LEVITICUS 10
Other translations  -  previous  -  next  -  notes  -  discussion  -  Leviticus  -  BM Home  -  Full Page

Leviticus Chapter 10

Summary of the Spiritual Sense

1. Those who are in doctrine without a good life profane their worship by the lusts of selfish love, and are consequently vastated; but the good are instructed that worship ought to be internal as well as external; that external worship merely ought to be removed; and that with them the two should not be separated, lest profanation occur, vers. 1-7.
2. The celestial man is instructed that worship must be from good, and not from truth, that a distinction may be made between true worship and false, and that the celestial may flow in with the spiritual, in order that the latter may receive instruction in Divine Truths, vers. 8-11.
3. Concerning the appropriation of good with the celestial and spiritual man, and how it is connected with perception on the part of the former and acknowledgement on the part of the latter that all life is from the Lord, vers. 12-15.
4. Further instruction as to the non-appropriation of good in profane worship, in consequence of there being no conjunction with the Lord by the good of innocence, and therefore no deliverance from evil, vers. 16-20.

1.  By Nadab and Abihu the sons of Aaron are denoted the doctrines of the Word in both senses the internal and external, and thus the doctrine of good and the doctrine of truth, here without the life thereof, as the context shows, 9375; Nadab means free and voluntary gift, or prince, and thus denotes, by correspondence, the good and truth thence derived of the Internal of the Word; and Abihu means my father is he, and thus indicates the good and truth thence of the External of the Word, 9670, 1482, 3703³; the sons of Aaron denote, generally, truths from good, 9946; by fire and strange fire are denoted the lusts of evil, 934; incense in this case denotes persuasions of falsity, 9965; fire also denotes selfish love, 934; and by what the Lord had not commanded is denoted what is contrary to the Divine influx, 5486.

   [Back to 1]

2.  Fire coming forth from before the Lord and devouring Nadab and Abihu denotes that the lusts of selfish love, the torments from which the wicked attribute to the Lord, entirely consume them, 934, 2447, 5149; and their dying before the Lord denotes that the wicked are fully vastated as to all good and truth, 7699.

   [Back to 2]

3.  By Moses saying to Aaron is denoted that perception is given by Divine Truth to those who are in good, 1791, 7010, 9946; what the Lord speaks is evidently what is according to Divine Order, 1728; the Lord being sanctified in them that come near to Him denotes that those who approach the Lord in worship ought to do so internally as well as externally, 9820; His being glorified before all the people denotes that this should be so with regard to those in truths ostensibly as well as to those in good ostensibly, or with regard to those of the external church as well as those of the internal, 1259, 3295, 6864; and by Aaron holding his peace is denoted that those in genuine good are acquiescent, and cannot defend perverted worship, 8176.

   [Back to 3]

4.  Moses represents Divine Truth, 7010; calling signifies influx, 6840, also presence, influx and afflux, 7955; Mishael and Elzaphan mean respectively "one who is asked for," and "one whom God protects," and thence denote ultimate truths and affections, 3385, 8960, 8964; Uzziel means "the strength of God," and thus again denotes the power of good by truth, 6343, also "the kid of God," and thus the power of truth from good in innocence, 3519, 7840; the uncle of Aaron denotes celestial good, or charity in its most external form, or, in other words, collateral celestial good, either as corrupted by the predominance of selfish love, or as modified or influenced temporarily by selfish love, and in this case the latter, as appears from the fact that it was under the influence of the Divine Truth, represented by Moses, that those in ultimate truths so acted, 3129, 3796, 3803, 9946; "saying to them" denotes perception on the part of those in ultimate truth and good, 1822; "draw near" denotes that there should be harmony of state, 9378; and carrying their brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp denotes the removal of all opposing hypocritical worship beyond the limits of genuine worship by a good life, 4236. Hence we may learn that the celestial good, or love to the Lord, represented by Aaron, may assume various forms according to the degree of the mind in which it is manifested; also that those in the genuine ultimate truths and goods of the literal sense of the Word minister to higher good by contributing to the removal of false worship.

   [Back to 4]

5.  By their going near, and doing as Moses said, is denoted that it actually happens according to the dictate of Divine Truth, 9378, 7010; and by their being carried in their coats out of the camp is denoted that all impure worship, with its corrupted truths, is removed, 4236, 99429.

