9272. Six years thou shalt sow thy land. That this signifies the first state, when the man of the church is being instructed in the truths and goods of faith, is evident from the signification of “six years,” as being the first state of the man who is being regenerated (of which below, n. 9274); and from the signification of “sowing the land,” as being when the truths and goods of faith are being implanted. That this is signified by “sowing the land” is because all things of the field, of seeding, and of its produce, signify such things as are of the church in general, and as are of the man of the church in particular, who is a man that has been regenerated through the truth of faith and the good of charity from the Lord. Hence it is that “field” and “ground” in the Word signify those in the church who receive the truths and goods of faith, as a field receives seeds. Wherefore also in the Word mention is often made of a “field,” of “seed,” of “sowing,” of “harvest,” of “produce,” of “grain” and “wheat,” and of “bread” from these, as well as of all other things that belong to a field.

[2] He who does not know how the case is with the state of heaven, believes no otherwise than that these expressions in the Word are mere metaphors and comparisons. But they are real correspondences. For when the angels discourse about the regeneration of man by the Lord through the truths of faith and the goods of charity, then below in the world of spirits there appear fields, crops, fallow lands, and also harvests; and this by reason of their correspondence. He who knows this can also know that such things in the world have been created according to correspondences; for universal nature (that is, the sky with the sun, moon, and stars, and the earth with the objects of its three kingdoms) corresponds to such things as are in the spiritual world (n. 2993, 5116, 5377). (That in this way nature is a theater representative of the Lord’s kingdom, see n. 3483; and that from this all things in the natural world have their subsistence, n. 2987, 2989-2991, 3002, 8211.) From all this it is evident why the things belonging to a field, that is, which are sown in a field, and are reaped from a field, signify such things as are of the church in general and in particular. (That even the comparisons used in the Word are from things which correspond, see n. 3579, 8989)

[3] That “sowing the land,” that is, a “field,” denotes to teach and learn the truths and goods of faith which are of the church; and that the “produce” denotes the goods of truth therefrom, may be seen from many passages in the Word; as in Isaiah:

Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, therefore shall thou plant plants of delights; but with the shoot of a strange one thou shalt set it: in the day thou shalt cause thy plant to grow, and in the morning thy seed to blossom: the harvest shall be a heap in the day of possession; but the grief is desperate (Isaiah 17:10-11);

here such things are mentioned as grow on the earth; yet it is evident that holy things of the church are meant by them; namely, by “planting plants of delights,” such things as are favorable to the affections; and by “setting the land with a shoot of a strange one,” to teach truths not genuine.

[4] In Jeremiah:

Thus said Jehovah to the man of Judah and to Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to Jehovah, and take away the foreskins of your heart (Jeremiah 4:3-4).

That “to sow among thorns” denotes to teach and learn truths, but which are choked and rendered unfruitful by the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and concupiscence, the Lord teaches in Mark 4:7, 18-19. Wherefore it is said, that they should “circumcise themselves to Jehovah, and take away the foreskins of their heart,” that is, that they should purify themselves from such things as choke the truths and goods of faith, and render them unfruitful (that this is the meaning of “circumcising” see n. 2039, 2056, 2632, 3412, 3413, 4462, 7045). The like is signified in Jeremiah by “sowing wheat and reaping thorns” (Jeremiah 12:13).

[5] In Micah:

I have been wearied with smiting thee, with laying thee waste because of thy sins. Thou shalt sow, but shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olive, but shalt not anoint thee with oil; and the must, but shalt not drink the wine (Micah 6:13, 15);

“sowing and not reaping” denotes to be instructed in the truths of faith, but without profit; “treading the olive, but not anointing oneself” denotes to be instructed about the good of life, but still not to live in it; “treading the must, but not drinking the wine” denotes to be instructed about the truths which are from good, but still not to appropriate them to oneself. That such things of the church or of heaven are signified by these words is plain from those which precede, namely, that they were to be laid waste in this manner “because of their sins;” for the wicked and sinful man receives instruction, but merely stores it up among memory-knowledges, which he brings forth from his memory in order to get reputation, fame, honors, and wealth, thus to serve an evil use and end. From this the truths and the goods in which he has been instructed lose the life of heaven, and become dead, and finally deadly.

