Spoiling Egyptians of silver and gold

 

Everything in the Word and the universe involves a marriage of will and understanding. The will can be either good or evil, and the understanding can be either true or false. This marriage in all things from God to Heaven to the bottom of Hell is the real reason why the Bible contains so many pairs of symbols: bread and wine, honour and glory, bread of wickedness and wine of violence, shame and contempt.

These expressions have been selected because they are diametrically opposed to each other: that is because the first two pairs exemplify the Heavenly marriage which is conjunction; and the second two pairs exemplify the infernal adultery of sin and error which is disjunction.

The punishment for evil or perceived evil is hanging from wood, because wood is linked to good. The punishment for falsehood or perceived falsehood is being stoned, because stone is linked to truth. Meantime, to roast flesh represents something imbued with good; while to boil something on the contrary has do with doctrines from truth. It is a good idea to be alert for these pairs everywhere in the Word and to figure out what they mean.

In a given passage, is the symbol or pair of symbols positive, a marriage? or is it negative, an adultery? We determine these from context, and can tell a great deal thereby. If people get into the habit of looking for these marriages, like bread and wine, or these adulteries, like bread of mourning and wine of the wrath, then this habit will do them in good stead for the rest of their lives. What does this look like in real life?

Psalm 111:10 - King James Version (KJV)

<10> The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

If people do not hate, then they will understand why it is so important not to hate very well. But if they hate people, then they correspondingly understand very little. If people are humble, then they understand that we are each a little speck of dust. But if people are proud, they have this distorted understanding that involves their being Big High Kahunas Of Everything. Since this is obviously incorrect, it is clear that the humble have a superior understanding to the proud.

Daniel 12:10 - King James Version (KJV)

<10> Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.

To do, to understand. Bread and wine. We do not just eat bread. We do it. We don't just drink wine. We understand it, and live out that understanding in our lives. What good is spiritual information merely hoarded in our long term memories? We actually practice it, and then it is truth indeed, hearing and doing the Word.

As we read in today's quote from the Writings, " Faith is an internal affection which consists in a heartfelt desire to know what is true and what is good, and this not for the sake of doctrine as the end in view, but for the sake of life" (Secrets of Heaven 8034).

Exodus 3:20-22 - King James Version (KJV)

<20> And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. <21> And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty. <22> But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

These "Egyptians" were people who knew spiritual truths about love (gold) and truth (silver); but they no longer practiced them in their lives. But the Children of Israel were to learn this memory knowledge from them and were thereby not to go empty; and they were, unlike the Egyptians who merely memorised these things, to practice that gold and silver. And that is why the Heavenly marriage was represented in this way in the above passage from Exodus.

" 'And let them ask, a man from his companion and a woman from her companion, vessels of silver and vessels of gold' means that factual knowledge of truth and of good must be removed from the evil who have belonged to the Church and be assigned to the good who belong to it. This is clear from the meaning of 'vessels of silver and vessels of gold' as factual knowledge of truth and of good, 'silver' being truth and 'gold' good" (Secrets of Heaven 7770).

Would you like the enigmatic Word of God to open up, to finally become clear for what it really is?

Then take the gift of the Writings and apply it, and the Word will blossom like a rose; and you will cease to see a mere blur of Moabs and blood, satyrs and Jebusites. The Word will instead shine clearly for what it is, a sequence of careful arrangements of good and truth intended for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and especially for those willing to practice that righteousness in their lives.

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