3579. And God shall give thee of the dew of heaven. That this signifies from Divine truth, and that “of the fat things of the earth” signifies from Divine good, is evident from the signification of the “dew of heaven,” as being truth (of which in what follows); and from the signification of “fat things,” as being good (n. 353), both Divine in the supreme sense, in which they are predicated of the Lord. With the multiplication of truth and fructification of good the case is this: When the rational flows into the natural, it there presents its good in a general form; through this good it produces truths therein, almost as the life in man builds up fibers, and disposes them into forms according to uses. This good, through these truths disposed into heavenly order, produces further good; and through this good further truths, which are derivations. Such a natural idea may be had of the formation of truth from good, and further of good through truth, whereby again truth is formed; but a spiritual idea cannot be had except by those who are in the other life, for there ideas are formed from the light of heaven, in which is intelligence.

[2] That “dew” signifies truth is evident also from the Word elsewhere, as in Zechariah:

The seed of peace, the vine shall give her fruit and the earth shall give her produce, and the heavens shall give their dew (Zechariah 8:12);

speaking of a new church, where the “vine giving its fruit” denotes the spiritual of the church or the truth of faith, giving good; and the “earth giving its produce,” the celestial of the church or the good of charity, giving truth; these are the “dew which the heavens shall give.”

In Haggai:

Because of Mine house that lieth waste over you the heavens are closed from dew, and the earth is closed from her produce (Haggai 1:9-10); where the “dew of the heavens and the produce of the earth,” which were restrained, have a like signification.

[3] In David:

From the womb of the dawning, thou hast the dew of thy birth (Psalms 110:3); concerning the Lord; the “dew of birth” denoting the celestial of love.

In Moses:

Blessed of Jehovah be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep lying beneath (Deuteronomy 33:13); concerning Joseph; the “precious things of heaven” are spiritual things (n. 3166), which are signified by “dew;” the “deep lying beneath” signifies natural things. Again:

Israel dwelt securely, alone at the fountain of Jacob, in a land of corn and new wine, yea his heavens dropped down dew (Deuteronomy 33:28); where also the “dew which the heavens dropped” denotes the spiritual things which are of truth.

[4] In the genuine sense “dew” is the truth of good which is from a state of innocence and peace; for by “morning” or “day-dawn,” when the dew descends, are signified these states (see n. 2333, 2405, 2540, 2780); hence also the manna which was from heaven was with the dew that descended in the morning, as may be seen from Moses:

In the morning the dew was laid round about the camp; and when the laying of the dew withdrew, behold on the faces of the wilderness a small round thing, small as the hoar frost on the ground (Exodus 16:13-14). When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it (Numbers 11:9).

As the manna was heavenly bread, in the supreme sense it signified the Lord as to the Divine good; hence with men the celestial of love, for this is from the Divine of the the Lord, (n. 276

680, 1798, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478); the “dew” in which and with which the manna descended, in the supreme sense denotes the Divine truth; and in the relative sense, the spiritual truth with men; “morning” is the state of peace in which these goods are (n. 92, 93, 1726, 2780, 3170).

[5] Inasmuch as “dew” signifies the truth which is from good, or what is the same, the spiritual which is from the celestial, therefore also in the Word spiritual truth is compared to “dew;” for things which signify serve also for comparison with the same thing, as in Isaiah:

Thus hath Jehovah said unto me, I will be still, and I will behold in My dwelling-place; like serene heat upon light; like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest (Isaiah 18:4).

In Hosea:

O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? For your holiness is as a cloud of the dawn, and as the dew that falleth in the morning (Hosea 6:4; 13:3).

Again:

I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, and shall fix his roots as Lebanon (Hosea 14:5).

In Micah:

The remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples as dew from Jehovah, as drops upon the herb (Micah 5:7).

In David:

Like the goodly oil upon the head that came down upon the border of Aaron’s garments; like the dew of Hermon that cometh down upon the mountains of Zion; for there Jehovah commanded the blessing of life forevermore (Psalms 133:2-3

And in Moses:

My doctrine shall drop as the rain, My word shall distil as the dew; as the small rain upon the grass; and as drops upon the herb (Deuteronomy 32:2); where “dew” denotes the multiplication of truth from good, and the fructification of good through truth; and as the dew is that which every morning renders the field and vineyard fruitful, good itself and truth are signified by “corn and new wine,” concerning which in what follows.

2405. When the dawn arose. That this signifies when the Lord’s kingdom is approaching, is evident from the signification in the Word of the “dawn” or “morning.” As in this chapter the subject treated of is the successive states of the church, that which is done in the evening is first treated of, next that which is done in the night, and there now follows that which is done in the morning twilight, and presently that which is done after the sun is gone forth. The twilight is here expressed by “when the dawn arose,” and it denotes the time when the upright are being separated from the evil; which separation is treated of in this verse, and as far as verse 22, by Lot together with his wife and daughters being led out and saved. That separation precedes Judgment is evident from the Lord’s words in Matthew:

Before Him shall be gathered all nations, and He shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:32).

