NUMBERS 27      Other translations  -  previous  -  next  -  notes  -  discussion  -  Numbers  -  BM Home  -  Full Page

Numbers Chapter 27

Summary of the Spiritual Sense

1. Instruction with regard to those who are in good without truths, and with regard to their salvation, vers. 1-11.
2. Their origin and quality are described, and also their earnest desire for salvation and for the knowledge of the truth, vers. 1-4.
3. Only Divine Truth conjoined with Divine Good can decide, and give the laws of order in this case, vers. 5-11.
4. Concerning the separation of those who have been in merely representative worship, or in external worship without internal, and thence in mistaken zeal, that they may have a general view of heavenly principles in all their beauty, but cannot realize them, vers. 12-14.
5. But, on the other hand, that those who are governed by the truth combating against evil, provided they contend in subordination to Divine Good and Divine Truth, will ultimately do so, if they are obedient, vers. 15-23.

1.  The daughters of Zelophehad drawing near to Moses and Eleazar the priest, denotes investigation by Divine Truth and Divine Good concerning those who are in the affection of truth without truths, 3572, 489, chap 26:33, 7010, 9946; Zelophehad denotes the fear of the Lord grounded in obscurity as to knowledge, chap 26:33; the son of Hepher, denotes derivation from the man who is in the beginning of regeneration as to the understanding, chap 26:32; the son of Gilead, denotes formation from the will of the natural man, chap 26:29; the son of Manasseh, denotes origin in the new will of the spiritual man, 5912, 5351; the son of Machir, denotes mediately through the new understanding thereof, chap 26:29; of the families of Manasseh, denotes derivation and distinction, 7833; and the son of Joseph, denotes derivation from the Lord through the celestial of the spiritual principle, as distinguishing the Spiritual Church, 4286; and the names of Zelophehad's daughters being Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, denote the quality of this affection, namely, that it is weak for the want of truths; is distinctly elevated above merely natural good; is disposed strongly to confirm truth in general and to abide in it; is thus further disposed to be governed by this truth; and, what is more than all, to have genuine delight therein, chap 26:33.

   [Back to 1]

2.  Their standing before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, denotes that this affection acknowledges further that it is derived from Divine Truth and Divine Good, 7010, 9946, 8686; and before the princes and the congregation at the door of the tent of meeting saying, denotes that it is given to man by the Lord through the heavens, and that it is especially in the acknowledgement of the Divine Human, and of all the primary and subordinate truths of the Word thence derived; and that hence it has the perception, 8686, 1482, 7843, 2356, 3540³, 1822.

   [Back to 2]

3.  "Our father died in the wilderness," denotes approximate origin, namely, the natural fear of the Lord, which ceases, in the course of regeneration, chap 26:33, 494, 2708; "and he was not among the company of them that gathered themselves together in the company of Korah," denotes not being contaminated by profanity in worship through faith alone, chap 16:1; "but he died in his own sin," denotes that it involves the acknowledgement that man of himself is nothing but evil, 494, 210, 868; and "he had no sons," denotes that yet it is entirely without truths, 489.

   [Back to 3]

4.  "Why should the name of our father be taken away from among his family because he has no son?" denotes why, therefore, should this affection not have the quality of good from the Lord because it is without truth? 145, 3703, 7833, 489; and "Give to us a possession among the brethren of our father," denotes that certainly it desires a possession and inheritance in the heavenly kingdom where good is the ruling principle! 2535, 2658, 3705, 3703.

   [Back to 4]

5.  Moses bringing their cause before the Lord, denotes that Divine Truth cannot decide this doubtful point apart from conjunction with Divine Good, 7010, 8685, 2335, 2001.

   [Back to 5]

6.  This is evident, because by Jehovah is denoted the Divine Being as to His love, 2001; by speaking is denoted influx, 2951; by Moses is represented Divine Truth, or the Word, 7010; and by saying is denoted perception, 1822.

   [Back to 6]

7.  "The daughters of Zelophehad speak right," denotes that the natural affection of good from the Lord discerns what is true, chap 26:33, 2271, 4151³; " you shall surely give them a possession, of an inheritance among their father's brethren," denotes that this affection entitles man to a place in the heavenly kingdom, and has a specific use therein, 7010, 2658, 3705, 3703, 3803; "and you shall cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them," denotes that indeed the fear of the Lord, as in the beginning of regeneration, involves a holy fear which properly belongs to the regenerated man, 7010, 2658, chap 26:33, 2826.

   [Back to 7]

8.  "And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying," denotes that it is the dictate of Divine Truth to those who are of the Spiritual Church, 7010, 3654, 1822; and "If a man die and have no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter," denotes that when man, during regeneration, is without truths, but is yet in the affection of truth, and thence of good, he shall inherit the heavenly kingdom, because he will receive truths in agreement with his particular affection, 489, 1408, 2658, 4345-6.

