9335. 'And the wild animal of the field multiplies against you' means an inrush of falsities arising from the delights of self-love and love of the world. This is clear from the meaning of 'multiplying', when it has reference to a hurried removal of evils and falsities, as an inrush; and from the meaning of 'the wild animal of the field' as falsities arising from the delights of self-love and love of the world. For affections, good and bad, are meant in the Word by different kinds of beasts, 9280, and therefore affections for falsity that arise from the delights of self-love and love of the world are meant by 'wild animals'. These affections are also represented in the next life by wild animals, such as panthers, tigers, boars, wolves, or bears. Such affections furthermore resemble wild animals, for people ruled by those loves are steeped in evils of every kind and in the falsities arising from them. They are like wild animals in the way they see and treat companions. The fact that those loves are the source of all evils and falsities, see 2041, 2045, 2057, 2363, 2364, 2444, 4750, 4776, 6667, 7178, 7255, 7364, 7366-7377, 7488, 7490-7494, 7643, 8318, 8487, 8678.

[2] The reason why a hurried removal of evils and falsities leads to an inrush of falsities arising from those loves is that forms of good and truths, implanted in successive stages, must remove them; for falsities are not removed except by truths, nor evils except by forms of good. If this removal is not done in successive stages and in keeping with proper order, falsities that lend support to those selfish loves enter in, since those loves reign with every person before he has been regenerated; and when the falsities enter in truths cease to be acknowledged any longer. Also a person who is being regenerated is maintained in an affection for truth; and when maintained in this he searches for truths in all directions among factual knowledge in the natural. But at this time illusions of the outward senses, which exist in great abundance in the natural, present themselves there. From those illusions, when the delights of self-love and love of the world hold sway, the person deduces nothing except falsities, which come in and fill his mind if falsities arising from evil are removed suddenly. These are the considerations that are meant in the internal sense by 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.

[3] The fact that 'wild animal' means falsity and evil arising from self-love and love of the world is evident from places in the Word which mention it, as in Isaiah,

There will be a path there and a way, which will be called the way of holiness. The unclean will not pass through it; the savage of the wild animals will not go up it. Isaiah 35:8-9.

In Ezekiel,

I will send famine and evil wild animals upon you, that they may make you bereft. Ezekiel 5:17.

In the same prophet,

When I cause evil wild animals to pass through the land and they leave it bereft so that ¹ it becomes a desolation, with the result that no one passes through on account of the wild animals ... Ezekiel 14:15.

In the same prophet,

You will fall on the open field; ² to the wild animals of the earth, and to the birds of the air I will give you for food. Ezekiel 29:5.

In the same prophet,

At that time I will make with them a covenant of peace, and I will banish ³ the evil wild animal from the land, in order that they may dwell securely in the wilderness. They will no longer be a prey for the nations, and the wild animals of the field will no longer devour them. Ezekiel 34:25, 28.

[4] In Hosea,

I will lay waste her vine and her fig tree; and I will make them into a forest, and the wild animals of the field will eat them. Hosea 2:12.

In the same prophet,

The land will mourn and every inhabitant will waste away because of the wild animals of the field and the birds of the air. Hosea 4:3.

In David,

The boar of the forest tramples on it, and the wild animal of the fields feeds on it. Return, O God Zebaoth, and visit Your vine. Psalms 80:13-14.

In the same author,

You dispose the darkness to become night, in which every wild animal of the forest comes forth. Psalms 104:20.

In Moses,

If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and do them, I will banish ³ the evil wild animals from the land. But if you despise My statutes, I will send into you the wild animals of the field, which will lay you waste. Leviticus 26:3, 6, 15, 22.

In the same author,

Jehovah your God will cast out the nations before you little by little, lest perhaps the wild animals of the field multiply against you. Deuteronomy 7:22.

In these places 'the wild animals of the field', 'the wild animals of the earth', and 'the wild animals of the forest' stand for the falsities and evils that belong to self-love and love of the world.

[5] Since 'wild animal' means falsity, and falsity can spring from two different origins, that is to say, it may stem from evil or it may stem from good, 9258, 'wild animal' in the Word also means upright nations or gentiles who, though they are subject to falsity, nevertheless lead upright lives. The term 'wild animal' is used in this sense in David,

Every wild animal of the forest is Mine, and beasts on mountains of thousands; I know every bird of the mountains, and the wild animal of My fields is with Me. Psalms 50:10-11.

In the same author,

Praise Jehovah, wild animals and all beasts! Psalms 148:7, 10.

In Isaiah,

All wild animals of My fields - come to eat, all wild animals in the forest. Isaiah 56:9.

In Ezekiel,

In the branches of the cedar, which was Asshur, all the birds of the air made their nests, and under its branches every wild animal of the field brought forth, and in its shadow dwelt all great nations. Ezekiel 31:6.

