10047. 'And sprinkle it over the altar round about' means a joining to Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the blood', which was to be sprinkled over the altar round about, as Divine Truth, dealt with in 10026, 10033; and from the representation of 'the altar' as that which was representative of the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with in 9388, 9389, 9714, 9964. From this it is evident that 'sprinkling the blood over the altar round about' means uniting Divine Truth to Divine Good within the Lord.

[2] The situation here is this: As has been stated above, the subject in the present chapter is the glorification of the Lord's Human, and in the representative sense the regeneration of a person by the Lord. As regards the glorification of the Lord's Human, this was accomplished by the uniting of Divine Truth to Divine Good. Divine Good, which is Jehovah, was within the Lord, as the soul from the father is within a person; for He had been conceived from Jehovah. He made His Human Divine Truth by Divine means, in particular by conflicts brought by temptations; and to the extent that He united Divine Truth to Divine Good He glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine. This uniting is what sprinkling the blood round about the altar means in the highest sense.

When in the world the Lord made His Human Divine Truth and united it to the Divine Good that was within Him, and in so doing He glorified His Human, see the places referred to in 9199 (end), 9315 (end).

Jehovah His Father means the Divine Good that was within Him, see the places referred to in 9194.

[3] Even as the Lord glorified His Human, so also He regenerates a person. For in the case of a person the Lord flows in with good by way of the soul, which is an inward path, and with truth by way of hearing and sight, which is an outward path. And to the extent that the person refrains from evils the Lord joins good to truth. The good then becomes the good of charity towards the neighbour and of love to God, while the truth becomes the truth of faith. In this way the Lord creates a new person or regenerates him, for the regeneration of a person, as stated above, is accomplished by purification from evils and falsities, the implantation of good and truth, and the joining together of them. The regeneration of a person, and in the highest sense the glorification of the Lord's Human, are what were represented by sacrifices and burnt offerings, 10022.

[4] It should be remembered that in burnt offerings the blood was sprinkled over the altar round about, as was likewise done in eucharistic or thanksgiving sacrifices, but that in sacrifices for guilt and for sin the blood was sprinkled at the base of the altar. Sprinkling the blood over the altar round about represented the total uniting of Divine Truth and Divine Good both in the internal man and in the external man, whereas sprinkling the blood at the base of the altar represented the uniting of Divine Truth and Divine Good solely in the external man.

[5] With those who have been regenerated a joining together takes place in the external man, according to the Lord's words in John,

He who has been washed has no need except to wash his feet, and the whole person is clean. John 13:9-10.

'Washing' means purification and regeneration, 3147, 9088, so that 'he who has been washed' means one who has been purified and regenerated; and by 'feet' the natural or external level in a person is meant, 2162, 3147, 4938-4952, 9406.

In burnt offerings the blood was sprinkled over the altar round about, Leviticus 1:5, 11, and also in eucharistic sacrifices, Leviticus 3:2, 8, 13. In sacrifices for guilt and sin the blood was sprinkled at the base of the altar, Leviticus 4:7, 18, 25, 30, 34; 5:9.

9485. 'And they are to make an ark' means the inmost heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'an ark' as the inmost heaven; for 'the Testimony' or 'the Law' in the ark means the Lord, the reason for this being that 'the Testimony' is Divine Truth, and Divine Truth is the Lord in heaven, see below in 9503. So this then is why 'an ark' means the inmost heaven. The ark was therefore a most holy object, and it was worshipped by the people as Jehovah since Jehovah was thought to dwell there, between the cherubs, as is clear in David,

We heard [of Him] in Ephrathah. We will enter His dwelling-place, we will bow down at His footstool. Arise, O Jehovah, to Your resting-place, You and the ark of Your strength. Psalms 132:6-8.

This refers to the Lord, Ephrathah being Bethlehem, where the Lord was born, Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:6. 'Dwelling-place' means heaven where the Lord is; and 'You and the ark of Your strength' means the Lord and a representative of Him.

[2] The fact that the ark is a representative of the Lord is evident in Jeremiah,

I will bring you back to Zion. In those days they will say no more The ark of the covenant; neither will it come to mind, ¹ nor will they make mention of it, nor will they desire it, nor will it be restored any more. At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah, and all the nations will be gathered to it, because of Jehovah's name, to Jerusalem. Jeremiah 3:14, 16-17.

This refers to a new Church. The representative of the former Church, which representative is to be done away with at that time, is meant by 'the ark', which will not be spoken of any more, come to mind, or be restored - 'Jerusalem', to which the nations will be gathered, being that new Church. From this it evident that 'the ark' means a representative of the Lord and the worship of Him in the Church, in the same way as 'the continual [sacrifice]' and 'the dwelling-place of [His] sanctuary' do in Daniel 8:11.

[3] The fact that the ark was worshipped as Jehovah by the Israelite and Jewish people and the fact that He was thought to dwell there, between the cherubs, is evident in the second Book of Samuel,

David caused the ark of God to go up, [the ark] on which His name is invoked - the name of Jehovah Zebaoth, who sits above it on the cherubs. 2 Samuel 6:2.

And in Moses,

Whenever the ark travelled Moses said, Arise, O Jehovah, let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before Your face. Whenever it came to rest he said, Return, O Jehovah, to the myriads of the thousands of Israel. Numbers 10:33-36.

The reason why the inmost heaven was meant by 'the ark' was that all the tabernacle or tent represented the whole angelic heaven, the lowest part of it being represented by the court, the middle part of it by the dwelling-place where the priest ministered, and the inmost by the dwelling-place inside the veil where the ark containing the Testimony was.

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