opposite to Divine order,
there must be an inversion by means of regeneration;
and this inversion is effected
when the things of heaven and the Lord
are loved more than those of the world and of self.
This is the reason why the man
who has been regenerated,
as also he who is in heaven,
is alternately in external and in internal things;
for external things are thereby disposed
so as to agree with internal things;
and finally to be subject to them. 

When a man is in external things,
he is in labor and combat,
for he is then in a life which savors of the world,
into which the hells flow from all sides,
continually endeavoring to infest,
and even to subjugate in the man
the things of heaven;
but the Lord continually protects and sets him free.
From this arise the labor and combat
which are signified by the
"six days of the week in which works are to be done."
But when the man is in internal things,
then, because he is in heaven with the Lord,
the labor and combat cease,
and he is in the tranquility of peace,
in which tranquility conjunction also is effected.
These are the things
which are signified by the "seventh day."

 

AC 9271, 9273 - Sowing, Resting

AC 9271
And six years thou shalt sow thy land,
and shalt gather the produce thereof;
and in the seventh thou shalt let it lie fallow,
and shalt release it;
and the needy of thy people shall eat;
and what they leave
the wild animal of the field shall eat.
So shalt thou do to thy vineyard,
and to thine oliveyard.
Six days thou shalt do thy works,
and on the seventh day thou shalt cease;
that thine ox and thine ass may rest;
and the son of thy handmaid, and the sojourner,
may take breath.
And all that I have said unto you ye shall keep;
and ye shall not mention the name of other gods;
it shall not be heard upon thy mouth.
(Exodus 23:10-13)

"And six years thou shalt sow thy land,"
-- signifies the first state,
when the man of the church
is being instructed in the truths and goods of faith;
"and shalt gather the produce thereof,"
-- signifies the goods of truth therefrom;
"and in the seventh year
thou shalt let it lie fallow, and shalt release it,"
-- signifies the second state,
when the man of the church is in good,
and thus in the tranquility of peace;
"and the needy of thy people shall eat,"
-- signifies conjunction through the good of charity
with those who are in few truths
and yet long to be instructed;
"and what they leave
the wild animal of the field shall eat,"
-- signifies conjunction through these
with those who are in the delights of external truth;
"so shalt thou do to thy vineyard,
and to thine oliveyard,"
-- signifies that so it is
with spiritual good and with celestial good;
"six days thou shalt do thy works,"
-- signifies the state of labor and of combat
when the man is in external things,
which are to be conjoined with internal;
"and on the seventh day thou shalt cease,"
-- signifies the state of good
when the man is in internal things,
and his tranquility of peace then;
"that thine ox and thine ass may rest,"
-- signifies tranquility at the same time
for external goods and truths;
"and the son of thy handmaid, and the sojourner,
may take breath,"
-- signifies the state of life of those outside the church
who are in truths and goods;
"and all that I have said unto you ye shall keep,"
-- signifies that the commandments, the judgments,
and the statutes are to be done;
"and ye shall not mention the name of other gods,"
signifies that they must not think
from the doctrine of falsity;
"it shall not be heard upon thy mouth,"
signifies that obedience
is not to be paid with any affirmation.

AC 9272 [3]

That "sowing the land," that is, a "field,"
denotes to teach and learn the truth and goods of faith
which are the church;
and that the "produce"
denotes the goods of truth therefrom . . ..

AC 9262 - Innocence

AC 9262

. . . those are in innocence who love the Lord.
For innocence is to acknowledge in the heart
that of ourselves we desire nothing but evil,
and perceive nothing but falsity,
and also that all the good which is of love,
and all the truth which is of faith,
are from the Lord alone.

. . . the good of innocence is good Divine itself
from the Lord with a person.

AC 9242, 9243, 9244 - Confidence In and Believing In the Lord

AC 9242

. . . the Faith which is called "confidence,"
is possible only with those
who are in charity toward the neighbor,
and in love to the Lord.

AC 9243

. . . he who does not believe the truths
which are from God,
cannot believe in God;
because to believe in God
is to believe from the truths
which are from God.