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585. And repented not of the works of their hands, signifies who did not actually turn themselves away from such things as are from self [proprium]. This is evident from the signification of "to repent," as being to turn oneself away actually from evil (of which presently) and from the signification of "the works of their hands," as being such things as man thinks, wills, and does, from self [proprium]. That this is the signification of "the works of their hands," will appear from the passages in the Word that follow, also from this, that works are things of the will, and of the understanding therefrom, or of love and of faith therefrom (See above, n. 98); also that "hands" signify power, and "their hands" self-power, thus whatever with man comes forth from self.

[2] In respect to man's self it is to be known that it is nothing but evil and falsity therefrom; the voluntary self [proprium voluntarium] is evil, and the intellectual self therefrom [proprium intellectuale] is falsity. This self man derives mainly from parents, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers, in a long series back, so that at length the hereditary, which is his self, is nothing but evil gradually heaped up and condensed. For every man is born into two diabolical loves, the love of self and the love of the world, from which loves all evils and all falsities therefrom pour forth as from their own fountains; and as man is born into these loves he is also born into evils of every kind (respecting which more may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n.65-83).

[3] Because man, in respect to his self is such, means have been given by the Divine mercy of the Lord, by which man can be withdrawn from his self; these means are given in the Word; and when man cooperates with these means, that is, when he thinks and speaks, wills and acts, from the Divine Word, he is kept by the Lord in things Divine, and is thus withheld from self; and when this continues there is formed with man by the Lord as it were a new self, both voluntary and intellectual, which is wholly separated from man's self; thus man becomes as it were created anew, and this is what is called his reformation and regeneration by truths from the Word, and by a life according to them. (Respecting this see also The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, in the article on Remission of Sins, n.159-172; and on Regeneration, n. 173-186.) To repent is to actually turn oneself away from evils, because every man is such as his life is, and the life of man consists mainly in willing and consequent doing; and from this it follows that repentance which is merely of the thought and of the lips, and not at the same time of the will and of action therefrom, is not repentance, for then the life remains the same afterwards as it was before. This makes evident that to repent is to actually turn oneself away from evils, and to enter upon a new life (on this see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n.159-172).

[4] That "the works of the hands" signify such things as man thinks, wills, and does from self, can be seen from the following passages in the Word. In Jeremiah:

Provoke Me not to anger by the work of your hands, that I may not do evil to you; yet ye have not hearkened unto Me, that ye might provoke Me to anger by the work of your hands, for evil to you. Many nations and great kings shall make them to serve; that I may recompense them according to their work and according to the doing of their hands (Jeremiah 25:6, 7, 14).

"The work and doing of the hands" means in the nearest sense their molten images and idols; but in the spiritual sense the "work of the hands" signifies all the evil and falsity that are from self-love and self-intelligence. "Molten images and idols" which are called "the work of the hands" have a like signification, as will be seen in what follows, where the signification of "idols" is given. As man's self [proprium] is nothing but evil, thus is opposed to the Divine, it is said, "Provoke Me not to anger by the work of your hands, that I may not do evil to you;" "to provoke God to anger" signifies to be opposed to Him, which is the source of evil to man; and because all evils and falsities are from man's self [proprium], it is said, "Many nations and great kings make them to serve," which signifies that evils from which are falsities, and falsities from which are evils, will take possession of them; "many nations" meaning evils from which are falsities, and "great kings" falsities from which are evils.

[5] In the same:

The sons of Israel have provoked Me to anger by the work of their hands (Jeremiah 32:30).

And in the same:

Ye provoke Me to anger by the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt (4 Jeremiah 44:8).

"The works of their hands" mean here in the spiritual sense worship from falsities of doctrine which are from self-intelligence; such worship is signified by "burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt;" for "to burn incense" signifies worship; "other gods" signify falsities of doctrine, and the "land of Egypt" signifies the natural in which man's self [proprium] has its seat, and thus whence self-intelligence comes. Thus is this Word understood in heaven.

[6] In the same:

I will speak with them My judgments upon all their wickedness, that they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods, and have bowed themselves down to the works of their own hands (Jeremiah 1:16).

Here also "to burn incense to other gods" signifies worship from the falsities of doctrine, and "to bow themselves down to the works of their own hands" signifies worship from such things as are from self-intelligence; that this is from self [proprium] and not from the Divine is signified by "that they have forsaken Me."

[7] In Isaiah:

In that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall see the Holy One of Israel, and he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he shall not see that which his fingers have made (Isaiah 17:7, 8).

This is said of the Lord's coming and of a new church at that time. "The Maker to whom a man shall then look" means the Lord in relation to Divine good, and "the Holy One of Israel whom his eyes shall see" means the Lord in relation to Divine truth. The "altars, which are the work of hands, and which the fingers have made, to which a man shall not look," signify worship from evils and the consequent falsities of doctrine that are from self-intelligence. So these words mean that everything of doctrine will be from the Lord and not from man's self [proprium], which is the case when man is in the spiritual affection of truth, that is, when he loves truth itself because it is truth, and not for the most part because it gives him reputation and a name.

