1489. Because of this word of Sarai, Abram's wife, means because truth needs to be connected with something heavenly. This can be seen from the symbolism of a wife, and so of Sarai the wife, as truth that needs to be connected with something heavenly, discussed above at verse 12 [§1473].

The situation is that unless facts — which filled a purpose when we were young — are destroyed and obliterated as we become rational, truth can never be wedded to any heavenly quality. Those first facts, for the most part, are earthly, bodily, and worldly in their purpose. Even though the commandments that we absorb as young people are divine, we cannot form any notions about them except on the basis of facts like those. As long as the lowly facts from which we form our ideas cling to us, then, our minds cannot be lifted up.

It was the same in the Lord's case, because he was born like any other person and had to be taught like any other person, although his progress followed a divine plan, whose nature has been discussed. ¹ The present story of Abram in Egypt depicts the divine plan by which the Lord's outer self was united with his inner self so that his outer self too would become divine.

Footnotes:

1473. That they will say, ‘This is his wife,' means that they will call such concepts heavenly. This can be seen from the symbolism of a wife as truth connected to heavenly qualities and so from the symbolism of this is his wife as something heavenly.