10569. 'And how will it ever be made known that I have found grace in Your eyes, I and Your people? Will it not be in Your going with us?' means acceptance in preference to others if the Divine shows Himself among them. This is clear from the meaning of 'being made known', when it has reference to the Divine among them, as being revealed; from the meaning of 'finding grace in Jehovah's eyes' as being accepted, dealt with above in 10563, in this instance being accepted in preference to others since the words that follow state that if accepted 'I and Your people will be made more distinguished than all the people who are on the face of the ground'; and from the meaning of 'going with us', when it has reference to Jehovah, as the Divine acting as leader, at this point into the land of Canaan, dealt with above in 10567. From all this it is evident that 'how will it ever be made known that I have found grace in Your eyes, I and Your people? Will it not be in Your going with us?' means acceptance in preference to others if the Divine shows Himself among them.

[2] When the words 'in Jehovah's eyes' are used the meaning is the Lord's Divine presence within the truths and forms of the good of faith and love residing with people on earth and with angels in heaven. The reason why the Lord is present within truths and forms of the good of faith and love is that these originate in the Lord Himself, and when the Lord is present within these things as they reside with people on earth or with angels, He is present in what is His residing with them and not in what is their own or their proprium, since this is evil. So it is also that in the Word, in places where people who are receptive of the things which are Divine and the Lord's are the subject, faith and also a receptive understanding is meant by 'the eyes'; for the understanding is the eye within, and faith is the truth that is seen and perceived by it. Regarding 'the eyes', that when people are the subject in the Word, faith and also the understanding are meant by them, see 2701, 4403-4421, 4523-4534, 9051.

[3] The origin of this sight must also be stated. A real light exists that enlightens the understanding, altogether distinct and separate from the light which enables the eyes of the body to see. The light which enlightens the understanding comes from heaven, whereas that which enables the eyes of the body to see exists in the world. The light of heaven flows from the Lord as the Sun there and is essentially Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good. From this it is evident why it is that by 'the eyes', when they are attributed to Jehovah, the Lord's Divine presence is meant, and that by 'the eyes', when they are attributed to people receptive of the Lord's Divine Truth or His light, faith and an enlightened understanding are meant.

[4] The existence of the real light that enlightens human minds and forms the understanding is not known in the world, even though people attribute vision and light to the understanding, and even though very many times in the Word the Lord is called the Light, which is taken to mean that He is seen by means of faith and the light of faith. The fact that the real light is what enlightens human minds, and that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord as the Sun is that Light, imparting an intelligent understanding of truth where it is received, see in the places referred to in 9548, 9684, and also what is said in 9570, 9571(end), 9594.

[5] From all this it becomes clear what is meant in the Word by 'Jehovah's eyes', as in Isaiah,

Incline Your ear, O Jehovah, and hear; and open Your eyes, O Jehovah, and see. Isaiah 37:17.

In Jeremiah,

I will set My eye on them for good, and I will bring them back onto their land and build them. Jeremiah 24:6.

In David,

Behold, the eye of Jehovah is on those who fear Him. Psalms 33:18.

And in the same author,

Jehovah is in His holy temple, Jehovah's throne is in heaven; His eyes see, and His eyelids test the sons of man. Psalms 11:4.

And elsewhere.

2776. 'Offer him as a burnt offering' means that He was to sanctify Himself to the Divine. This is clear from the representation of 'a burnt offering' among the Hebrew nation, and in the Jewish Church, as the holiest act of their worship. There were burnt offerings and there were sacrifices, and as regards what these represented, see 922, 923, 1823, 2180. Sanctifications were effected by means of burnt offerings and sacrifices, and that is why in this verse 'offering a burnt offering' means being sanctified to the Divine. For the Lord sanctified Himself to the Divine, that is, He united the Human to the Divine by means of the conflicts brought about by temptations, and by means of the victories in these, see 1663, 1690, 1692 (end), 1692, 1737, 1787, 1812, 1813, 1820.

[2] It is generally believed at the present day that the burnt offerings and sacrifices were signs of the Lord's passion, and that by His passion the Lord atoned for the iniquities of all. Indeed it is believed that He drew away those iniquities on to Himself, and thus bore them Himself, so that those who believe are made righteous and are saved, if only they think, even in the last hour prior to death, that the Lord suffered on their behalf, no matter how they may have lived throughout the whole course of their lives. But such beliefs are mistaken. The passion of the Cross was the utmost degree of temptation endured by the Lord, by means of which He fully united the Human to the Divine and the Divine to the Human, and by doing this glorified Himself. That union itself is the means by which people possessing faith in Him that is grounded in charity are able to be saved. For the Supreme Divine Itself was no longer able to reach the human race which had removed itself so far away from the celestial things of love, and from the spiritual things of faith, that people did not even recognize them any more, let alone perceive them. Consequently to enable the Supreme Divine to come down to all such as this, the Lord came into the world and united the Human to the Divine within Himself. This union could not have been effected except by means of the very severe conflicts brought about by temptations and by means of victories in these, and at length by means of the final temptation, which was that of the Cross.

[3] As a result of this the Lord is able from the Divine Human to enlighten human minds, even those that are quite remote from the celestial things of love, provided that faith grounded in charity is present in them. For in the next life the Lord appears to celestial angels as the Sun, and to spiritual angels as the Moon, 1053, 1521, 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495 - all the light of heaven flowing from Him. The light of heaven is such that when it enlightens the eyes of spirits and angels it also at the same time enlightens their understanding. This ability to enlighten the understanding also exists inherently within that light, so that the amount of internal light, that is, of understanding, which anyone possesses in heaven is the same as the amount of external light he has. This shows the way in which the light of heaven is different from the light of the world. It is the Lord's Divine Human that enlightens both the eyes and the understanding of those who are spiritual, but this could never be done unless the Lord had united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence. And unless He had united them neither men in the world, nor indeed any spiritual angel in heaven, would any longer have possessed any ability to understand or to perceive that which is good or true. Nor thus would they have possessed any blessedness and happiness at all, nor consequently any salvation at all. From this it becomes clear that the human race could not have been saved unless the Lord had assumed the Human and glorified it.

[4] From what has now been stated anyone may decide for himself the truth or otherwise of the idea that people are saved, no matter how they may have lived, if only they think from some inner emotion that the Lord suffered on their behalf and bore their sins. But in reality the light of heaven received from the Lord's Divine Human is able to reach none except those with whom there exists the good that accompanies faith, that is, who lead charitable lives, or what amounts to the same, who possess conscience. The level itself into which that light can operate, that is, the receptacle for that light, is the good that accompanies faith, which is charity and thus conscience. That those who are spiritual have salvation from the Lord's Divine Human, see 1043, 2661, 2716, 2718.