8535. 'So Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept' means that it was in the presence of the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of 'laying up to be kept' as to preserve the memory of it, as above in 8526 (end), 8533; and from the meaning of 'before the Testimony' as in the presence of the Divine. The fact that 'the Testimony' means the Divine is evident from what comes before, where Moses tells Aaron to lay it up before Jehovah, 8532, that is, before the Divine. The reason why 'the Testimony' means the Divine is that in the universal sense 'the Testimony' is used to mean the Word, and the Word is Divine truth, thus the Lord. That He is the Word is evident in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:1, 14

The fact that 'the Testimony' is the Lord in respect of Divine Truth is clear from the ark containing the law delivered from Sinai, which is called the Testimony. From it the tabernacle derived all the holiness it possessed, and the Testimony was God's holiness itself. This is evident from the consideration that above it there was the Mercy Seat with the cherubim; immediately outside the veil there, there stood the tables of gold with the loaves and the lamps; Aaron performed the holiest act of worship there and also Jehovah afterwards spoke to Moses there, above the Mercy Seat between the two cherubs, thus from the Testimony. For these details, see Exodus 22:16, 21, 22; 40:20.

8533. 'To be kept for your generations' means to be the measure for those belonging to that spiritual Church. This is clear from the meaning of the omer of man[na] which was laid up 'to be kept', as the sufficient amount, dealt with in 8468, thus also the measure, that is to say, amount of good this Church had, 'your generations' being those who belong to the spiritual Church, see above in 8526. As regards the measure or degree of the good the Church possesses, it should be recognized that all good in the next life is clearly defined so far as the character and volume of it is concerned, and that it is clearly defined with every person while he lives in the world. What defines it is the character and amount of the particular person's faith and charity in life. The character and volume of every person's good is revealed in the next life before angels when the Lord allows such to be revealed; for they can be demonstrated in the light of heaven, but not in the light of the world. The same is so with good in general, that is to say, with the Church's good. The volume and character of the good which each person or the Church possesses is represented in the Word by weights and measures; in the present instance the volume or amount of good in the spiritual Church, the Church represented by the children of Israel, is represented by the omer of manna that was laid up to be kept, before Jehovah.