9324. 'And I will remove sickness from the midst of you' means protection from falsifications of truth and adulterations of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'removing from the midst of you' - when it refers to falsified truths and adulterated forms of good, meant by 'sickness' - as protection, for when the Lord protects someone from them He removes them, 9313, [9316;] and from the meaning of 'sickness' as falsified truth and adulterated good. These are the sicknesses of spiritual life, for spiritual life receives its existence from and is kept in existence by the truths that belong to faith and the forms of good that belong to love. When these are falsified and perverted, a person is ill; and when they are completely rejected in the heart the person is dead spiritually. Regarding 'sicknesses', that they mean such things and correspond to them, see 4958, 5711-5727, 8364, 9031 (end).

8317. 'All the inhabitants of Canaan melted away' means a like feeling on the part of those belonging to the Church who adulterated forms of good and who falsified truths. This is clear from the meaning of 'the inhabitants of Canaan' as those belonging to the Church, also as those in it who adulterated forms of good and falsified truths. The reason why 'the inhabitants of Canaan' means those belonging to the Church is that the Lord's Church had existed in the land of Canaan since most ancient times, see 3686, 4447, 4454, 4516, 4517, 5136, 6516. The reason why it also means those who adulterated forms of good and falsified truths is that the nations in it which the children of Israel were to drive out represent evils as well as falsities of faith, see 8054. They have this representation because they were formerly part of the Church.