AE 697 - there are lands

AE 697 [2]

 . . . there are lands in the spiritual world,
that is, in the world where spirits and angels are,
equally as in the natural world where men are,
and these lands are altogether alike in external appearance;
there are there plains, valleys, mountains, hills,
and there are rivers, and seas,
and also fields, meadows, forests, gardens, and paradises;
and those lands are in appearance beautiful
in exact accord with the state of the church
with those who dwell upon them,
and they undergo changes in accord with
the changes of the church with the inhabitants;
in a word, there is a full correspondence of the lands there
with the reception of the good of love and the truth of faith
with those who dwell there.
It is for this reason also that "land" in the Word
signifies the church,
for in that world according to the quality of the land
is the quality of the church there,
and correspondence is what makes it be so. 

 

The Nations the Lord Left

These are the nations the Lord left
to test all those Israelites
who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan
(He did this only teach warfare
to the descendants of the Israelites
who had not had previous battle experience):
the five rulers of the Philistines,
all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, 
and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains
from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath.
They were left to test the Israelites
to see whether they would obey the Lord's commands,
which He had given their forefathers through Moses.

The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites,
Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
They took their daughters in marriage
and gave their own daughters to their sons,
and served their gods.

(Judges 3:1-6)

AE 696 - internal spiritual and external natural worship

AE 696 [11]

. . . all internal spiritual worship of God,
which consists in the good of life,
must be according to the truths of doctrine,
because these must teach.

. . . internal spiritual worship is thinking and understanding truths,
thus thinking in a reverent and holy way about God,
which is "fearing Him,"
and external natural worship is doing truths,
that is, keeping the commandments and the words of the law.

Joshua Encourages the Israelites

"Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness.
Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped
beyond the River and in Egypt,
and serve the Lord.
But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you,
then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,
whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River,
or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land your are living.

But as for me and my house,
we will serve the Lord."

(Joshua 24:14-15)

AE 696 - know, live, worship

AE 696 [1, 3]

. . . in the measure that a person knows the truths of faith
and lives according to them
does he worship the Lord,
for worship is not from the person
but from the truths from good that are with that person,
since these are from the Lord,
and the Lord is in them.

. . . where He is, there also are all things of love and faith . . .

Joshua Reassures the Manassites

Yet the Manassites were not able to occupy these towns,
for the Canaanites were determined to live in that region.
However, when the Israelites grew stronger,
they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor
but did not drive them out completely.

The people of Joseph said to Joshua,
"Why have you given us only one allotment
and one portion for an inheritance?
We are a numerous people
and the Lord has blessed us abundantly."

"If you are so numerous," Joshua answered,
"and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you,
go up into the forest and clear land for yourselves there
in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites."

The people of Joseph replied,
"The hill country is not enough for us,
and all the Canaanites who live in the plain
have iron chariots,
both those in Beth Shan and its settlements
and those in the Valley of Jezreel."

But Joshua said to the house of Joseph -
to Ephraim and Manasseh -
""You are numerous and very powerful.
You will have not only one allotment
but the forested hill country as well.
Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours;
though the Canaanites have iron chariots
and though they are strong,
you can drive them out."

(Joshua 17:12-18)

AE 695 - "the seed of peace"

AE 695 [13]

"The seed of peace"
(Zechariah 8:12)

signifies the truth of heaven and the church,
which is from the Lord; 
this is called "the seed of peace"
because it defends from the hells and gives security.

Joshua Did It

As the Lord commanded His servant Moses,
so Moses commanded Joshua,
and Joshua did it;
he left nothing undone
of all that the Lord commanded Moses.

(Joshua 11:15)

AE 689 - His Omnipotence Is Order

AE 689 [2]

In respect to Divine omnipotence:

It does not involve any power to act contrary to order,

but it involves all power to act according to order,

for all order is from the Lord . . ..

. . . it is not of the Divine omnipotence 

to save those who are not willing to be led

according to order,

for to be led according to order

is to be led according to the laws of order,

and the laws of order are 

the precepts of doctrine 

and life from the Word;

it is therefore of the Divine omnipotence to lead a man

who is willing to be led

according to these every moment and continually to eternity.

Joshua Encourages His Men

Joshua said, "Open the mouth of the cave

and bring those five kings out to me.

So they brought the five kings out of the cave -

the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmut, Lachish, and Eglon.

when they had brought these kings to Joshua,

he summoned all the men of Israel

and said to the commanders who had come with him,

"Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings."

So they came forward and placed their feet on their necks.

Joshua said to them,

"Do not be afraid;

do not be discouraged.

be strong and courageous.

This is what the Lord will do

to all the enemies you are going to fight."

Then Joshua struck and killed the kings

and hung them on five trees,

and they were left hanging on the trees until evening.

(Joshua 10:22-26)

AE 684 - judgment

AE 687 [4]

. . . all Divine truth proceeds from the Lord,

therefore judgment belongs to the Lord alone.