AC 9244

All who are in heavenly love,
have confidence that they will be saved by the Lord;
for they believe that the Lord came into the world
in order to give eternal life
to those who believe and live
according to the commandments which He taught;
and that He regenerates these,
and so makes them fit for heaven;
and that He does this Himself alone,
from pure mercy,
without the aid of man.
This is meant by "believing in the Lord."

~ The Sun and Moon Stand Still ~

On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel,
Joshua said to the Lord in the presence  of Israel:

"O sun, stand still over Gibeon,
O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."
So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
til the nation avenged itself on its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky
and delayed going down about a full day.
There has never been a day like it before or since,
a day when the Lord listened to a man.
Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!

Then Joshua returned with all Israel
to the camp at Gilgal.

(Joshua 10:12-15)

Several More Nuggets from the Arcana

AC 9223

. . . that which is not done tardily,
but quickly,
is done from the affection of love.

AC 9224 [1, 3]

. . . it is the understanding which first receives truths,
because it sees them and introduces them to the will;
and when they are in the will,
then they are in the person,
for the will is the person himself.

. . . all things in the universe
bear relation to truth and to good,
and they must bear relation to both
in order to be anything.

The good of charity is to do what is good
from the will of what is good.

AC 9227 [3]

. . . a person is not in heaven
until he does truths from willing them,
thus from the affection of charity.

AC 9229

. . . the Divine which proceeds from the Lord
is holiness itself,
consequently those who receive it
in faith and also in love
are called "holy."
He who believes
that a person is holy from any other source
and that anything else with him is holy
than that which is from the Lord
and is received,
is very much mistaken.

~ The Israelites Ambush Ai ~

Then the Lord said to Joshua,
"Do not be afraid;
do not be discouraged.
Take the whole army with you,
and go up and attack Ai.
For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai,
his people, his city and his land.
You shall do to Ai and its king
as you did to Jericho and its king,
except that you may carry off
their plunder and their livestock for yourselves.
Set an ambush behind the city."

(Joshua 8:1)

AC 9211 -Being Led By the Lord

AC 9211

. . . he who is led by the Lord
thinks absolutely nothing about reward,
and yet does good to the neighbor from the heart.

~ Seven Priests, Seven Trumpets, Seven Days, Seven Times Around Jericho ~

So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them,
"Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord
and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it."
And he ordered the people,
"Advance!  March around the city,
with armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord."

When Joshua had spoken to the people,
the seven priests
carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord
went forward, blowing their trumpets,
and the ark of the Lord's covenant followed them.
The armed guard marched ahead of the priests
who blew the trumpets,
and the rear guard followed the ark.
All this time the trumpets were sounding.
but Joshua had commanded the people,
"Do not give a war cry,
do not raise your voices,
do not say a word
until the day I tell you to shout.
Then shout!"
So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city,
circling it once.
Then the people returned to camp
and spent the night there.

Joshua got up early the next morning
and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.
The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets
went forward, marching before the ark of the Lord
and blowing the trumpets.
The armed men went ahead of them
and the rear guard followed the ark of the Lord,
while the trumpets kept sounding.
So on the second day
they marched around the city once
and returned to the camp.
They did this for six days.

On the seventh day,
they got up at daybreak
and marched around the city seven times
in the same manner,
except that on that day
they circled the city seven times.
The seventh time around,
when the priests sounded the trumpet blast,
Joshua commanded the people,
"Shout!  For the Lord has given you the city!
The city and all that is in it
are to be devoted to the Lord.
Only Rehab the prostitute
and all who are with her in her house shall be spared,
because she hid the spies we sent.

(Joshua 6:6-17)

AC 9207 - Those in Truths

AC 9207

. . . those who are in truths
always long to do what is good . . ..

