8510. 'That some of the people went out to gather, and did not find' means that they wished to acquire it, but none was given. This is clear from the explanation above in 8505. The explanation there shows what actions springing from the truth of faith are and what those springing from the good of charity are. That is to say, it shows that a person whose actions spring from the truth of faith does not as yet have the order of heaven present in himself, whereas one whose actions spring from the good of charity does have it. For, according to order, when the Lord leads a person He does so through his will, consequently through good since this belongs properly to the will. In that case his understanding is subservient, and so is truth since this belongs properly to the understanding. When this state exists it is the sabbath, for then there is rest for the Lord; and the state comes into being once good has been joined to truth. That this state is the Lord's rest may be recognized from the statement that after six days of creation and labour Jehovah or the Lord rested on the seventh day from all His work, Genesis 2:2. This state is heaven's state, which explains why heaven itself is called the sabbath, and that in heaven the sabbath is perpetual. For the creation story in Genesis 1 serves to mean the new creation, which is regeneration, and the six days in the story serves to mean temptations and conflicts, see the explanations at Genesis 1, 2.

3763. Verses 2-3 And he saw, and behold, a well in the field, and behold, three droves of a flock there, lying nearby it; for out of that well they watered the droves; and there was a large stone over the mouth of the well. And all the droves would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from over the mouth of the well and water the flock; and they would put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.

'He saw' means perception. 'Behold, a well' means the Word. 'In the field' means provided for the Churches. 'And behold, three droves of a flock there, lying nearby it' means the holy things that constitute the Churches and their matters of doctrine. 'For out of that well they watered the droves' means knowledge obtained from there. 'And there was a large stone over the mouth of the well' means that it was closed up. 'And all the droves would be gathered there' means that all the Churches and their doctrinal teaching come from there. 'And they would roll the stone from over the mouth of the well' means that they opened it up. 'And water the flock' means that the doctrine was drawn from it. 'And they would put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well' means that it was closed up for the time being.