6442. 'He will seize in the morning, he will devour the spoil' means that the deliverance takes place when the Lord is present. This is clear from the meaning of 'the morning' in the highest sense as the Lord, dealt with in 2405, 2780 - therefore 'he will seize in the morning' means that the rescue and deliverance of the good takes place when the Lord is present; and from the meaning of 'devouring the spoil' as taking to Himself those He rescued and delivered. For the meaning of 'devouring' as taking and joining to oneself, see 3168, 3513 (end), 3596, 5643; and as for the meaning of 'the spoil' as those who have been rescued and delivered, this is self-evident. Because the Lord is spoken of in the Word as One who rescues and delivers the good, the expressions to seize, prey, spoil, and plunder are also used in reference to Him. This is clear from what was stated above in verse g about Judah, 'A lion's cub is Judah; from the plunder you have gone up, my son', meaning that from the Lord through the celestial comes deliverance from hell, see 6368. It is also clear from other places in the Word, as in Isaiah,
Jehovah's roaring is like that of a lion, He roars like young lions, and growls, and lays hold of the plunder so that no one rescues it. Isa 5:29.
In the same prophet,
As a lion roars, and a young lion over his prey, so Jehovah Zebaoth will come down to fight on Mount Zion. Isa 31:4.
In Jeremiah,
I will rescue you on that day, I will surely rescue you; but let your lifea be as spoil to you, for the reason that you have put your trust in Me. Jer 39:17, 18.
In Zephaniah,
Wait for Me, said Jehovah, until the day I rise up to the plunder. Zeph 3:8.
In Isaiah,
I will divide for Him among many, so that He may divide the spoil with the strong. Isa 53:12.
The whole chapter in which this verse appears refers to the Lord.
[2] The meaning of 'devouring the prey (or spoil)' as taking to oneself good things that have been seized by the evil is clear in Balaam's prophetic utterance in Moses,
See, a people will rise up like an old lion, and like a young lion will lift itself up. He will not rest until he has devoured the prey. Num 23:24.
From all these quotations it is evident that 'prey', 'spoil', and 'plunder mean the rescue and deliverance of the good by the Lord. The truth that 'Benjamin' represents is said to be what rescues and delivers, because power is an attribute of truth, 3091, 4931, though it derives such power from good, 6344, 6423.
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