3518. 'Go now to the flock' means to homeborn natural good that has not been joined to the Divine Rational. This is clear from the meaning of 'the flock' as good, dealt with in 343, 415, 1565, here natural good since the words are addressed to Jacob. Indeed homeborn good is meant since it was homebred, whereas the field from which Esau, who means the good of the natural, 3500, 3508, was to obtain his venison, means good that was not homeborn. In other places in the Word 'the flock' is used to refer to the good of the rational; but in such cases 'the herd' is used to refer to the good of the natural, see 2566. homeborn natural good is the good which a person possesses from his parents or is the good that he is born with, which is quite distinct and separate from the good of the natural which flows in from the Lord. What natural good is, and its essential nature, see 3470, 3471. To distinguish one from the other therefore, the first good is called the good of the natural, but the second natural good. What is more, everyone receives homeborn good both from father and from mother; and these are distinct from each other. Good received from the father is interior, that from the mother exterior. In the Lord's case these two forms of good were quite distinct and separate, for the Good which He had from the Father was Divine, whereas that which He had from the mother was polluted with hereditary evil. That Good within the Natural which the Lord had from the Father was His very own since it was His life itself; and this Good is represented by 'Esau'. But the natural good which the Lord possessed from the mother, being polluted with hereditary evil, was by its very nature evil; and it is this good that is meant by the description 'homeborn good'. Yet in spite of being thus polluted, homeborn good was nevertheless of service in the reformation of the natural. But once it had rendered its service it was cast away.

[2] With everyone who is being regenerated something similar takes place. The good which a person receives from the Lord as a new Father is interior, but the good he possesses from parents is exterior. The good which he receives from the Lord is called spiritual good, whereas that which he possesses from parents is called natural good. The latter good - that which he possesses from parents - is of service first of all in the reformation of him, for it is through that good, serving as joy and delight, that facts, and after that cognitions of truth, are brought in. But once it has served as the means to effect that purpose it is separated, and spiritual good comes to the fore and manifests itself. This becomes clear from much experience, merely for example from the fact that when a child first starts to learn he is moved by a desire for knowing, not initially on account of any end in view that is seen by himself but because of some innate joy and delight and because of other incentives. Later on, as he grows up, he is moved by a desire for knowing on account of some end he has in view - excelling others, that is, his rivals. Later still he is so moved on account of some worldly end. But when about to be regenerated his desire for knowing stems from the delight and pleasantness of truth, and when undergoing regeneration, which takes place in adult years, from a love of truth, and later on from a love of good. The ends in view which had existed previously, and their delights, are now separated little by little, to be replaced by interior good which comes from the Lord and manifests itself in his affection. From this it is evident that previous delights, which seemed in outward appearance to be forms of good, have served as means. Consecutive series of means such as these occur unceasingly.

[3] Such series may be compared to a tree, which at the initial stage or the start of spring decks its branches with leaves, and after that as that stage or spring advances it adorns them with blossom. Then, around summertime, it produces the elementary signs of its fruit, which go on to develop into the fruit itself; and at length within the fruit it produces seeds, in which are contained new trees like itself - potentially a whole garden, which becomes a reality if those seeds are planted. Such are the comparisons existing in the natural world. They are also representatives, for the whole natural order is a theatre representative of the Lord's kingdom in heaven, and therefore of the Lord's kingdom on earth, which is the Church, and consequently of the Lord's kingdom with every regenerate person. From all this it is evident how natural or homeborn good, despite being a merely external and indeed worldly delight, may be of service as the means for producing the good of the natural which may join itself to the good of the rational and so become regenerate or spiritual good, that is, good which comes from the Lord. These are the things which are represented and meant in this chapter by Esau and Jacob.

3986. 'And Jehovah has blessed you since I set foot here' means resulting from the Divine endowment which the natural possessed. This is clear from the meaning of 'Jehovah blessing' as being endowed with good, dealt with in 3406, and as a joining together, 3504, 3514, 3530, 3565, 3584. 'Jehovah blessing' accordingly means being endowed with Divine good by means of a joining together, at this point a joining to the good of the natural represented by 'Jacob', the natural being meant by 'the foot'. As regards 'the foot' meaning the natural, see 2162, 3147, 3761; and this will be clear in addition from the correspondence of the Grand Man with every part of the human being, the subject in the sections at the ends of chapters. From this it is evident that 'Jehovah has blessed you since I set foot here' means originating in the Divine which the natural possessed.

[2] The arcanum which lies concealed in these words and in those immediately before them is known to few, if any, and is therefore to be revealed. The goods present with people both inside the Church and outside it vary in every case. They vary so much that no one person's good is ever exactly like another's. These variations arise out of the truths to which those goods are joined, for the nature of every type of good is received from truths, and truths derive their essential nature from goods. Such variations also arise out of the affections that belong to each person's love, and which become rooted in a person and are made his own through the life he leads. Few genuine truths exist even with someone inside the Church, and fewer still with one outside. Consequently affections for genuine truth seldom exist with anyone.

[3] All the same, people who lead good lives, that is, who live in love to God and in charity towards the neighbour, are saved. The reason they are able to be saved is that the Lord's Divine is present within good that stems from love to God and within good that stems from charity towards the neighbour. And when the Divine is inwardly present everything is being arranged into order so that it can be joined to genuine goods and genuine truths which exist in the heavens. The truth of this may be proven from the communities constituting heaven, which are countless. Every single community varies as regards good and truth, and yet all of them taken together form one complete heaven. They are like the members and organs of the human body which, though varying in every case, still constitute one complete human being. For no complete whole is ever made up of any identical or entirely similar individual parts, but of varying parts harmoniously joined together. Varying parts joined together harmoniously present a single whole. The same applies to goods and truths in the spiritual world. Although these vary so much as never to be exactly similar with one person as with another, nevertheless from the Divine through love and charity they make one since love and charity are spiritual conjunction. Their variation is a heavenly harmony which produces such accord that they are one in the Divine, that is, in the Lord.

[4] Furthermore, however much truths may vary, and however much affections for truth may do so, good that stems from love to God and good that stems from charity towards the neighbour are nevertheless capable of receiving genuine truth and good, as they are not so to speak hard and resistant but soft and yielding. They allow themselves to be led by the Lord and in so doing to be turned towards good, and through good to be turned towards Him. It is different with those in whom self-love and love of the world reign. They do not allow themselves to be led and turned by the Lord towards the Lord but strongly resist, since each wishes to be his own leader, even more so when they have become subject to false and firmly established assumptions. As long as they are such they do not allow the Divine to come in.

[5] These considerations now make clear what is meant in the internal sense by these words which Jacob addressed to Laban, for 'Laban' means the kind of good which is not genuine because it does not have genuine truths planted within it but is nevertheless capable of having these joined to it and of having the Divine present within it. This kind of good is what normally exists with young children before they have received genuine truths. It is also the kind of good present with simple people within the Church who know few truths of faith but who nevertheless lead a charitable life. It is in addition the kind of good present with upright gentiles who offer holy worship to their gods. By means of such good, genuine truths and goods are able to be introduced, as may be seen from what has been stated about young children and simple people inside the Church in 3690, and about upright gentiles outside the Church in 2598-2603.