~ "Be Strong and Courageous" ~

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord,
the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide:
"Moses my servant is dead.
Now then, you and all these people,
get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land
I am about to give  to them - to the Israelites.
I will give you every place where you set your foot,
as I promised Moses.
Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon,
and from the great river, the Euphrates --
all the Hittite country --
to the Great Sea on the west.
No one will be able to stand up against you
all the days of your life.
As I was with Moses,
so I will be with you;
I will never leave you nor forsake you.

"Be strong and courageous,
because you will lead these people to inherit
the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.
Be strong and very courageous.
Be careful to obey
all the law My servant Moses gave you;
do not turn from it to the right or to the left,
that you may be successful wherever you go.
Do not let this Book of the Law
depart from your mouth;
mediate on it day and night,
so that you may be careful
to do everything written in it.
Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous.
Do not be terrified;
do not be discouraged,
for the Lord your God will be with you
wherever you go."

(Joshua 1:1-9)

AC 9192, 9193 - worship; AC 9198 [7-8] - Elijah, the Widow, and the Cake

AC 9192

. . . all worship has matters of doctrine for its rules;
and these matters of doctrine are truths
in so far as they are from good . . ..

AC 9193 [3]

The main thing of internal worship
is to acknowledge the Lord as the one and only God,
and that everything good and true is from Him.
. . . That to acknowledge and worship the Lord
is to live according to His commandments, that is,
to live a life of faith and charity.
A life of faith consists
in doing the commandments from obedience
and a life of charity
in doing the commandments from love.

AC 9198 [7]

And Elijah said:

Make me thereof a little cake first,
and bring it out to me,
and afterward make for thee and for thy son.
She did so;
and the barrel of meal was not consumed;
and the cruse of oil did not fail.
(1 Kings 17:9-16)

Obedience, and the longing of good for truth,
are described by
her giving water to the prophet at his bidding,
and afterward by her first making a cake for him
out of her own little supply,
and then for herself and her son;
and that thereby she was enriched
with the good of truth
is signified by "the barrel of meal not being consumed,
and the cruse of oil failing not;"
for in the internal sense "water" denotes truth;
"meal," truth from good;
"oil," the good of love;
and "a cake" made of these,
truth conjoined with its good.
From all this it is clear that "a widow"
denotes one who is in good and longs for truth.
Good and its longing for truth
is described by the charity toward the prophet,
which was greater than toward herself and her son.
"The prophet," . . . denotes the doctrine of truth.

~ Moses ~

Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo
from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah,
across from Jericho.
There the Lord showed him the whole land --
from Gilead to Dan,
all of Naphtali,
the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh,
all the land of Judah as far as the western sea,
the Negev and the whole region
from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms,
as far as Zoar.
Then the Lord said to him,
"This is the land I promised on oath
to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said,
'I will give it to  your descendants.'
I have let you see it with your eyes,
but you will not cross over into it."

And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab,
as the Lord had said.
He buried him in Moab,
in the valley opposite Beth Peor,
but to this day no one knows where his grave is.
Moses was a hundred and twenty years old
when he died,
yet his eyes were not weak
nor his strength gone.
the Israelites grieved for Moses
in the plains of Moab thirty days,
until the time of weeping and mourning was over.

Now Joshua son of Nun
was filled with the spirit of wisdom
because Moses had laid his hands on him.
So the Israelites listened to him
and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.

Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses,
whom the Lord knew face to face,
who did all those miraculous signs and wonders
the Lord sent him to do in Egypt --
to Pharaoh and all his officials and to his whole land.
For no one has ever shown the might power
or performed the awesome deeds
that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

(Deuteronomy 34)
 

AC 9174 - Good Is

AC 9174

Good is like the soul in a person,
and truths are like those things
with which the soul clothes itself,
and by means of which it acts.

 

~ The Beginning of the Last 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.
Oh, 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.

(Deuteronomy 31:30, 32:1-4)

More AC Bits and Pieces

AC 9152

. . . when a man of the church
who is in the good of faith
reads the Word,
angels adjoin themselves to him,
and are delighted in the man,
because of the wisdom
which then inflows to them 
through the Word
from the Lord.
From this is the conjunction of heaven with man,
which would not be possible without the Word.

