NUMBERS 5
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Numbers Chapter 5
Summary of the Spiritual Sense
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The man of the church is instructed that he must reject from the heavenly
life every tendency disposing him to profane the truth, falsify it, or defile it
by contact with any natural affection void of spiritual life, vers. 1-4.
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Concerning offences against the Divine Law through ignorance or weakness,
vers. 5-10.
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On an offence against good through ignorance of the truth; the
illegitimate conjunction of falsity with good; the disturbance of the internal
man in consequence; investigation from Divine Good; the process by which
innocence or guilt is discovered; and the results of guilt or innocence, vers.
11-31.
The Contents of each Verse
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And the lord spoke to Moses, saying,
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There is revelation from the Lord by Divine Truth giving the perception,
[more]
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Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper,
and every one that has an issue, and whoever is unclean by the dead:
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That the man of the Spiritual Church, by the influx of Divine Good and the
power of Divine Truth, must reject from himself every tendency disposing him to
profane the truth, falsify it, or defile it by contact with any natural
affection void of spiritual life.
[more]
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Both male and female shall you put out, without the camp shall you put them;
that they defile not their camp, in the midst whereof I dwell.
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And this must be done both with regard to falsity and evil; for these are
to be separated from the heavenly life, and rejected to hell, because they
destroy heavenly order which is entirely from the Lord, and in which the Lord has His abode with man inmostly.
[more]
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And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as
the lord spoke to Moses, so did the children of Israel.
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And the man of the true church is obedient to the dictate of Divine Truth,
and entirely rejects these evil things, because he is able to do this from
Divine Good by Divine Truth, which he acknowledges to be from the Lord.
[more]
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And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
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And further, there is revelation from the Lord by Divine Truth giving the
perception,
[more]
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Speak to the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any
sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the lord, and that soul be
guilty;
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That on every violation of the Divine Law, to which the man of the church
is prone, either from ignorance or weakness as to good, even though it may be
only an offence against the truth and not against charity, and yet there is
consciousness of guilt;
[more]
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Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall make
restitution for his guilt in full, and add to it the fifth part thereof, and
give it to him in respect of whom he has been guilty.
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Confession shall be made before the Lord from the internal man; and the
truth shall be restored, which has been taken away by misunderstanding, in all
fullness, and, at the same time, it must be acknowledged to be from the Lord
through remains, and that it properly appertains to the internal man.
[more]
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But if the man have no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the
guilt, the restitution for guilt which is made to the lord shall be the
priest's; besides the ram of the atonement, whereby atonement shall be made for
him.
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But if the internal man be not opened, with him who should make
restitution thereto, and yet acknowledgement is made to the Lord from the
principle of good, then guilt is removed nevertheless, on account of this good,
and of the good of innocence and charity by which the external man is reconciled with the internal and thus with the Lord.
[more]
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And every heave offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel,
which they present to the priest, shall be his.
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For the internal man is vivified and renewed by influx from the Lord,
because good is acknowledged to be from Him,
[more]
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And every man's hallowed things shall be his: whatever any man gives
the priest, it shall be his.
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But this only when the interior and external man cooperate in such
acknowledgement.
[more]
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And the lord spoke to Moses, saying,
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Again there is revelation from the Lord by Divine Truth giving the
perception,
[more]
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Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, If any man's wife
go aside, and commit a trespass against him,
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By illustration to the man of the Spiritual Church, who sees, that when
the principle of good also is violated through ignorance of the truth,
[more]
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And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her
husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against
her, neither she be taken in the act;
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And through illegitimate conjunction with internal falsity; and yet the
internal man is unconscious thereof, through deficiency of perception, and good
is adulterated, innocently and at the same time ignorantly;
[more]
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And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife,
and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be
jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:
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While still the life of the internal man is disturbed through lack of
correspondence in the external, and there is the adulteration of good; or if the
disturbance arise, not from lack of correspondence, but from deficiency as to
truths;
[more]
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Then shall the man bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring her oblation for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no
oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is a meal offering of
jealousy, a meal offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
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Then still there is communication with the internal man as to good, and
the acknowledgement of the Lord from the good of truth through the operation of
the Lord by remains; but there can be no reception of the genuine good of love,
or of the genuine truth thereof in worship, because conjunction with the Lord is
interrupted either by the adulteration of good, or by the lack of truths; and
there is consciousness of evil or of error.
