4077. 'And your father has deceived me, and has changed my wages in ten ways' means the state of good in relation to Himself when, acting of Himself, He applied to Himself the things which constituted that good, and also a very great change in that good. This is clear from the meaning of 'father', who in this case is Laban, as intermediate good, dealt with already; from the meaning of 'wages' as His acting of Himself, dealt with in 3996, 3999; and from the meaning of 'ten ways' as a very great change - 'ten' meaning very great, 1988, and 'ways' changes. All this implies a change in the actual state of that good when, acting of Himself, the Lord applied to Himself the things constituting that good. Now if instead of the good meant by 'Laban' a community of spirits or angels is thought of such as are governed by that kind of good, what is involved is then made plain. Communities do not readily depart from someone with whom they have been present; but when a person with whom they are present departs they become annoyed, and they react in a way similar to Laban's behaviour here towards Jacob. Indeed even if they do perceive that some good has come to that person through them they say that it has done so from them; for when they are annoyed evil governs what they say.

[2] A similar situation exists with a person who is being regenerated. That is to say, the Lord applies communities to that person which serve to introduce genuine goods and truths, not from those communities but through them. And when the one who is being regenerated is transferred to other communities those which have been present hitherto are annoyed. But such communities are not visible to him because he does not believe that he is within any community of spirits or angels. They are however clearly visible to angels, and also to those who in the Lord's Divine mercy are allowed to talk to them and go among them as one of them. This is how I have been given to know about such things.

[3] Spirits deplore very much the fact that man does not know about such things too, not even that they are present with him, and more still the fact that many deny not only their presence but also the very existence of hell and of heaven. This ignorance however they attribute to human stupidity, for man does not in actual fact possess the smallest amount of thought or the smallest amount of will except by means of influx through those spirits themselves from the Lord. And it is through them as a means that the Lord governs the human race, and in particular every member of it.

3995. 'And the spotted and speckled among the she-goats' means that after this all the good of truth that has falsity and evil mingled within it will be 'Jacob's'. This is clear from the meaning of 'spotted' as falsity, and from the meaning of 'speckled' as evil, dealt with just above in 3993, and from the meaning of 'she-goats' as the good of truth, or the charity of faith, dealt with in 3519. The fact that all of this will be 'Jacob's' is also meant by the statement which follows, 'And that will be my wages'.

[2] What is meant by the good of truth, or the charity of faith, will be discussed briefly. While a person is being regenerated it seems as though the truth of faith takes precedence and as though the good of charity is secondary; but once he has been regenerated it is quite plain that the good of charity takes precedence, and that the truth of faith is secondary. For what is seen before regeneration is the appearance but what is seen after it is the reality of the situation, see 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3616, 3701. For while a person is being regenerated he does what is good from the truth he has learned, it being from truth that he learns what good is. Yet it is the good present inwardly that performs what is good because good is flowing in from the Lord by an internal route, that is, by way of the soul, while truth flows in by an external route, that is, by way of the senses, which is that of the body. Truth which enters by the external route is adopted by the good present inwardly and is joined to it, an activity which continues until that person has been regenerated. Then a reversal takes place and truth is done from good. This shows what is meant by the good of truth and by the truth of good. It also explains why so many at the present day speak of the good deeds of charity as the fruits of faith, for these are what those deeds are seen to be when regeneration first begins. These people base such a conclusion on the appearance and know nothing else, for those who are being regenerated are few and none can have a knowledge of this matter except one who has been regenerated, that is, who has an affection for good, which is charity. It is from an affection for good, or charity, that it can be seen clearly, and also perceived, by him. People however who are not regenerate do not even know what the affection for good is, that is, what charity is, but reason about it as something foreign or extraneous to themselves. As a consequence they call charity the fruit of faith, when in fact faith is a product of charity. However, it does not matter very much whether simple people know which is prior and which is posterior, provided they are leading charitable lives, for charity is the life of faith.

[3] By the expression 'member of the flock' here is meant not only lambs but also sheep, kids, she-goats, rams, and he-goats, though only lambs and she-goats are actually mentioned. These alone are mentioned because 'lambs' means innocence, and 'she-goats' the charity of faith, these being the subject at this point in the internal sense. This too is why in the original language 'spotted' is expressed by a word which also means lambs, as in Isaiah 40:10-11, while 'speckled' is expressed by a word which also means a sheep breeder, as in 2 Kings 3:4; Amos 1:1.