GENESIS [No. 5763]

...by his order concerning Benjamin, signifies interior truth interior truth: truth that is not merely factual but perceived within the soul through divine influence (see numbers 5736, 5747). A person who is in possession of interior truth knows that all truth and goodness originate from the Lord; they also know that all freedom rooted in the self self: Latin proprium, referring to a person’s ego or the feeling that life and power originate in oneself rather than God—that is, from the person alone—is hellish. For when a person thinks or acts from their own "freedom," they think and do nothing but evil. Consequently, they are a servant of the devil In Swedenborg’s theology, "the devil" often refers to the collective influence of hell, specifically the love of self., for all evil flows in from hell. Such a person even feels delight in this kind of freedom because it aligns with the evil within them and the nature into which they were born.

Therefore, this ego-driven freedom must be set aside, and heavenly freedom must be adopted in its place. This heavenly freedom consists in willing what is good and then doing it, and in desiring what is true and then thinking it. When a person receives this freedom, they are a servant of the Lord and are then in true freedom itself, rather than the bondage they were in before (which only appeared to be freedom). This, then, is what is meant by being forever without one’s own freedom. (The nature and source of freedom may be seen above in numbers 2870–2893; and also that true freedom is to be led by the Lord, number 2890.)

5764. And ye shall be blameless. This signifies that the rest of the brothers shall be at their own disposal, because they do not share in the fault. This is evident from the meaning of "blameless" in regard to a servant: it means to be at one's own disposal. That this is because they do not share the fault follows naturally.

In ancient times, it was a custom among the Gentiles In this context, the author refers to ancient non-Jewish nations whose legal customs often included collective or hereditary punishment. that when anyone sinned, their companions were also made guilty of the offense; an entire household might even be punished for the crime of a single member. But such a law is derived from hell, where all companions conspire together for evil. The societies there are organized so that they act together as one against what is good, and thus they are kept bound together, even though they feel a deadly hatred for one another. They exist in the "union and friendship" of robbers. Consequently, because companions in hell conspire together for evil, when they do evil, they are all punished.

However, to do so in this world is entirely contrary to the Divine order Divine order: the fundamental laws of reality as intended by God, emphasizing individual responsibility and spiritual growth. In the world, the good are mixed with the evil because we do not know what is in another person’s heart, and for the most part, we do not care. Therefore, the Divine law for humanity is that every individual shall pay the penalty for their own iniquity, as is written in the books of Moses original: "Moses". This likely refers to Deuteronomy 24:16, which mandates that each person shall be put to death for their own sin, not for the sins of their family members.:—