[more]
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And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the lord :
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In which case, however, there is still conjunction with the Lord by good
ruling in the inmost,
[more]
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And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the
dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it
into the water:
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Although truth thence derived is vitiated through contamination with
corrupted good, which causes condemnation in the external man;
[more]
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And the priest shall set the woman before the lord, and let the
hair of the woman's head go loose, and put the meal offering of memorial in her
hands, which is the meal offering of jealousy: and the priest shall have in his
hand the water of bitterness that causes the curse:
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Yet there is acknowledgement that good is entirely from the Lord, from
whom it is discovered that evil has corrupted the truth in the natural mind,
while yet there is the good of truth also from the Lord, even though there is
suspicion, and the appearance that truth separated from good condemns and causes
aversion.
[more]
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And the priest shall cause her to swear, and shall say to the woman, If
no man have lien with you, and if you have not gone aside to
uncleanness, being under your husband, be you free from this water of bitterness
that causes the curse:
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And if there be confirmation from good that there is no adulteration of
good nor any profanation of truth through falsity from evil, then there is
deliverance from the falsity of evil which causes aversion from the Lord.
[more]
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But if you have gone aside, being under your husband, and if you be
defiled, and some man have lien with you besides your husband:
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But when there is not only the profanation of truth, but also the
adulteration of good by falsity from evil,
[more]
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Then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing,
and the priest shall say to the woman, The lord make you a curse and
an oath among your people, when the lord does make your thigh to fall away,
and your belly to swell;
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Then there is confirmation of the evil state, even of aversion from the
Lord both as to good and truth, because the conjunction of good with truth, and
the reciprocal conjunction of truth with good is violated,
[more]
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And this water that causes the curse shall go into your bowels, and make
your belly to swell, and your thigh to fall away: and the woman shall say, Amen,
Amen.
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So that there is aversion from truth adulterated with evil; and there can
be no longer the reciprocal conjunction of good with truth, because of such
confirmation.
[more]
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And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them
out into the water of bitterness:
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And thus there is the confirmation of evil in the interior memory of the
corrupted man so that the truth can no longer be violated.
[more]
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And he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causes
the curse: and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her and
become bitter.
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And truth contaminated with evil which causes aversion, is appropriated,
whereby the truth itself becomes distasteful.
[more]
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And the priest shall take the meal offering of jealousy out of the
woman's hand, and shall wave the meal offering before the lord, and bring
it to the altar:
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But still there may be the appearance of the reception of the good of
truth externally, of vivification from the Lord, and of genuine worship,
[more]
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And the priest shall take an handful of the meal offering, as the
memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall make the woman
drink the water.
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And also of the conjunction of exterior good with interior, and the
appropriation of truths as if from good.
[more]
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And when he has made her drink the water, then it shall come to pass, if
she be defiled, and have committed a trespass against her husband, that the
water that causes the curse shall enter into her and become bitter, and
her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away: and the woman shall be a
curse among her people.
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But in the case of such apparent appropriation of truth, when
nevertheless there is the adulteration of good by falsity and the perversion of
truth by evil, then the reception of truth shall be distasteful; there can be
no reciprocal conjunction of truth with good; nor any conjunction of good with
truth; and there is complete aversion from truth.
[more]
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And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free,
and shall conceive seed.
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But when, indeed, there is no adulteration of good but purity of life,
then is there genuine freedom and the fructification of good and the
multiplication of genuine truths.
[more]
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This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goes
aside, and is defiled;
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And this is the law of life, when there is no legitimate conjunction of
good with truth, but on the contrary the falsification of truth and the
adulteration of good.
[more]
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Or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man, and he be jealous over
his wife; then shall he set the woman before the lord, and the priest
shall execute upon her all this law.
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And consequently the disturbance of the conjunction between the internal
and external man; and then shall the state of the external man be tested by
Divine Good, and its true state be made manifest;
[more]
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And the man shall be free from iniquity, and that woman shall bear her
iniquity.
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So that the truth may not be violated, when evil has been confirmed by
conjunction with internal falsity.
[more]
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References and Notes
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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, 1791, 1822.
