6449. Verses 29-33 And he commanded them and said to them, I am being gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers, at the cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave which is in the field of Machpelah, which faces Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a grave. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. The buying of the field and of the cave that was in it was from the sons of Heth. And Jacob finished commanding his sons, and he gathered up his feet towards the bed, and expired, and was gathered to his peoples.

'And he commanded them and said to them' means an introduction. 'I am being gathered to my people' means that [spiritual good] will come to exist within the forms of good and the truths of the natural which spring from that good. 'Bury me with my fathers' means that interior things and what is inmost will exist there too. 'At the cave' means where obscurity exists. 'Which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite' means which however can be made into clear light. 'In the cave which is in the field of Machpelah' means in that obscurity. 'Which faces Mamre' means the extent and nature of it. 'In the land of Canaan' means where the Church is. 'Which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite' means redemption. 'As a possession for a grave' means regeneration. 'There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah' means that all the interior things are present in order within good and truth in the natural. 'The buying of the field and of the cave that was in it was from the sons of Heth' means the redemption of those who receive truth, and through truth receive good. 'And Jacob finished commanding his sons' means the accomplishment of the introduction. 'And he gathered up his feet towards the bed' means that [spiritual good] turned itself - its lower things in which interior ones are present - towards the good and truth of the lower natural. 'And expired' means new life there. 'And was gathered to his peoples' means that [spiritual good] was within the forms of good and the truths of the natural that sprang from itself.

5732. 'And he commanded the one who was over his house, saying' means an influx from itself. This is clear from the meaning of 'commanding as an influx, dealt with in 5486, and from the meaning of 'the one who was over his house' as the one who was to serve as communicator. The fact that the influx came from itself - from the internal celestial man, which 'Joseph' represents - is self-evident. The reason why 'commanding' means influx is that no one in heaven is given commands or orders. On the contrary one shares his thoughts and the other freely acts in accordance with them. The communication of thought, together with a desire to see something put into effect, is influx; and on the part of the receiver it is perception, which is why 'commanding' also means perception, 3661, 3682.

[2] Furthermore those in heaven not only think but also talk to one another - about those things that are matters of wisdom. Yet there is not in what they say any trace of an order given to another; for no one wishes to be the master and consequently regard another as his slave. Rather, each wishes to minister and be of service to another. From this one may see what form of government exists in heaven, the form described by the Lord in Matthew,

It shall not be so among you, but whoever has the wish to become great among you must be your minister, and whoever has the wish to be first must be your servant. Matthew 20:26-27.

And in the same gospel,

He who is the greatest of you shall be your minister; whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

This is how a person who has heartfelt love of his neighbour behaves - a person who feels delight and bliss in doing good to others for no selfish reason, that is, one who has charity towards the neighbour.