8682. 'To eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses before God' means making their own these things coming from Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of 'eating' as making one's own, dealt with in 3168, 3513 (end), 3596, 3832, 4745; and from the meaning of 'bread' as the good of love, dealt with in 2165, 2177, 3464, 3735, 4211, 4217, 4735, 5915, its coming from Divine Good being meant by the statement that they were going to eat bread 'before God'. Here 'bread' is used to mean all the food they had then, in particular the flesh of the sacrifices; for when sacrifices were offered, the flesh in them was eaten beside the altar. For the meaning of 'bread' as all food in general, see 2165.

The reason why the flesh of the sacrifices was eaten was in order that making heavenly good one's own might be represented, as well as togetherness in love. The flesh of a sacrifice, eaten by them then, meant the good of love, which was why this was for them a sacred feast. For the meaning of 'flesh' as the good of love, see 7850. From this one can see what the Lord meant when He said that they were to eat His flesh, John 6:53-56, and also, when He instituted the Holy Supper, that the bread was His body, Matthew 26:26. No one can possibly know what He meant then unless he knows that His words have an inner sense, and that in this sense celestial and spiritual realities are meant instead of natural things, and that natural things correspond to those realities and have spiritual meanings in keeping with correspondences. Without knowledge of these things no one could ever know why the Holy Supper was instituted, what is holy about the bread, why the bread is the body and is the flesh, and countless other questions besides these.

3832. 'And made a feast' means the introduction. This is clear from the meaning of 'a feast' as making one's own and being joined to, dealt with in 3596. Here it is the introduction, for this precedes the joining together, and is a pledge and witness to it. The feasts which were held in early times by people among whom meaningful signs and representatives existed meant nothing else than the introduction into the mutual love which is the essence of charity. Wedding feasts meant the introduction into conjugial love, and sacred feasts the introduction into spiritual and celestial love, the reason being that 'feasting' or eating and drinking meant making one's own and becoming joined to, as shown in 3596.

[2] This being the meaning of 'feasts' the Lord also spoke in the same vein,

Many will come from the east and from the west and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 8:11.

And elsewhere He said to the disciples,

That you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom. Luke 22:30.

And when He instituted the Holy Supper He said,

I tell you that I shall not drink from now on of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom. Matthew 26:29.

Anyone may see that 'reclining', 'eating', and 'drinking' in the Lord's kingdom do not mean reclining, eating, and drinking, but the kind of thing that exists in that kingdom; that is to say, these experiences are used to mean making the good of love and the truth of faith one's own, and so to mean that which is called spiritual food and celestial food. The quotations given above also show plainly that there is an internal sense within words spoken by the Lord, and that without an understanding of that sense one cannot know what is meant by reclining with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by eating and drinking at the Lord's table in His kingdom, and by drinking of the fruit of the vine with them in the Father's kingdom. Nor indeed can one know what is meant by eating bread and drinking wine in the Holy Supper.