10210. 'With the blood of the sin [offering] of expiations' means by means of truths which spring from the good of innocence. This is clear from the meaning of 'the blood' as Divine Truth, dealt with in 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7846, 7850, 9127, 9393, 10026, 10033, 10047; and from the meaning of 'the sin [offering] of expiations', or the sin sacrifice by means of which expiation was made, as purification from evils and consequent falsities.

'Sin' is used to mean a sacrifice for sin, see 10039.

'Expiation' means purification from evils and consequent falsities, 9506.

The reason why this purification is accomplished by means of truths which spring from the good of innocence is that the blood with which the expiation was accomplished came from a young bull or from a lamb, and 'a young bull' means the good of innocence in the external man, 9391, 9990, 10132, 'a lamb' the good of innocence in the internal man, 10132; and innocence must be present if truth and good are to be received, 3111, 3994, 4797, 6013, 6765, 7836(end), 7840, 9262, 10134, as well as the places referred to in 10021. The good of innocence consists in acknowledging that all truths and forms of good come from the Lord and none at all from the human self or proprium; thus it consists in wishing to be led by the Lord and not by self. From this it is evident that the more a person trusts and believes in himself, thus the more he is ruled by self-love, the less the good of innocence is present in him. This is why a person cannot be purified from evils unless the good of innocence is present in him. For if this good is not present that person is led not by the Lord but by self; and anyone who is led by self is led by hell, since the human proprium is nothing but evil, and all evil belongs to hell. The fact that every expiation was accomplished with the blood either of a young bull, or of a lamb, or of turtle doves, that is, young pigeons, is clear in Moses, in Exodus 29:36; Leviticus 4:1-7, 13-18, 27-end; 5:1-7; 15:14, 24, 28-31; Numbers 6:9-11. 'Turtle doves' and 'young pigeons' as well mean the good of innocence.

3986. 'And Jehovah has blessed you since I set foot here' means resulting from the Divine endowment which the natural possessed. This is clear from the meaning of 'Jehovah blessing' as being endowed with good, dealt with in 3406, and as a joining together, 3504, 3514, 3530, 3565, 3584. 'Jehovah blessing' accordingly means being endowed with Divine good by means of a joining together, at this point a joining to the good of the natural represented by 'Jacob', the natural being meant by 'the foot'. As regards 'the foot' meaning the natural, see 2162, 3147, 3761; and this will be clear in addition from the correspondence of the Grand Man with every part of the human being, the subject in the sections at the ends of chapters. From this it is evident that 'Jehovah has blessed you since I set foot here' means originating in the Divine which the natural possessed.

[2] The arcanum which lies concealed in these words and in those immediately before them is known to few, if any, and is therefore to be revealed. The goods present with people both inside the Church and outside it vary in every case. They vary so much that no one person's good is ever exactly like another's. These variations arise out of the truths to which those goods are joined, for the nature of every type of good is received from truths, and truths derive their essential nature from goods. Such variations also arise out of the affections that belong to each person's love, and which become rooted in a person and are made his own through the life he leads. Few genuine truths exist even with someone inside the Church, and fewer still with one outside. Consequently affections for genuine truth seldom exist with anyone.

[3] All the same, people who lead good lives, that is, who live in love to God and in charity towards the neighbour, are saved. The reason they are able to be saved is that the Lord's Divine is present within good that stems from love to God and within good that stems from charity towards the neighbour. And when the Divine is inwardly present everything is being arranged into order so that it can be joined to genuine goods and genuine truths which exist in the heavens. The truth of this may be proven from the communities constituting heaven, which are countless. Every single community varies as regards good and truth, and yet all of them taken together form one complete heaven. They are like the members and organs of the human body which, though varying in every case, still constitute one complete human being. For no complete whole is ever made up of any identical or entirely similar individual parts, but of varying parts harmoniously joined together. Varying parts joined together harmoniously present a single whole. The same applies to goods and truths in the spiritual world. Although these vary so much as never to be exactly similar with one person as with another, nevertheless from the Divine through love and charity they make one since love and charity are spiritual conjunction. Their variation is a heavenly harmony which produces such accord that they are one in the Divine, that is, in the Lord.

[4] Furthermore, however much truths may vary, and however much affections for truth may do so, good that stems from love to God and good that stems from charity towards the neighbour are nevertheless capable of receiving genuine truth and good, as they are not so to speak hard and resistant but soft and yielding. They allow themselves to be led by the Lord and in so doing to be turned towards good, and through good to be turned towards Him. It is different with those in whom self-love and love of the world reign. They do not allow themselves to be led and turned by the Lord towards the Lord but strongly resist, since each wishes to be his own leader, even more so when they have become subject to false and firmly established assumptions. As long as they are such they do not allow the Divine to come in.

[5] These considerations now make clear what is meant in the internal sense by these words which Jacob addressed to Laban, for 'Laban' means the kind of good which is not genuine because it does not have genuine truths planted within it but is nevertheless capable of having these joined to it and of having the Divine present within it. This kind of good is what normally exists with young children before they have received genuine truths. It is also the kind of good present with simple people within the Church who know few truths of faith but who nevertheless lead a charitable life. It is in addition the kind of good present with upright gentiles who offer holy worship to their gods. By means of such good, genuine truths and goods are able to be introduced, as may be seen from what has been stated about young children and simple people inside the Church in 3690, and about upright gentiles outside the Church in 2598-2603.