10178. 'With pieces of shittim wood you shall make it' means from love that is Divine. This is clear from the meaning of 'shittim wood' as the good of merit and of righteousness, which is the Lord's alone, dealt with in 9472, 9486, 9715. The reason why love as well is meant is that when the Lord was in the world He was motivated by Divine Love to fight against all the hells and overcome them, and in so doing to save the human race, as a result of which He alone has earned merit, and has become righteousness, see 9486, 9715, 9809, 10019, 10152; and the good of merit which is the Lord's is therefore His Divine Love. The reason why 'shittim wood' has so profound a meaning is that all things which exist in earth's three kingdoms - the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms - serve to mean spiritual and celestial realities, or else their opposites. (For the whole natural order is a theatre representative of the Lord's kingdom, see the places referred to in 9280.) And 'wood' means in general the good of love, and in particular the good of merit, 2784, 2812, 3720, 4943, 8354, 8740. So it is that in the highest sense 'wood' means Divine Good; for all things serving in the internal sense to mean aspects of the Church and of heaven serve in the highest sense to mean Divine realities.

4943. On the lower earth beneath the feet and soles of the feet there are also those who have regarded good deeds and works to be meritorious. Many of these appear to themselves to be cutting pieces of wood. The place where they are is quite a cold one, but they seem to themselves to find warmth in the work they do. I talked to these people too and was allowed to ask them whether they wished to leave that place. Their replies were that they had not done enough meritorious work. But once this stage is completed they are released from there. These people likewise are natural, for the desire to earn salvation through merit is not a spiritual desire. What is more, they regard themselves to be those who are superior to others, and some of them are also contemptuous of others. If in the next life they do not receive greater joy than all others, they are angry with the Lord, which explains why sometimes when they are cutting pieces of wood, it appears as though something of the Lord is underneath their pile of wood - their anger being that which produces this appearance. But because they have led a devout life and have acted in the ways they did out of ignorance that had some degree of innocence within it, angels are therefore sent to them periodically to console them. Sometimes, in addition, something that looks like a sheep appears from above on the left, and from this too they receive consolation when they see it.