619. But it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.- That this signifies exterior delight, is evident from the signification of the mouth, as denoting what is exterior, for the subject here treated of is the little book, and the eating of it up; by the little book is signified the Word, and by eating it up are signified perception and exploration, whence by the mouth, which first receives, is meant the external of the Word; and from the signification of "sweet as honey," as denoting the delight of natural good. The reason why the external of the Word was sweet as honey, that is, thus delightful, was, that it is of such a nature as to be capable of application to any love whatever, and to any principle thence conceived; and these can be confirmed by it. The reason why the external of the Word, which is the sense of the letter is such, is that many things therein are written according to appearances with the natural man, and many appearances, if not interiorly understood, are fallacies, like the fallacies of the senses. Those therefore who love to live for the body and the world, use the external of the Word by means of those appearances to confirm evils of life and falsities of faith.

[2] This was especially the case with the sons of Jacob, who applied all things of the Word to themselves, and from the sense of the letter maintained that belief, which they also retain to this day, that they were chosen in preference to others, and were therefore a holy nation; they believed that their Jerusalem, and its temple, the ark, the altar, the sacrifices, with innumerable other things, were of themselves holy, not knowing or being willing to know, that the holiness of all those things consisted solely in the fact that they represented Divine things proceeding from the Lord, which are called celestial and spiritual, and are the holy things of heaven and the church, and that to think them to be holy of themselves, and not from the Divine things which they represented, was to falsify and adulterate the Word by applying it to themselves and to their own loves. The case was similar in regard to their faith concerning the Messiah, which was, that He would be king of the world, and raise them above all the nations and peoples in the whole world; not to mention other things which they gathered from the mere sense of the letter of the Word, which were to them as sweet as honey in the mouth. For this reason those things that are in the spiritual sense of the Word are undelightful, for in that sense are truths themselves, and these are not according to appearances; as for example, that that nation was not holy, but worse than every other nation, consequently that it was not a chosen nation; that the city of Jerusalem merely signifies the church of the Lord, and doctrine concerning Him and concerning the holy things of heaven and the church; and that the temple, the ark, the altar, and the sacrifices, represented the Lord and the holy things proceeding from Him, and that their holiness was from this and no other source. These are the truths stored up interiorly in the sense of the letter of the Word, that is, in its internal spiritual sense. These truths they deny, because, as stated, they falsified and adulterated the Word in the sense of the letter, and therefore they are undelightful to them like food that is bitter in the belly.

[3] It is said that the little book should be in the mouth sweet as honey, because honey signifies the delight of natural good. That honey signifies that delight is evident from the following passages.

Thus, in Ezekiel:

It was said to the prophet, "Open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. And I looked, and behold, a hand was sent unto me; and lo, a roll of a book was therein. And when he had spread it before me, it was written before and behind; and there were written thereon lamentations, and mourning, and woe. Then he said unto me, Son of man, eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. And he said unto me, Cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. And when I ate it, it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And then he said unto me, Go unto the house of Israel, and speak my words unto them" (2:8-10; 3:1-4).

These words involve things similar to those in the Apocalypse. The command given to the prophet Ezekiel to eat the roll of the book, involves the same thing as the command to John to eat the little book, that is to say, exploration as to how the Divine Truth which is in the Word is as yet received, perceived, and appropriated by those who are of the church. For as the prophet Ezekiel and John represented the doctrine of truth and the Word, exploration was therefore made with them. The reason why this was done by eating a book is, that to eat signifies to perceive and thus to appropriate to oneself, as shown above; and when exploration was made as to the manner in which the Word was as yet perceived, it is then said to the prophet Ezekiel, that, he should go unto the house of Israel and speak the words of God unto them, also to the prophet John, that he must prophesy, that is, as yet teach the Word in the church; and this because in his mouth the book was perceived to be as sweet as honey, that is, because the Word as to the sense of the letter, is yet delightful, though only so for the reason that this sense can be used in favour of any principle of falsity whatever, and of any loves of evil whatever, and thus serve to confirm the delights of the natural life separated from the delights of the spiritual life, which, when separated, are merely delights of the loves of the body and of the world, whence arise principles of falsity from fallacies.

[4] Again, in Isaiah:

"A virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name God with us. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good" (7:14, 15).

