4347. 'And bowed to the ground seven times' means the submission of all things. This is clear from the meaning of 'bowing to the ground' as the feeling of humility, dealt with in 2153, and so as submission. The highest degree of submission is meant by 'seven times' and the submission of all things by the fact that Jacob bowed down; for 'Jacob' represents the universal existence of all things, as stated immediately above in 4346.

[2] As regards the expression of humility and submission, few know why these are necessary in the presence of the Divine when a person is engaged in worship. Nor consequently do they know what is accomplished by these actions. Those who have no knowledge of interior things cannot do other than believe that, like any human being bent on glory, the Divine desires people's expression of humility and their submission to Him, and that therefore the Divine desires glory from them and is affected by the glory which people ascribe to Him. But the truth of the matter is altogether different from this. The Divine is not moved by any desire for glory. Indeed what glory does the Divine have which comes from man? He desires humility and submission not for His own sake but for man's. For when humility is present in a person he turns away from the evil and falsity present in him, 2327, 2423, 3994, and in so doing removes them. Once these have been removed the Divine is able to flow in with good and truth. Anyone can recognize this within himself. One who is haughty is ruled by self-love and not only sets himself up above others but also does not care a thing about what is Divine; as a consequence he turns back the influx of good and therefore prevents it from being joined to truths. This is the real reason why a person should express humility in the presence of the Divine.

[3] From this it is evident that good cannot be joined to truths, and so a person cannot be regenerated, unless he humbles himself and is submissive. Humility and submission are attributed to truths because truths flow in by way of the external man whereas good does so by way of the internal. The things which flow in by way of the external man hold within them misconceptions and consequently falsities together with affections for them. Not so the things which flow in by way of the internal man since it is the Divine which flows in by way of this internal man and goes to meet truths so that they may be joined together. From this one may now see the implications of 'the submission of all things', which is the meaning of 'Jacob bowed to the ground seven times until he came right up to his brother'.

When the Bible speaks of "Jehovah," it is representing love itself, the inmost love that is the essence of the Lord. That divine love is one, whole and complete in itself, and Jehovah also is one, a name applied only to the Lord. The divine love expresses itself in the form of wisdom. Love, then, is the essence of God -- His inmost. Wisdom -- the loving understanding of how to put love into action -- is slightly more external, giving love a way to express itself. Wisdom, however, is expressed in a great variety of thoughts and ideas, what the Writings collectively call divine truth. There are also many imaginary gods, and sometimes angels and people can be called gods (the Lord said Moses would be as a god to Aaron). So when the Bible calls the Lord "God," it is in most cases referring to divine truth. In other cases, "God" has reference to what is called the divine human. The case there is this: As human beings, we cannot engage the Lord directly as divine love. It is too powerful and too pure. Instead, we have to approach Him by understanding Him through divine truth. Divine truth, then, is the Lord in human form, a form we can approach and understand. Thus "God" is also used in reference to this human aspect, because it is an expression of truth.