2465. Verses 31-36 And the firstborn said to the younger, Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to come to us, according to the way of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him and let us keep seed alive by our father. And they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn came and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down and when she rose up. And so it was on the next day, that the firstborn said to the younger, Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine again tonight, and come, lie with him, and let us keep seed alive by our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also; and the younger rose up and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down and when she rose up. And the two daughters of Lot conceived by their father.

[2] 'The firstborn said to the younger' here, as previously, means affections - 'the firstborn' meaning the affection for that kind of good, 'the younger' the affection for that kind of falsity. 'Our father is old, and there is no man in the land' means that it is no longer known what good is and what truth is. 'To come to us' means to which those affections might be joined. 'According to the way of all the earth' means according to matters of doctrine, 'earth' being the Church. 'Come, let us make our father drink wine' means that they might saturate such good with falsities, meant by the wine. 'And let us lie with him' means that in this way they would be joined together.

[3] 'And let us keep seed alive by our father' means that in this way a new kind of a Church would emerge. 'And they made their father drink wine' means that they saturated such good with falsities. 'That night' means when all things were enveloped in so much obscurity. 'And the firstborn came' means the affection for that kind of good. 'And lay with her father' means that in this way the two were brought together. 'And he did not know when she lay down and when she rose up' means that such general good knew no other than that it was so. 'And on the next day' means afterwards. 'The firstborn said to the younger' means that the affection for such good persuaded the falsity. 'Behold, I lay last night with my father' means that thus they had been joined together. 'Let us make him drink wine again tonight' means here, as previously, that they saturated such good with falsities, at a time when everything was enveloped in so much obscurity. 'And come, lie with him' means that these might be joined together as well.

[4] 'And let us keep seed alive by our father' here, as previously, means that in this way a new kind of a Church would emerge. 'And they made their father drink wine that night also' means that in that obscure state they saturated such good with falsities. 'And the younger rose up and lay with him' means that the affection for falsity acted in a similar fashion, so that falsities looked like truths, and the two were in this way joined together. 'And he did not know when she lay down and when she rose up' here, as previously, means that such a general type of good knew no other than that it was so. 'And the two daughters of Lot conceived by their father' means that this was how such a religion as that meant by 'Moab' and 'the son of Ammon' arose.

1298. 'They had brick for stone' means that they had falsity in place of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'brick' as falsity, dealt with just above, and also from the meaning of 'stone' in the broad sense as truth, dealt with already in 643. The reason 'stones' meant truth was that the most ancient people used to mark out boundaries by means of stones and raise up stones to testify that something was so, that is, was the truth. This is clear from the stone which Jacob set up as a pillar, Genesis 28:22; 35:14; from the pillar of stones placed between Laban and Jacob, Genesis 31:46-47, 52; and from the altar which the children of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh erected beside the Jordan as an altar of witness, Joshua 22:10, 28, 34. Consequently 'stones' in the Word means truths, so much so that not only the stones of the altar but also the precious stones in the shoulder-pieces of Aaron's ephod and in the breastplate of judgement meant the holy truths of love.

[2] Regarding the altar, when sacrificial worship on altars was introduced, an altar in that case meant representative worship of the Lord in general. 'The stones' themselves however meant the holy truths belonging to that worship. This was why it was commanded that the altar had to be built of whole and not of hewn stones, and why it was forbidden to use any iron tool on them, Deuteronomy 27:5-7; Joshua 8:31. The reason was that hewn stones, and those on which an iron tool had been used, meant artificialities and thus fabrications in worship. That is to say, they meant things that derive from the proprium, or from the inventions of man's own thought and heart, which was to profane worship, as is clearly stated in Exodus 20:25. For the same reason no tool of iron was used on the stones of the Temple, 1 Kings 6:7.

[3] That the precious stones set in the shoulder-pieces of Aaron's ephod and in the breastplate of judgement in a similar way meant holy truths has been shown already in 114. This is clear also in Isaiah,

Behold, I will set your stones in carbuncle and lay your foundations in sapphires; and I will make your suns (windows) of ruby, and your gates into precious stones, and all your border into pleasant stones And all your sons will be taught by Jehovah, and great will be the peace of your sons. Isaiah 54:11-13

The stones mentioned here stand for holy truths, and this is why it is said that 'all your sons will be taught by Jehovah'. It is also the reason why it is said in John that the foundations of the wall of the city, holy Jerusalem, were adorned with every kind of precious stone, which are each mentioned by name, Revelation 21:19-20. 'The holy Jerusalem' stands for the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth, the foundations of which kingdom are holy truths. Holy truths were similarly meant by the tables of stone on which the commandments of the Law, or Ten Commandments, were written. This was why they were made of stone or had a stone base, concerning which see Exodus 24:12; 31:18; 34:1; Deuteronomy 5:22; 10:1; for the commandments themselves are nothing else than truths of faith.

[4] Now because stones in ancient times meant truths, and because later on when worship on pillars, on altars, and in the Temple began, pillars, altars, and the Temple meant holy truths, the Lord also is therefore called 'a Stone': In Moses,

The Mighty One of Jacob - from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. Genesis 49:24.

In Isaiah,

The Lord Jehovih said, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a Stone, a tested Corner-Stone, precious, of sure foundation. Isaiah 28:16.

In David,

The Stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner Psalms 118:22.

The same is meant in Daniel 2:34-35, 45, by the stone cut out of the rock which smashed Nebuchadnezzar's statue to pieces.

[5] That 'stones' means truths is clear in Isaiah,

By this the iniquity of Jacob will be expiated, and this will be the full fruit to remove his sin, when He makes all the stones of the altar like chalk-stones scattered about. Isaiah 27:9.

'The stones of the altar' stands for truths in worship that have been dissipated. In the same prophet,

Make level the way of the people; level out, level out the highway; gather out the stones. Isaiah 62:10.

'The way' and 'the stones' stand for truths. In Jeremiah,

I am against you, O destroying mountain. I will roll you down from the rocks and I will make you into a mountain of burning. And they will not take from you a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations. Jeremiah 51:25-26.

This refers to Babel. 'A mountain of burning' is self-love. 'Taking no stone from it' means that there is no truth from this source.