[Back to 1]
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Commanding the children of Israel, denotes influx from the Lord by Divine
Truth with the man of the Spiritual Church, 5486, 3654, 7010; putting out of the
camp every leper, denotes the rejection of every tendency to
profane the truth, 10038, 6963; also one that has an issue,
denotes one who falsifies the truth, 10130; and one who is unclean by the dead, denotes one who defiles the truth by
contact with any affection void of spiritual life, 390010.
[Back to 2]
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Putting out of the camp both male and female, denotes the rejection from
heaven and the church of those defiled by both falsity and evil, because male
denotes truth, and female, good, and therefore, in the opposite sense, falsity
and evil, 725; and "that they defile not their camp in the midst of which I
dwell," denotes lest they destroy heavenly order, which is entirely from the
Lord, and in which the Lord has His abode with man
inmostly, 4236, 10130, 200, 10153.
[Back to 3]
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By the children of Israel doing so, is denoted that the man of the true
church is obedient to the dictate of Divine Truth, 3654, 5755; putting the
lepers and other unclean persons without the camp, denotes the entire rejection
of those evil things, 10038; and by as the Lord spoke to Moses, so the
children of Israel doing, is denoted that the man of the church is able to do
this from Divine Good by Divine Truth, which he acknowledges to be from the
Lord, 2001, 2951, 7010, 5755.
[Back to 4]
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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, 1791, 1822.
[Back to 5]
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Speaking to the children of Israel, denotes instruction by Divine Truth,
2951; a man or a woman committing a sin that men commit, denotes the violation
of the Divine Law to which the man of the church is prone, 5076, 731; doing a
trespass against the Lord, denotes a sin either from ignorance or
weakness, 9156;
and the soul being guilty, clearly denotes the consciousness of guilt, 3400.
[Back to 6]
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Confessing the sin that they have done, denotes that confession shall be
made before the Lord from the internal man, 3880, 8388; making restitution for
his guilt in full, denotes the restitution of the truth, which had been taken
away by misunderstanding, in all fullness, 9032, 9087; adding the fifth part,
denotes that the truth by which amendment is made must be acknowledged to be
from the Lord through remains, 649, 5291, 10227; and giving it to him in
respect of whom he has been guilty, denotes that the truth properly appertains
to the internal man, who makes the confession of guilt, 10227.
[Back to 7]
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By the kinsman to whom restitution is to be made, is denoted the Lord, not
only as the deliverer, vindicator, or redeemer, but also the Lord as requiring
restitution, or amendment of life by repentance, by His operation in the
internal man, 6281, 9069; and hence not having a kinsman to receive
restitution, denotes not being conscious of the Lord's operation in the internal
man, or not having the internal man opened, but being only in natural good; by
restitution made to the Lord, is denoted amendment through the work of
repentance, from this good, 9087, 9088; by the restitution being the priest's,
is denoted the acknowledgement of the Lord from good, 10227, 9946; and by the
ram of atonement, whereby atonement is made for him, is denoted the removal of
guilt nevertheless, on account of this good, and also on account of the good of
innocence and charity in the internal man, by which the external man is
reconciled with the internal and thus with the
Lord, Lev 5:14-16, 9156, 10042.
[Back to 8]
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Every heave offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel
which they present to the priest being his, denotes that the internal man,
with the spiritual, is vivified and renewed by influx from the Lord when good is
acknowledged to be from Him, because the children of Israel denote those of the
Spiritual Church, and not of the Celestial, 3654; because the heave offering
with them, denotes the operation of the Lord's life inmostly, and the wave
offering the same operation interiorly, and therefore the result is
illustration, and not perception as with the Celestial, 10093, and because the
heave offering being given to the priest, denotes that internal good is
acknowledged to be from the Lord, 10227.
[Back to 9]
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Every man's hallowed things being the priest's, denotes acknowledgement by
the interior man that all good and truth are from the Lord; and whatever any
man gives to the priest being his, denotes acknowledgement by the external man
that all good and truth are from the Lord, 683, 8088, 10227.
[Back to 10]
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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, 1791, 1822.
[Back to 11]
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Speaking to the children of Israel, and saying to them, denotes
illustration to the man of the Spiritual Church who sees, 2619; and a man's wife
going aside and committing a trespass against him, denotes the violation of good
through ignorance of the truth, because by a wife is denoted good, 915., and by
a trespass, is denoted a sin against the truth of faith, 9156, besides which the
man in this case signifies truth, 915, 246614.
