A "field" in the Bible usually represents the Lord's church, and more specifically the desire for good within the church. It's where good things start, take root, and grow. When you have a desire to be a good person and to do good things, the natural first questions are "What does that mean?", "What should I do?", "What can I do?". You look for ideas, concepts, direction. Once you figure out something you want to do or a change you want to make in yourself, you seek specific knowledge. If you want to volunteer at a food pantry, say, you'd need to know whom to call, when they need help, where to go, what to bring. Armed with that knowhow, you're ready to get to work. That process could be compared to food production. You start with a field -- which is that desire to be good. Then you plant seeds -- those ideas and concepts. Those seeds sprout into plants -- the specific facts and knowledge needed for the task (easily seen in the food pantry example, but also true with deeper tasks like "being more tolerant of my co-workers" or "taking more time for prayer," or "consciously being a more loving spouse"). Finally, those plants produce food -- the actual good thing that you go and do. The Writings also say that in a number of cases a "field" represents the doctrine, or teachings, of the church. This sounds markedly different. The desire for good is emotional, a drive, a wanting; doctrine is a set of ideas. But for a church to be true, its doctrine must be centered on a desire for good, and must lead people toward doing what is good. So sound doctrine is actually closely bound up with the desire for good.

9138. Verses 5-6 When a man devastates a field or a vineyard, sending in his beast of burden and causing devastation ¹ in another's field, he shall make repayment from the best of his own field or from the best of his own vineyard. When fire breaks out and catches hold of thorns, and a stack of grain is consumed, or standing grain, or a field, the one kindling what is kindled shall surely make repayment.

'When a man devastates a field or a vineyard' means a stripping away of the Church's goodness and truth by evil desires. 'Sending in his beast of burden' means if he does it with little self-awareness. 'And causing devastation in another's field' means consuming interconnected forms of good. 'He shall make repayment from the best of his own field or from the best of his own vineyard' means undertaking restoration with forms of good and with truths that are still intact. 'When fire breaks out' means anger arising from an affection for evil. 'And catches hold of thorns' means which spreads into falsities. 'And a stack of grain is consumed' means harm done to accepted truths and forms of the good of faith. 'Or standing grain, or a field' means or to truths and forms of the good of faith in the process of being conceived. 'The one kindling what is kindled shall surely make repayment' means undertaking restoration for the things taken away by the anger arising from an affection for evil.

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