When the Bible speaks of "Jehovah," it is representing love itself, the inmost love that is the essence of the Lord. That divine love is one, whole and complete in itself, and Jehovah also is one, a name applied only to the Lord. The divine love expresses itself in the form of wisdom. Love, then, is the essence of God -- His inmost. Wisdom -- the loving understanding of how to put love into action -- is slightly more external, giving love a way to express itself. Wisdom, however, is expressed in a great variety of thoughts and ideas, what the Writings collectively call divine truth. There are also many imaginary gods, and sometimes angels and people can be called gods (the Lord said Moses would be as a god to Aaron). So when the Bible calls the Lord "God," it is in most cases referring to divine truth. In other cases, "God" has reference to what is called the divine human. The case there is this: As human beings, we cannot engage the Lord directly as divine love. It is too powerful and too pure. Instead, we have to approach Him by understanding Him through divine truth. Divine truth, then, is the Lord in human form, a form we can approach and understand. Thus "God" is also used in reference to this human aspect, because it is an expression of truth.

8935. 'An altar of soil you shall make for Me' means something which in a general way represents worship that springs from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'an altar' as the chief representative of the Lord and consequently of the worship of Him, dealt with in 921, 2777, 2811, 4489, 4541; and from the meaning of 'soil' or 'the ground' as good. The reason why 'the ground' stands for good is that a Church which abides in good is meant by 'the ground', 566. This is why Adam was said to be formed from the ground, at Genesis 2:7; 3:19; for one who belonged to the celestial Church, that is, the Church itself abiding in good, was meant by him, 478, 479. Since there are two entities that inspire worship of the Lord - goodness and truth - worship springing from good was represented by an altar of soil, while worship springing from truth was represented by an altar of stones. Both kinds of altars are the subject here; and those two entities that inspire worship are called faith and charity. Worship springing from truth has connection with faith, and worship springing from good has connection with charity.

[2] As regards worship inspired by faith and worship inspired by charity, or that which springs from truth and that which springs from good, the situation is that before a person has been regenerated his worship consists of truth, but after he has been regenerated it consists of good. Before a person has been regenerated he is led by means of truth to good, that is, by means of faith to charity; but when he has been regenerated he abides in good and consequently in truth, that is, in charity and consequently in faith, 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658. These two kinds of worship are what the altars of soil and of stone represent. The reason why the altar is the chief representative of worship of the Lord is that burnt offerings and sacrifices were offered on it; and it was in these that the worship of God by the Hebrew nation, and subsequently by the Israelite and Jewish nation, chiefly consisted, 923, 1343, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519, 6405.