[Back to 12]
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A man lying with the woman carnally, denotes illegitimate conjunction
with infernal falsity, 246614, 1369; it being hidden from the eyes of
her husband, denotes that the internal man is unconscious, thereof, since the
husband signifies the internal man, 915, 158, 6721, 2148; it being kept close,
denotes deficiency of perception, 6721, 683; being defiled, denotes that good is
adulterated, 246614; no witness against her,
denotes innocently, 4197; and her not being taken in the act, denotes ignorantly, because to have
been caught in the act would have denoted the discovery of the state of evil by
the force of the truth as is evident.
[Back to 13]
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By the spirit of jealousy coming upon the husband, is denoted the
disturbance of the internal man through zeal for good, 8875, 158; by his being
jealous of his wife, is denoted through the non-correspondence of the
external, 160; his wife being defiled, denotes the adulteration of good, and thus, clearly
non-correspondence with internal, 246614; again by the spirit of
jealousy coming upon the husband, is denoted the disturbance of the internal
man, 5875, 158; and by the wife not being defiled, is denoted no lack of
correspondence, but deficiency as to truths with the internal, because, in this
case, the husband was in error, 246614, 158.
[Back to 14]
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The man bringing his wife to the priest, denotes that still there is
communication with the internal man as to good, 158, 160, 9946; bringing her
oblation for her, namely, barley meal, denotes the acknowledgement of the Lord
through the good of truth, 349, 10227, 7602, 4335; the tenth of an ephah,
denotes the Lord's operation by remains, 576, 8468; no oil nor frankincense,
denotes no reception of the genuine good of love nor of the genuine truth
thereof, 10137; a meal offering of jealousy, denotes the interruption of the
worship of the Lord by the adulteration of good, 8875, 246614; and a
meal offering of memorial bringing iniquity to remembrance, denotes the
interruption of worship by lack of truths, and consciousness of evil or error,
ver. 14, 6888, 8620.
[Back to 15]
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The priest bringing her near, and setting her before the Lord, denotes
still conjunction with the Lord by good ruling in the inmost, 9946, 223, 9378.
[Back to 16]
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By taking holy water, is denoted the application of truth derived from
good, 2702, 8042; an earthen vessel, in this case, denotes corrupted external
good, 5948, 10105; and putting the dust nto the water denotes condemnation on
that account, 249.
[Back to 17]
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The priest setting the woman before the Lord, denotes the acknowledgement
that good is entirely from the Lord, 9946, 223, 9378; letting her hair go loose,
denotes the discovery that evil has corrupted the truth in the natural
mind, 33011; putting the meal offering of memorial into her hands, denotes
that the good of truth also is from the Lord, 9946, ver. 15; the meal offering
of jealousy denotes even though there is suspicion, 8875, 158, 6888; and the
priest having in his hand the water of bitterness that causes the curse, denotes
the manifestation or outward appearance that good separated from truth causes
aversion, ver. 17, 379.
[Back to 18]
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The priest causing her to swear, denotes confirmation from good, 2842;
saying to the woman, denotes the thought of such confirmation, 2506; no man
having lien with the woman, denotes no adulteration of good, 2466"; not having
gone aside to uncleanness, being under her husband, denotes no profanation of
truth through falsity from evil, 6836, 915, 10130; and being free from the
water of bitterness causing the curse, denotes deliverance from the falsity of
evil which causes aversion from the Lord, ver. 17.
[Back to 19]
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Going aside, being under a husband, and being defiled, denotes when there
is not only the profanation of truth but also the adulteration of good by
falsity from evil, 246614, ver. 19,
[Back to 20]
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Causing the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, denotes confirmation
of the evil state, even of aversion from the Lord both as to good and truth, 2842, vers. 17, 19; the priest saying to the woman,
denotes the dictate of Divine Truth from Divine Good, concerning the
evil state, 9946, 7291;
"The Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people," denotes
aversion and confirmation in evil, 379, 2842, 683; and making the thigh to fall
away and the belly to swell, denotes the violation of the conjunction of good
with truth, and of the reciprocal conjunction of truth with
good, 3021, 247-248, 3911.
Observe here also that the falling of the thigh, and the
swelling of the belly, aptly denote the cessation of the true heavenly life,
and the increase of the merely sensual life, 2761, 1585.
