10051. 'And put them on top of its pieces and of its head' means the arrangement into order of the more external things under the interior and under the inmost ones. This is clear from the meaning of 'pieces' as the interior things, dealt with above in 10048; from the meaning of 'the head' as what is inmost, dealt with in 5328, 6436, 9656, 9913, 9914; from the meaning of 'the intestines and the legs', which were to be put on top of them, as the outermost and the more external things (for the meaning of 'the intestines' as the outermost or lowest things, see 10030, and for that of 'the legs' as the more external things, 10050); and from the meaning of 'putting these on top of the others' as arranging them into order. The reason why arranging the more external things into order under the interior ones is meant and not, according to the literal sense, above them is that the altar and the fire on the altar are the highest or inmost things. For the altar represented the Lord's Divine Human in respect of Divine Good, and the fire His actual Divine Love, and therefore the parts of the ram and burnt offering nearest the fire of the altar were higher or more internal, while those on top of them, being further away from the fire of the altar, were lower or more external. For in the internal sense the things nearest to what is highest are regarded as being higher or more internal, and those that are further away from it are regarded as being lower or more external, unlike the way things are stated in the literal sense. Whether you say higher and lower ones, or more internal and more external, it amounts to the same thing, because what is higher is more internal and what is lower is more external, 2148, 3084, 4599, 5146, 8325. From this it is now evident that 'you shall put the intestines and legs on top of the pieces and on top of the head' means that the outermost and the more external things must be arranged into order under the interior and the inmost ones.

The altar was representative of the Lord's Divine Human in respect of Divine Good, see 921, 2777, 2811, 9388, 9389, 9714, 9964.

The fire of the altar is His Divine Love, 6832.

3084. 'And went up' means a raising up. This is clear from the meaning of 'going up' as being raised up. The expression 'raised up' is used to describe from what is lower to what is higher, and because it is used to describe this it is also used to describe from what is exterior to what is interior, for the two are one and the same. Indeed what is lower and higher in human thought is exterior and interior in angelic thought, as with the idea of heaven. By men heaven is seen as that which is higher, but by angels as that which is interior. It is similarly so with the natural with man. In relation to his spiritual it is exterior, while the spiritual in turn is exterior in relation to the celestial. Or what amounts to the same, factual knowledge which belongs to the natural man is exterior in relation to truth, while truth is exterior in relation to good. Therefore also factual knowledge in relation to truth is called a covering as well as a garment, and so in a similar way is truth in relation to good.

[2] This explains why the expressions 'going up' to Jerusalem, but 'coming down' from Jerusalem are used; also 'going up' from Jerusalem to Zion, and 'coming down' from Zion to Jerusalem; for the parts surrounding Jerusalem mean the exterior features of the Church, Jerusalem meaning the more interior features and Zion the inmost. Since in the internal sense this verse describes the initial stage in the raising up of truth from the natural man to the rational man, therefore it is first of all said here that the affection for truth represented by Rebekah 'went down to the spring' and shortly after that 'went up'. For as stated above in 3074, Divine love flows into the affection for good, and from there into the affection for truth, and in so doing brings life and light to the things that are in the natural man, and at the same time orders them. This is the meaning of 'going down'. In this way truths are raised up from the natural man into the rational man where they are joined to good. This is the meaning of 'going up'.