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.

9267. 'And perverts the words of the righteous' means that it causes things which are seen to look like the truths of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'perverting the words of the righteous' as causing things to look like the truths of good; for real things themselves, thus truths, are meant by 'the words', and people governed by good are meant by 'the righteous', 9263. The reason why truths are meant by 'the words' is that in the original language 'a word' means that which is something and has real existence, and from this means also the truth; for everything that has being (esse), which gives it real existence, has connection with the truth. This also is why Divine Truth is called the Word.