AC 9154 [2]

The good with a man
is that which receives in itself all truths,
for good has its quality from truths;
and so far as truths have good in them
and also around them,
so far they are living.

AC 9156

Wash me from mine iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin;
for I acknowledge my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before.
(Psalm 51:2, 3);

"iniquity" denotes evil contrary to the goods of faith;
"sin," evil contrary to the goods of charity and love;
and "transgressions," evil contrary to the truths of faith.
As the latter is evil proceeding
from a perverted understanding,
and thus is known from the truths of faith,
 it is said, "I acknowledge my transgressions."

AC 9160

Even at this day
judgment is administered from the Lord
when it is done from conscience,
in accordance with truths.

~ Moses and Joshua Go to the Tent of Meeting ~

The Lord said to Moses,
"Now the day of your death is near.
Call Joshua and present yourselves
at the Tent of Meeting
where I will commission him."
So Moses and Joshua came
and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting.

Then the Lord appeared at the Tent
in a pillar of cloud,
and the cloud stood over the entrance to the Tent.

(Deuteronomy 31:14-15)

AC 9146 - The Goods of the Church

AC 9146

The goods of the church are those of
charity toward the neighbor
and of love to the Lord.
These goods are the being and soul of faith,
for by virtue of them
faith is faith, and lives.

~ If You Do Not Obey ~

However, if you do not obey the Lord your God
and do not carefully follow
all His commands and decrees
I am giving you today,
all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

You will cursed in the city and cursed in the country.

Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.

The fruit of your womb will be cursed,
and the crops of your land,
and the calves of your herds
and the lambs of your flocks.

You will be cursed when you come in
and cursed when you go out.

(Deuteronomy 28:15-19)

AC 9127- "Flesh" and "Blood"; AC 9135 - Interior and Exterior

AC 9127 [2]

. . . the internal sense does not treat
of the life of man's body,
but of the life of his soul, that is, of his spiritual life,
which he is to live forever.
This life is described in the Word
in the sense of the letter
by such things as belong to the life of the body;
namely, by the flesh and blood.
And because the spiritual life of man
exists and subsists
through the good which is of charity
and the truth which is of faith,
therefore in the internal sense of the Word
the good which is of charity is meant by "flesh,"
and the truth which is of faith is meant by "blood."
And in a still more interior sense,
the good which is of love to the Lord
is meant by "flesh,"
and the good of love toward the neighbor
is meant by "blood."
But in the supreme sense,
which treats of the Lord alone,
"flesh" denotes the Divine good of the Lord,
thus the Lord Himself as to Divine good;
and "blood" denotes the Divine truth
proceeding from the Lord,
thus the Lord as to Divine truth.
These things are understood in heaven
by "flesh and blood"
when a man is reading the Word;
in like manner when he attends the Holy Supper;
but in this the bread is the flesh,
and the wine is the blood, because by "bread"
the same is signified as by "flesh,"
and by "wine" the same as by "blood." 

AC 9135 [2]

. . . the internal man is wise from heaven,
but the external man from the world;
for heaven is within man,
and the world is without him.
. . . Moreover
in accordance with the Divine order in heaven,
in the external man good proceeds toward truth;
and the internal man from truth toward good.

~ A Request ~

"Look down from heaven,
Your holy dwelling place,
and bless Your people Israel
and the land You have given us
as You promised on oath to our forefathers,
a land flowing with milk and honey."

(Deuteronomy 26:15)

AC 9096 - "Keeping in Bonds" and Freedom

AC 9096

By "keeping in bonds"
is meant to prevent, and to restrain.
In the spiritual sense
bonds are nothing else than the affections of love,
for these are what lead man, and what restrain him.
If the affections of evil lead him,
there must be affections of truth from good
to restrain him.
Internal bonds in man
are affections of truth and of good.
These are also called the "bonds of conscience."
But external bonds are the affections
of the love of self and of the love of the world,
for these lead man in external things.
If the latter affections descend from internal bonds,
which are affections of truth and of good,
they are good,
for then the man loves himself and the world
not for the sake of self and the world,
but for the sake of good uses from himself and the world.
But if the affections
of the love of self and of the love of the world
do not descend from internal bonds,
the affections are evil, and are called "cupidities;"
for then the man loves himself for the sake of himself,
and the world for the sake of the world.