   [Back to 5]

6.  Here again, by saying is denoted perception, 1822; Aaron, and Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, denote those who are in celestial and spiritual good and truth in the church, because, although these sons of Aaron are shown to signify natural good, 9812, seeing that Nadab and Abihu, in their integrity, signified spiritual good, 9810, 9811, yet when the representation by the elder sons ceased, 10244, then the younger sons took on their representation, and because evidently in the passage before us the "whole house of Israel" denotes those in external or natural good, 4286; the hair of the head not going loose, and the clothes not being rent, denote no mourning inwardly or outwardly, 9960, 4763; death denotes the separation of the External from the Internal, and thus death spiritually, 272, 9965; the Lord not being angry with the whole congregation denotes no aversion from the Lord, 5798; and the whole house of Israel being permitted to mourn for the burning denotes that those in the external church are allowed to grieve on account of the loss, apparently, of true worship, 4286. Notice in this verse that the Hebrew word translated "uncover" in A.V., and " let go loose" in R.V., is rendered "not shave" in 9960, and means, according to the lexicon, to uncover.

   [Back to 6]

7.  By Aaron and his two sons are denoted those in internal worship, ver. 6; by not going out from the door of the tent of meeting is denoted not to be separated therefrom, 2356, 3540³; by dying is denoted the separation of the External from the Internal, and of man from the Lord, 10244; by the anointing oil being upon them is denoted inauguration into representation, the conjunction of truth with good, and thus conjunction with the Lord, 9954, the violation of which would be profanation, 3398; and by their doing according to the word of Moses is denoted obedience to the laws of Divine Truth, 7010, by which the Lord preserves man from profanation.

   [Back to 7]

8.  Jehovah denotes the Divine Being as to His love, 2001; speaking denotes influx, 2951; Aaron represents Divine Good, 9946; and saying denotes perception, 1791, 1822.

   [Back to 8]

9.  This is evident, because to go into the tent of meeting denotes the worship of the Lord from love, charity and obedience, 2356, 3540, 9812; not to drink wine nor strong drink denotes not to worship the Lord from truths, whether spiritual or celestial, 1072; observe here that in double expressions like wine and strong drink, one has relation to what is spiritual and the other to what is celestial, 683, both in a good and a bad sense, as in this verse and in Isaiah 5:22 respectively; Aaron and his sons denote the Celestial and Spiritual, 9946; not dying denotes not being separated from the Lord, 10244; and a statute for ever throughout your generations denotes an external law of Divine Order, 7884, 7931, 1041.

   [Back to 9]

10.  To put a difference evidently denotes that a distinction ought to be made; between the holy and the common denotes between holy external worship conjoined with internal, and that which is separated, as appears from the series, and also from the signification of holy and common, or holy and profaned, according to the derivation of the Hebrew word for common, 2146, 2434, 2190, 3899, 10307, 10309, 10310; unclean and clean denote respectively what is contaminated with selfish love, and what is pure from such love in worship, and also in the appropriation of truth denoted by drinking wine, 987, 994, 10130; and it is said " between the celestial and spiritual heavens," because the Celestial are particularly distinguished from the Spiritual by "not drinking wine," 1072, 2187, that is, not separating truth from good.

    [Back to 10]

11.  To teach the children of Israel, when spoken of the Celestial, denotes influx giving a disposition to learn and remember what is received into the understanding by an external way, 7007, and see also in this connection TCR 8; the children of Israel denote the Spiritual, 3654; statutes denote external rituals and truths flowing from the order of heaven, and adapted to the state, 7884; and what the Lord has spoken by the hand of Moses denotes what has relation to worship from charity by means of faith, because the Lord or Jehovah denotes the Divine Being as to His love, which, with the Spiritual, takes the form of charity, 2001, 9812, and because Moses represents Divine Truth, 7010, which in a lower degree takes the form of faith, 4448.

    [Back to 11]

12.  As Moses represents Divine Truth, 7010, and Aaron, Eleazar and Ithamar represent celestial good in successive degrees, or those in such good, 9812, Moses speaking to these three denotes what is according to the laws of Divine Order, or according to influx and correspondence, 1728, 295,1, 1831, 1832; those that were left, and the meal offering that was left denote the remnant of those in the church, and the remains of good after it has been corrupted, showing the continuity of the series in the whole chapter, 468; eating the meal offering denotes the appropriation of good, 2187; of the offerings of the Lord made by fire denotes the result of worship from pure love, 10055; without leaven denotes free from falsity, 2342; beside the altar denotes in a state of worship from good, 9964; and most holy denotes inmost worship and inmost good, 3210.