[Back to 21]
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The water that causes the curse going into the bowels, denotes aversion
from the truth adulterated with evil in the natural degree, ver. 17, 379, 3911;
the belly swelling, and the thigh falling, denotes no longer the reciprocal
conjunction of truth with good, and the conjunction of good with truth, ver. 21;
and the woman saying "Amen, Amen," denotes because of such confirmation in evil
and falsity, as appears from the meaning of the word Amen, which is
truth, 683.
[Back to 22]
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The priest writing these curses in a book, denotes that thus there is the
confirmation of evil in the interior memory of the corrupted man, 8620; and his
blotting them out in the water of bitterness, denotes evidently, that the truth
can no longer be violated-by those who are thus averted from
it, ver. 17, 379, 731, 10505.
[Back to 23]
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Making the woman drink of the water of bitterness, denotes that truth
contaminated with evil, which causes aversion, is
appropriated, vers. 17, 18, 3168; and it entering into her and becoming bitter,
denotes that thus the truth
itself becomes distasteful, vers. 17, 18.
[Back to 24]
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The priest taking the meal offering of jealousy out of the woman's hand,
denotes that still there may be the appearance of the reception of the good of
truth externally, ver. 15; waving the meal offering before the Lord, denotes
vivification from Him, 10089; and bringing it to the altar, denotes the
appearance of genuine worship, 4S41-
[Back to 25]
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The priest taking a handful as the memorial, and burning it upon the
altar, denotes, the apparent conjunction of exterior good with
interior, 9946, 878, 10053, 10055, ver. 15; and making the woman drink the water denotes the
appropriation of truths as if from good, ver. 24.
[Back to 26]
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It coming to pass when she drank the water,
denotes a successive state, 4979;
if she be defiled and have committed a trespass against her husband,
denotes if there should be the adulteration of good by falsity, and the
perversion of truth by evil, 246614, 9156; the water entering into
her and becoming bitter, denotes that the reception of the truth is distasteful,
vers. 17, 18; her belly swelling and her thigh falling away, denote that there
can be no reciprocal conjunction of truth with good, nor any conjunction of good
with truth, ver. 21; and the woman being a curse among her people, denotes that
there is complete aversion from truth, 379, 1259.
[Back to 27]
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The woman not being defiled, denotes if there is no
adulteration of good, 246614;
being clean, denotes a state of purity, 4545; being free, denotes genuine spiritual freedom, 892; and conceiving seed,
denotes the fructification of good, and the
multiplication of genuine truths, 1910, 913.
[Back to 28]
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This being the law of jealousy, when a wife being under her
husband, goes aside and is defiled, denotes that this is the law of life when
there is no legitimate conjunction of good with truth, but, on the contrary, the
falsification of truth and the adulteration of
good, 2634, 246614, 6836, 915, 10130.
[Back to 29]
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The spirit of jealousy coming upon a man, and his being jealous of his
wife, denotes the disturbance of the conjunction between the internal and
external man, ver. 14; setting the woman before the Lord, denotes that the state
of the external man is tested by Divine Good, 9946, 223, 9378; and the priest
executing upon her all this law, denotes that from Divine Good the true state of
the case is made manifest by Divine Truth, or by the laws of Divine Order, 9946,
2634.
[Back to 30]
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The man being free from iniquity, and the woman bearing her iniquity,
denotes that the truth may not be violated, when evil has been confirmed by
conjunction with infernal falsity, 160, 158, 246614, 9937.
