10640. 'Take care, lest by chance you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land onto which you come' means that there is to be no attachment to any sort of religion involving evil. This is clear from the meaning of 'making a covenant' as being joined together, dealt with in the places referred to in 10632, thus also becoming attached to; from the meaning of 'the inhabitants of the land' as a sort of religion involving evil, for good is meant by 'inhabitant', 2268, 2451, 2712, and in the contrary sense evil, while 'the land' means the Church and whatever constitutes the Church, dealt with in the places referred to in 9325, thus also some sort of religion; and from the meaning of 'onto which you come' as wherever some sort of religion involving evil exists, for the nations occupying the land of Canaan into which [the Israelites] were about to come mean evils and the falsities arising from them, see just above in 10638. From all this it is evident that 'lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land onto which you come' means that there is to be no attachment to any sort of religion involving evil.

[2] Since this is one of the chief matters that serve to enlighten a member of the Church when he reads the Word, and since it forms the subject in what comes next, something must be said about what is implied by it. The person who wishes to be enlightened by the Lord must take special care not to embrace any matter of doctrine as his own if it lends support to evil. The person makes it his own when he corroborates it in his own mind, for by doing so he makes it part of his own beliefs, and all the more so if he lives by it. When this happens the evil remains inscribed on his soul and on his heart; and after that has happened he cannot possibly receive any enlightenment from the Lord through the Word. For his whole mind is permeated with a belief in and love of the fundamental idea he has made his own; and anything that goes against that idea he either fails to see, rejects, or falsifies.

[3] Take for example a person who believes that he is saved by faith alone, irrespective of the kind of life he leads, and who has corroborated this idea in his own mind and linked it to all the other teachings he has adopted, to such an extent that he then gives no thought at all to life, only to faith. Afterwards, no matter how much that person reads the Word, he does not see anything in it that has to do with leading a good life. At length he is unaware of what good, charity, and love are; and if they are mentioned he says that they consist altogether in faith alone. Yet faith alone, or faith without them, is like an empty vessel or like something without a soul. The spiritual life of such a person may be compared to lungs breathing without blood flowing into them from the heart, which is not life at all, apart from being like that of an effigy or robot. These things have been stated in order that people may know what the situation is with a person who reads the Word - that he cannot receive any enlightenment at all from it if he has become attached to any sort of religion that lends support to evil.

2712. 'He dwelt in the wilderness of Paran' means the life of the spiritual man as regards good. This is clear from the meaning of 'dwelling' as being used in reference to good residing in truth, which is spiritual good, that is, good present with the spiritual man. The essential nature of that good is described by his dwelling in the wilderness of Paran, dealt with immediately below. That 'dwelling' is used in reference to good residing in truth, or to the affection for truth, is clear from many places in the Word where it is said of cities, which mean truths, that they will be without any inhabitant, by whom good is meant, 2268, 2449, 2451; for truths are inhabited by good, and truths devoid of good are like a city that has no one dwelling in it, as in Zephaniah,

I have laid their streets waste, so that none passes through; their cities are desolate, so that there is no one dwelling in them. Zephaniah 3:6.

[2] In Jeremiah,

Jehovah was leading us through the wilderness. No man passed through in that [land], and no one dwelt there. They have turned his land into a solitary place, his cities have been burned, so that none is dwelling there. Jeremiah 2:6, 15.

In the same prophet,

Every city has been forsaken, with no one dwelling in them. Jeremiah 4:29.

In the same prophet,

In the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate there is no human being, no inhabitant, no beast. Jeremiah 33:10.

'Streets' stands for truths, 2336, 'no human being' for no celestial good, 'no inhabitant' for no spiritual good, 'no beast' for no natural good. In the same prophet,

The cities of Moab will become a desolation, with no one dwelling in them. Jeremiah 48:9.

[3] With each particular expression in the Prophets there exists the marriage of truth and good. Consequently when 'a city' is said to be desolate, the phrase 'no one dwelling in it' is also added, the reason being that 'a city' means truths and 'one dwelling in it' good. Otherwise it would be superfluous to say 'no one dwelling in it' when it has been stated that the city is desolate. In a similar way certain terms occur consistently to mean things that belong to celestial good, others that belong to spiritual good, and others also that belong to truths, as in Isaiah,

Your seed will possess the nations, and they will dwell in the desolate cities. Isaiah 54:3

Here 'possessing' has reference to celestial good, 'dwelling in' to spiritual good. In the same prophet,

My chosen ones will possess it, and My servants will dwell there. Isaiah 65:9.

Here the meaning is similar.

[4] In David,

God will save Zion and will build the cities of Judah; and they will dwell there and possess it, and the seed of His servants will inherit it, and those loving His name will dwell in it. Psalms 69:35-36.

'Dwelling there' and at the same time 'possessing' has reference to celestial good, 'dwelling in' to spiritual good. In Isaiah,

He who says to Jerusalem, You will be dwelt in; and to the cities of Judah, You will be built. Isaiah 44:26.

Here 'dwelling in' has reference to the good of the spiritual Church, which is Jerusalem. To such an extent do the terms used in the Word have reference to their own goods and their own truths that simply from a knowledge of that usage of terms one may recognize what the subject is in general that is being dealt with.