    [Back to 12]

13.  By eating in a holy place is denoted appropriation in a holy state, 2187, 3652; the meal offering being the due of Aaron and his sons denotes that the good signified by it properly belongs to the celestial and spiritual churches, who worship the Lord from good and not from truth, 45,81, 2177, 9946, 7884, 7931; the offerings of the Lord made by fire denotes also worship from pure love or good, 10055; and "so I am commanded" denotes the result of Divine influx, 5486.

    [Back to 13]

14.  The wave breast and the heave thigh denote respectively the intellectual and voluntary principles of the man of the celestial church or state, 10087, 10090, 10092, 10093, for the intellectual principle is charity, and the voluntary principle is love to the Lord; waving denotes vivification by acknowledgement, and heaving denotes perception from celestial love in activity, 10093; to eat in a clean place denotes appropriation without falsity and imperfection, 2187, 4545, 2625; sons denote thoughts, and daughters denote affections externally, while "you" evidently denotes what is internal, since it was Aaron, 489, 9946, 5912; Aaron and his sons, as priests, denote the pure principles of man internally, 9946; what is due, or a statute, denotes what is according to Divine Order, 7884, 7931; and out of the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel denotes even when external worship from a state of peace and freedom is comparatively imperfect, as is the case with the spiritual man, because by peace offerings are denoted worship from peace and freedom, 10097; the children of Israel, in respect to Aaron and his sons, denote what is external in the Spiritual Church, 4286; and what is external, as is the worship of the spiritual man compared with the celestial, is relatively imperfect.

    [Back to 14]

15.  The offerings of the children of Israel denote the holy worship of the spiritual man, 922, 3654; waving denotes vivification, 10093; the breast denotes charity, and the thigh the conjunction of good and truth, or the heavenly marriage, and thus the conjunction between the spiritual and celestial heavens, 10087, 10075; offerings made by lire denote worship from pure love, 10055; fat denotes celestial good, 10033; its being Aaron's and his sons' denotes that such worship is to be acknowledged as from the Lord through the celestial and spiritual heavens, 10106; and a due for ever as the Lord has commanded denotes according to Divine Order, 7884, 2951.

    [Back to 15]

16.  Moses diligently seeking the goat of the sin offering and its being burnt denotes that, according to Divine Order, when man profanes worship by selfish love, the good of innocence in the natural man perishes through that selfish love. For by Moses is represented Divine Truth, 7010, and Divine Truth is Divine Order, 1728; seeking diligently, when said of Divine Truth, denotes foresight and omniscience, 4718, 4719; the goat denotes the good of innocence in the natural man, 4169, 725, because it denotes the truth of faith conjoined with good; there is no worship without good, and in all good there is innocence, 2526, 7840; and the goat being burnt denotes that the good of innocence perishes through that selfish love, 9055. And by Moses being angry with Eleazar and Ithamar is denoted the aversion of the external man from Divine Truth, 5798; that is, when the church has been corrupted, and when worship has been profaned by those in selfish love, denoted by Nadab and Abihu, then the simple good in the external church suffer distress and temporary aversion from interior truths. Hence it is said "that were left," meaning, spiritually, those with whom there were remains, 468, while "saying " denotes their perception, 1791, 1822.

    [Back to 16]

17.  To eat the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary denotes that the good of worship on account of deliverance from evil should be appropriated in a holy state, 3400, 2187, 3652; most holy denotes that such worship is from inmost good, 3210; what was given to the sons of Aaron denotes that all good is from the Lord through celestial truth and good, 5619; and bearing the iniquity of the congregation to make atonement before the Lord denotes that the Lord fights for man against evil, that man may be reconciled with Him, or that the external man may be brought into harmony with the internal by genuine repentance, 9937, 10042 II.

