8940. 'And if you make for Me an altar of stones' means a representative kind of worship in general that is composed of truths. This is clear from the meaning of 'an altar' as a representative of Divine worship in general, dealt with in 921, 2777, 2811, 4489; and from the meaning of 'stones' as truths, dealt with in 643, 1298, 3720, 3769, 3771, 3773, 3789, 3798, 6426, 8609. There is worship of the Lord that springs from good, and there is worship of Him that springs from truth. Worship of the Lord springing from good was represented by an altar of soil, and worship springing from truth by an altar of stone. Regarding the first and the second kinds of worship, see above in 8935. It was because an altar of stone was a sign of worship springing from truth that they were commanded to set up such an altar as soon as they crossed the Jordan and came into the land of Canaan, and to write on it the Commandments contained in the Law, that is, God's truths from heaven. For by the Ten Commandments are meant all God's truths in summary form. That altar is spoken of in Moses as follows,

When you cross the Jordan you shall set up for yourself large stones, and coat them with lime. Then you shall write on them all the words of the Law. Afterwards, you shall build there an altar to Jehovah your God, an altar of stones, which you shall not hew with any iron tool. ¹ With whole stones you shall build the altar of Jehovah your God, and present ² on it burnt offerings and eucharistic offerings. And you shall write on the stones of the altar the words of the Law, expressing them very plainly. Deuteronomy 27:1-8; Joshua 8:30-32.

[2] The reason why they were to write the words of the Law on stones of the altar was that truths were meant by 'stones', and worship that springs from truths by 'an altar of stones'. This was also the reason why the Ten Commandments, which were a sign of Divine Truths in their entirety, were inscribed on tablets of stone. The reason why it had to be done as soon as they crossed the Jordan was that the Jordan, which was the first and outermost boundary of the land of Canaan on the side where the wilderness lay, meant introduction into the Church or heaven, which is accomplished through cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, thus through truths from the Word, 4255. For all the rivers serving as boundaries of that land meant the first and outermost reaches of the Lord's kingdom, 4116, 4240. By 'the stones of the altar' the truths of faith are also meant in Isaiah,

He will remove sin when He makes all the stones of the altar like chalk-stones scattered about. Isaiah 27:9

This refers to the ruination of the Church. 'The stones of the altar like chalk-stones scattered about' stands for the truths of faith that inspire worship after something similar has happened to them. As regards altars in general, they were made out of soil, stones, bronze, wood, and also gold - out of bronze, wood, and gold because these materials served to mean good. For an altar of bronze, see Ezekiel 9:2; for an altar of wood, Ezekiel 41:22; and for an altar of gold, which was the altar of incense, 1 Kings 6:22; 7:48; Revelation 8:3. That 'bronze' means good, see 425, 1551; that 'wood' does so, 643, 2784, 2812, 3720, 8354; and that 'gold' does so as well, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658.

Poznámky pod čarou:

3793. 'Rachel came with the flock' means the affection for interior truth belonging to the Church and to doctrine. This is clear from the representation of 'Rachel' as the affection for interior truth, and from the meaning of 'the flock' as the Church and also as doctrine, dealt with in 3767, 3768, 3783. To enable it to be known how 'Rachel' represents the affection for interior truth, and 'Leah' the affection for exterior truth, let a brief statement be made about the matter: The natural, which 'Jacob' represents, consists of good and of truth; and within the natural, as within every single part in the human being, and indeed within the whole natural order, there ought to be a marriage of good and truth. Without this marriage nothing is produced, for every act of bringing forth and every effect is from that marriage. When he is born there is no marriage of good and truth within a person's natural because the human being, unlike other creatures, is not born into a condition where Divine order is present. It is true that good which goes with innocence and charity is present, flowing from the Lord in earliest childhood; but no truth is present to which that good may be coupled. As he advances in life this good which has been instilled by the Lord into a person in early childhood is drawn in towards the interior parts and kept there by the Lord so that it may serve to modify the states of life which he experiences subsequently. As a consequence without the good belonging to his infancy and early childhood the human being would be worse and more vicious than any wild animal. When that good belonging to earliest childhood is drawn inwards, evil in that case takes its place and enters the person's natural. Falsity then couples itself to that evil, and a joining together and so to speak a marriage of evil and falsity takes place with him. If a person is to be saved therefore, he has to be regenerated. Evil has to be removed and good instilled by the Lord. And in the measure that he receives good truth is instilled into him so that a coupling, or so to speak marriage, of good and truth takes place.

[2] These are the matters represented by Jacob and his two wives, Rachel and Leah. 'Jacob' now takes on the representation of natural good therefore, and 'Rachel' that of truth. But since all joining of truth to good is effected through affection, it is the affection for truth coupled to good that 'Rachel' represents. Furthermore the natural, like the rational, has an interior and an exterior. 'Rachel' represents the affection for interior truth, and 'Leah' the affection for exterior truth. 'Laban', who is their father, represents a good that springs from a common stock, but is a parallel good, as has been stated. That good is the good which in the parallel line corresponds to the truth of the rational, which is 'Rebekah', 3012, 3013, 3077. Daughters descended from that good therefore represent affections existing within the natural, for these are like daughters fathered by that good. And because those affections are to be coupled to natural good they consequently represent affections for truth - the first representing the affection for interior truth, the second the affection for exterior truth.

[3] The regeneration of a person's natural is altogether like Jacob and Laban's two daughters, Rachel and Leah. Anyone therefore who can see and understand the internal sense of the Word sees this arcanum which has been disclosed to him, but no one else is able to see it except him in whom good and truth are present. No others, no matter how good a perception they may have of the things to do with personal life and life in society and may seem to be highly intelligent, are able to see and then to acknowledge anything at all of that arcanum. Indeed they do not know what good and truth are, for they imagine evil to be good, and falsity to be truth. For this reason the moment good is mentioned the idea of evil presents itself, and the moment truth is mentioned the idea of falsity does so. Consequently they perceive nothing of the things contained in the internal sense, but as soon as they hear anything of it darkness descends which extinguishes the light.