4251. 'And he said, If Esau comes towards one camp and smites it, the camp that is left will escape' means to meet every eventuality. This is clear from the meaning of 'a camp' as order - the same as immediately above; from the meaning of 'smiting' as destroying; and from the meaning of 'the camp that is left will escape' as preventing the destruction of order within the natural and enabling something to survive. So the meaning is a preparation and arrangement to meet every eventuality. For as long as truth has dominion in it the natural is unable to see what is genuine truth and what is not genuine, or what is good. But once good which flows from love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour has dominion there it does see it. Consequently when that time or state is at hand in which good takes up the dominant position, the individual is at that point quite unaware of what good and truth are and so of what is to be destroyed or to be retained, as is plainly evident in temptations. When such unawareness exists in a person preparation and arrangement is not carried out by man but by the Lord. In the present instance it was carried out by the Lord acting within Himself, for by His own power the Lord arranged and restored to Divine order all things within Himself.