That these words are spoken of the Lord may be seen proved in Matthew (1:23). Any one may see that butter and honey there mentioned do not mean butter and honey, but something Divine corresponding [to them], for it follows, "that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good," and this is not known by eating butter and honey. But by butter is signified the delight of spiritual good, and by honey, the delight of natural good, consequently the spiritual Divine and the natural Divine of the Lord are signified by these, thus His interior and exterior Human. That the Lord's Human is what is meant is evident from its being said that a virgin shall conceive and bear a son; and that it is Divine, is evident from the words, "and shall call his name God with us," to call a name denoting quality, here Divine quality, for he was to be called God with us.

[5] Butter and honey also signify the delight of spiritual and natural good in these words in the same chapter:

"Butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land" (ver. 22).

Those left in the land mean those who are interiorly and also exteriorly good from the Lord, consequently those who receive good proceeding from the Lord in truths; the blessedness therefore of the internal or spiritual man, and also of the external or natural, is signified by butter and honey.

[6] Thus also in Job:

"He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall slay him. He shall not see the brooks, the flowings of the torrents of honey and butter" (20:16, 17).

These things are said concerning hypocrites, who speak well and smoothly concerning God, their neighbour, and also heaven and the church, when nevertheless they think quite differently; and because they can thus cunningly devise how to captivate the minds of others, although in their heart they cherish what is infernal, it is said, "He shall suck the poison of asps, the viper's tongue shall slay him." That these have no delight in natural good or spiritual good, is meant by, He shall not see the brooks, the flowings of the torrents of honey and butter, rivers denoting those things that pertain to intelligence, and the flowings of the torrents of honey and butter, those that pertain thence to the affection and love, which are the very delights of heavenly life. All the delight of life which remains to eternity is the delight of spiritual good and truth, and thence of natural good and truth, whereas hypocritical delight is a natural delight separated from spiritual delight, but this delight, in another life, is turned into what is direfully infernal. That butter and honey in this passage also do not mean butter and honey, is evident, for where in the world are flowings of torrents of honey and butter found?

[7] The signification of butter and honey is similar to that of milk and honey. And since milk signifies the delight of spiritual good, and honey, the delight of natural good, and these delights are enjoyed by those who are of the church of the Lord, therefore the land of Canaan, which signifies the church, was called "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8, 17; Leviticus 20:24; Num. 13:27; 14:8; Deuteronomy 6:3; 11:9; 26:9, 15; 27:3; 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; 32:22; Ezekiel 20:6). That the land of Canaan in the Word means the church was shown above (n. 29, 304:59, 431:9). And the church is with those only who are in spiritual good and at the same time in natural good; the church is formed in these by the Lord. For the church is in man, and not outside of him, consequently, not with those who do not possess those goods; these goods with their delights are signified by milk and honey.

[8] That in the land of Canaan there was also much honey at that period, because the church of the Lord was there then, is evident from the First Book of Samuel, where it is said, that they came into a wood where were honey upon the faces of the ground, and a stream of honey, and that the eyes of Jonathan were opened from tasting of the honey (14:25-27, 29). The reason why Jonathan's eyes were opened by his tasting of the honey was, that honey corresponds to natural good and its delight, and this good imparts intelligence and enlightens, consequently Jonathan knew that he had done evil; as is said in Isaiah, that he shall eat butter and honey, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For correspondences at that time manifested their effect, since all things of the Israelitish church existed from correspondences, by which things celestial and spiritual were represented and signified.

[9] The signification of butter and honey is similar to that of oil and honey in the following passages.

Thus in Moses:

"He made him to ride on the high places of the earth, and fed him with the increase of the fields; he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the stone of the rock" (Deuteronomy 32:13).

These words occur in the song of Moses, in which the subject treated of is the church in its beginning and afterwards in its progression, and at length at its end. Those who formed the Ancient Church are described by these words, but not those who constituted the Israelitish Church, for the latter were evil from the beginning even to the end, as is evident from their fathers in Egypt, and afterwards in the wilderness. But the Ancient Church, the men of which are meant by their fathers, was that which the Lord caused to ride upon the high places of the earth, and fed with the increase of the fields. That the good of natural love and the good of spiritual love, with their delights, were imparted to them by means of truths, from which their intelligence was derived, and according to which was their life, is signified by, he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the stone of the rock, honey denoting the delight of natural love, oil the delight of spiritual love, and the rock, and the stone of the rock, truth from the Lord. That oil signifies the good of love and of charity, may be seen above (n. 375), and that rock and stone signify truth from the Lord (n. 411, 443).