[6] In Isaiah:

Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth the foot of the ox and the ass (Isaiah 32:20);

“to sow beside all waters” denotes to be instructed in all kinds of truths which are for use; “to send forth the foot of the ox and the ass” denotes to be instructed in external goods and truths. Again:

Jacob shall cause those who are to come to take root; Israel shall blossom and bloom, so that the faces of the world shall be filled with produce; thy teachers shall not any more be forced to flee away, and thine eyes shall look unto thy teachers; and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, go ye in it. Then shall Jehovah give the rain of thy seed, wherewith thou shalt sow the land; and bread of the produce of the earth, and it shall be fat and rich; in that day shall thy cattle feed in a broad meadow; and the oxen and the asses that till the land shall eat clean provender. The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that Jehovah shall bind up the breach of His people, and shall heal the wound of their stroke (Isaiah 27:6; 30:20-26).

[7] To everyone who reflects it is plainly evident that by its being said that Jehovah should “give the rain of the seed wherewith they should sow the land, and bread of the produce of the earth;” that “their cattle should feed in a broad meadow;” that “the oxen and the asses that till the land should eat clean provender;” that “the light of the moon should be as the light of the sun, and the light of sun should be sevenfold,” there are signified such things as are of the church, and also that they signify instruction in the truths and goods of faith; because it is said, “thine eyes shall look unto thy teachers, and thine ears shall hear a word, saying, This is the way, go ye in it.” For “teachers” denote those who instruct, and “the way in which they should go” denotes the truth of doctrine and the good of life. But the specific signification of each expression is clear from the signification of “rain,” of “seed,” of “produce,” of “land,” of “cattle,” of a “broad meadow,” of “oxen and asses tilling the land,” and of “clean provender which they should eat;” also from the signification of “the light of the moon and of the sun,” likewise of “sevenfold,” and of “seven days.” And as by these expressions are signified such things as are of the church, that is, such as are of doctrine and of life, it follows that this will come to pass in the day that Jehovah shall “bind up the breach of His people, and heal the wound of their stroke;” for “the breach of the people” denotes the falsity of doctrine which gradually creeps in from the badness of the teachers, from concupiscences, and from other causes; “the wound of the stroke” denoting the consequent evil of life.

[8] As with the Israelitish and Jewish people all things were representative of things heavenly and Divine, so also were the fields, and their produce; likewise the vineyards, oliveyards, and all plantings; as also herds and oxen, and the mountains, hills, valleys, rivers, and all other things that were presented before their senses. From this also it was that they were enriched with such things when they kept and did the statutes and judgments, according to the promises in the Word throughout, as in Moses:

If ye shall walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them, I will give your rains in their season, and the land shall yield her produce, and the tree of the field shall yield its fruit (Leviticus 26:3-4).

The vine shall give its fruit, and the earth shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew; whence it shall come to pass, that as ye have been a curse among the nations, ye shall be a blessing (Zech. 8:12-13).

[9] The contrary befell them when they worshiped other gods, for then they no longer represented heavenly and Divine things, but infernal and diabolical ones. Wherefore then there was no longer fruitfulness nor produce; but consumption and wasting, according to these words in Moses:

If ye serve other gods, the anger of Jehovah shall be kindled against you, and He shall shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and the land yield not her produce (Deuteronomy 11:16-17).

When Jeshurun waxed fat, he kicked, and forsook God. They sacrifice unto demons, to gods whom they knew not; wherefore a fire is kindled in Mine anger, and it shall burn even to the lowest hell, and shall consume the land and its produce (Deuteronomy 32:15, 17, 22).

[10] From all this it is now evident what is signified by “sowing the land,” and by its “produce,” and also whence these have their signification. It is also evident what is signified by these things in David:

Jehovah maketh a wilderness into a pool of waters, and a land of drought into watersprings. There He maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may sow fields, and plant vineyards, and get them fruit of produce (Psalms 107:35-37).

Let all the peoples confess Thee. The earth shall yield its produce; God shall bless us (Psalms 67:5-7).

Jehovah maketh His people ride on the high places of the earth, and feedeth them with the produce of the fields; He maketh him to suck honey out of the cliff of the rock, and oil out of the stone of the rock (Deuteronomy 32:13).