    [Back to 17]

18.  By the blood not being brought into the sanctuary within is denoted that, in the case of profane worship, there is no conjunction of Divine Truth with Divine Good, chap. iv. vers. 5-7; by the goat not being eaten in the sanctuary, that is, in the court of the tent of meeting, chap 6:26, is denoted no harmony between the external and internal man, 9741; and by "as I commanded" is denoted what is according to Divine Order, 1010, 1728, 2951.

    [Back to 18]

19.  Here speaking denotes perception, like saying, 1791, 1822; Aaron denotes Divine Good, 9946, and Moses Divine Truth, 7010; offering the sin offering and the burnt offering denotes representative worship for deliverance from evil, 3400, and for the communication of good, 8680, but then these offerings were made, not by Aaron according to order, and gave no external conjunction with the Lord by representatives, 665; this day denotes in that state, 487; "there have befallen me such things as these " denotes, because it implies, the impossibility of conjunction by profane worship, ver. 2; and eating the sin offering in such a case would represent the appropriation of evil, instead of good and truth, 2187, and thus what was not well pleasing to the Lord, or good in the eyes of the Lord, 2572.

    [Back to 19]

20.  Moses hearing denotes perception by Divine Truth from Divine Good, 3163, 7010, 9946; and it being well pleasing in his sight or good in his eyes denotes that it is exactly according to the real state of the case in profane worship, because it denotes exactly according to Divine Good united with Divine Truth, or according to Omniscience, 2572.

    [Back to 20]

The very first verse of this chapter, in its internal sense, sets before us a fact which is far too common among men. They worship the Lord on selfish principles; for selfish love is the "strange fire" here spoken of. And they are like Jacob, who, when "he went into Syria to escape from the vengeance of his brother Esau, said, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God." But such worship only belongs to the merely natural man, whom Jacob here represents, and is accepted from him provisionally, in order that it may lead to real Christian worship, and not that it may be confirmed, and cause the state here signified by the false worshipers symbolized by Nadab and Abihu. Unless, therefore, "Jacob " becomes " Israel," or the truly spiritual man by regeneration, he will finally become totally selfish, and will have to be controlled on merely selfish principles. And this is what is represented in our chapter, as the series shows, by the fire coming forth from the Lord and consuming Nadab and Abihu, and by their dying before the Lord.

But now thoughts arise from the consideration of the words of Moses and the silence of Aaron. Moses as Divine Truth confirms the law by which the wicked are vastated, and Aaron as Divine Good acquiesces. That which happens exactly according to requirements of Order cannot be contrary to the Divine Benevolence. Do not let us imagine that any human being is irretrievably in torment; for the Lord rules the hells.

We contemplate next the process of the separation of the wicked from the good. Vastation does not mean the destruction of anybody. On the contrary, it involves the eternal preservation of everybody, and the preservation of the universe as a whole, and of the equilibrium between good and evil in the probationary state of man. This is all included in the removal of the offending priests beyond the camp. And the meaning, and thence the correspondence, of the names of the persons employed is very suggestive. It is truth, as it were, separated from good in the Judgement, and afterwards with the wicked, that ministers and conduces to the final result. This is denoted by Uzziel and his sons. Also the dead bodies were removed in their coats, aptly signifying the conjunction of corrupted truths, or falsities, with their kindred evils in vastation. The bad man loves falsities, and the good man loves truths. No one either in heaven or in hell can have a divided mind, willing good and thinking falsity, or willing evil and thinking truth; but to him who has goodness in heaven shall the truth be given which agrees with his good, while from him who has not goodness in the hells will the truth be removed with which he would otherwise do injury to the good (Matt 25:29), for He who spoke the words of the gospel also inspired the words of Moses.