[10] So in David:

"I fed them with the fat of wheat, and with honey out of the rock I satisfied them" (Psalm 81:16).

The fat of wheat also signifies the delight of spiritual good, and honey out of the rock, the delight of natural good by means of truths from the Lord, as above. It must be observed, that natural good is not good, unless it be also spiritual good. For all good inflows through the spiritual man or mind into the natural man or mind, and so far as the natural man or mind receives the good of the spiritual man or mind, so far he receives good. There must be both, or both sides, in order to constitute good; wherefore natural good separated from spiritual good is in itself evil, which nevertheless is perceived by man as good. Since there must be both therefore in the passages quoted, and in those still to be quoted, mention is made of butter and honey, milk and honey, fat and honey, and also of oil and honey; and butter, milk, fat and oil, signify the good of spiritual love, and honey, the good of natural love, together with their delights.

[11] Again, in Ezekiel:

"Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen and silk, and needlework; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; whence thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. But my bread which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set before idols for an odour of rest" (16:13, 19).

These things are said concerning Jerusalem, by which is signified the church, first the Ancient Church, and afterwards the Israelitish Church. It is said of the Ancient Church, that she was decked with gold and silver, which signifies, the love of good and truth with the men of the church. The raiment of fine linen, silk, and needlework, signifies the cognitions of celestial, spiritual, and natural truth; fine linen signifies truth from a celestial origin, silk, truth from a spiritual origin, and needlework, truth from a natural origin, which is called scientific [truth]. By eating fine flour, honey, and oil, are signified the perception of truth and good natural and spiritual, and the appropriation of them; to eat denoting to be appropriated, fine flour denoting truth, honey, natural good, and oil spiritual good, which were appropriated to them by a life according to the truths above mentioned. By becoming exceedingly beautiful and prospering into a kingdom, is signified to become intelligent and wise, so as to constitute a church from these, beauty denoting intelligence and wisdom, and a kingdom signifying a church. But concerning the Israelitish Church, which was merely in externals without internals, whence the men of that church were idolatrous, it is said, that they placed the fine flour, honey, and oil, before images of a male, or of idols, for an odour of rest, that is, that they turned the truths and goods of the church into falsities and evils, and thus profaned them.

[12] Again, in the same prophet:

"Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy traders; they traded in the wheat of Minnith, and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm" (27:17).

This is spoken of Tyre, which signifies the church as to the cognitions of truth and good, therefore also by Tyre are signified the cognitions of truth and good pertaining to the church; by oil and honey are signified things similar to those above. The meaning in the spiritual sense of Judah, and the land of Israel, also of wheat of Minnith and pannag, and balsam, also of the trading of Tyre, may be seen explained above (n. 433:22).

[13] Again, in Moses:

"A land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of the valley and mountain; a land of wheat and barley, and the vine, and the fig-tree, and pomegranate; a land of oil, olive, and honey" (Deuteronomy 8:7, 8).

These things are said concerning the land of Canaan, by which is understood the church which is in celestial, spiritual, and natural good, and thence in truths; but the details of this verse are explained above (n. 374:7, 403:11), where it is shown, that oil and honey signify the good of love in the internal or spiritual man and in the external or natural man.

[14] So in David:

"The judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are just altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb" (Psalm 19:9, 10).

In the same,

"I have not departed from thy judgments, for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words to my palate! [Sweeter] than honey to my mouth" (Psalm 119:102, 103).

The judgments of Jehovah signify the truths and goods of worship; therefore it is said, "the judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are just altogether"; just being used in reference to the good of life and worship therefrom. And as good is also signified by gold and fine gold, it is therefore said, that they are more desirable than gold and than much fine gold, gold denoting celestial good, fine gold, spiritual good, while desirable denotes what is of affection and love. Since the goods with which a man is affected are also delightful, therefore it is said, that they are sweeter than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb, and that the words of the Lord are sweet to the palate and [sweeter] than honey to the mouth, sweet denoting what is delightful, honey, natural good, the droppings of the honeycomb, natural truth, and because honey signifies natural good, and the mouth the external, therefore it is said [sweeter] than honey to my mouth; as in the Apocalypse, that the little book was sweet as honey in the mouth.

