9280. 'In order that your ox and your ass may rest' means the peace and serenity that external forms of good and truths enjoy at the same time. This is clear from the meaning of 'resting', when it refers to the seventh day or the sabbath, as peace and serenity, as immediately above in 9279; and from the meaning of 'ox' as external good, and of 'ass' as external truth, dealt with in 2781, 9135, 9255.

Beasts were signs of affections and inclinations such as the human being shares in common with them, see 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 776, 2179, 2180, 2781, 3218, 3519, 5198, 5913, 8937, 9090, 9135.

Beasts were used in sacrifices in accordance with their spiritual meaning, 1823, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519.

All things existing in the world, in its three kingdoms, were representative of the spiritual and celestial realities of the Lord's kingdom, 1632, 1881, 2758, 2987-3003, 3213-3227, 3483, 3624-3649, 4939, 5116, 5427, 5428, 5477, 8211.

All things have a correspondence, 2987-3003, 3213-3226, 3337-3352, 3472-3485, 3624-3649, 3745-3750, 3883-3896, 4039-4055, 4218-4228, 4318-4331, 4403-4420, 4523-4533, 4622-4634, 4652-4660, 4791-4806, 4931-4952, 5050-5062, 5171-5189, 5377-5396, 5552-5573, 5711-5727, 8615.

[2] These references have been drawn together to enable it to be seen that not merely all beasts but also all objects in the world have a correspondence, and that in accordance with their correspondences they all represent and serve to mean spiritual and celestial realities, and in the highest sense Divine realities that are the Lord's. And from this the character of the ancient Churches, called representative Churches, may be seen. This character was such that each one of their sacred observances served to represent things that are the Lord's and belong to His kingdom, thus aspects of love to Him and belief in Him. In those times heaven was joined to a member of the Church by means of these observances, since internal aspects were presented in heaven. The Word of the Lord has also been given to the same end, for every detail in it, even to the smallest part of a letter, has a correspondence and spiritual meaning. Through the Word alone therefore is heaven linked to mankind.

[3] No one at the present day knows that this is so. Consequently when the natural man reads the Word and seeks to discover where its Divinity lies, but does not find it in the letter on account of its very ordinary style, he at first begins to disparage it and then to reject the idea that it has been dictated by God and sent down to mankind by way of heaven. The natural man does not know that the Word is Divine by virtue of its spiritual sense, which is not visible in the letter but is nevertheless present within the letter; nor does he know that this sense is presented in heaven when someone on earth reads it devoutly, and that the subject in that sense is the Lord and His kingdom. These are the Divine things which make the Word Divine and through which holiness flows from the Lord by way of heaven, even into the literal sense and into the actual letters. But as long as a person does not know what anything spiritual is he cannot know either what the spiritual sense is, nor thus what correspondence is. And as long as a person loves the world more than heaven, and self more than the Lord, he has no wish to know these things and understand them. Yet they were the source of all intelligence among the ancients, and they are also the source of wisdom among the angels. Hidden mysteries, which numerous diviners have vainly toiled to track down in the Word, lie in those things alone.

9279. 'And on the seventh day you shall cease' means a state of good, when the person is governed by internal things, and [his] peace and serenity then. This is clear from the meaning of 'the seventh day', or the sabbath, as a time when a person is governed by good and is led by the Lord by means of good, dealt with in 8495, 8510, 8890, 8893; and from the meaning of 'ceasing', or resting from work, as peace and serenity then. Regarding this state, see what has been stated and shown above in 9274, 9278.

[2] But a brief statement must be made to show why it is that when a person is governed by good he is governed by internal things. A PERSON'S EXTERNALS HAVE BEEN CREATED SO AS TO CONFORM TO AN IMAGE OF THE WORLD, BUT HIS INTERNALS TO CONFORM TO AN IMAGE OF HEAVEN, see 6057. Therefore also his externals receive things that belong to the world, but his internals those that belong to heaven. A person's externals belonging to the world are gradually opened up as he progresses from early childhood on into adult life; so are his internals. But the externals are opened up by things belonging to the world, whereas the internals are opened up by those belonging to heaven. Areas of the mind opened up in this way are of two kinds, those in the understanding and those in the will. Those in the understanding are opened up by things connected with truth, and those in the will by things connected with good; for everything in the whole created order, both in the world and in heaven, has connection with truth and good. The things connected with truth are called matters of knowledge and discernment, but those connected with good are called matters of love and affection. This shows exactly what those things are which open up a person's life and what they are like.

[3] As regards the internal man, which has been created so as to conform to an image of heaven, as has been stated, discernments of the truth and good of faith received from the Lord, and therefore of faith in the Lord, are what open up the areas in the understanding there. And affections for truth and good, which are attributes of love received from the Lord, and therefore of love offered to the Lord, are what open up the areas in the will, consequently form heaven and so an image of the Lord with him; for heaven is an image of the Lord. So it is that heaven is called the Grand Man, see 1276, 2996, 2998, 3624-3649, 3741-3751, 4218-4228, and that the human being has been created so as to conform to an image of heaven and an image of the world, 3628, 4523, 4524, 6013, 6057, and a person who has been regenerated and an angel are heaven and the Church in their smallest form, 1900, 3624ff, 3634ff, 3884, 4040, 4041, 4292, 4625, 6013, 6057, 6605, 6626, 8989. From all this it becomes clear why it is that when a person is governed by good he is governed by internal things. But regarding the opening up of a person's internals and externals, more will in the Lord's Divine mercy be stated further on.