2798. Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son. That this signifies the merit of righteousness, is evident from what was said and shown above (n. 2784), thus without further explication. That he “laid it upon Isaac” signifies that the merit of righteousness was adjoined to the Divine rational, is evident from the representation of Isaac, as being the Lord’s Divine rational (often shown before) and from the signification of “laying upon him,” as being to adjoin. He is called his “son,” because the Lord’s Divine Human was not only conceived, but was also born of Jehovah. That the Lord was conceived of Jehovah is most fully known from the Word of the Lord; hence He is called the “Son of the Highest,” the “Son of God,” and the “Only-begotten of the Father,” in many places (Matthew 2:15; 3:16-17; 16:13-17; 17:5; 27:43, 54; Mark 1:11; 9:7, 9; 14:61-62; Luke 1:31-32, 35; 3:21-22; 9:35; 10:22; John 1:14, 18, 50; 3:13, 16-18; 5:20-27; 6:69; 9:34-35, 38; 10:35-36; 20:30-31), and in many other places He calls Jehovah His “Father.”

[2] That He was born of the virgin Mary is known, yet as another man; but when He was born again, or became Divine, it was from Jehovah who was in Him, and who was Himself as to the very being of life. The unition of the Divine and the Human Essence was effected mutually and reciprocally, so that He united the Divine Essence to the Human and the Human to the Divine (see n. 1921, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2083, 2508, 2523, 2618, 2628, 2632, 2728, 2729). Hence it is evident that the Lord made the Human in Himself Divine by His own power, and thus became righteousness. The merit of righteousness was what was adjoined to the Divine rational when He underwent inmost temptations, and from it He then fought, and against this the evil genii fought, until He glorified this also. These are the things meant in the internal sense by Abraham laying the wood of the burnt-offering upon Isaac his son, and these are what are perceived by the angels when the words are read.

1921. Do to her that which is good in thine eyes. That this signifies absolute control, is evident without explication. In the internal sense these words represent and signify that the Lord, from His own power, conquered, subjugated, and expelled the evil which from His hereditary nature had insinuated itself also into this first rational, for as has been said the rational was conceived of the internal man, which was Jehovah, as a father, and was born of the exterior man as a mother. Whatever was born from the exterior man had the hereditary nature with it, and therefore it had evil with it. It was this that the Lord conquered, subjugated, and expelled, and at last made Divine [His rational] by His own power. That it was by His own power is evident from everything contained in this verse, as from its being said, “Thy handmaid is in thy hand,” by which is signified that that rational was in His sovereign power; and now, “Do to her that which is good in thine eyes,” by which is signified absolute control over it; and then, “Sarai humbled her,” by which is signified subjugation.

[2] The words now under consideration were said to Sarai, by whom is represented the intellectual truth that belonged to the Lord Himself, and from which He thought (as before said, n. 1904, 1914), and from which He had absolute control over the rational and also over the natural that was of the exterior man. He who thinks from intellectual truth, and perceives from Divine good-which good also was His, because the Father’s, for the Father was His soul and He had no other-cannot do otherwise than act from His own power. And therefore, because by His own power He subdued and cast out the evil of His hereditary nature, He also by His own power united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence, for the one is a consequence of the other.

[3] He who is conceived of Jehovah has no other internal, that is no other soul, than Jehovah; and therefore as to His veriest life the Lord was Jehovah Himself. Jehovah, or the Divine Essence, cannot be divided, as can the soul of a human father, from which offspring is conceived. So far as this offspring recedes from the likeness of the father, so far it recedes from the father, and this it does more and more as age advances. It is from this that a father’s love for his children diminishes with their advance in age. It was not so with the Lord; as age advanced He did not recede as to the Human Essence, but continually drew nearer, even to perfect union. Hence it is evident that He is the same as Jehovah the Father, as He also clearly teaches (John 14:6, 8-11).