3834. 'That he took Leah his daughter and brought her to him, and he came [in] to her' means that as yet it was a joining merely to the affection for external truth. This is clear from the representation of 'Leah' as the affection for external truth, dealt with in 3793, 3819. 'Bringing her to him' clearly means a joining together as in marriage. The implications of this are that with a person who feels an affection for internal truth, that is, has a desire to know the more internal arcana of the Lord's kingdom, those arcana are not in the beginning joined to him even though he knows them and sometimes even though he acknowledges and seemingly believes them. For worldly and bodily affections are still present, and these cause him to take them in and seemingly believe them. But insofar as those affections are present those truths cannot be joined to him. It is solely the affection for truth deriving from good and the affection for good which attach them to him. Insofar as anyone is stirred by these affections more internal truths are joined to him, for truths are the recipient vessels of good.

[2] Indeed the Lord provides against celestial and spiritual truths, such as all interior truths are, being joined to any affections other than genuine ones. This is why the general affection for truth deriving from good comes first and why truths that are implanted in it are none but general truths. States of truth are altogether what they are by virtue of states of good, that is, a state of faith is what it is by virtue of a state of charity. For example, even the evil are able to know that the Lord rules the whole of heaven, and also that heaven consists in mutual love and love to the Lord, as well as that these loves enable those in heaven to be joined to the Lord, and to receive wisdom and happiness there. The evil can indeed be convinced that all this is true. But the truth of faith has not been joined to them, still less the good of love. It is from the life that one knows whether these have been joined to a person, as a tree is known from its fruit. In the case of the evil it is like grapes containing no pips. When these are cast into the soil, no matter how fertile this is, they turn into mere compost. It is also like the glow at night of an ignis fatuus which vanishes the moment the sun comes up. But in the Lord's Divine mercy further discussion of this matter will appear later on.

3793. 'Rachel came with the flock' means the affection for interior truth belonging to the Church and to doctrine. This is clear from the representation of 'Rachel' as the affection for interior truth, and from the meaning of 'the flock' as the Church and also as doctrine, dealt with in 3767, 3768, 3783. To enable it to be known how 'Rachel' represents the affection for interior truth, and 'Leah' the affection for exterior truth, let a brief statement be made about the matter: The natural, which 'Jacob' represents, consists of good and of truth; and within the natural, as within every single part in the human being, and indeed within the whole natural order, there ought to be a marriage of good and truth. Without this marriage nothing is produced, for every act of bringing forth and every effect is from that marriage. When he is born there is no marriage of good and truth within a person's natural because the human being, unlike other creatures, is not born into a condition where Divine order is present. It is true that good which goes with innocence and charity is present, flowing from the Lord in earliest childhood; but no truth is present to which that good may be coupled. As he advances in life this good which has been instilled by the Lord into a person in early childhood is drawn in towards the interior parts and kept there by the Lord so that it may serve to modify the states of life which he experiences subsequently. As a consequence without the good belonging to his infancy and early childhood the human being would be worse and more vicious than any wild animal. When that good belonging to earliest childhood is drawn inwards, evil in that case takes its place and enters the person's natural. Falsity then couples itself to that evil, and a joining together and so to speak a marriage of evil and falsity takes place with him. If a person is to be saved therefore, he has to be regenerated. Evil has to be removed and good instilled by the Lord. And in the measure that he receives good truth is instilled into him so that a coupling, or so to speak marriage, of good and truth takes place.

[2] These are the matters represented by Jacob and his two wives, Rachel and Leah. 'Jacob' now takes on the representation of natural good therefore, and 'Rachel' that of truth. But since all joining of truth to good is effected through affection, it is the affection for truth coupled to good that 'Rachel' represents. Furthermore the natural, like the rational, has an interior and an exterior. 'Rachel' represents the affection for interior truth, and 'Leah' the affection for exterior truth. 'Laban', who is their father, represents a good that springs from a common stock, but is a parallel good, as has been stated. That good is the good which in the parallel line corresponds to the truth of the rational, which is 'Rebekah', 3012, 3013, 3077. Daughters descended from that good therefore represent affections existing within the natural, for these are like daughters fathered by that good. And because those affections are to be coupled to natural good they consequently represent affections for truth - the first representing the affection for interior truth, the second the affection for exterior truth.

[3] The regeneration of a person's natural is altogether like Jacob and Laban's two daughters, Rachel and Leah. Anyone therefore who can see and understand the internal sense of the Word sees this arcanum which has been disclosed to him, but no one else is able to see it except him in whom good and truth are present. No others, no matter how good a perception they may have of the things to do with personal life and life in society and may seem to be highly intelligent, are able to see and then to acknowledge anything at all of that arcanum. Indeed they do not know what good and truth are, for they imagine evil to be good, and falsity to be truth. For this reason the moment good is mentioned the idea of evil presents itself, and the moment truth is mentioned the idea of falsity does so. Consequently they perceive nothing of the things contained in the internal sense, but as soon as they hear anything of it darkness descends which extinguishes the light.