From all this it can be known
what is meant by internal bonds,
and by external bonds,
of which frequent mention has been made.
But bonds so called are not bonds
except relatively to their opposites;
for he who does anything from the affection
which is of the love of good,
acts from freedom;
but he who acts from the affection
which is of the love of evil
seems to himself to act from freedom,
but does not act from freedom,
because he acts from cupidities that are from hell.
He only is free who is in the affection of good,
because he is led by the Lord.
This the Lord also teaches in John:

If you abide in My word,
you are truly My disciples;
and you shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free.
Everyone that commits sin is the servant of sin.
If the Son shall make you free,
you shall be free indeed.
(John 8:31, 32, 34, 36)

~ When There Is a Dispute ~

When men have a dispute,
they are to take it to court
and the judges will decide the case,
acquitting the innocent
and condemning the guilty.

(Deuteronomy 25:1)

AC 9077 - Liberation from Damnation; AC 9079 - The Goods and Truths in a Person

AC 9077

. . . a person cannot be liberated from damnation
except by the removal of evil,
and the removal of evil is not effected
except by actual repentance,
which is of the life . . ..

AC 9079

. . . the goods and the truths in a person
mutually love each other,
and recognize each other in accordance with the love,
and thus consociate together.
This has its origin from the angelic societies,
in which they love each other,
recognize each other,
and consociate together,
according to the likenesses
and nearnesses of their goods;
and, wonderful to say,
when those meet who are in a like good,
it is as if they had seen each other from childhood,
even although they had never seen each other before.
It is from this origin
that goods and truths conjoin themselves in a person
according to the form of heaven,
and make an image of heaven in him.
But these things are of the Lord
in both heaven and an angel man,
that is, in a man who is being regenerated,
and is becoming an angel.

~ When You Go to War ~

When you go to war against your enemies
and see horses and chariots
and an army greater than yours,
do not be afraid of them,
because the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of Egypt,
will be with you.

(Deuteronomy 20:1)

AC 9055, 9061, 9072 - The Working Together of Good & Truth for Regeneration

AC 9055 [2]

For where truth is, there is good;
and where good is, there is truth;
because truth without good is not truth,
and good without truth is not good,
for good is the being of truth,
and truth is the coming-forth of good.

The case is similar
with the understanding and the will of man,
for the understanding has been allotted
to the reception of truth,
and the will to the reception of good.
Hence it is plain that when man is being regenerated,
a new understanding is given him by the Lord
by means of the truths of faith,
and a new will by means of the good of charity;
and that there must be both,
and moreover that they must be conjoined,
in order that man may be regenerated.


AC 9061

The internal man cannot live a spiritual life
unless the external man is in agreement;
and therefore a man cannot be regenerated
unless the natural man also is regenerated.
From this it follows
that if the truth of faith in the natural or external man
shall be extinguished,
it cannot any longer serve the internal man.

AC 9072

. . . the understanding has been given to a person
that he may see evil,
and may then repress it.

~ The Courts ~

If cases come before your courts
that are too difficult for you to judge --
whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults --
take them to the place the Lord your God will choose.
Go to the priests, who are Levites,
and to the judge who is in office at that time.
Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict.
You must act according to the decisions they give you
at the place the Lord will choose.
Be careful to do everything they direct you to do.
Act according to the law they teach you
and the decisions they give you.
Do not turn aside from what they tell you,
to the right or to the left.
The man who shows contempt
for the judge or for the priest who
stands ministering there to the Lord your God
must be put to death.
You must purge the evil from Israel.
All the people will hear and be afraid
and will not be contemptuous again.