[15] So in Luke:

Jesus said to His disciples, when they believed that they saw a spirit, "Behold, my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. Then he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat it before them" (24:39, 41-43).

From this series of words regarded in their spiritual sense it is evident, that honeycomb and honey signify natural good, for the Lord showed His disciples that He had glorified or made Divine His whole Human, even as to its Natural and Sensual. This is signified by the hands and feet, and by the flesh and bones, which they saw and felt; the hands and feet, signify the ultimate of man, called the Natural, the flesh signifies its good, and the bones signify its truth. For everything in the human body corresponds to spiritual things, the flesh to the good of the natural man, and the bones to its truths. More may be seen concerning this correspondence in Heaven and Hell 87-102). The Lord also proved this by eating of the broiled fish and also of the honeycomb in the presence of His disciples, the broiled fish signifying the truth of the good of the natural and sensual man, and the honeycomb, the good of truth of the same, therefore the Lord by being touched (palpationem) showed and proved that His whole Human, even to its ultimates, was glorified, that is, was made Divine; and [this He showed too] by eating, in that He ate in their presence a piece of a broiled fish and of an honeycomb.

[16] Since honey signifies the good of the natural man, therefore also John the Baptist

"had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey" (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6).

The reason of this was, that John the Baptist represented the same as Elias, therefore also it was said, that Elias should come, by whom was meant John. Elias represented the Lord as to the Word, or the Word which is from the Lord; and similarly John. And because the Word teaches that the Messiah or the Lord was about to come, therefore John was sent before to preach concerning the coming of the Lord, according to the predictions of the Word. And because John represented the Word, therefore the ultimates of the Word, which are natural, were represented by John, by his clothing, and also by his food, that is, by having his raiment of camel's hair, and the leathern girdle about his loins. For camel's hair signifies the ultimates of the natural man, such as are the exteriors of the Word, and the leathern girdle about his loins, their external bond and connection with the interior things of the Word, which are spiritual. Similar things are signified by locust and wild honey; by locust, is signified the truth of the natural man, and by wild honey, its good. Whether we speak of the truth and good of the natural man, or of natural truth and good, such as the Word is in its ultimate sense, called the sense of the letter, or natural sense, it is the same thing, for John represented this by his clothing and food.

[17] The reason why neither leaven, nor honey, was used in the offerings made by fire to Jehovah (Leviticus 2:11), was, that leaven signifies the falsity of the natural man, and honey, the delight of the good of the natural man, and, in the opposite sense, the delight of his evil, which also is like leaven when it is mingled with those things that signify things of a holy interior nature. For natural delight derives its all from the delights of the love of self and the love of the world. And because the Israelitish nation was in those delights more than other nations, therefore it was forbidden them to use honey in their sacrifices. More may be seen concerning the signification of honey, as denoting the delight of the good of the natural man, in the Arcana Coelestia 5620, 6857, 8056, 10137, 10530).

[18] It is recorded of Samson, that, after he had rent the young lion, and taken a wife from the nation of the Philistines, he found "a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion" (Judges 14:8). This circumstance signified the dissipation of faith separated from charity, which the Philistine nation represented. It was on this account that the Philistines were called the uncircumcised, and this name signifies that they were without spiritual love and charity, and were only in natural love, which is the love of self and of the world. Such faith, because it destroys the good of charity, was represented by the young lion, which attacked Samson with intent to tear him in pieces; but Samson, because he was a Nazarite, and by his Nazariteship represented the Lord as to His ultimate Natural, rent the lion in pieces, and afterwards found in his carcase a swarm of bees and honey, which signified, that after such faith is dissipated, the good of charity succeeds in its place. Similar things were represented and signified by the rest of the acts related of Samson in the Book of Judges. For nothing is written in the Word which does not represent and signify such things as pertain to heaven and the church, and these can be understood only from the knowledge (scientia) of correspondences, and thence from the spiritual sense of the Word.