   [Back to 8]

9.  "And if he have no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brethren," denotes that if he is without the affection of truth, he shall yet inherit, provided he is in mutual charity, 489, 2658, 3815.

   [Back to 9]

10.  "And if he have no brethren then you shall give his inheritance to his father's brethren," denotes that if he is not in mutual charity, but is yet in charity more remotely, he will still inherit, 3803.

    [Back to 10]

11.  "And if his father have no brethren, then you shall give his inheritance to his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it," denotes that if he is not in charity more remote, but in charity most remote, he shall still inherit the heavenly kingdom, having his possession according to the good of his society, 3703¹⁷; and "it shall be to the children of Israel a statute of judgement, as the Lord commanded Moses," denotes that it is a law of Divine Order that wherever there is good, there is the capacity for regeneration, 3654, 7844, 8357, 2001, 5486, 7010.

    [Back to 11]

12.  The Lord saying to Moses, "Get you up into this mount Abarim, and behold the land which I have given to the children of Israel," denotes that there is perception from the Lord, with the man of the Spiritual Church, enabling him to see the principles which constitute heaven and the true church, by an elevation of the mind in a state intermediate between merely natural love on the one hand, and spiritual and celestial love on the other, 2001, 1822, 6752¹, 3705, 1543, 3654. But it is said, "a state intermediate," because Abarim means passages, and therefore denotes such a state, 8321, 8323.

    [Back to 12]

13.  "And when you have seen it them also shall be gathered to your people as Aaron your brother was gathered," denotes that such a state of perception does not continue with those who are in merely external zeal for instruction without internal; and that they must be associated with their like in the eternal world and state, since such zeal is derived from and is allied with merely external worship, 2150. 3705. 3255. chap 20:7-29.

    [Back to 13]

14.  "Because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin," denotes opposition to the Word of the Lord in a state of faith without charity, chap. 20:1; "in the strife of the congregation," denotes when the natural man also is excited, because the congregation, or rather, the assembly, in relation to Moses, represents the natural in relation to the spiritual man, 7843; "to sanctify me at the waters before their eyes," denotes when truth which ought to be conjoined with good is separated therefrom, 8042, 2702, 2403; and "these are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin," denotes that such a state is one of mere strife and contention about truths, of outward holiness only, and of the absence of good as well as obscurity as to truths, 2702, 1678, 2503, 2708, chap 20:1. It was a state of outward holiness, because by Kadesh is meant holiness, and yet of the absence of good because by Zin is meant a buckler and coldness, 1788, 34.

    [Back to 14]

15.  Moses speaking to the Lord, saying, denotes that it is the thought of the spiritual man derived from Divine Good, 6752*, 2271, 2951, 2001.

    [Back to 15]

16.  "Let the Lord the God of the spirits of all flesh appoint a man over the congregation," or assembly, denotes that a new state of the church is to succeed through the influence of Divine Good and Divine Truth, operating both internally and externally with man, in which it shall be governed by Divine Truth, 2001, 10283 end, 7843, 2373, 2374, ver. 14.

    [Back to 16]

17.  "Which may go out before them and which may come in before them," denotes in every state of conflict and rest as to the spiritual man, because by going out and coming in, is obviously meant, in this place, engaging in war and resting from it, and thus denotes the conflicts of temptation, and rest from them; even as the Lord, when He came forth from the Father, did so that He might engage in conflict with the hells, and when He returned to the Father, did so by uniting the Human to the Divine in Himself, 3736, 1664, 84; "and which may lead them out and which may bring them in," denotes the same as to the natural man, because the actual conflict, both in the case of the Lord and of man, is on the natural plane, and man contends against evil from the Lord, 4572, 1661⁴; and "that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd," denotes that, indeed, the church cannot be governed by good alone without the truth which is the expression of that good, and which teaches and leads to good, 343, 5201, ver. 14.

    [Back to 17]

18.  The Lord saying to Moses, denotes that it is the dictate of Divine Good by Divine Truth, 2001, 7010, 1822; "Take you Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hands upon him," denotes that truth combating against evil perpetually, from an internal and not only from an external motive, will have transferred to it the full power of truth teaching and leading, 8595, 7010, 10023, 10283 end. Observe here that Joshua means a saviour, and therefore that he represents what delivers from evil; and also that Nun means what is perpetual or eternal, and that therefore it is said "perpetually"; for the conflict against evil must be perpetual, until the state of good is realized.

    [Back to 18]

19.  "And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation, and give him a charge in their sight," denotes that truth combating will be conjoined internally with truth immediately proceeding from good, and externally with truths in the natural degree, being there endowed with full power to govern, 8595, 9946, 7843, 3382³, 2401, ver. 14.