(Deuteronomy 17:8-13)

AC 9042, 9043 - When a Person Is Born Anew

AC 9042

For when a person is born anew,
he is then first conceived,
afterward carried as in the womb,
and finally is born.
And because regeneration,
or the generation of spiritual life,
is the conjunction of truth and of good,
that is, of faith and of charity,
therefore by "carrying in the womb"
is signified the initiation of truth into good.
From this it is plain what is signified by
"a pregnant woman," namely,
the state of the formation of good from truths.

AC 9043

. . . the person who is conceived anew,
carried as it were in the womb, and born,
that is, who is being regenerated,
first learns from the doctrine of the church,
or from the Word,
the things which are of faith and charity,
which he then stores up
among the memory-knowledges that are in the memory
which belongs to the external or natural man.
From this they are called forth into the internal man,
and are stored up in its memory.
This is the beginning of spiritual life with the man,
but he is not yet regenerated.
In order to be regenerated,
the external or natural man must be in compliance,
and consequently in agreement, with his internal man.
. . . When good is in the natural man,
the man is a new man;
his life is then from good,
and his form is from truths derived from good;
and he is like an angel,
for the angels have their life from good,
and their form from truths,
which form is the human form.
But to the natural man this is a paradox.

~ Judges ~

Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes
in every town the Lord your God is giving you,
and they shall judge the people fairly.
Do not pervert justice or show partiality.
Do not accept a bribe,
for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise
and twists the words of the righteous.
Follow justice and justice alone,
so that you may live and possess the land
the Lord your God is giving you.

(Deuteronomy 16:18-20)
 

AC 9026, 9031, 9034 - Internals and Externals

AC 9026 [2]

. . . a person is to live an internal life,
which is a life of faith and charity,
and such an external life
as internal things make it.

AC 9031

. . . if the things
which are in the literal sense of the Word
are looked at interiorly,
they all agree together.

AC 9034 [2-3]

The truth of the internal sense of the Word
is the same as the genuine truth
of the doctrine of faith of the church.

How the truth of the literal sense of the Word
serves spiritual truth, shall be briefly told.
The man of the church first learns truth
from the literal sense of the Word,
which is general truth accommodated to
the understanding of the external man,
who is in natural light.
This truth is received by an external way,
that is, by hearing,
and is stored up in the memory of the external man,
where are also various memory-knowledges
derived from the world.
Afterward the things stored up in this memory
are subjected to the sight or view of the internal man,
who sees from the light of heaven.
The internal man calls forth therefrom
by selection the truths which agree
with the good which flows in from the Lord
by the way of the soul,
and which the man had received.
There the Lord conjoins these truths with good.
The truths which are thus conjoined in the internal man
are called "spiritual truths,"
and the good with which the truths are conjoined
is called "spiritual good."
This good, formed by means of truths,
is what makes the spiritual life of man.
The truths themselves there
are called "the truths of faith,"
and the good is called "the good of charity."
The good in which truths have thus been implanted
is the church with man.

~ Worship the Lord in His Place ~

These are the decrees and laws
you must be careful to follow in the land that the Lord,
the God of your fathers,
has given you to possess --
as long as you live in the land.
Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains
and on the hills
and under every spreading tree
where the nations you are dispossessing
worship their gods.
Break down their altars,
smash their sacred stones
and burn their Asherah poles in the fire;
cut down the idols of their gods
and wipe out their names from those places.

You must not worship the Lord your God in their way.
But you are to seek the place the Lord your God
will choose from among all your tribes
to put His Name there for His dwelling.
To that place you must go;
there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices,
your tithes and special gifts,
what you have vowed to give
and your freewill offerings,
and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
There, in the presence of the Lord our God,
you and your families shall eat
and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to,
because the Lord your god has blessed you.

