10632. And He said, Behold I make a covenant. That this signifies the primary things whereby there is the conjunction of the Lord with the human race by means of the Word, is evident from the signification of a “covenant,” as being conjunction (see n. 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778), here the conjunction of Jehovah, that is, of the Lord, with the human race by means of the Word; for this conjunction is the subject treated of in what now follows. That this is the case is also evident from the connection of the things in the internal sense. The subject treated of in what precedes was the law that was delivered and promulgated from Mount Sinai, by which law in an extended sense is signified the Word (n. 6752, 7463). Moreover, this law was the beginning of the Word, for the Word was promulgated afterward, first through Moses, and then through all the others. The subject next treated of was the Israelitish nation, in that it was not such that the Word could be written among them as it would otherwise have been written, because a church could not be instituted among them; and where the church is, there is the Word. (Concerning these things see what has been said and shown in chapters 32 and 33, and thus far in this chapter.)

[2] But because Moses insisted that Jehovah should be in the midst of that people, and that they should be received as an inheritance, and should thus be brought into the land of Canaan; by all which things in the internal sense is signified that the church was to be instituted among that people, and thus that the Word would be written there; and because this was now granted for the reason that Moses insisted upon it, therefore now the primary precepts, which were altogether to be observed in order that this might be effected, are treated of. These primary precepts were, that the Lord alone is to be worshiped, and no other, and that acknowledgment must be made that all good and truth are from Him; besides many other things in what presently follows. It is said that they are treated of in what presently follows, but be it known that these precepts are contained in the internal sense. In the external sense, however, which is the sense of the letter, are contained such things as represent these precepts, thus which signify them, as can be seen from the explication of what follows.

[3] It is said that by this covenant which Jehovah made with Moses, is signified the conjunction of the Lord with the human race by means of the Word, and therefore it shall be here told how the case is in regard to this conjunction. In the most ancient times there was not the Word, but immediate revelation before the man of the church, and thereby conjunction. For when there is immediate revelation, there is the conjunction of heaven with man. The conjunction of heaven with man is the conjunction of the Lord with him, because the Divine of the Lord with the angels makes heaven.

[4] When this immediate revelation ceased, as was the case when man turned away from the good in which he had been, then another revelation succeeded, which was by means of representatives, whereby the man of the church then knew what is true and good. Hence this church was called a representative church. In this church there was also a Word, but one that was of service to this church only. But when this church also was vastated, as was the case when they began to worship idolatrously the things by means of which there was at that time the conjunction of the church with heaven; and when in some lands they began to turn them into magic, it was then provided by the Lord that a Word should be written which should be Divine in each and all things, down to every syllable; and which should consist of pure correspondences; and that in this way it might be accommodated to the perception of the angels in all the heavens, and at the same time to men; to the end that thereby there might be the conjunction of the Lord with the human race; for without conjunction by means of such a Word, heaven would have completely departed from man, and so man would have perished.

[5] In what follows therefore the subject treated of is conjunction by means of the Word, and the primary precepts are disclosed which must be observed, in order that a man may be in this conjunction by means of the Word. (That the most ancient people had immediate revelation, see n. 2895, 3432; concerning the representative church that afterward succeeded, and its Word, n. 2686, 2897, 3432, 10355; and that the conjunction of the Lord with the human race is by means of the Word, at the places cited in n. 10375, 10452)

666. That a “covenant” signifies nothing else than regeneration and the things pertaining to regeneration, is evident from various passages in the Word where the Lord Himself is called the “Covenant” because it is He alone who regenerates, and who is looked to by the regenerate man, and is the all in all of love and faith. That the Lord is the Covenant itself is evident in Isaiah:

I Jehovah have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and will give thee for a covenant to the people, for a light of the nations (Isaiah 42:6),

where a “covenant” denotes the Lord “a light of the nations” is faith. So in Isaiah 49:6, 8.