. . . For in every view 

and in each and every particular of judgment,

there must be what is eternal and infinite,

and that is in the Divine alone,

and from the Divine alone,

because it is infinite and eternal.

A Stone on Each Shoulder

When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan,

the Lord said to Joshua,

"Choose twelve men from among the people,

one from each tribe,

and tell them to take up twelve stones 

from the middle of the Jordan

from right where the priests stood

and to carry them over with you

and put them down at the place where you stay tonight."

So Joshua called together the twelve men

he had appointed from the Israelites,

one from each tribe,

and said to them,

"Go over before the ark of the Lord your God

into the middle of the Jordan.

Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder,

according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites,

to serve as a sign among you.

In the future, when your children ask you,

'What do these stones mean?'

tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off

before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

When it crossed the Jordan,

the waters of the Jordan were cut off.

These stones are to be a memorial

to the people of Israel forever."

(Joshua 4:1-7)

AE 684 - "the Anointed"

AE 684 [30-31]

. . . the Lord is called "the Anointed,"
that is, the Messiah or the Christ,

from the union of Divine good with Divine truth in His Human,

for the Lord's Human from that union

is meant by "the Anointed of Jehovah."

Jehovah will judge the ends of the earth,

and will give strength unto His King

and exalt the horn of His Anointed.

(1 Samuel 2:10)

This is a part of the prophetic song of Hannah,

the mother of Samuel,

before there was any king or anointed over Israel,

therefore "King" and "Anointed" here mean the Lord,

to whom "is given strength" and whose "horn is exalted"

when the Divine is united to the Human,

"strength" signifying the power of good over evil,

and "horn" the power of truth over falsity,

and truth is said "to be exalted" when it becomes interior,

and in the same degree becomes more powerful.

The Lord Encourages Joshua

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord,

the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide:

"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;

meditate 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, 7-9)

AE 683 - His Kingdom

AE 683 [4-5]

That the Lord's kingdom

is that which proceeds from Him and is received

can be seen from passages in the Word where

"the kingdom of God" is mentioned, as in the Lord's Prayer:

Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done,
as in heaven so also upon the earth.
(Matthew 6:10)

"Kingdom" evidently means here the reception
of Divine good and Divine truth proceeding from the Lord,
and in which the Lord is with the angels of heaven
and the men of the church, for it is added,

"Thy will be done, as in heaven so also upon the earth,"

and the will of God is done
when these are received in heart and soul,
that is, in love and faith.

And elsewhere:

Seek ye first the kingdom of the heavens
and His righteousness
and all things shall be added to you.
(Matthew 6:33).

"The kingdom of the heavens"
means in the spiritual sense Divine truth,
and "righteousness" Divine good,
therefore it is said,
"Seek ye first the kingdom of the heavens
and His righteousness."
But in the highest sense
"the kingdom of the heavens"
means the Lord, since He is the all of His kingdom,
and in the same sense "righteousness" signifies the Lord's merit.
And as a man who is ruled by the Lord
desires and loves only such things as are of the Lord,
he is, unknown to himself,
forever led to felicities;
and this is why it is said that
"all things shall be added to him,"
meaning that all things that tend to his salvation
shall come to pass according to his desire.

Moses Encourages Joshua

Then Moses summoned Joshua 

and said to him in the presence of all Israel,

"Be strong and courageous,

for you must go with this people into the land

that the Lord swore to their forefathers to give them,

and you must divide it among them as their inheritance.

The Lord Himself goes before you

and will be with you;

He will never leave you

nor forsake you.

Do not be afraid;

do not be discouraged."

(Deuteronomy 31:7-8)

AE 676 - "names of men"

AE 676 [2]

That "the names of men" signify the truths of good

and the consequent understanding of truth

can be seen from the signification of "name,"

as being the quality of a thing or state with man;

and from the signification of "man,"

as being intelligence,

thus also the understanding of truth.

On Top . . . IF

The Lord will make you the head, not the tail.

If you pay attention

to the commands of the Lord your God

you will always be at the top,

never at the bottom.

Do not turn aside

from any of the commands I give you today,

to the right or to the left,

following other gods and serving them.

(Deuteronomy 28:13-14)

AE 675 - removing evils

AE 675 [9]

 

. . . all are born into evils of every kind,

and these evils are removed

only by means of Divine truths from the Word,

that is, by applying truths to uses,

and thus receiving them in the life.

So to those who have gained it is said:

 

Good and faithful servants,

you have been faithful over a few things,

I will set you over many things;

enter you into the joy of your Lord.

 

(Matthew 25: 21, 23)

Making a Vow to the Lord

If you make a vow to the Lord your God,

do not be slow to pay it,

for the lord your God will certainly demand it of you

and you will be guilty of sin.

But if you refrain from making a vow,

you will not be guilty.

Whatever your lips utter

you must be sure to do,

because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God

with your own mouth.

(Deuteronomy 23:21-23)