10083. And shalt wave them a wave-offering before Jehovah. That this signifies the consequent Divine life, is evident from the signification of “waving a wave-offering,” as being to vivify, thus life; and because it is said “before Jehovah,” Divine life is signified. That “to wave a wave-offering” denotes to vivify, that is, to give Divine life, is evident from the passages in the Word where “waving a wave-offering” is mentioned, as in Moses:

When ye shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest, he shall wave the sheaf before Jehovah to make you well pleasing; on the morrow of the Sabbath the priest shall wave it (Leviticus 23:10-11).

by the “harvest” is signified the state of the truth of faith from good, thus the state of good (see n. 9295); by “the sheaf of the firstfruits” is signified its state collectively; hence by “being waved by the priest” is signified being vivified to receive a blessing; for every blessing, in order to be a blessing, must have life in it from the Divine.

[2] Again:

Aaron shall wave the Levites a wave-offering before Jehovah from among the sons of Israel, that they may be for ministering the ministry to Jehovah. Thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and shalt wave them a wave-offering to Jehovah. Afterward shall the Levites come to minister in the Tent of meeting; and thou shalt purify them, and shalt wave them a wave-offering. And when the Levites were purified, and Aaron waved them a wave-offering before Jehovah; and expiated them to purify them (Numbers 8:11, 13, 15, 21).

From all this it can be seen what is meant by “waving a wave offering,” namely, that it denotes to vivify by acknowledgment, which is the first of life from the Divine with man. Knowledge does indeed precede acknowledgment, but there is nothing of Divine life in knowledge until it becomes acknowledgment, and then faith. The Levites represented truths ministering to good, and Aaron represented the good to which they ministered; therefore the Levites were “waved,” that is, were vivified; and therefore it is also said that they were to be “purified,” for life from the Divine must be in truths in order that they may minister to good, and this life first flows in by means of acknowledgment.

[3] The like is signified by the “waving of gold” in Moses:

The men came with the women, and brought a clasp, a nose-ring, gold, a girdle, all vessels of gold, every man who waved a wave-offering of gold to Jehovah (Exodus 35:22);

“to wave a wave-offering of gold to Jehovah” denotes to vivify by the acknowledgment that it was Jehovah’s, that is, the Lord’s. That “to wave a wave-offering” has such a signification is from correspondence, for all motion corresponds to a state of thought; hence progressions, journeyings, and the like, which belong to motion, in the Word signify states of life (n. 3335, 4882, 5493, 5605, 8103, 8417, 8420, 8557).

[4] In John:

At the pool of Bethesda lay a great multitude of them that were sick. And at a certain time an angel went down unto the pool, and troubled the water; whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in, was made whole, with whatever disease he was holden (John 5:2-7).

By “troubling the water” was here likewise signified vivification through acknowledgment and faith, thus also purification through truths. (That motion signifies states of life, see n. 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381, 9440, 9967; and that “waters” denote the truths of faith, n. 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 8568, 9323; that all purifications are effected through the truths of faith, n. 2799, 5954, 7044, 7918, 9088; and that healings represented restorations of spiritual life, n. 8365, 9031)

[5] As by the “waving upon the palms of Aaron” is signified vivification through the acknowledgment of the Lord, and that all things are from Him, therefore a few words shall be said about this acknowledgment and the faith thence derived. It was often said by the Lord, when the sick were healed, that they should “have faith,” and that it would be done to them “according to their faith” (as Matthew 8:10-13; 9:2, (Matthew 9:2) 22, 27-29; 13:57-58; 15:28; 21:21-22, 31-32; Mark 5:34, 36; 10:49, 52; Luke 7:9, 48-50; 8:48; 17:19; 18:42-43). The reason was that the first of all is to acknowledge that the Lord is the Savior of the world, for without this acknowledgment no one can receive anything of truth and good from heaven, thus no faith; and because this is the first and most essential of all, therefore in order that the Lord might be acknowledged when He came into the world, in healing the sick He questioned them concerning their faith, and those who had faith were healed. The faith was that He was the Son of God who was to come into the world, and that He had power to heal and to save. Moreover, all the healings of diseases by the Lord, when He was in the world, signified healings of the spiritual life, thus the things that belong to salvation (n. 8364, 9031, 9086).