    [Back to 19]

20.  "And you shall put your honour upon him that all the congregation of the children of Israel may obey," denotes that such truth combating is really from the Lord alone by Divine Truth, and consequently is worthy of full expression in every action of the life, 7010, 10797, ver. 18. 7843, 3654, 5368.

    [Back to 20]

21.  " And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest," denotes that this truth shall also be in subordination to Divine Truth from Divine Good, 3136, 9946; "who shall inquire for him by the judgement of the Urim before the Lord," denotes that from that truth it receives revelation, 5922¹¹, 9905; "at his word shall they go out and at his word shall they come in," denotes that according to it all states of conflict and rest are regulated, ver. 17; and "he and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation," denotes even as to the subordinate governing principles, and as to the natural and spiritual powers which are governed, 8595, 3654, 7843.

    [Back to 21]

22.  Moses doing as the Lord commanded him, and taking Joshua, and setting him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, denotes that this effect follows with him who is obedient, ver. 21.

    [Back to 22]

23.  Laying his hand upon him and giving him a charge as the Lord spoke by the hand of Moses, denotes that the full power of inmost truth and good is manifested in truth combating, and that subordinate powers are obedient thereto, vers. 18-19.

    [Back to 23]

Discussion

In commencing the reconsideration of this chapter, we cannot but notice the wonderful way in which the meaning of each name in the first verse of the first section corresponds to a certain quality, and how the order of the names is exact according to the series of the internal sense. For example, the names Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, the daughters of Zelophehad, respectively, denote the adulterated love of truth intensely, the same less intensely, the exterior love of truth, the interior love of truth, and the inmost love of truth as deduced from the meaning of them; and this series indicates a gradual improvement in state during regeneration. Hence, therefore, we see how perfect the Word is in its construction, just as perfect, indeed, as is any work of the Lord in creation.

But again considering the meaning of the word "Zelophehad," and thence its correspondence, we learn that he represents the fear of the Lord with man at the beginning of regeneration; and as this fear varies with persons in different states, and according to progress, we may profitably meditate upon it. For it is said in Ps 111:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all they that do thereafter; his praise endures for ever"; and from these words we learn that this fear is a holy fear in itself; that its quality, externally, varies, and that it indicates a capacity for receiving and understanding truths successively, as our section shows. And now notice the internal teaching of the second verse. This fear acknowledges that it has a heavenly origin; that it especially acknowledges the Divine Human; and that thence it has the capacity of comprehending general and primary truths; that it does not profane worship; and that, of itself, it is nothing but evil. Why, then, should it not have a capacity for the life of heaven, although it is not, at first, supplied with the knowledge of truths? How many thousands are there in the Lord's universal church that are of this character! And truly should not every one of us, in a certain sense, be of this character, when he remembers that, of himself, he is without truth, and without good, and that he must continually receive them from the Lord? Well, therefore, is it said that this fear is the beginning of wisdom. For apart from it we should be disposed to ascribe our life to ourselves, and thus to "die in our own sins " in that way in which all do, who refuse to acknowledge the Divine Being. But we will turn now to the second part of this subject.

