new church life: jan uary/february 2017
challenges as we serve Him. Like the Lord or Abram, what is important to do
in the midst of all the troubles is that we must at all times apply the Divine
truth in our lives no matter how provoking the circumstances might be, and
with the Lord’s help, we can overcome the challenges successfully.
Undeniably, the land of Canaan presents a temporary challenge for Abram
because of the famine, and it was made possible through the hells to tempt his
faith in the Lord. We read:
All temptation entails feelings of doubt regarding the Lord’s presence and mercy,
regarding salvation, and other things such as these; for people who experience
temptation suffer mental distress, even to the point of despair, in which state they
are kept for the most part so that at length they may be confirmed in the conviction
that all things are subject to the Lord’s mercy, that they are saved through Him
alone (Arcana Coelestia 2334)
Luckily, the temptation against Abram was over, and he emerged as a
better person to accomplish his divine task in the Promised Land.
Then Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with
him to the South. Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and gold. And he went
on a journey from the south as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at
the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. (Genesis 13:1-3).
Certainly, Abram upgraded his religious life before he came out of Egypt
because, “Abram was very rich in cattle (livestock) signifies the goods with
which the Lord was then enriched; in silver, signifies the truths; and in gold,
signifies the goods from truths.” (Arcana Coelestia 1549:2) Surprisingly,
however, “Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, herds and tents.”
(Genesis 13:5) The Heavenly Doctrine tells us:
Lot represented things of the senses, by which are meant the external man and
the pleasures he derives from sensory things, thus the most external things which
usually captivate the mind in childhood and lead it away from the things that are
good. For to the extent a person indulges in pleasures arising from evil desires he is
drawn away from the celestial things that belong to love and charity. Indeed, present
within those pleasures there is love originating in self and in the world, and with
those loves celestial love cannot accord. (Arcana Coelestia 1547)
It must be noted here that although Abram overcame the temptation of
the famine in the Promised Land and the consequences of going to Egypt, yet
again one more temptation was about to come his way on account of Lot, who
was always travelling with him, due to Lot’s selfishness and materialism of this
world. The Word says:
Now the land was not able to support them that they might dwell together, for their
possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. And there was strife
between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock.
(Genesis 13:6-7)
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