3147. 'And water to wash his feet' means purification there. This is clear from the meaning of 'water to wash' or 'washing with water' as purifying, dealt with below, and from the meaning of 'feet' as natural things, or what amounts to the same, those things that are in the natural man, dealt with in 2162. In the representative Church washing feet with water was a ceremonial act which meant washing away the filth of the natural man. The filth of the natural man is composed of all the things that belong to self-love and love of the world, and when such filth has been washed away goods and truths flow in, for that filth alone is what hinders the influx of good and truth from the Lord.

[2] For good is flowing in constantly from the Lord, but when by way of the internal or spiritual man it reaches the external or natural man it is either perverted there, or turned away, or stifled. But when indeed the things that belong to self-love and love of the world are removed, good is received there, and bears fruit there, since the person now performs the works of charity. This may become clear from many considerations, such as this: When the things that belong to the external or natural man are quiescent - as they are in times of ill-fortune, wretchedness, and sickness - a person instantly starts to become spiritually-minded and to will what is good, and also to perform acts of devotion insofar as he is able. But when that state alters, these things are altered too.

[3] In the Ancient Church 'washings' were signs meaning these things, and in the Jewish Church the same were representations. The reason why in the Ancient Church they were meaningful signs but in the Jewish Church representations was that members of the Ancient Church regarded that custom as some external act of worship. Nor did they believe that they were purified by that kind of washing but by a washing away of the filth of the natural man, which, as has been stated, is composed of the things that belong to self-love and love of the world. But the member of the Jewish Church did believe that he was purified by such washing, for he did not know, and did not wish to know, that the purifying of a person's interior self was meant.

[4] That 'washing' means the washing away of that filth is clear in Isaiah,

Wash yourselves; purify yourselves; remove the evil of your doings from before My eyes; cease to do evil. Isaiah 1:16.

Here it is evident that 'washing themselves' means purifying themselves and removing evils. In the same prophet,

When the Lord will have washed the excrement of the daughters of Zion and washed away the blood of Jerusalem from its midst in a spirit of judgement and in a spirit of purging. Isaiah 4:4.

Here 'washing the excrement of the daughters of Zion and washing away the blood of Jerusalem' stands for purifying from evils and falsities. In Jeremiah,

Wash your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long will your iniquitous thoughts lodge within you? Jeremiah 4:14.

[5] In Ezekiel,

I washed you with water, and washed away the blood from upon you, and anointed you with oil. Ezekiel 16:9.

This refers to Jerusalem, which is used here to mean the Ancient Church. 'Washing with water' stands for purifying from falsities, 'washing away the blood' for purging from evils, 'anointing with oil' for filling with good at that time. In David,

Wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. You will purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; You will wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalms 51:2, 7.

'Being washed' plainly stands for being purified from evils and derivative falsities.

[6] These were the things that were meant by 'washing' in the Representative Church. For the sake of the representation, when they had been made unclean and needed to be cleansed, people were commanded in that Church to wash the skin, hands, feet, and also their garments. All these meant things that belong to the natural man. Also for the sake of the representation, lavers made of bronze were placed outside the Temple - that is to say, 'the bronze sea and the ten bronze lavers' mentioned in 1 Kings 7:23-29; there was also the bronze laver from which Aaron and his sons were to wash themselves, placed between the Tent of Meeting and the Altar, and so outside the Tent of Meeting, Exodus 30:18-19, 21 - the meaning of which was that only external or natural things needed to be purified. And unless they have been purified, that is, unless things belonging to self-love and love of the world have been removed from them, internal things which belong to love to the Lord and towards the neighbour cannot possibly flow in, as stated above.

[7] To enable these matters to be understood more easily, that is to say, regarding the need for external things to be purified, let good works - or what amounts to the same, the goods of charity, which are at the present day called the fruits of faith, and which, since they are actions, are external - serve to exemplify and illustrate the point: Good works are bad works unless the things belonging to self-love and love of the world are removed. For until these have been removed works, when performed, are good to outward appearance but are inwardly bad. They are inwardly bad because they are done either for the sake of reputation, or for financial gain, or for improvement of one's position, or for reward. They are accordingly either merit-seeking or hypocritical, for the things that belong to self-love and love of the world cause those works to be such. But when indeed these evils are removed, works become good, and are the goods of charity. That is to say, they are done regardless of self, the world, reputation, or reward, and so are not merit-seeking or hypocritical, because in that case celestial love and spiritual love flow from the Lord into those works and cause them to be love and charity in action. And at the same time the Lord also purifies the natural or external man by means of those things and orders it so that that man receives correspondingly the celestial and spiritual things that flow in.

