3209. 'The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done' means perception from the Divine Natural showing how real things stood now. This is clear from the meaning of 'telling' as perceiving, for perception is so to speak an internal telling, and therefore perceiving is expressed in historical descriptions in the Word by the verb 'to tell', and also 'to say', 1741, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919, 2080, 2619, 2862; from the meaning of 'the servant' here as the Divine Natural, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the things' as real things, dealt with in 1785. From all this it is evident that 'the servant told all the things that he had done' means that Divine Rational Good perceived from the Divine Natural how real things stood now.

[2] The situation is that the rational part of the mind exists in the degree above the natural, and Rational Good within the Lord was Divine. Truth however which was to be raised up from the natural was not Divine until joined to the Divine Good of the Rational. So that the Good of the Rational might flow into the natural therefore, there had to be a means in between. This means could not be anything else than the natural which was to partake of the Divine. This is represented by the oldest servant of Abraham's house administering all that he had, 3019, 3020, for that servant means the Divine Natural, see 3191, 3192, 3204, 3206.

2356. That 'Lot went out to them to the door (janua)' means that he acted cautiously is clear from the interior sense of 'the door' and of 'going out to the door'. 'A door' in the Word means that which introduces or leads the way either towards truth, or towards good, or towards the Lord. Consequently 'a door' in addition means truth itself, also good itself, as well as the Lord Himself, for truth leads to good, and good leads to the Lord. Such things were represented by the door and the veils of the Tent of Meeting, and also of the Temple, see 2145, 2152, 2576.

[2] That this is the meaning of 'a door' is evident from the Lord's words in John,

He who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens. I am the door of the sheep; if anyone enters through Me he will be saved. John 10:1-3, 7, 9.

Here 'door' stands for truth and good, and so for the Lord who is truth itself and good itself. This shows what is meant by being let in through the door into heaven, and therefore what is meant by 'the keys' which unlock it.

[3] Here however 'a door' means a particular type of good that was suited to the disposition of those who besieged the house, for a distinction is made here between 'a door' (janua) and 'a door' (ostium). The former was on the outside of the house, as is evident from the fact that Lot went out and closed the door (ostium) behind him. This type of good was blessedness of life, as is clear from what follows shortly where he persuaded those who were immersed in falsity and evil. For such people do not allow themselves to be persuaded by actual good itself; indeed they reject it. From these considerations it is evident that here 'going out to the door' means that he acted cautiously.