Moses, it is said, brought the case of Zelophehad's daughters before the Lord, or before Jehovah; and since Moses represents Divine Truth, and Jehovah signifies, specifically, Divine Good, we thence learn that it is good, or love, and not truth apart therefrom, that determines as to whether any one is capable of enjoying the heavenly inheritance. And it is very remarkable, that most people can more easily and naturally draw a distinction between good and evil than between truth and falsity. For who does not plainly see without reasoning, that goodness produces happiness, and that wickedness produces misery, as it were, naturally? Hence, then, we clearly see the truth of the internal sense of ver. 7. The true fear of the Lord is grounded in goodness; and they have an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven, who are willing to be good, even though they may not specifically know truths. And that this is according to Divine Order, appears from the rest of the section, which according to the correspondences, accurately defines the different kinds of good. For evidently the daughters of a man here may denote, when taken, universally, the highest affection of truth, and thence of the good from which that truth comes, namely, celestial good, or love to the Lord; his brethren may signify mutual charity, or love, to the neighbour, which is spiritual love; his father's brethren may represent a more remote degree of food peculiar to the inmost good of the ultimate heaven, which may be called natural good from the Lord, and his nearest kinsman, after that, may properly stand for the external good of the ultimate heaven, which may be called simple obedience to truth because the Lord so commands in His Word. And hence, now, we may see how it is that four kinds of good are here specified. It is in order that all kinds of good may be involved, and thence all kinds of truth; for the heavenly life consists of good and truth conjoined, and by no means of the former without the latter. And, moreover, the object of regeneration, in each case, is to produce a heavenly form of good and truth in equality, and thus, too, an internal and an external state in perfect harmony. This, then, is the meaning of the law, spiritually, which is given in the second section as a general law belonging to all who are regenerated. There is a place in heaven for every person who is willing to receive good from the Lord by that rejection of the selfish life which is expressed in the act of dying to sin and living to righteousness. And now it will be observed that, in the literal sense, there is no particular connection between the third section and the second; but some connection appears in the internal sense, because whereas every one who is in good from the Lord has an opportunity of being saved, yet those who are only externally in good, and not internally at the same time, cannot be saved. And this is what is represented by Moses not being permitted to enter the promised land, but only being allowed to see it. For the lawgiver who was the head of the Israelitish nation, here represented that nation which was in worship merely external without an internal principle, and whose religion, therefore, was merely selfish, and thus it could be a representative of a church without really constituting a church; and it is important that this should be understood, and also that no one whose worship is of such a character, to whatever church he may outwardly belong, can enter into the kingdom of heaven, while yet every one who is in good, as the previous section shows, can do so. Let the man of the true Christian Church, therefore, which is a Spiritual Church, carefully note the difference between the Israelitish and Jewish dispensation, and the Christian dispensation, and also carefully avoid in himself any tendency to worship the Lord simply on selfish grounds, and not for the sake of the goodness and the truth that constitute the Lord, proceed from Him, and make heaven in the human soul. And, moreover, one other point in connection with this particular subject must be considered. It does not necessarily follow that, because the Israelites, as a whole, were only in external worship, there were no good people and, therefore, no regenerated people among them. For history shows the contrary; and we may justly infer that among the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles of the Lord, as well as among the Israelites generally there were many who were saved, and also that this was the case, for example, with Abraham, with Moses, with Aaron, with Samuel, and with Isaiah. But, of course, this cannot be positively asserted of any of the persons here mentioned by name, since there is not sufficient evidence available to prove it. We proceed now, however, to consider the rest of the chapter.

And here, indeed, first speaking generally, who does not see that no one can come into a state of good, and thus form a part of the heavenly kingdom, who does not overcome evil by the power of the Lord continually given to him? All persons, therefore, who are regenerated, may be said to be represented by Joshua, as well as it may be said, that by Joshua in the supreme sense is represented the Lord Himself in His accomplishment of the work of Redemption. But the particulars also are interesting. For "Moses speaking to the Lord," it is said, denotes that it is the thought of the spiritual man from Divine Good. See 2271. And the reason why this speaking to the Lord is still from the Lord, is because the power of true thought is from the Lord by the principle of good. We admit that this seems a little contradictory, but still it is correct, because every man is required to speak and to act as from himself; and if he does not do this, he cannot have conjunction with the Lord. And this is a fact so important that we require to think of it constantly.

And how really important, too, are the spiritual contents of the next verses, which might, of course, be elaborated very much. For we cannot do without the truth with which we must resist evil; we must engage in the conflict; we must overcome as the Lord overcame; we must acknowledge our Leader; and we must do our own part, while, at the same time, we depend upon the Lord as the Good Shepherd who tenderly cares for His sheep. And we see just here, that because Divine Truth flows into the good, or charity, that is in us, and not into the truth merely, therefore we can fight from our good by means of our truth, and not at all from any selfish principle. And so, in this place, there is involved the great principle of non-resistance to evil (Matt 5:39) in perfect harmony with a determined resistance. And we must remember here, that it is good, or the internal principle, that gives its quality to truth combating, and makes this spiritual warfare so different from merely natural warfare. And here again, we see how it is good that reconciles man to the Lord by truth, and results in an eternal victory, and in an eternal rest. And now, indeed, we have only to read over the series of the internal sense, as formed from the correspondences, in the remainder of the chapter to realize some of the wonderful interior truths that have relation to the conflicts of temptation through which we must all pass. For it is the truth that we have actually acquired by instruction that afterwards becomes truth combating, vers. 18-20. And that it is so, we know from experience, when, in a real state of conflict, some truth of the Word, which we had previously learned, comes, as it were, unbidden, suddenly to our assistance, and then we conquer, according to the teaching of the Lord, where He says, "And when they lead you to judgement, and deliver you up, be not anxious beforehand what you shall speak; but whatever shall be given you in that same hour, that speak you; for it is not you that speak, but the Holy Ghost" (Mark 13:11). And, finally, we learn that the change of state, namely, from one of instruction to one of conflict, is absolutely necessary, and that this is represented by the obedience of Moses. For we may be sure that no state of real regeneration is the result of instruction and the Divine operation alone, but is only consummated when there is the obedience springing from both, which ensures and confirms their full and permanent conjunction.