Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 9245
9245.
The fact that those alone possess faith who lead lives in keeping with the prescriptions of faith is the Lord's teaching in John,
Light has come into the world, but men preferred darkness rather
than light, because their deeds were evil. Everyone who performs evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds should be exposed. He however who does the truth comes to the
light, so that his deeds may be clearly seen, because they have been wrought in God. John 3:19-21.
'Coming to the light' means attaining faith in the Lord, thus attaining faith from the Lord. The
like is taught by Him in Luke,
Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words and does them, is like a man building a house, who laid the foundation
upon rock. But one who hears and does not do [them] is like a man building a house on ground without a foundation. Luke 6:46-end.
'Those who do the Lord's words' are people who love their
neighbour and love the Lord; for one who loves also does, John 14:20, 21, 23, 24; 15:9-17.
EXODUS 23
- You shall not take up a report of vanity;a do not put your hand with the wicked to be a
witness of violence.b
- You shall not follow a multitude into evil things;c and you shall not respondd in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert [justice].
- And you shall not show
partiality towardse a poor man in his dispute.
- When you meet your enemy's ox or his ass going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him.
- When you see the ass of one who hates you lying
under its burden, and you would cease from removing [it] for him,f you shall surely remove [it] with him.g
- You shall not turn asideh the judgement of your needy one in his dispute.
- You shall keep yourself well away from the word of a lie;i and do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the wicked.
- And you shall not accept a gift,j
for a giftj blinds those whose eyes are open and perverts the words of the righteous.
- And a sojourner you shall not oppress; and you know the soul of a sojourner, for you were sojourners
in the land of Egypt.
- And six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce.
- And in the seventh you shall let it rest, and let it lie fallow;k and the needy of your
people will eat, and whatever is left by theml the wild animal of the field will eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard, with your olive grove.
- Six days you shall do your
work,m and on the seventh day you shall cease, in order that your ox and your ass may rest, and your female slave's son and the sojourner may draw breath.n
- And all that
I have said to you you shall keep. And you shall not mention the name of other gods; it shall not be heard on your lips.o
- Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year.
-
You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread (seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time of the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; and My face shall
not be seen empty-handedp);
- And the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of your labours, which you have sown in the field; and the feast of ingathering at the endq
of the year, when you have gathered in [the fruit of] your labours from the field.
- Three times in the year all your males shall be seen at the face of the Lord Jehovah.
- You shall not
sacrifice the blood of My sacrifice with anything made with yeast;r and the fat of My feast shall not remain through the night until morning.
- The first of the firstfruits of your
ground you shall bring into the house of Jehovah your God. You shall not cook a kid in its mother's milk.
- Behold, I send an angel before you to keep you safe on the way, and to bring you to the
place which I have prepared.
- Take notice of his face, and hear his voice, lest you provoke him, for he will not bear your transgression; for My name is in the middle of him.
- For if you indeed
hear his voice and do all that I speak, I will act as enemy to your enemies and will act as adversary to your adversaries.
- When My angel goes before you, and brings you to the Amorite, and the
Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, and I cut them off,
- You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; for you
shall utterly destroy them and completely break to pieces their pillars.
- And you shall serve Jehovah your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will remove sickness from the midst
of you.
- None will suffer miscarriage or be barrens in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
- I will send My terror before you and throw into confusion all
the people to whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their necks towards you.t
- And I will send the hornet before you, and it will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite,
and the Hittite from before you.
- I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest perhaps the land becomes desolate and the wild animal of the field multiplies against you.
- Little
by little I will drive them out from before you, until you become fruitful and inherit the land.
- And I will set your boundary from the Sea Suph even to the Sea of the Philistines, and from
the wilderness even to the River;u for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them outv from before you.
- You shall not
make a covenant with them and their gods.
- They shall not dwell in your land, lest perhaps they cause you to sin against Me when you serve their gods; for it will be a snare to you.
Notes
a i.e. accept
and spread a report that has no truth in it
b i.e. a malicious witness
c lit. You shall not be after many towards evil things
d i.e. testify
e i.e. not have respect for
f i.e.
hold back from helping him to lift the burden from the animal
g i.e. help him lift the burden
h i.e. pervert or overturn
i i.e. Have nothing to do with a false charge against
someone
j i.e. a bribe
k lit. leave off [with] it, and leave it alone
l lit. and their residue
m lit. works
n i.e. may be refreshed
o lit. mouth
p i.e. no one shall come without a gift or offering to the Lord
q lit. the going out
r lit. upon that which has been
fermented (or made with yeast)
s lit. There will not be the miscarrying one and the barren one
t lit. I will give all your enemies to you [as to] the neck
u
i.e. the Euphrates
v The Latin means I will drive them out but the Hebrew means you will drive them out.
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