1460. The symbolism of there was famine in the land as the scarcity of knowledge that still affected the Lord when he was young can be seen from remarks above. ¹ In our youth, the knowledge we have never comes from inside but from the objects of the senses, especially from what we hear. As noted [§1458:5], our outer self contains receiving vessels, which are called vessels of memory. Knowledge forms these vessels, as anyone can see, and does so under the influence and with the help of the inner self. So knowledge is learned and planted in the memory to the extent that the inner self exerts an influence. This was true for the Lord too, when he was young, because he was born like the rest of us and was taught like the rest of us. His inner capacities, however, were heavenly ones, which adapted the vessels so that they could receive knowledge, and so that the various points of knowledge could then become vessels for receiving divinity. His inner aspects were divine ones from Jehovah, his Father; his outer aspects were human ones from Mary, his mother.

This demonstrates that in the Lord, just as in other people, the outer self suffered a shortage of knowledge in his youth.

[2] The symbolism of a famine as a scarcity of knowledge can be seen in other passages of the Word. In Isaiah, for example:

The work of Jehovah they do not examine, and the product of his hands they do not see. Therefore my people will go into exile because they lack knowledge. And their nobility will be victims of famine; and their multitude will be parched with thirst. (Isaiah 5:12-13)

Victims of famine stand for a dearth of heavenly knowledge; a multitude parched with thirst stands for a dearth of spiritual knowledge. In Jeremiah:

They lied against Jehovah and said, "He does not exist, and evil will not come on us, and sword and famine we will not see. And the prophets will become wind, and no word will come to them." (Jeremiah 5:12-13)

Sword and famine stand for being deprived of the knowledge of truth and goodness. The prophets stand for people who teach but do not have "the word" in them. Passages throughout the Word show that being devoured by sword and famine is being deprived of the knowledge of truth and goodness. They also show that sword and famine are purgative; a sword is that which purges our spiritual elements, while famine is that which purges our heavenly elements. Examples are Jeremiah 14:13, 14, 15-16, 18; Lamentations 4:9; and so on.

[3] Ezekiel contains another example:

And more famine I will bring on you, and I will break the staff of bread for you. ² And I will send famine on you, and the evil wild animal, and they will bereave you; and a sword I will bring on you. (Ezekiel 5:16-17)

Famine stands for being bereft of heavenly knowledge, or of the knowledge of what is good. The result is falsity and evil. In David:

And [Jehovah] called down a famine on the land; the whole staff of bread he broke. (Psalms 105:16)

Breaking the staff of bread stands for being deprived of heavenly nourishment. For good spirits and angels, no other bread sustains life than the knowledge of what is good and true, and goodness and truth itself. This fact leads to the inner-level symbolism of famine and bread. In the same author:

He has satisfied the longing soul, and the starving soul he has filled with good [food]. (Psalms 107:9)

The starving soul stands for people who desire knowledge. In Jeremiah:

Lift the palms of your hands over the soul of your children, who faint with hunger at the head of all your streets. (Lamentations 2:19)

Hunger stands for a lack of knowledge, and streets for truth. In Ezekiel:

They will live securely, and no one to terrify them. And I will raise a sapling up for them, for a name, and they will no longer be devoured by the famine in the land. (Ezekiel 34:28-29)

This stands for the fact that they will no longer be deprived of the knowledge of goodness and truth.

[4] In John:

They will no longer starve and no longer thirst. (Revelation 7:16)

This is speaking of the Lord's kingdom, whose inhabitants enjoy a wealth of all heavenly knowledge and benefits (no starving) and a wealth of spiritual knowledge and truth (no thirst). The Lord likewise said in John:

I am the bread of life; no one who comes to me will starve and no one who believes in me will ever thirst. (John 6:35)

In Luke:

Fortunate are those of you who starve now, because you will be satisfied. (Luke 6:21)

In the same author:

The starving he has filled with good [food]. (Luke 1:53)

This passage speaks of heavenly good and the knowledge of that good. The symbolism of famine as a scarcity of knowledge is mentioned openly in Amos:

Watch! The days are coming, and I will send famine into the land; not starvation for bread, and not thirst for water, but for hearing Jehovah's words. (Amos 8:11-12)

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