10178. 'With pieces of shittim wood you shall make it' means from love that is Divine. This is clear from the meaning of 'shittim wood' as the good of merit and of righteousness, which is the Lord's alone, dealt with in 9472, 9486, 9715. The reason why love as well is meant is that when the Lord was in the world He was motivated by Divine Love to fight against all the hells and overcome them, and in so doing to save the human race, as a result of which He alone has earned merit, and has become righteousness, see 9486, 9715, 9809, 10019, 10152; and the good of merit which is the Lord's is therefore His Divine Love. The reason why 'shittim wood' has so profound a meaning is that all things which exist in earth's three kingdoms - the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms - serve to mean spiritual and celestial realities, or else their opposites. (For the whole natural order is a theatre representative of the Lord's kingdom, see the places referred to in 9280.) And 'wood' means in general the good of love, and in particular the good of merit, 2784, 2812, 3720, 4943, 8354, 8740. So it is that in the highest sense 'wood' means Divine Good; for all things serving in the internal sense to mean aspects of the Church and of heaven serve in the highest sense to mean Divine realities.

8623. 'And Moses built an altar' means for the holiness of worship and of remembrance. This is clear from the meaning of 'an altar' as the chief representative of the Lord, dealt with in 2777, 2811, 4489, and consequently the holiness of worship, 4541. The reason why it is also for remembrance is that in ancient times heaps were erected to serve as a witness and memorial that something was to stand firm and be remembered; and later on altars were erected too, 4192. Moses' altar was built for the remembrance of something, which was that because Amalek's hand was against the throne of Jah the war of Jehovah would be against him from generation to generation. The fact that altars too were erected to serve as a witness and memorial is clear from the altar which the Reubenites, Gadites, and half tribe of Manasseh built by the Jordan. They told the children of Israel who wished to go to war against them that they had built it to be a witness to the fact that they were to worship Jehovah, not with burnt offerings and sacrifices on that altar but on the altar before the tabernacle. ¹ Therefore they called the former,

A witness between us and you that Jehovah is God. Joshua 22:10-34.

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