(Deuteronomy 12:1-7)

AC 9009 - Evil With Foresight; AC 9013 - Hypocrisy; AC 9014 - Deceit

AC 9009

And he that hath not lain in wait.
(Exodus 21:13)

. . . the signification of "lying in wait,"
as being to act with deliberation,
thus with foresight,
for the evil which one who lies in wait
is about to do 
he foresees in his mind;
and because he does such evil with foresight,
he therefore does it also from the will,
for it proceeds therefrom.
There are evils which proceed from the will of man,
but are not of foresight;
and there are evils which proceed from the will,
and are of foresight.
Those which proceed from the will,
and from foresight,
are much worse than those
which are not from foresight;
because the person sees that they are evils,
and can therefore desist from them,
but is not willing,
and he thereby confirms them in himself,
and evils confirmed put on nature,
so that afterward
they can scarcely be rooted out and destroyed;
for in such case he summons spirits from hell
who afterward do not easily retire.

AC 9013 [4]

Deceit is called "hypocrisy"
when there is piety in the mouth,
and impiety in the heart;
or when there is charity in the mouth,
but hatred in the heart;
or when there is innocence in the face and gesture,
but cruelty in the soul and breast . . ..

AC 9014 [ 2]

. . .  deceit is like poison,
for it penetrates even to the interiors,
and kills everything of faith and charity,
and destroys the remains,
which are the truths and goods of faith and charity
stored up by the Lord in the interiors of a person,
which being destroyed
nothing of spiritual life any longer survives. 

~ Love and Obey the Lord ~

Love the Lord your God
and keep His requirements,
His decrees,
His laws,
and His commands
always.

(Deuteronomy 11:1)

AC 8994 - Intellect and Will; AC 8995 - Looking to the Lord; AC 8998 - Marriage; AC 8999 - Divine Order

AC 8994 [3]

To know truth belongs solely to the intellectual part,
but to will truth is the will part;
and thus the difference is such
as is that between knowledge and affection.

AC 8995 [4]

When a man . . . looks to the Lord
he accounts himself as nothing,
and also the world;
and if he regards himself as anything,
it is that he may be able to serve the Lord.

AC 8998

For regarded in themselves
marriages are conjunctions of dispositions and of minds,
the spiritual life of which
is from the truths and goods of faith and of charity.

AC 8999

In heaven the laws of Divine order are truths,
for Divine order is from the Divine truth
which proceeds from the Lord.

 

~ Moses Tells the Israelites to Remember ~

Remember how the Lord your God
led you all the way in the desert these forty years,
to humble you and to test you
in order to know what was in your heart,
whether or not you would keep His commands.
He humbled you,
causing you to hunger
and then feeding you with manna,
which neither you nor your fathers had known,
to teach you that man does not live on bread alone
but on every word
that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Your clothes did not wear out
and your feet did not swell during these forty years.

Observe the commands of the Lord your God,
walking in His ways and revering Him.

(Deuteronomy 8:2-4, 6)

AC 8988 - Being and Coming-forth

AC 8988 [1-3]

. . . the understanding has been given to man
to receive truths,
and to introduce them into the will,
that they may become goods;
for truths are called goods
when they become of the will.

But to serve the Lord,
by doing according to His commandments,
and thus by obeying Him,
is not to be a servant, but is to be free,
for the veriest freedom of man
consists in being led of the Lord,
because the Lord inspires into the very will of man
the good from which he is to act,
and though it is from the Lord,
still it is perceived as if it were from self,
thus from freedom.
This freedom is possessed by all
who are in the Lord,
and it is conjoined with inexpressible happiness.

The term "God" here denotes Divine order,
because in the Word "God" is named
where truth is treated of,
and "Jehovah" where good is treated of;
and therefore in the supreme sense
the Divine truth proceeding from
the Divine good of the Lord is "God,"
and His Divine good
from which the Divine truth proceeds is "Jehovah."
The reason is that the Divine good is Being itself,
and the Divine truth is the derivative Coming-forth;
for that which proceeds comes forth by so doing.
The case is similar with good and truth in heaven,
or with the angels,
and also in the church with men.
The good there is being itself,
and the truth is the derivative coming-forth;
or what is the same,
love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor
are the very being of heaven and of the church,
but faith is the derivative coming-forth.
From this it is clear from where it is
that "God" denotes also Divine order,
for it is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord
which makes order in heaven,
insomuch that Divine truth is order itself.
And therefore when a man or an angel
receives Divine truth from the Lord in good,
there is with him the order which is in the heavens,
consequently he is a heaven
or kingdom of the Lord in particular;
and this in the degree
in which he is in good from truths,
and afterward in the degree in which
he is in truths from good . . ..