[Back to 31]
Discussion
The chapter we have now to review, as appears from vers. 1, 5, and 11,
consists of three distinct sections. Let us, therefore, consider each of them
separately; but before doing so, it may be as well to note that, taken all
together, they describe the life of the spiritual man, as to his consciousness
of evil in a threefold way; as to the reconciliation of the external man with
the internal when evil is removed, and the Lord is fully acknowledged; and as to
the interrupted conjunction of the external man with the internal, when good is
corrupted in the external, or when truth is deficient in the internal. And
taking now our first subject, let us see what our duty is in regard to it. We
are to put out of our camp, or expel from our lives, every leper, that is, every
tendency to apply the truths of the church to selfish ends and purposes; we may
not falsify the truth; and we may not contaminate it with merely natural
affections. And this is a work to be done within ourselves. For if we are truly
enlightened, we shall discover that these evil tendencies are in us, and also we
shall see that the first, in this case, leads to the second, and that the second
may culminate in the third. Let us then be wary, and watch and pray lest we
enter into temptation. It is better to check in ourselves the principles that
lead to actual evil, than to have to repent of indulgence therein. But as we
have seen, on a former occasion, how leprosy denotes the profanation of truth,
how an issue signifies its falsification, and how contact with a dead body
represents its contamination by merely natural affections void of spiritual
life, it is not necessary now to extend our remarks on these evils. We may
consider, however, why these injunctions are given? It is because the Lord
dwells in our midst, and His camp must not be defiled. Moreover, we are taught
that the expulsion of our evil tendencies must not only be from our thoughts,
but from our hearts as well, for this is involved in the use of the terms male
and female according to the correspondences. For if the evil thought be
resisted, the impurity of the feelings will be checked. As, therefore, the
children of Israel were outwardly obedient to the Lord, so let the spiritual man
be inwardly and outwardly obedient, since, indeed, under any circumstances, it is good to avoid evil actions, and much better also to see
and reject the evil thoughts and feelings which prompt to evil actions.
It is interesting to notice, in the next place, the connection of the first
section with the two following. They both relate to the putting away of evils.
And whereas the literal sense concerns evil actions, the spiritual sense has to
do with evil states. Every one knows that it is evil states which produce evil
actions; and that if pains are taken to remove evil states, there will be no
evil actions. The second section, then, refers to evils committed in states of
ignorance and weakness; and we are carefully to consider what we are here
taught. The fact that an evil action is the result of ignorance, or of weakness,
does not cause it to be guiltless, although the guilt has not the same quality
as deliberate and wilful sin. And it is our duty to confess our guilt, even when
there is only error and not wickedness. The confession, however, here meant, is
not to be in words only; it involves a real consciousness of evil doing; and
thus it is said, "confession is to be made before the Lord from the internal
man." Also restitution is to be made; and how is this to be done? We must
acknowledge from our hearts, that we have infringed a law of Divine Order,
although we may not have been aware of it, or knowing it, have yet transgressed.
And that particular law which we have violated must become now on a law of
our life, and must be inscribed on our interior memory, and must become, as it
were, a part of our souls, or of our internal man, and must be devoutly
cherished there. This is the restitution. And it is to be restitution in
full, by being, for the future, diligently committed to the life, or
outwardly observed.
But now, what is really meant by adding the fifth part? It means
acknowledgement from remains that the truth is from the Lord, and is an
internal and living principle in us. Hitherto it may have been a mere matter of
knowledge, or of the understanding, but now it is something more, and is
connected with its corresponding affection stored up in us by the Lord at some
period of our life without our being aware of it. Now, however, the affection is
active; the truth has life in it, and is implanted in us, preparing the
way for the realization of good. But what we feel outwardly is, perchance, only
a little stronger determination to live a true life. Consider next the
importance of the following verse. How many persons are there in the present day
who are spiritually in the position here described! They are only natural, and
as yet, are without spiritual principles by means of which they are regulating
their lives. They are only external men, and not yet internal, and this for want
of higher truths. They have no kinsmen to whom restitution can be made;
but yet they can make restitution to the Lord, by doing the work of repentance
on their own plane. And thousands and thousands of such persons are being saved
continually because they thus act. For the Lord is in them reconciling them to
Himself through their simple good. And, moreover, they actually worship the Lord
from the good of innocence internally, although they are not conscious thereof
(ver. 8).
But how is this possible? The next two verses explain. Although they cannot
at all acknowledge the Lord from their merely natural state;—for no one can do
this—although they have not any conscious spiritual life; and although they know
not their own inmost or celestial life; yet, because they are in their simple
good, and from it shun evil according to their light, their heave offerings, and
their sacrifices generally, that is, their acknowledgement of the Lord and their worship generally, can be accepted, since it is in
correspondence with the Lord's life flowing into their souls through their
higher degrees. And thus " every heave offering and every hallowed
thing of theirs is given to the priest, or in other words, is acknowledged to be
from the Lord. And hence, therefore, it comes to pass that even the angels who
form the ultimate heaven, and with whom neither the spiritual nor the celestial
degree is opened, are yet capable of worshiping the Lord from the highest form
of good, and the highest form of truth, that is, from celestial and spiritual
principles. For such can still love their Lord above all things and their
neighbour as themselves, but not in the same degree as those can who constitute
the spiritual and celestial heavens because these respective degrees were opened
in them during their state of probation in the earthly life. Study well the
particular reference (10093) in this connection.