But as with the wicked, so with the good, as what follows shows. For not only are the evil separated from the good in the perfect state of man, but the different kinds and degrees of good (and of evil as well, although this is not here mentioned) are accurately distinguished, nor can the good of the celestial become the good of the spiritual man. The degrees of man's life are here well defined, and also the distinction of the Internal and External. And this is because the happiness of those in the heavens depends very much on accurate distinctions, which, in the complex and mixed states of men on earth, are not capable of realization. But does it not seem strange that the internal men should be forbidden to mourn for the lost brethren, while yet the external might mourn? Is it because the internal men have no sympathy with the evil who suffer the consequences of their profanation of the worship of the Lord, while the external men have such sympathy? By no means. For in proportion to a person's advance in goodness according to its degrees will his real human sympathies be more extensive and genuine, because the Lord, who is the Highest and Holiest, is Sympathy itself (John 11:33-39). The cause, therefore, of this prohibition to Aaron and his sons, and permission to the Israelites in general, to mourn was not because the internal and celestial men have no sympathy, but because, having a more abundant sympathy, they at the same time perceive how far short the outward signs and symbols of mourning for the dead come of the genuine knowledge, as well as the genuine love and sympathy, of those who most inwardly love the Lord, and who are signified by Aaron and his sons. Let us beware, therefore, of misunderstanding the sense here. The meaning of Aaron and his sons not mourning as the whole house of Israel did is that those in the good and truth of a higher state ought not to go back to the conditions of the lower state as to the understanding, as the correspondence of the hair of the head and of the garments shows; while their not going out from the door of the tent of meeting denotes that neither should they do so as to the will, the door of the tent of meeting here signifying the limits of the voluntary life of the celestial, or more generally of the internal men.

But what now immediately follows concerns the same general truth, and exhibits it in relation to states more interior and under another aspect. It is, specifically, the worship of the celestial and spiritual heavens, or of the celestial and spiritual man, that is the subject. But we may also include the worship of the natural man as we study, because there is no worship at all apart from good or love, nor can any worship be from truths, but only by them as means. This, however, may seem inconsistent with Exod 20:22, as explained in 8940; but it is not so, since even there the good of truth is implied, and merely intellectual worship is condemned. And, moreover, when it is said that the spiritual man worships from a principle of truth, or because worship is commanded, that is, when he obeys the truth, the word principle implies some affection, since affection is the motive power here also. But the celestial and spiritual man par excellence never, in worship, "drinks wine," or worships from truths. The rest of what is said in this connection is evident; but the function of the Celestial in relation to the Spiritual is very interesting, inasmuch as it shows how even instruction in truths is properly from good, and is not successful unless it be so, both as regards him who is instructed, as well as the instructor. And in everyday life the successful teacher is the man who loves to teach.

On considering what is said of Aaron's sons that were left, and of the meal offering that was left, we see that they signify, the former those in good in the church when it has been corrupted, and the latter good appropriated; and also that this appropriated good is from the Lord through spiritual and celestial love, denoted by "the wave breast and heave thigh," and in the following verse by "the heave thigh and the wave breast," the alteration in the arrangement and the apparent repetition indicating procedure from external states to such as are internal in the first instance, and the activity of the perfected state of good from what is internal to what is external in the second. For the two processes occur simultaneously in regeneration, as well as successively, since at the same time that man is outwardly advancing from Externals to Internals, the Lord is operating upon him through the heavens from Internals to Externals: see 1555, concerning the different planes formed in man by the Lord.

But with regard to the loss of the sin offering in connection with the whole subject of this chapter, two points merit special attention. In a corrupted church the wicked cannot worship the Lord from the good of innocence in the natural man, which is denoted by the goat; and the good are hindered more or less from doing this on account of the general state of corruption. For the falsities of a profane and selfish worship cause the truth concerning repentance and deliverance from evil by good from the Lord to be violated. This is what is signified by the goat being burnt, and by the anger of Moses with Eleazar and Ithamar. But now let us notice that while Divine Truth, considered by itself, justly condemns the non-appropriation of good because repentance has only been the shunning of evil upon false principles and from selfish motives, Divine Good, on the other hand, while recognizing the truth, perceives, from its very nature, that those who are really in good in the external church do repent inwardly, even though they profess to do so on false principles, because these prevail in the corrupted church; and hence that there cannot be the appropriation of good outwardly, as there should be, this only becoming possible in the future state of Judgement, when opposing falsities are seen to be falsities, and are rejected. We ought, therefore, to note the difference here between those represented by Nadab and Abihu, who would not repent because of an evil heart combined with false doctrine, and those signified by Eleazar and Ithamar, who were only led astray by false doctrine which they supposed to be true. Hence we see how the shunning of evils as sins against God, or against truth and good, causes the genuine appropriation of good in the work of repentance as a habit; and how Divine Truth and Divine Good agree in caring for the salvation of man in every state of the church.

LEVITICUS 10    Other translations  -  previous  -  next  -  notes  -  discussion  -  Leviticus  -  BM Home  -  Full Page