[6] Because the acknowledgment of the Lord is the first of all things of spiritual life, and the most essential thing of the church, and because without it no one can receive from heaven anything of the truth of faith and the good of love, therefore the Lord often says that he who “believeth in Him hath eternal life,” that he who “doth not believe hath not life” (as John 1:1, 4, (John 1:4) 12-13; 3:14-16, 36; 5:39-40; 6:28-30, 34-35, 40, 47-48; 7:37-38; 8:24; 11:25-26; 20:30-31); but He also teaches at the same time that those have faith in Him who “live according to His precepts,” so that the consequent life may enter into the faith. All this has been said to illustrate and confirm the fact, that the acknowledgment of the Lord, and that from Him is all salvation, is the first of life from the Divine with man. This first of life is signified by the “wavings upon the palms of Aaron.”

9323. And He shall bless thy bread, and thy waters. That this signifies the increase of the good of love and truth of faith, is evident from the signification of “being blessed by Jehovah,” as being to be made fruitful in goods, and multiplied in truths (see n. 2846, 3406, 4981, 6091, 6099, 8939), thus increase in such things as belong to love and faith; from the signification of “bread,” as being the good of love (see n. 276, 680, 2165, 2177, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 6118, 8410); and from the signification of “water,” as being the truth of faith (n. 680, 739, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 6346, 7307, 8568). As “bread” signified all the good of love, and “water” all the truth of faith, in the complex, and as “to be blessed of Jehovah” signifies all increase in these, therefore it was a customary devout wish in the Ancient Churches that Jehovah would “bless the bread and the water;” and it was also a common form of speaking to say “bread and water,” to express all natural food and all natural drink, and to mean thereby all spiritual good and all spiritual truth; for these are what nourish the spiritual life, as bread and water nourish the natural life (see n. 4976).

[2] Such is the signification of “bread and water” in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

Behold Jehovah Zebaoth doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the whole staff of bread, and the whole staff of water (Isaiah 3:1);

“the staff of bread” denotes power and life from good; and “the staff of water,” power and life from truth.

In Ezekiel:

Behold, I break the staff of bread in Jerusalem; that they may eat bread by weight, and in disquiet; and drink water by measure, and with amazement; that they may be in want of bread and water, and be desolated a man and his brother, and pine away because of their iniquity (Ezekiel 4:16-17).

That “to be in want of bread and water” denotes to be deprived of the good of love and truth of faith, is very evident; for it is said “that they may be desolated a man and his brother, and pine away because of iniquity.”

[3] In like manner in the same:

They shall eat their bread with disquiet, and drink their water with amazement, that the land may be laid waste from the fullness thereof, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein (Ezekiel 12:19).

Behold the days come that I will send a famine in the land; not a famine for bread, nor a thirst for water; but for hearing the words of Jehovah (Amos 8:11).

The man of God said to Jeroboam, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place; for so Jehovah commanded, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way that thou camest. But the prophet from Bethel told him that Jehovah had said that he should eat bread with him, and drink water, lying unto him. And he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house and drink water; wherefore he was torn in pieces by a lion (1 Kings 13:8-9, 16-19, 24).

That he “should not eat bread and drink water with Jeroboam” signified that he should abhor the good there, and also the truth, because these had been profaned; for Jeroboam profaned the altar and all the holy things of worship, as is plain from the historical narrative of the Word in that chapter.

[4] The lack of spiritual good and truth was signified by rain not being given for three years and a half during the reign of Ahab, insomuch that bread and water failed; and then Elijah went to a widow in Sarepta and asked from her a little water to drink, and a morsel of bread to eat (1 Kings 17 an. 18); for, as before said, by “bread” was signified all the good of the church, and by “water” all the truth of the church. As at that time such things were represented because the representative of a church existed among them, and because the Word, even the historical Word, was to be written by representatives, therefore the devastation of good and truth was represented by a lack of bread and water. As “bread” signified all the good of love in the complex, the sacrifices were called “bread” (n. 2165); and the Lord also calls Himself “the bread which came down from heaven” (John 6:48, 50-51); for the Lord is the good of love itself.