Turning to our last section, we have to reflect on some of the particular
spiritual truths contained therein. We are all aware how easily we may offend
against good through ignorance of the truth, as described in ver. 12. We may
mean to do right, and we may desire to do right, but yet this wish and desire
may be weakened for want of knowledge. But worse still, it may happen that our
good intentions, naturally strong, may be thwarted through positive-falsity. It
is the Lord who gives us natural good affections; but it is ourselves who
pervert them by falsity. They ought to be conjoined with the Lord through the
internal man; but we listen to the voice of the serpent, and do more than
simply err. Why is this? It is because, in our weakness and ignorance, we do
not see the truth, and do not realize our wickedness. This is the teaching of
ver. 13, and it may relate to wicked actions of many different kinds, and not be
limited simply to violations of marriage in the literal sense only. For there
are many ways of violating the heavenly marriage, which ought to exist between
the church and the Lord, or between the natural and spiritual man, or between
the external and internal man. And there may, at first, be no witness, and no
positive condemnation. An illustration of this is Peter's wilful denial and
rejection of his Lord. He really loved Him, you observe, and thus was really
conjoined to Him, comparatively as the wife to the husband; but in his state of
temptation, he neither saw that, nor realized that he was committing so grievous
a sin. There was, at the moment, no witness against him, nor was he caught in
the act. But afterwards the Lord, through his internal man, enlightened him.
"The Lord turned and looked upon Peter," and then he saw that his good or his
love for the Lord was defiled, and he came into that state of disturbance, as to
his internal man, which is here described by jealousy. For it was the effect of
the Lord's earnest zeal for his salvation. Or we might take another case, in
which we may infer that there was no lack of correspondence as to good, but
rather as to truth, namely, the case of Thomas. For Thomas, you are aware,
required evidence. He could not see the truth, until the Lord, in His zeal for
his salvation, caused him to see. And so Thomas was affected with spiritual
jealousy, because he could not see, this being removed as soon as he saw. And
this illustrates the latter half of our fourteenth verse. Spiritual jealousy,
therefore, we now see, may arise from two causes It is either an anxiety lest
our affection for truth, which is the wife, should suffer, or it is an
anxiety lest the truth itself should suffer.
But here we come to this most interesting case of investigation. And just
look, for a moment, at its literal sense. How could the presenting of a meal offering like that, and the drinking of water defiled
with dust establish the guilt or the innocence of the supposed offender? We see,
consequently, that some mysterious truths underlie all this symbolism. The Lord
does not require meal offerings, nor does He require incantations by holy water.
But He requires sincere worship according to our state, and testing by truth
adapted to our state. And by these it will be known whether we are truly
conjoined to Him or not, both as to our external and as to our internal minds.
And according to our real state so will it happen in the judgement. There is no
oil nor frankincense, no purified love, nor purified truth, it may be, in our
worship as yet, and we must drink, as we journey, the bitter waters of
temptations. But the time will come, if we are faithful, notwithstanding our
present weakness and ignorance, when we shall be able to offer the true meal
offering (Lev 6:14-18), and to drink of the pure water of life
(Rev 7:17), that is when our judgement is over, and it will be seen and known that we
are free from all impurity.
But considering the series of the internal sense, as it stands in the
parallel columns, and also what is said in giving the references, it is not
necessary to enlarge on the remaining particulars of our chapter; and yet a word
may be said in conclusion on the confirmation of evil in the interior memory of
the corrupted man signified by writing the words in a book and then blotting
them out with the water of bitterness. For it must surely be clear to the
thoughtful mind, that when evil is confirmed by falsity inwardly as well as
outwardly, there is a rejection, or a blotting out, of the truth from the
conscious life, while yet, according to the universal law, what has been once
received into the memory remains, 868. But also it is said to be blotted out by
the water of bitterness, because of its rejection, that is, because of the
rejection of the truth through confirmation in what is evil and false. Let the
man of the church, then, beware of this sad state; and let him rather confirm
the good and the true by a life of obedience to them.
NUMBERS 5
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