9397. And read it in the ears of the people. That this signifies for hearkening and obedience, is evident from the signification of “reading,” as being for hearkening; for when anything is read, it is that it may be heard, perceived, and obeyed; that is, that it may be hearkened unto; and from the signification of “in the ears,” as being for obedience; for “the ears,” and “hearing,” signify obeying (see n. 2542, 3869, 4551, 4652-4660, 5471, 5475, 7216, 8361, 8990, 9311).

[2] As “the ears” signify not only hearing and notice, but also obedience, therefore in the Word frequent mention is made of speaking “in the ears,” and reading “in the ears,” of people; and not of speaking and reading “before them;” as in Jeremiah:

Hear thou these words that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people (Jeremiah 28:7).

They spoke these words in the ears of the people (1 Samuel 11:4).

Let thine handmaid speak in thine ears (1 Samuel 25:24).

Proclaim in the ears of the people, saying (Judg. 7:3).

Speak in the ears of the people (Exodus 11:2).

Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the judgments which I speak in your ears this day (Deuteronomy 5:1.

I speak these words in their ears (Deuteronomy 31:28).

Moses spoke all the words of the song in the ears of the people (Deuteronomy 32:44).

He read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant (2 Kings 23:2).

They said unto him, Sit down and read it in our ears; and Baruch read it in their ears (Jeremiah 36:15).

When Jesus had ended all the words in the ears of the people (Luke 7:1).

[3] As “the ear,” and “hearing,” signify the reception of truth, notice, and obedience, thus the first and the last of faith, therefore it was so often said by the Lord, “He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; 7:16; Luke 14:35). And because by “the deaf,” that is, those who do not hear, are signified in the spiritual sense those who are not in the faith of truth, because they are not in the knowledge and consequent perception of it (n. 6989, 9209), therefore when the Lord healed one that was deaf, “He put His finger into his ears, and said, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened” (Mark 7:32-35). (That all the miracles of the Lord infolded and signified states of the church, see n. 8364, 9086)

4652. CONTINUATION CONCERNING CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE GRAND OR WITH HEAVEN, HERE CONCERNING THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THE HEARING AND OF THE EARS WITH THAT MAN.

What is the nature of the correspondence between the soul and the body, or between the things of the spirit which is within man and those of his body which are without him, may be plainly seen from the correspondence, influx, and communication of the thought and perception, which are of the spirit, with the speech and hearing, which are of the body. The thought of a man who is speaking is nothing but the speech of his spirit, and the perception of the speech is nothing but the hearing of his spirit. When man is speaking, his thought does not indeed appear to him as speech, because it conjoins itself with the speech of his body, and is in it; and when man hears, his perception appears merely like hearing in the ear. This is the reason why most persons who have not reflected know no otherwise than that all sense is in the organs of the body, and consequently that when these organs fall to decay by death, nothing of sense survives, whereas the man (that is, his spirit) then comes into his veriest life of sensation.

[2] That it is the spirit which speaks and hears has been made very manifest to me from conversations with spirits. Their speech communicated to my spirit fell into my interior speech, and thence into the corresponding organs, and there terminated in an endeavor which I have sometimes plainly perceived. Hence their speech was heard by me as sonorously as the speech of a man. Sometimes when spirits spoke with me in the midst of a company of men, some of the spirits supposed that as their speech was heard so sonorously, they would be heard by the other people who were there present; but they were informed that such was not the case, because their speech flowed into my ear by an internal way, and human speech flows in by an external way. This shows how the spirit spoke with the prophets-not as a man with a man, but as a spirit with a man, that is, in him (see Zech. 1:9, 13; 2:2, 7; (Zechariah 2:7) 4:1, 4-5; 5:10; 6:4 places). But I know that these things cannot be comprehended by those who do not believe that man is a spirit, and that the body merely serves this spirit for uses in this world. Those who have confirmed themselves in this unbelief are unwilling even to hear about any correspondence, and being in denial, if they do hear of it they reject it, and are rather made sad that anything should be taken away from the body.