3686. 'And Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were evil in the eyes of Isaac his father' means the Lord's foresight and provision that the affections for that truth - the affections to which natural good had been joined until then - would not be suitable for such conjunction. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing' here as foresight and provision, dealt with in 2837, 2839; from the representation of 'Esau' as the Lord as regards the Divine Good of the Natural, dealt with already; from the meaning of 'the daughters of Canaan', in this case the daughters of Heth, as affections for truth from a non-genuine source, dealt with in 3470, 3620-3622; and from the meaning of '[evil] in the eyes of Isaac his father' as not being suitable for such conjunction, that is to say, through the good of the natural, represented by 'Esau', with the good of the rational, represented by 'Isaac'. From this it is evident that all these words mean the Lord's foresight and provision that the affections for that truth, being from a non-genuine source, would not be suitable for conjunction. The truth of all this may be seen from the explanation given at 26:34-35, where the subject is the daughters of Heth whom Esau had taken as wives, and at 27:46, where the subject is the plea to Jacob not to marry one of the daughters of Canaan. The reason why 'the daughters of Canaan' here means affections for truth from a non-genuine source, whereas above 'the daughters of Canaan' meant affections for falsity and evil, 3662, 3683, is that the Hittites in the land of Canaan belonged to the Church as it existed among gentiles. They were not so much under the influence of falsity and evil as other nations there, such as the Canaanites, Amorites, and Perizzites. This also was why the Hittites represented the Lord's spiritual Church among the gentiles, 2913, 2986.

[2] The Most Ancient Church which was celestial and existed before the Flood was situated in the land of Canaan, see 567. The Ancient Church which existed after the Flood was also situated there, as well as in many other countries, 1238, 2385. This was how it came about that all the gentile nations there, and also all the territories there, and all the rivers there, served as representatives. For the most ancient people, who were celestial, perceived through all the objects they beheld the kind of things that belong to the Lord's kingdom, 920, 1409, 2896, 2897, 2995, and so beheld the same through the territories and the rivers there.

[3] After their times those representatives survived in the Ancient Church, including the representatives related to the places there. Furthermore the Word that existed in the Ancient Church, dealt with in 2897-2899, contained place-names which were for the same reason representative; and the Word existing after their times, which is called Moses and the Prophets, also contains them. This was why Abraham was commanded to go there, and the promise was made to him that his descendants would possess that land. That promise was not made because they were any better than all the other nations, for they were the worst of them all, 1167, 3373. But it was made so that through them the representative Church might be established, in which no attention was paid to representative persons and places themselves but to the actual things which these represented, 3670, and thus also so that the names existing in the Most Ancient and the Ancient Churches might be preserved.

1032. That 'and I will establish My covenant with you' means the Lord's presence with all people who have charity, and refers to 'those going out of the ark' and to 'every wild animal of the earth', that is, to people inside the Church and to those outside of it, is clear from what has been stated just above. With regard to the Lord also entering into a covenant with, that is, joining Himself by means of charity to people outside of the Church who are called gentiles, the position is this: The member of the Church imagines that all outside of the Church who are called gentiles cannot be saved because they do not possess any cognitions of faith and do not therefore know the Lord at all. Churchmen say that without faith and without knowledge of the Lord there is no salvation, and so all who are outside of the Church stand condemned. Indeed many such persons possessing some doctrine, even those embracing heresy, imagine that all outside of the Church, that is, all who do not feel as they do, are not saved. But the reality is altogether different. The Lord has mercy towards the whole human race, and wishes to save and draw to Himself all people throughout the universe.

[2] The Lord's mercy is infinite and will not let itself be limited to the few who are inside the Church. Instead it reaches out to all in the whole wide world. No one can be blamed because he has been born outside of the Church and so has no knowledge of matters of faith. Nor is anybody in any way condemned for having no faith in the Lord because he does not know Him. What right-thinking person is ever going to say that the greater part of the human race will perish in eternal death just because they have not been born in Europe whose inhabitants are relatively few? And what right-thinking person is going to say that the Lord would allow such a large number of people to be born so as to perish in eternal death? That would be contrary to the Divine and contrary to mercy. And in any case people outside of the Church, called gentiles, lead a far more upright life than those inside the Church do, and they embrace far more readily that which true faith teaches. This matter becomes clearer still from souls in the next life.

[3] From the so-called Christian world come the worst people of all, those in whom deadly hatred of the neighbour and deadly hatred of the Lord prevail. More than anybody else in the whole world they are adulterers. But this is not true of all other parts of the world; for a large number of those who have worshipped idols have an attitude of mind that finds hatred and adultery abhorrent, and they fear Christians for being such and for wishing to subject everybody else to torture. Indeed gentiles are such that when taught by angels about truths of faith and that the Lord rules over all, they have no difficulty in listening and have no difficulty in being endued with faith, and so casting aside their idols. Consequently those gentiles who have led an upright life, and have done so in mutual charity and in innocence, are regenerated in the next life. While they are living in the world the Lord is present with them in their charity and innocence, for no charity or innocence exists at all except that which comes from the Lord. The Lord also confers on them, according to the religion they have, a conscience for what is right and good, and instills innocence and charity into that conscience. And when innocence and charity exist in conscience they allow themselves without difficulty to be endued with the truth of faith deriving from good. The Lord Himself has said all this in Luke,

Someone said to Jesus, Lord, are those who are saved few? He said to them, You will see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrust out. On the other hand men will come from the east and from the west, and from the north and from the south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And, behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. Luke 13:23, 28-30.

'Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob' here are used to mean all who dwell in love, as shown already.