Preached on 11-08-98
REUBEN
A Sermon by the Rev. Patrick A. Rose
"So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, 'The LORD has surely
looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my man will love me.'" (Gen. 29:32)
EVERY DAY MANY BABIES are born into this world. It is a common thing, for all of
us, to hear that some couple we know has had a baby. Because birth is a common enough occurrence, there is a tendency
to take the Lord's creation of new human beings for granted. When we stop and think, though, we realize that the
conception, formation and birth of an infant is an amazing miracle. And when the hand of God reaches down to create
a human soul, and, from the substances of this world forms a living human body, it is a miracle, a miracle that
brings joy to the mother and father, "joy that a man is born into the world" (Jn. 16:21.).
Such is the coming of a man into the world. Such is the miracle of birth. The miracle
of birth, though, is to be followed by another miracle. After a baby is born, and after his mind has grown to the
maturity of adulthood, there is to be another act of creation, another wonderful miracle, another birth. The person
is to be reborn, or regenerated. The fact of the matter is that a human being, from birth, has a tendency, when
left to himself, to fall into evils and falsities of every kind. This would seem to be a bitter and depressing
truth, yet it is not, for we are taught in the Word that a person is not left to himself. The Lord is with him, closer to him than he can ever know, and with his
cooperation the Lord creates out of him a new person. He is given a new will and a new understanding, created for
him by the Lord within his mind. He may have the same physical body as he did before, but, within himself, he is
miraculously born again. He is regenerated.
This regeneration of man is the subject of the internal sense of what is recorded
in the Old Testament concerning the life of Reuben. In general, the twelve sons of Jacob represent twelve distinct
stages in the rebirth of man, and Reuben, the first-born, represents the beginning of this miracle. "Reuben,"
we are taught, signifies faith, or, more specifically, faith in the understanding (AC 3863:3, 3869:2). To put it
another way, he represents the truth of doctrine which somebody has learnt (AC 3866). And the truth of doctrine,
the Writings teach, is the first, the beginning, of regeneration (AC 3866). This is because, by himself, a person
does not even know what good is. If he is eventually to come to love and will what is good, he must first learn
doctrine from the Word, doctrine which teaches him what is good. (AC 3863:1). Now doctrine by itself does not,
of course, make somebody love what is
good. A person is never regenerated simply by learning truths. Nevertheless, if the Lord is to regenerate us, then
we must cooperate with the Lord; and if we are to cooperate, we must see, that is, we must understand, how to cooperate.
In other words, we are to have some mental vision of heaven before we can begin to walk the path that leads to
there. This sight or vision, this faith, is represented by Reuben, whose name is indeed derived from a Hebrew word
which means "to see."
It is in recognition of the importance of this faith in the understanding that we
teach our children the truths of the New Church. Whereas it is true that those born with no knowledge of the Word
can be saved, their spiritual obscurity is such that most of them must complete their preparation for heaven, complete
their regeneration, in the other world. Our hope is that our children, in being given a clear and comprehensive
vision of the truth, may later cooperate with the Lord and be regenerated whilst they still live here on earth.
Only in this way can they come to constitute part of the Lord's church specific, that part of the Lord's universal
church which provides a specific basis, a specific dwelling place, for what is of heaven upon this earth. It is
our prayer that our children may come to perform this high use, and it is our solemn responsibility to provide
them with the truths they need, the truths of the Lord's Word. A person who has been taught truths from the Word
has been given a most precious gift. He has been provided the means by which the Lord can lead Him towards what
is good. This is what is meant by the words of Leah at the time of Reuben's birth. After Leah had given birth,
she said: "Now, therefore, my man will love me." "My man," refers to the truth, whereas "will
love" refers to the good from that truth. For Leah, the birth of Reuben was a way of winning Jacob's love.
So too, faith in the understanding, that knowledge of the truth which the member of the church is to have as he
enters adult life, is the means by which he can come into the good of truth, that is, into the good which results
from living the truth (cf. AC 6427:1).
So it is that faith in the understanding is that which initiates a person into doing
what is good. To begin with, his understanding of the truth is obscure. Somebody who is only just beginning his
regeneration does not have a deep insight into the truth. His will or desire to do what is good is also feeble,
for he finds little delight in doing the will of the Lord. Nevertheless, by means of those truths he has learnt,
and by means of the truths he continues to learn, he can in time come to really love and take delight in what is
good. At the same time, he can begin to acquire a deep and clear understanding of the truth, an understanding which
is only possible for those who live a good life.
This is what is represented by Reuben's finding dudaim in the field (cf. AE 434:8).
We are not told what the dudaim were. The word "dudaim" is generally translated simply as "mandrakes."
Whatever these dudaim were, though, we are told that they signify the heavenly marriage, that is, the conjunction
between good and truth (AC 3942, 3952). To begin with there is no conjunction between good and that understanding
of truth which is represented by Reuben. Indeed, far from there being a conjunction, there seems to be a conflict.
Somebody who only knows truth, has no
particular desire to do what is good.