[8] In the same:

Jehovah gave the gods of the kings of Assyria to the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of man's hands, wood and stone (Isaiah 37:19).

"The gods of the kings of Assyria" signify the reasonings from falsities and evils, which are in accord with man's self [proprium]; wherefore they are called "the work of man's hands;" "wood and stone," that is, idols of wood and stone, signify the evils and falsities of religion and of doctrine that are from self [proprium].

[9] In the same:

In that day they shall reject everyone the idols of his silver and the idols of his gold, which your hands have made for you, a sin; and then shall the Assyrian fall (Isaiah 31:7, 8).

This describes the establishment of the church; and the "idols of silver and the idols of gold, which in that day they shall reject" signify the falsities and evils of religion and of worship which they call truths and goods; and because the falsities and evils of religion and of worship are from self-intelligence it is said, "which your hands have made for you;" that there shall then be no reasonings from such things is signified by "then shall the Assyrian fall."

[10] In Jeremiah:

Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman and of the hands of the refiner; his ¹ garment is hyacinthine and purple; they are all the work of the wise (Jeremiah 10:9).

This describes the falsity and evil of religion and of worship which are confirmed by the sense of the letter of the Word. "Silver spread into plates from Tarshish" signifies the truths of the Word in that sense; and "gold from Uphaz" signifies the good of the Word in that sense; and because those falsities and evils are from self-intelligence they are called "the work of the workman and of the hands of the refiner;" the truth of good also and the good of truth from the sense of the letter of the Word, by which the falsities of evil and the evils of falsity, which are from self-intelligence, are confirmed and as it were invested, are signified by "his garment is hyacinthine and purple, they are all the work of the wise."

[11] Moreover, the work of the workman, the artificer, and the mechanic," signifies in the Word whatever of doctrine, religion, and worship is from self-intelligence. This is why the altar, and also the temple, were built, by command, of whole stones, and not hewn by any workman or artificer. Respecting the altar it is thus said in Moses:

If thou makest to Me an altar of stones thou shalt not build it of hewn stones, for if thou move a tool upon it thou wilt profane it (Exodus 20:25).

And in Joshua:

Joshua built an altar unto the God of Israel in Mount Ebal, an altar of whole stones, on which no one had moved iron (Joshua 8:30, 31).

And respecting the temple, in the first book of Kings:

The temple at Jerusalem was built of stone, whole as it was brought; for there was neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was building (1 Kings 6:7).

The altar, and afterwards the temple, were the chief representatives of the Lord in relation to Divine good and Divine truth, therefore "the stones of which they were built" signified the truths of doctrine, of religion and of worship; "stones" signifying in the Word truths. That nothing of self-intelligence must approach the truths of doctrine and thus worship, and consequently be in it, was represented by the stones of which the temple and the altar were built, being whole, and not hewn; for such is the signification of "the work of the workman and of the artificer;" "tool," also "hammer" and "axe" and "iron," in general, signify truth in its ultimate, and such truth is falsified chiefly by man's self, for this truth is the same as the truth of the sense of the letter of the Word.

[12] Thus much respecting the signification of "the works of man's hands;" but where "works of the hands" are attributed in the Word to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord, they signify the reformed or regenerated man, also the church, and in particular the doctrine of truth and good of the church. This is the signification of "the works of the hands" in the following passages. In David:

The works of the hands of Jehovah are verity and judgment (Psalms 111:7).

In the same:

Jehovah will perfect for me; O Jehovah, Thy mercy is forever; neglect not the works of Thine own hands (Psalms 138:8).

In Isaiah:

Thy people shall be all righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the shoot of My plants, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified (Isaiah 60:21).

In the same:

O Jehovah, Thou art our Father; we are the clay and Thou our Potter; and we all are the work of Thy hands (Isaiah 64:8).

In the same:

Woe unto him that striveth with his Former! A potsherd with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to its potter, What makest thou? or thy work, Hath he no hands? Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and thy ² Former, They have asked Me signs respecting My sons, and respecting the work of My hands they command Me (Isaiah 45:9, 11).

That here "Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, the Former," means the Lord, is evident from what follows in verse 13; and "the work of His hands" means a man regenerated by Him, thus the man of the church.

[13] In the same:

Jehovah of Hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel Mine inheritance (Isaiah 19:25).

"Egypt" here signifies the natural, "Assyria" the rational, and "Israel" the spiritual; and "Assyria" is called "the work of Jehovah's hands" because the rational is what is reformed in man, for it is the rational that receives truths and goods, and from this the natural; the spiritual is what regenerates, that is, the Lord by spiritual influx; in a word, the rational is the medium between the spiritual and the natural, and the spiritual, which regenerates, flows in through the rational into the natural, and thus the natural is regenerated. In Moses:

Bless, O Jehovah, his strength, and accept the work of his hands (Deuteronomy 33:11).

This is said of Levi, who signifies the good of charity, and in the highest sense the Lord in respect to that good; reformation by means of it is meant by "the work of his hands."

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