10210. 'With the blood of the sin [offering] of expiations' means by means of truths which spring from the good of innocence. This is clear from the meaning of 'the blood' as Divine Truth, dealt with in 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7846, 7850, 9127, 9393, 10026, 10033, 10047; and from the meaning of 'the sin [offering] of expiations', or the sin sacrifice by means of which expiation was made, as purification from evils and consequent falsities.

'Sin' is used to mean a sacrifice for sin, see 10039.

'Expiation' means purification from evils and consequent falsities, 9506.

The reason why this purification is accomplished by means of truths which spring from the good of innocence is that the blood with which the expiation was accomplished came from a young bull or from a lamb, and 'a young bull' means the good of innocence in the external man, 9391, 9990, 10132, 'a lamb' the good of innocence in the internal man, 10132; and innocence must be present if truth and good are to be received, 3111, 3994, 4797, 6013, 6765, 7836(end), 7840, 9262, 10134, as well as the places referred to in 10021. The good of innocence consists in acknowledging that all truths and forms of good come from the Lord and none at all from the human self or proprium; thus it consists in wishing to be led by the Lord and not by self. From this it is evident that the more a person trusts and believes in himself, thus the more he is ruled by self-love, the less the good of innocence is present in him. This is why a person cannot be purified from evils unless the good of innocence is present in him. For if this good is not present that person is led not by the Lord but by self; and anyone who is led by self is led by hell, since the human proprium is nothing but evil, and all evil belongs to hell. The fact that every expiation was accomplished with the blood either of a young bull, or of a lamb, or of turtle doves, that is, young pigeons, is clear in Moses, in Exodus 29:36; Leviticus 4:1-7, 13-18, 27-end; 5:1-7; 15:14, 24, 28-31; Numbers 6:9-11. 'Turtle doves' and 'young pigeons' as well mean the good of innocence.

3203. 'And dropped down from upon the camel' means the separation of this affection from facts within the natural man, at the point when rational good was seen. This is clear from the meaning of 'dropped down' as being separated, and from the meaning of 'camels' as facts within the natural man, dealt with in 3048, 3071. That the separation took place when rational good, represented by Isaac, was seen is self-evident. What is meant by being separated from the natural man has been stated and shown above in 3161, 3175, 3182, 3188, 3190. There one may see that the affection for truth is separated from the natural man at the point when truth ceases to be merely something known and becomes a matter of life. For when it becomes a matter of life, then - through the person's habitual reliance on it - that truth permeates his whole being in the way that his innate disposition or character does. And when it permeates him in this way it flows so to speak spontaneously into action - without his thinking about any fact he has learned regarding that truth. Indeed when it becomes a matter of life, that truth can command those facts, drawing on innumerable ones as confirmations. The situation with all truth is that at its earliest stage it is merely something known, but as it develops with a person it becomes a matter of life. It is as it is with young children when they learn to walk, to talk, to think, and to use their intelligence and make sensible judgements. Once these activities - through habitual engagement in them - have become unpremeditated and so spontaneous, they disappear from among the facts they possess about how to do those things, because they are now instinctive.

[2] A similar situation also exists with the things that constitute the cognitions of spiritual good and truth among people whom the Lord is regenerating or causing to be born again. At first they are exactly like young children, in that at that time the spiritual truths which they possess exist as facts, for when matters of doctrine are learned and introduced into the memory they are nothing other than facts. But then the Lord summons those facts from the memory one after another and implants them in the person's life, that is, in good; for good is his life. Once this has happened a conversion so to speak takes place, that is to say, the person starts to act from good, that is, from life, and no longer from knowledge as he had done previously. Accordingly, anyone who is being born anew is like a young child in this respect; but they are matters to do with spiritual life that he absorbs, so that he does not act from doctrine, or truth, but from charity, or good. When this happens a state of blessedness begins with him and wisdom begins to exist with him. These considerations show what separation from facts within the natural man is, meant by Rebekah's dropping down from upon the camel, which she did before she knew that it was Isaac. These details, as anyone may see, embody arcana within them.