10178. 'With pieces of shittim wood you shall make it' means from love that is Divine. This is clear from the meaning of 'shittim wood' as the good of merit and of righteousness, which is the Lord's alone, dealt with in 9472, 9486, 9715. The reason why love as well is meant is that when the Lord was in the world He was motivated by Divine Love to fight against all the hells and overcome them, and in so doing to save the human race, as a result of which He alone has earned merit, and has become righteousness, see 9486, 9715, 9809, 10019, 10152; and the good of merit which is the Lord's is therefore His Divine Love. The reason why 'shittim wood' has so profound a meaning is that all things which exist in earth's three kingdoms - the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms - serve to mean spiritual and celestial realities, or else their opposites. (For the whole natural order is a theatre representative of the Lord's kingdom, see the places referred to in 9280.) And 'wood' means in general the good of love, and in particular the good of merit, 2784, 2812, 3720, 4943, 8354, 8740. So it is that in the highest sense 'wood' means Divine Good; for all things serving in the internal sense to mean aspects of the Church and of heaven serve in the highest sense to mean Divine realities.

7307. 'Behold, he goes out to the water' means that at this time those who molested were steeped in falsities resulting from illusions. This is clear from the representation of 'Pharaoh' as those who molest, dealt with previously; and from the meaning of 'the water', here the water of Egypt, as falsities resulting from illusions. The reason why these falsities - falsities resulting from illusions - are meant here is that such falsities are what is meant by 'the serpent' that Aaron's rod was turned into, 7293. For the meaning of 'water' as truths and in the contrary sense falsities, see 739, 790, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668; and for 'the river of Egypt' as falsity, 6693.