4145. Because longing thou hast longed toward thy father’s house. That this signifies a longing for conjunction with Divine good that flows in directly, is evident from the signification here of “father’s house” (that is, the house of Isaac and Abraham), as being the good that inflows directly. (That “house” denotes good, see above, n. 2233, 2234, 3652, 3720; that “father” also denotes good, n. 3703; that “Isaac” is the good of the rational, see n. 3012, 3194, 3210.) and besides, Abraham together with Isaac represents the Divine good that inflows directly, and Laban collateral good, or that which does not inflow directly (see n. 3665, 3778). Collateral good, or that which does not inflow directly, is that good which has been called mediate good, for this good derives many things from worldly things which appear as goods, but are not goods; while the good that flows in directly is that which comes immediately from the Lord, or from the Lord mediately through heaven, and is Divine good separated from such worldly good as just referred to.

[2] Every man who is being regenerated is first in mediate good, in order that it may serve for introducing genuine goods and truths; but after it has served this use, this good is separated, and the man is brought to good which flows in more directly. Thus the man who is being regenerated is perfected by degrees. For example: he who is being regenerated believes at first that the good which he thinks and does is from himself, and that he also merits something; for he does not yet know, and if he knows he does not comprehend, that good can flow in from some other source, nor that it can be otherwise than that he should be recompensed, because he does it from himself. Unless at first he believed this, he would never do any good. But by this means he is initiated not only into the affection of doing what is good, but also into knowledges concerning good and also concerning merit; and when in this manner he has been led into the affection of doing what is good, he then begins to think differently and to believe differently, namely, that good flows in from the Lord, and that by the good which he does from his own he merits nothing; and at last when he is in the affection of willing and doing what is good, he altogether rejects self-merit, and even has an aversion for it, and is affected with good from good. When he is in this state, good flows in directly.

[3] Take also as an example conjugial love: the good which precedes and initiates is beauty, or agreement of manners, or an outward adaptation of the one to the other, or equality of condition, or a desired condition. These goods are the first mediate goods of conjugial love. Afterwards comes conjunction of minds, wherein the one wills as the other, and perceives delight in doing that which pleases the other. This is the second state; and then the former things, though still present, are no longer regarded. Finally there follows a unition in respect to celestial good and spiritual truth, in that the one believes as the other, and the one is affected by the same good as the other. When this state comes, both are together in the heavenly marriage, which is that of good and truth, and thus are in conjugial love—for conjugial love is nothing else—and the Lord then flows into the affections of both as into one affection. This is the good that flows in directly; but the former goods, which flowed in indirectly, served as means of introduction to this.

3210. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. That this signifies the sanctuary of truth in the Divine Human, is evident from the signification of “tent,” as being what is holy (see n. 414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 2576), and thus a sanctuary; and from the signification of “Sarah the mother,” as being Divine truth (see n. 1468, 1901, 2063, 2065, 2904), of which was born the Divine Human, whose rational is represented by the son Isaac; whence it is evident that “Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent,” signifies that rational good brought with it the truth which is represented by Rebekah, into the sanctuary of truth.

[2] What the sanctuary of truth is may be seen from what was said above (n. 3194) concerning the Lord’s Divine Human; namely, that the veriest Divine has Good and Truth; and that the Lord, as to the Divine Human, came forth from the Divine good, and was born (namely, as to the Divine Human ¹ of the Divine truth; or what is the same, that the very esse of the Lord was Divine good, but the very existere was Divine truth: from this was the Divine good rational, with which He conjoined Divine truth from the Human. Concerning this very deep arcanum more cannot be said. We will only add that it is the veriest Divine good and truth in the Lord’s Divine Human with which truth from the Human was conjoined, that was signified by the Sanctuary, or Holy of holies, in the tabernacle, and in the temple; and its quality was represented by the things therein contained, as by the golden altar, by the table on which were the showbreads [panes propositionis], by the candlestick, and still more internally by the propitiatory, and by the ark, and inmostly by the testimony, which was the law promulgated from Sinai, and which was the very Holy of Holies, or the Sanctuary of truth.

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