3017. 'And Jehovah blessed Abraham in all things' means when all things had been re-arranged by the Lord into Divine order, or what amounts to the same, when the Lord had re-arranged all things into Divine order. This is clear from the consideration that 'Jehovah' is the Lord as regards the Divine Itself, 1343, 1736, 1815, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2921, in which case 'Abraham' represents the Lord as regards the Divine Human, 2833, 2836. Consequently when it is said that 'Jehovah blessed Abraham in all things' the meaning in the internal sense is that the Lord from the Divine Itself re-arranged all things in His Human into Divine order, for when 'blessing' is spoken of in regard to the Lord's Human it means those things. 'Being blessed', when it has reference to man, means being enriched with spiritual and celestial good, 981, 1096, 1420, 1422; and he is so enriched when the things residing with him are re-arranged by the Lord into a spiritual and celestial order, and so into the image and likeness of Divine order, 2475. The regeneration of man is nothing else.

[2] But what is described by the statement that all things were re-arranged into Divine order by the Lord within the Divine Human is evident from what follows in the present chapter. It describes how His Divine Rational, represented by Isaac, which had been conceived from the Divine Good, represented by Abraham, and born from the Divine Truth, represented by Sarah, was now re-arranged into that Divine order, to the end that Divine Truths from the Human itself could be joined to it. These are the arcana which this chapter contains in the internal sense and which angels possess from the Lord in full light, for in the light of heaven they are plain to see as if in broad daylight. But in the light of the world in which man dwells hardly anything is visible except dimly and in some small measure with a regenerate person, since he also dwells in some light belonging to heaven.

2661. 'Because of his son' means for the reason that He delighted in it, that is, in the first rational. This is clear from the meaning of 'son', that is to say, the son of the servant-girl, as the merely human or first rational, dealt with already. The reason for the grief is not actually mentioned here but it is nevertheless evident from what follows. Love is plainly the reason for that grief, for it is said [that Abraham was distressed] 'because of his son', and this son is the subject in verses 13-21 which follow. But so that it may be known why this grief existed, that is, why it is said that 'the matter was deeply distressing to Abraham because of his son', let the following few comments serve by way of illustration.

[2] The Lord did not come into the world to save those who are celestial, but to save those who are spiritual. The Most Ancient Church, which was called Man, was celestial, and if this Church had remained uncorrupted there would have been no need for the Lord to be born a human being. But as soon as it began to decline the Lord foresaw that the celestial Church would cease to exist altogether in the world, and therefore a prophecy was given there and then about the Lord's Coming into the world, Genesis 3:15. After the era of that Church there was no longer a celestial Church but a spiritual Church. The Ancient Church, which came after the Flood, was this spiritual Church, referred to many times in Volume One. This Church, or the people who belonged to the spiritual Church, could not have been saved unless the Lord had come into the world. This is what the Lord's words in Matthew are used to mean,

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Matthew 9:12-13.

And the following in John are used with the same meaning,

And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. John 10:16.

And the same is also meant in the parable about the hundred sheep, in Matthew 18:11-13.

[3] Now seeing that 'Isaac', representing the Lord's Divine Rational, also means those that are celestial, who are called 'heirs', while 'Ishmael', representing the Lord's merely human rational, also means those that are spiritual, who are referred to as 'sons' - as may also be evident from what has been stated above in 2658 - the words used in the present verse therefore mean that because of His Divine Love the Lord suffered grief. This is also the meaning of what follows in verses 13-21, where Hagar's son and she his mother represent the spiritual Church, and where the subject is the state of that Church, that is, of those who are members of that Church, 2612. Any further declaration regarding these arcana is not as yet possible. All that can be stated here is that with the Lord when in the world all states of the Church were represented, and also the way in which those who belonged to it were to be saved through Him. Consequently the same states of the Church are also meant by those same names.