What he knows, and what he does, are often in conflict. And yet it is still through his knowledge of the truth
that he can come eventually into what the Writings call the heavenly marriage: a state in which the truth he knows
makes one with what he loves and lives.
But how can there be a connection between Reuben and the dudaim? That is, how can
a mere understanding of truth lead somebody to love what is good? Doesn't a person, in the final analysis, do that
which he loves, rather than that which he knows?
Faith in the understanding, though, is not an empty, useless vision, with no real
influence over the mind. Consider for a moment two incidents in the life of Reuben. When Joseph's brethren were
about to kill him, it was Reuben who told his brothers not to do so. "Let us not kill him," Reuben said.
"Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him" (Gen.
37:21,22). Reuben's plan was to later retrieve Joseph from the pit and return him to Jacob. When he later returned
to the pit and found that Joseph had disappeared, Reuben rent his clothes in grief. Reuben was, as it were, the
conscience of his brothers. Later on, when an Egyptian official, who, unknown to them, happens to be Joseph, accuses
them of being spies, Jacob's sons think that their misfortune was some kind of punishment for mistreating their
younger brother. Again Reuben speaks up: "Did I not speak to you, saying, 'Do not sin against the boy'; and
you would not listen?" (Gen. 42:22).
It was Reuben who attempted to stop his brethren from sinning against Joseph in
the first place, and it was Reuben who later reminded them of their sin when they were accused of being spies in
Egypt. In these incidents is represented the function of the truths a person has learnt. The truths we know make
us aware that we should not commit evil. And if we do commit evil, these same truths then make us aware of why
it is we are unhappy. In short, the truths which we know discourage us from doing evil, and cause us anxiety if
we have committed evil (AC 5472).
This is something we have all experienced. Have not all of us at times wanted to
do something we know to be wrong? And yet, have we not nevertheless refrained from committing that evil because we know it is wrong? Again, have we not at other
times actually gone ahead and committed an evil, only to feel miserable later on because we know we have done wrong?
This is the use, this is the power, of faith in the understanding. How, though,
can mere understanding, mere knowledge, have power against hereditary tendencies towards evil? It cannot. The fact
of the matter is that faith in the understanding is not merely an intellectual thing. If it were, it would have
no power. Faith in the understanding, which a person brought up in the church should have as he enters adult life,
is by no means merely intellectual. The truths we learn in childhood and in youth are learnt with affection. The
adult has remains -- remnants -- of these affectional states: states of innocence, of charity, of mutual love.
These things remain from childhood, and they are protected by the Lord. By themselves they will not save a person.
And yet it is this affectional element which gives power to the truth he knows, a power which encourages him to
live according to the truth, to obey the truth.
It is when a person obeys the truth that he is beginning to move along the path
of regeneration represented by Jacob's twelve sons. He comes into that state represented by Simeon. Simeon is said
to represent a state of obedience, a state when faith enters the will.
And so Reuben is followed by Simeon. Faith in the understanding can lead to obedience,
to faith within the will of man. This is the power of a knowledge of the truth, that power mentioned in the blessing
which Jacob would later pronounce upon Reuben: "Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of
my strength, The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power" (Gen. 49:3).
Those who have an understanding of the truth have a most precious gift from the
Lord. In itself it is only the first stage of regeneration. By itself it will not save us. But since it is by means
of this that the Lord can create within us a new person, the truth we know is therefore holy. Just as marriage,
which can lead to the birth of an infant, is holy, so too, faith in the understanding, because it can lead to the
rebirth of human being, is also holy. We therefore must take care lest we profane the truth we have been given.
Reuben, in one shameful episode, went in to his father's concubine (Gen. 35:22). This represented profanation.
It represented the profanation we commit when we believe the truths of the church but refuse to live according
to them (AC 4601:2). When this happens, both truth and evil become part of our minds. Truth and evil are mixed
together to some extent, and this mixing is profane. It is not as severe as the profanation which occurs when good
and evil are mixed, which is what occurs when we have actually started to love good, and then revert to what is
evil. But still, it is profane. It is profane not to live the truth we know and believe. This is why Reuben was
not only blessed by Jacob, but was also cursed: "Unstable as water, you shall not excel, because you went
up to your father's bed; then you defiled it; he went up to my couch" (Gen. 49:4).
Those who have and who believe the truths of the church must be careful. What they
have is precious: something that should not be misused or ignored. To reject the truth we have come to believe,
to reject it by failing to live it, leads us into a state of degeneration. But if we live according to the truth,
if we live according to it to the best of our ability, then a miracle can begin to happen. As we compel ourselves
to live according to the Lord's truth, a new character arises within our minds. The Lord, who created us, now re-creates
us. He gives us a new will, and a new understanding -- a will or desire to do what is good, and a new understanding
or insight into the meaning of truth. We are reborn. We are regenerated.
This is why we are given the truths of the church. These truths have power. They
are the beginning of our strength. They are the means of salvation.
Amen.
Lessons: Exod. 20:1-6; AC 8867
© 1998 by the Rev. Patrick A. Rose
