2833. 'And Abraham went and took the ram' means their release effected by the Lord's Divine Human. This is clear from the representation of 'Abraham' as the Lord, here the Lord as to the Divine Human - for when Jehovah or the angel of Jehovah speaks to Abraham, Jehovah or the angel of Jehovah in that case means the Divine itself, and 'Abraham' the Divine Human; and from the meaning of 'a ram' as those who are spiritual, 2830. From this it is evident that 'Abraham went and took the ram caught in a thicket by its horns' means the release of those who are spiritual effected by the Lord's Divine Human. As regards the fact that but for the Lord's Coming into the world spiritual people could not possibly have been saved, see 2661, 2716, and that their salvation and release was effected by the Lord's Divine Human, 2716.

2148. That 'he lifted up his eyes' means that He saw within Himself is clear from the meaning of 'lifting up the eyes'. By 'eyes' in the Word is meant interior sight, or the understanding, as becomes clear from the places quoted in 212, and therefore by 'lifting up the eyes' is meant seeing and perceiving the things which exist above oneself. Things that are interior are expressed in the Word by those that are higher, as in the expressions 'looking upwards', 'lifting up the eyes to heaven', and 'thinking high things' - the reason being that man imagines heaven to be on high, or up above himself, though in fact it is not on high but exists in things that are internal; when the heavenly things of love are present in a person, his heaven exists within him, see 450. From this it is plain that 'lifting up the eyes' means seeing within oneself.