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.

1168. Verse 7 And the sons of Cush: Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabteka. And the sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. 'The sons of Cush' means those who did not have internal worship but cognitions of faith, and who made religion consist merely in the possessing of such cognitions. 'Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteka' are just so many nations with whom these existed, for in the internal sense these same nations mean cognitions themselves. 'The sons of Raamah' similarly means those who had no internal worship but cognitions of faith, in the mere possession of which they made religion consist. 'Sheba and Dedan' are nations with whom these cognitions existed, for by those same nations cognitions themselves are meant in the internal sense, though with this difference, that cognitions of spiritual things are meant by 'the sons of Cush', cognitions of celestial things by 'the sons of Raamah'.