Spiritual Meaning of Breach

Spiritual Meaning of

Breach

That a breach signifies infraction of truth and perversion of it by separation from good, is evident also from other passages in the Word, as in David:--

Our garners are full, affording from food to food; our flocks are thousands and ten thousands in our streets; our oxen are laden; there is no breach (Ps. 144:13, 14);

treating of the Ancient Church, such as it was in its youth; the food with which the garners were full denotes spiritual food, that is, truth and good; flocks and oxen denote internal and external goods; there is no breach denotes that truth is not infracted or broken through by separation from good.

[3] In Amos:--

I will raise up the tent of David that is fallen, and fence up the breaches thereof; and I will restore its ruins, and I will build it according to the days of eternity (Amos 9:11);

describing the church which is in good, the tent of David that is fallen being the good of love and charity from the Lord. Tent is this good, (AC 414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 3312, 4128, 4391, 4599), and that David is the Lord, (AC 1888). To fence up the breaches means to amend the falsities which have entered by the separation of truth from good; to build it according to the days of eternity denotes according to the state of the church in ancient times; that state and those times are called in the Word the days of eternity, the days of an age, and also of generation and generation - as in Isaiah

[4]

Builds of thee the wastes of an age, the foundations of generation and generation and thou shall be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in (Isa. 58:12);

describing the church in which charity and life is the essential. Here also repairing the breach denotes amending the falsities which have crept in by the separation of good from truth, every falsity being from this source; and restoring paths to dwell in denotes truths which are of good, for paths or ways are truths (AC 627, 2333), and dwelling is predicated of good (AC 2268, 2451, 2712, 3613).

[5] Again:--

Ye saw the breaches of the city of David, that they were many and ye gathered together the water" of the lower pool (Isa. 22:9);

the breaches of the city of David denote falsities of doctrine, and the waters of the lower pool the traditions by which they made infractions of the truths that are in the Word (Matt. 15:1-6; Mark 7:1-14). In Ezekiel:--

Ye have not gone up into the breaches, neither have ye built up the fence for the house of Israel, that ye might stand in the war in the days of Jehovah (Ezek. 13:5).

Again

I sought from them a man that buildeth the fence, and standeth in the breach before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none (Ezekiel 22:30);

to stand' in the breach denotes to defend and to take heed lest falsities break in. In David:--

Jehovah said that He would destroy the people, unless Moses His chosen had stood before Him in the breach (Ps. 106:23);

where also to stand in the breach denotes to take heed lest falsities break in Moses is the Word (AC 2135a, 4859).

[6] In Amos:--

They shall draw out your posterity with fish-hooks. Ye shall go forth through the breaches, everyone straight before her; and ye shall throw down the palace (Amos 4:2, 3);

to go forth through the breaches denotes through falsities from reasonings; the palace is the Word, consequently the truth of doctrine which is from good. And as by breaches is signified the falsity which comes into existence by the separation of good from truth, the same is also signified, in the representative sense, by strengthening and repairing the breaches of the house of Jehovah (2 Kings 12:6-8, 12; 22:5). In the second book of Samuel:--

It grieved David because Jehovah had broken a breach upon Uzzah; therefore he called that place Perez-Uzzah (2 Sam. 6:8);

speaking of Uzzah, who died because he touched the ark; by the ark was represented heaven, in the supreme sense the Lord, consequently Divine good; by Uzzah however was represented that which ministers, thus truth, for this ministers to good. The separation above described is signified by the breach upon Uzzah.

from AC 4926

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Author: E. Swedenborg (1688-1772).

Design: I.J. Thompson, Feb 2002.