2814. 'And laid him on the altar, upon the pieces of wood' means within the Divine Human to which righteousness was allied. This is clear from the meaning of 'the altar' as the Lord's Divine Human, dealt with just above in 2811, and from the meaning of 'the pieces of wood for the burnt offering' as the merit of righteousness, dealt with in 2784, 2798, 2812. The Divine truth within the Lord's Divine human which underwent temptations and which has been the subject is not the Divine Truth itself, for the latter is above all temptation. Rather it is rational truth, such as exists with angels, consisting in the appearances of truth - and is what is called 'The Son of Man', though prior to glorification - whereas the Divine Truth within the Lord's glorified Divine Human is above appearances. Divine Truth cannot possibly come within range of any degree of understanding, still less within man's mental grasp, not even within that of angels, and so cannot possibly enter into any kind of temptation. In heaven it is seen as light coming from the Lord. This Divine Truth, or the glorified Son of Man, is referred to in John as follows,

Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him at once. John 13:31-32.

So that one may have some distinct idea of this very deep arcanum let the truth with the Lord that could be tempted and that underwent temptations be termed Divine truth within the Lord's Divine human, but Truth that could not be tempted, or undergo any temptation, because it had been glorified, be termed Divine Truth within the Lord's Divine Human, as has also been observed in various places in what has gone before.

2798. That 'Abraham took the pieces of wood for the burnt offering' means the merit of righteousness is clear from what has been stated and shown above in 2784, and so without further explanation.

[2798a] 'And laid them on Isaac [his son]' means that it, that is to say, the merit of righteousness, was joined to the Divine Rational. This becomes clear from the representation of 'Isaac' as the Lord's Divine Rational, often dealt with already, and from the meaning of 'laying it on him' as allying it. The expression 'his son' is used because the Lord's Divine Human was not only conceived but was also born from Jehovah. The Lord's conception from Jehovah is very well known from the Word of the Lord, and therefore He is called 'Son of the Most High', 'Son of God', and 'Only Begotten of the Father' in Matthew 2:15; 3, 16, 17; 16:13-17; 17:5; 27:43, 54; Mark 1:11; 9:7, 9; 14:61-62; Luke 1:31-32, 35; 3:21-22; 9:35; 10:22; John 1:14, 18, 49; 3:13, 16-18; 5:20-27; 6:69; 9:34-35, 38; 10:35-36; 20:30-31, and besides these in very many other places where He calls Jehovah His Father.

[2] It is also well known that He was born of a virgin Mary, yet even so like any other. But when He was born again, that is, became Divine, this was from Jehovah who dwelt within Him and who was Himself as to the very Being (Esse) of life. The union of the Divine Essence and the Human Essence was effected mutually and reciprocally, so that He united the Divine Essence to the Human Essence, and the Human Essence to the Divine Essence, see 1921, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2083, 2508, 2523, 2618, 2628, 2632, 2728, 2729. From this it may become clear that the Lord made the Human within Himself Divine from His own power and in so doing became Righteousness. That which was allied to the Divine Rational when He underwent inmost temptation was the merit of righteousness; and it was from the Divine Rational that He fought, and it was against it that evil genii fought, until He glorified that Divine Rational also. These are the things meant in the internal sense by Abraham's laying the pieces of wood for the burnt offering on Isaac his son, and they are the things which angels perceive when these words are being read.