[2] This time or state is called in the Word the “dawn,” because the Lord then comes; or what is the same, His kingdom then approaches. The case is similar with the good, for at such a time there shines out with them a semblance of the morning twilight or dawn; and therefore in the Word the advent of the Lord is compared to the “morning,” and is also called the “morning.” As in Hosea:

After two days Jehovah will revive us, on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live before Him; and we shall know, and we shall follow on to know Jehovah; His going forth is as the dawn (Hosea 6:2-3

“Two days” denotes the time and state which precedes; the “third day” denotes the Judgment, or the advent of the Lord, and therefore the approach of His kingdom (n. 720, 901), which advent or approach is compared to the “dawn.”

[3] In Samuel:

The God of Israel is as the light of the morning, the sun riseth, a morning without clouds; from the brightness, from the rain, there is a growth from the earth (2 Samuel 23:4).

The “God of Israel” denotes the Lord; for no other God of Israel was meant in that church, and He was represented in each and all things of it.

In Joel:

The day of Jehovah cometh, for it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and of thick darkness, a day of cloud and obscurity; as the dawn spread upon the mountains (Joel 2:1-2).

Here also the Lord’s advent and His kingdom are treated of; it is said a “day of darkness and of thick darkness,” because the good are then being separated from the evil, as here Lot from the men of Sodom; and after the good have been separated, the evil perish.

[4] That the Lord’s advent or the approach of His kingdom, is not merely compared to the “morning,” but is actually called the “morning,” may be seen in Daniel:

A holy one said, How long shall be the vision, the continual sacrifice, and the transgression that maketh waste? He said unto me, Until evening and morning, two thousand three hundred, then shall the holy one be justified. The vision of the evening and the morning which hath been told is truth (Daniel 8:13-14, 26).

“morning” here manifestly denotes the Lord’s advent.

In David:

Thy people are willing offerings in the day of thy strength, in honors of holiness, from the womb of the dawn thou hast the dew of thy youth ¹ (Psalms 110:3).

In this whole Psalm the subject treated of is the Lord, and His victories in temptations, which are the “day of His strength,” and the “honors of His holiness;” “from the womb of the dawn,” denotes Himself, thus the Divine love from which He fought.

[5] In Zephaniah:

Jehovah in the midst of her is righteous, He will not do perversity; in the morning, in the morning will He give judgment for light (Zeph. 3:5).

The “morning” denotes the time and state of Judgment, which is the same as that of the Lord’s advent; and this is the same as the approach of His kingdom.

[6] Because the “morning” signified these things, in order that the same might be represented, it was commanded that:

Aaron and his sons should light up the lamp, and should order it from evening until morning before Jehovah (Exodus 27:21).

The “evening” here denotes the twilight before the morning (n. 2323). In like manner it was commanded that the fire upon the altar should be kindled every morning (Leviticus 6:5); also that nothing of the paschal lamb and of the sanctified things of the sacrifices should be left till the morning (Exodus 12:10; 23:18; 34:25; Leviticus 22:29-30; Numbers 9:12); by which was signified that when the Lord came, sacrifices should cease.

[7] In a general sense it is called “morning” both when the dawn appears, and when the sun rises; and in this latter case “morning” denotes the Judgment as it concerns both the good and the evil, as in this chapter:

The sun was gone forth upon the earth, and Lot came unto Zoar; and Jehovah caused it to rain upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire (Genesis 19:23-24).

In like manner insofar as regards the Judgment upon the evil; in David:

In the mornings will I destroy all the wicked of the land, to cut off from the city of Jehovah all the workers of iniquity (Psalms 101:8).

And in Jeremiah:

Let that man be as the cities which Jehovah overthrew, and He repenteth not; and let him hear a cry in the morning (Jeremiah 20:16).

As in the proper sense the “morning” signifies the Lord, His advent, and thus the approach of His kingdom, it is evident what it signifies besides, namely, the rise of a new church (for this is the Lord’s kingdom on earth), and this both in general and in particular, and even in the least particular; in general, when any church on the globe is being raised up anew; in particular, when a man is being regenerated, and being made new (for then the Lord’s kingdom is arising in him, and he is becoming a church); and in the least particular, whenever the good of love and faith is working in him; for in this consists the advent of the Lord. Hence the Lord’s resurrection on the third day in the morning (Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1) involves all these things (even in the particular and the least particular) in regard to His rising again in the minds of the regenerate every day, and even every moment.

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