In Malachi:

Behold I send Mine angel, and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the covenant whom ye desire; behold He cometh; who may abide the day of His coming? (Malachi 3:1-2),

where the Lord is called the “Angel of the Covenant.” The sabbath is called a “perpetual covenant” (Exodus 31:16), because it signifies the Lord Himself, and the celestial man regenerated by Him.

[2] Since the Lord is the very covenant itself, it is evident that all that which conjoins man with the Lord is of the covenant as love and faith, and whatever is of love and faith-for these are of the Lord, and the Lord is in them; and so the covenant itself is in them, where they are received. These have no existence except with a regenerated man, with whom whatever is of the Regenerator or of the Lord is of the covenant, oil is the covenant. As in Isaiah:

My mercy shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed away (Isaiah 54:10),

where “mercy” and the “covenant of peace” denote the Lord and what belongs to Him. Again:

Incline your ear and come unto Me, hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make a covenant of eternity with you, the sure mercies of David; behold, I have given Him for a witness to the peoples, a leader and a lawgiver to the nations (Isaiah 66:3, 4).

“David” here denotes the Lord; the “covenant of eternity” is in those things and by those things which are of the Lord, and these are meant by going to Him and hearing, that the soul may live.

[3] In Jeremiah:

I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear Me all the days, for good to them, and to their sons after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put My fear in their heart (Jeremiah 32:39-40).”

This is said of those who are to be regenerated, and of things that belong to them, namely, “one heart and one way” that is, charity and faith, which are of the Lord and so of the covenant. Again:

Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, for they rendered My covenant vain: but this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after these days; I will put My law in the midst of them, and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people (Jeremiah 31:31-33).

Here the meaning of a “covenant” is clearly explained, that it is the love and faith in the Lord which is with those who are to be regenerated.

[4] And again in Jeremiah, love is called the “covenant of the day” and faith the “covenant of the night” (Jeremiah 33:20).

In Ezekiel:

I, Jehovah, will be their God, and My servant David a prince in the midst of them, and I will make with them a covenant of peace, and I will make the evil beast to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell secure in the wilderness, and sleep in the forests (Ezekiel 34:24-25).

Here regeneration is evidently treated of. “David” denotes the Lord. Again:

David shall be a prince to them to eternity; I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be a covenant of eternity with them; I will set My sanctuary in the midst of them to eternity (Ezekiel 37:25-26).Here likewise regeneration is treated of. “David” and the “sanctuary” denote the Lord. And again:

I entered into a covenant with thee, and thou wast Mine; and I washed thee with waters, and washed away thy bloods from upon thee, and I anointed thee with oil (Ezekiel 16:8-9),

where regeneration is plainly meant.

In Hosea:

In that day will I make a covenant for them with the wild beast of the field, and with the fowl of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the earth (Hosea 2:18),

meaning regeneration; the “wild beast of the field” denotes the things that are of the will; “the fowl of the heavens” those that are of the understanding.

In David:

He hath sent redemption unto His people; He hath commanded His covenant to eternity (Psalms 111:9),

also meaning regeneration. It is called a “covenant” because it is given and received.

[5] But of those who are not regenerated, or what is the same, who make worship consist in external things, and esteem and worship themselves and what they desire and think as if they were gods, it is said that they render the covenant vain, because they separate themselves from the Lord. And in Jeremiah:

They have forsaken the covenant of Jehovah their God, and have bowed themselves down to other gods, and served them (Jeremiah 22:9).

In Moses:

He who should transgress the covenant by serving other gods-the sun, the moon, the army of the heavens-should be stoned (Deuteronomy 17:2.).The “sun” denotes the love of self; the “moon” principles of falsity; the “army of the heavens” falsities themselves. From all this it is now evident what the “ark of the covenant” signified wherein was the “covenant” or “testimony” namely, that it signified the Lord Himself; and that the “book of the covenant” also signified the Lord Himself (Exodus 24:4-7; 34:27; Deuteronomy 4:13, 23); and likewise that by the “blood of the covenant” (Exodus 24:6, 8) was signified the Lord Himself, who alone is the Regenerator. Hence the “covenant” denotes regeneration itself.