8510. 'That some of the people went out to gather, and did not find' means that they wished to acquire it, but none was given. This is clear from the explanation above in 8505. The explanation there shows what actions springing from the truth of faith are and what those springing from the good of charity are. That is to say, it shows that a person whose actions spring from the truth of faith does not as yet have the order of heaven present in himself, whereas one whose actions spring from the good of charity does have it. For, according to order, when the Lord leads a person He does so through his will, consequently through good since this belongs properly to the will. In that case his understanding is subservient, and so is truth since this belongs properly to the understanding. When this state exists it is the sabbath, for then there is rest for the Lord; and the state comes into being once good has been joined to truth. That this state is the Lord's rest may be recognized from the statement that after six days of creation and labour Jehovah or the Lord rested on the seventh day from all His work, Genesis 2:2. This state is heaven's state, which explains why heaven itself is called the sabbath, and that in heaven the sabbath is perpetual. For the creation story in Genesis 1 serves to mean the new creation, which is regeneration, and the six days in the story serves to mean temptations and conflicts, see the explanations at Genesis 1, 2.

8505. 'Today you will not find it in the field' means that [then] there will no longer be any acquiring of good through truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'not finding', when it refers to good that is obtained through truth, as no longer acquiring; and from the meaning of 'the field' as a person, at this point a person's mind in which good is implanted through truth. For a person is called a field because he receives the truths of faith, which are the seeds, and brings forth the fruit of the seeds, that is, forms of good.

[2] What this implies will be stated briefly. Before regeneration a person's actions spring from truth; but through that truth good is acquired, for during this time truth becomes good with him when it becomes part of his will and so of his life. But after regeneration his actions spring from good, and through that good truths are gained. To put it more intelligibly, before regeneration a person's actions spring from a spirit of obedience, but after regeneration from affection. The two states are the antithesis of each other; for in the former state truth is dominant, but in the latter good is dominant. Or, in the former state the person looks downwards or backwards, but in the latter upwards or forwards.

[3] When a person has reached the latter state, that is to say, when his actions spring from affection, he is no longer allowed to look back and do good from truth; for now the Lord is flowing into good, and leading him through that good If in this state he were to look back, that is, to do good from truth, his actions would spring from what is his own; for when a person's actions spring from truth he is guided by self, but when they spring from good he is guided by the Lord. These things are what is meant by the Lord's words in Matthew,

When you see the abomination of desolation, let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house; and let him who is in the field not return to take his clothes. Matthew 24:15-18.

And in Luke,

On that day, whoever will be on the housetop with his vessels in the house let him not come down to take them away; and whoever is in the field, let him likewise not return to the things behind him. Remember Lot's wife. Luke 17:31-32.

For more about what these words imply, see the explanations in 3652, 5895 (end), 5897, 7923, and below in 8506, 8510.

Such are the things meant in the internal sense by the words stating that the man[na] will not be found in the field on the seventh day and that some of the people went out to gather it but did not find any.