[8] This becomes quite clear from what the Lord taught when He washed the disciples' feet: In John,

He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, Lord, do You wash my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, What I am doing you do not know now, but you will know afterwards. Peter said to Him, You will never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me. Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and head! Jesus said to him, He who is washed has no need except that his feet be washed, but is clean all over. Now you are clean, but not all of you. John 13:4-17.

'He who is washed has no need except that his feet be washed' means that anyone who has been reformed needs to be cleansed only in regard to natural things, that is, to have evils and falsities removed from them. For when that happens all is ordered by the influx of spiritual things from the Lord. Furthermore 'feet-washing' was an act of charity, meaning that one ought not to dwell on the evils of another person. It was also an act of humility, meaning the cleansing of another from evils, like filth from the body, as also becomes clear from the Lord's words in verses 12-17 of that chapter in John, and also in Luke 7:37-38, 44, 46; John 11:2; 1 Samuel 25:41.

[9] Anyone may see that washing himself does not purify a person from evils and falsities, only from the filth that clings to him. Yet because it belonged among the religious observances commanded in the Church it follows that it embodies some special idea, namely spiritual washing, which is purification from the filth that clings to man inwardly. Members of that Church therefore who knew these things and thought of purification of the heart, that is, the removal of the evils of self-love and love of the world from the natural man, and tried to achieve it with utmost zeal, practiced ritual washing as an external act of worship, as commanded. But among those who did not know and did not wish to know those things but who supposed that the mere ritual act of washing garments, skin, hands, and feet would purify them, and who supposed that provided they performed such rituals they would be allowed to continue leading lives of avarice, hatred, revenge, mercilessness, and cruelty - all of which constitute spiritual filth - the performance of the ritual was idolatrous. Nevertheless by means of that ritual they were still able to represent, and by means of the representation to display, some vestige of a Church, by means of which heaven was in a way joined to mankind prior to the Lord's Coming. But that conjunction was such that heaven had little or no influence at all on the member of that Church.

[10] The Jews and Israelites were such that they did not think at all of the internal man, nor did they wish to know anything about the same. Thus they knew absolutely nothing about the celestial and spiritual things which belong to the life after death. Nevertheless to prevent the end of all communication with heaven and so with the Lord, they were bound to the performance of external observances by which internal things were meant. All their captivities and plagues were in general to the end that external observances might be duly carried out for the sake of the representation. It was for this reason that the following laws were given:

Moses was to wash Aaron and his sons with water at the tent door, to sanctify them. Exodus 29:4; 40:12; Leviticus 8:6.

Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet before entering the Tent of Meeting and approaching the Altar to minister, lest they died. This was to them a statute for ever. Exodus 30:18-21; 40:30-31.

Before putting on his vestments Aaron was to wash his flesh. Leviticus 16:4, 24.

Levites were to be purified by sprinkling the water of expiation over them, passing a razor over their flesh, and washing their clothes - then they were pure. Numbers 8:6-7.

Anyone who ate the carcass of a clean animal, ¹ or that which had been torn to pieces, was to wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and if he did not wash himself and bathe his flesh he would bear his iniquity. Leviticus 17:15-16.

Anyone who touched the bed of a person who had a discharge, or sat on a vessel on which that person had sat, and anyone who touched that person's flesh was to wash his clothes and to bathe himself with water, and be unclean until the evening. Leviticus 15:5-7, 10-12 and following verses.

The person who sent the goat away to Azazel was to wash his flesh. Leviticus 16:26.

When a leper was to be cleansed he was to wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, wash himself in water, and then he would be clean. Leviticus 14:8-9.

Even vessels themselves which had become unclean through contact with unclean persons were made to go through water and be unclean until the evening. Leviticus 11:32.

From all these laws it may be seen that nobody was made clean or pure internally through ritual washing, but that such a person merely represented him who was pure or spiritually clean, for the reason stated above. The Lord teaches the same quite explicitly in Matthew 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23.

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