~ Be Careful and Walk in His Way ~

So be careful to do
what the Lord your God has commanded you;
do not turn aside from the right or to the left.
Walk in all the way
the Lord your God has commanded you,
so that you may live and prosper
and prolong your days in the land you will possess.

(Deuteronomy 5:32-33)

AC 8971 - The Word is Most Holy

AC 8971

That the Word is holy, indeed, most holy,
is known to everyone within the church.
This is not only acknowledged,
but is also perceived,
by those who are in the truths of faith
and in a life according to them,
for when reading the Word
they are continually kept in the idea of what is holy. 

~ The Lord Is God ~

Acknowledge and take to heart this day
that the Lord is God
in heaven above and on the earth below.
There is no other.
Keep His decrees and commands,
which I am giving you today,
so that it may go well with you
and your children after you
and that you may live long in the land
the Lord your God gives you for all time.

(Deuteronomy 4:39-40)

AC 8968 - When A Person Is Introduced

AC 8968

When a person is being introduced
through the truths of faith
to the good of charity,
he undergoes Temptations;
but when he is in the good of charity,
Temptations cease,
for he is then in heaven.

~ Part of the History Lesson Moses Gives ~

Then the Lord said to me,
"Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war,
for I will not give you any part of their land.
I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot 
as a possession."

(Deuteronomy 2:9)

AC 8935 - An Altar of Ground; AC 8939 - Blessings; AC 8941 - Hewn Stones

AC 8935
An altar of ground thou shalt make unto Me.
(Exodus 20:21)

There are two things from which
the worship of the Lord is effected; good and truth.
Worship from good
was represented by an altar of ground,
but worship from truth
was represented by an altar of stones . . ..

AC 8939

. . . "blessing" in the spiritual sense
is that which has within it being from the Divine,
thus the things of eternal life,
consequently those which are of charity and faith.

AC 8941

Thou shalt not build it of hewn stones.
(Exodus 20:21)

That this signifies
that it must not be from self-intelligence,
is evident from the signification of "hewn stones,"
as being such things as are from self-intelligence;
for "stones" denote truths;
and to "hew," or fit, them
denotes to hatch or devise truths,
or such things as resemble truths,
from one's proprium, or from self-intelligence.
For things which are hatched or devised
from one's proprium, or from self-intelligence,
have their life from man, which life is no life,
because man's own is nothing but evil;
whereas that which is not from man's own,
but from the Divine,
has life in itself, because all life is from the Divine.
The worship of the Lord from truth is here treated of,
for this worship is signified by "an altar of stones".

The truths from which the Lord is to be worshiped
are to be taken solely from the Word,
for in every detail of the Word
there is life from the Divine.

~ Moses Recounts the Appointment of Leaders ~

At that time I said to you,
"You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone.
The Lord your God has increased your numbers
so that today you are as many as the stars in the sky.
May the Lord, the God of your fathers,
increase you a thousand times
and bless you as He has promised!
But how can I bear your problems and your burdens
and your disputes all by myself?
Chose some wise, understanding and respected men
from each of your tribes,
and I will set them over you."

You answered me,
"What you propose to do is good."

So I took the leading men of your tribes,
wise and respected men,
and appointed them to have authority over you --
as commanders of thousands, of hundreds,
of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials.
And I charged your judges at that time:
Hear the disputes between your brothers
and judge fairly,
whether the case is between brother Israelites
or between one of them and an alien.
Do not show partiality in judging;
hear both small and great alike.
Do not be afraid of any man,
for judgment belongs to God.
Bring me any case too hard for you,
and I will hear it.
And at that time I told you everything you were to do.

(Deuteronomy 1:9-18)