8506. 'Six days you shall gather it' means the acceptance of truth before it is joined to good. This is clear from the meaning of 'six days' as states of conflict and labour, dealt with above in 8494, at this point states when truth is gaining acceptance, or states when good is being acquired through truth, dealt with immediately above in 8505; for during this state there is labour and conflict. During it a person is pitched into temptations, which are conflicts with the evils and falsities residing with him; at this time the Lord fights for him and also alongside him. But this state is followed by a state in which good and truth are joined together, a state that is accordingly one of rest also for the Lord. This state is what rest on the seventh or sabbath day represented. The reason why it is rest for the Lord is that when good has been joined to truth, a person abides in the Lord and is led by the Lord without labour or conflict. This state is what is meant by the second state spoken of immediately above in 8505.

8510. 'That some of the people went out to gather, and did not find' means that they wished to acquire it, but none was given. This is clear from the explanation above in 8505. The explanation there shows what actions springing from the truth of faith are and what those springing from the good of charity are. That is to say, it shows that a person whose actions spring from the truth of faith does not as yet have the order of heaven present in himself, whereas one whose actions spring from the good of charity does have it. For, according to order, when the Lord leads a person He does so through his will, consequently through good since this belongs properly to the will. In that case his understanding is subservient, and so is truth since this belongs properly to the understanding. When this state exists it is the sabbath, for then there is rest for the Lord; and the state comes into being once good has been joined to truth. That this state is the Lord's rest may be recognized from the statement that after six days of creation and labour Jehovah or the Lord rested on the seventh day from all His work, Genesis 2:2. This state is heaven's state, which explains why heaven itself is called the sabbath, and that in heaven the sabbath is perpetual. For the creation story in Genesis 1 serves to mean the new creation, which is regeneration, and the six days in the story serves to mean temptations and conflicts, see the explanations at Genesis 1, 2.