10047. 'And sprinkle it over the altar round about' means a joining to Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the blood', which was to be sprinkled over the altar round about, as Divine Truth, dealt with in 10026, 10033; and from the representation of 'the altar' as that which was representative of the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with in 9388, 9389, 9714, 9964. From this it is evident that 'sprinkling the blood over the altar round about' means uniting Divine Truth to Divine Good within the Lord.

[2] The situation here is this: As has been stated above, the subject in the present chapter is the glorification of the Lord's Human, and in the representative sense the regeneration of a person by the Lord. As regards the glorification of the Lord's Human, this was accomplished by the uniting of Divine Truth to Divine Good. Divine Good, which is Jehovah, was within the Lord, as the soul from the father is within a person; for He had been conceived from Jehovah. He made His Human Divine Truth by Divine means, in particular by conflicts brought by temptations; and to the extent that He united Divine Truth to Divine Good He glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine. This uniting is what sprinkling the blood round about the altar means in the highest sense.

When in the world the Lord made His Human Divine Truth and united it to the Divine Good that was within Him, and in so doing He glorified His Human, see the places referred to in 9199 (end), 9315 (end).

Jehovah His Father means the Divine Good that was within Him, see the places referred to in 9194.

[3] Even as the Lord glorified His Human, so also He regenerates a person. For in the case of a person the Lord flows in with good by way of the soul, which is an inward path, and with truth by way of hearing and sight, which is an outward path. And to the extent that the person refrains from evils the Lord joins good to truth. The good then becomes the good of charity towards the neighbour and of love to God, while the truth becomes the truth of faith. In this way the Lord creates a new person or regenerates him, for the regeneration of a person, as stated above, is accomplished by purification from evils and falsities, the implantation of good and truth, and the joining together of them. The regeneration of a person, and in the highest sense the glorification of the Lord's Human, are what were represented by sacrifices and burnt offerings, 10022.

[4] It should be remembered that in burnt offerings the blood was sprinkled over the altar round about, as was likewise done in eucharistic or thanksgiving sacrifices, but that in sacrifices for guilt and for sin the blood was sprinkled at the base of the altar. Sprinkling the blood over the altar round about represented the total uniting of Divine Truth and Divine Good both in the internal man and in the external man, whereas sprinkling the blood at the base of the altar represented the uniting of Divine Truth and Divine Good solely in the external man.

[5] With those who have been regenerated a joining together takes place in the external man, according to the Lord's words in John,

He who has been washed has no need except to wash his feet, and the whole person is clean. John 13:9-10.

'Washing' means purification and regeneration, 3147, 9088, so that 'he who has been washed' means one who has been purified and regenerated; and by 'feet' the natural or external level in a person is meant, 2162, 3147, 4938-4952, 9406.

In burnt offerings the blood was sprinkled over the altar round about, Leviticus 1:5, 11, and also in eucharistic sacrifices, Leviticus 3:2, 8, 13. In sacrifices for guilt and sin the blood was sprinkled at the base of the altar, Leviticus 4:7, 18, 25, 30, 34; 5:9.

9306. 'Take notice of his face' means holy fear. This is clear from the meaning of 'taking notice of the face', when it has reference to the Lord, whom 'the angel' is used to mean to here, as fearing that He may be angry on account of evils, or provoked on account of transgressions, as below; and fearing these things is holy fear. Regarding this fear, see 2826, 3718, 3719, 5459, 5534, 7280, 7788, 8816, 8925. The words 'taking notice of his face' are used because 'the face' means the interior things that constitute a person's life, thus his thought and affection, and in particular his faith and love. The reason for this is that the face has been fashioned so that it can produce an image of a person's interiors. It has been so fashioned to the end that those things which belong to the internal man may appear within the external, thus to the end that those things which belong to the spiritual world can be visualized in the natural world and so have an effect on one's neighbour. It is well known that the face presents visually, or as if in a mirror, what a person thinks and loves. This is so with honest people's faces, and especially with angels' faces, see 1999, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, 4326, 4796-4799, 5102, 5695, 6604, 8248-8250. For this reason 'face' in the original language is a general term that is used to describe the feelings a person has which reveal themselves, such as those of indulgence, favour, goodwill, helpfulness, or kindness, and also lack of pity, anger, or vengeance. So it is that in that language when this word is coupled with another it means beside, with, in front of, on account of, or else against, thus whatever is within, from, for, or against the person himself. For as has been stated, 'the face' is a person's true self, or that present within a person which reveals itself.

[2] All this enables one to know what is meant by the face of Jehovah, or 'the face of the angel', who in this instance is the Lord in respect of His Divine Human - namely the Divine Good of Divine Love, and the Divine Truth emanating from that Divine Good, since these reside within Jehovah or the Lord, come from Him, indeed are Himself, see 222, 223, 5585. From this it is evident what 'the face of Jehovah' means in the Blessing,

Jehovah make His face shine upon you and be merciful to you. Jehovah lift up His face upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6:25-26.

In David,

God be merciful to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us. Psalms 67:1.

The like may be seen in Psalms 80:3, 7, 19; 119:134-135; Daniel 9:17; and in other places.

[3] So it is that the Lord's Divine Human is called 'the angel of Jehovah's face' in Isaiah,

I will cause the mercies of Jehovah to be remembered. He has rewarded ¹ them according to His mercies, and according to the abundance of His mercies; and He became their Saviour. And the angel of His face saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them. Isaiah 63:7-9.

The reason why the Lord's Divine Human is called 'the angel of Jehovah's face' is that the Divine Human is the Divine Himself facially, that is, in outward form, as also the Lord teaches in John,

If you know Me you know My Father also, and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. Philip said, Show us the Father. Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. John 14:7-11.

[4] 'Jehovah's (or the Lord's) face' also means anger, vengeance, punishment, and ill. It does so because simple people, in accepting the general idea that all things come from God, believe that even ill, especially the misery of punishment, comes from Him. For this reason - in keeping with that general idea, and also with appearances - anger, vengeance, punishment, or ill is attributed to Jehovah the Lord, when in fact the Lord is not the source of them but man. Regarding this, see 1861, 2447, 5798, 6071, 6832, 6991, 6997, 7533, 7632, 7877, 7926, 8197, 8227, 8228, 8282, 8483, 8632, 8875, 9128. This kind of meaning appears here in 'take notice of his face, lest you provoke him, for he will not bear your transgression', and also in Leviticus,

Whoever eats any blood, I will set My face against the soul eating blood and will cut him off from among his people. Leviticus 17:10.

In Jeremiah,

I have set My face against the city for ill and not for good. Jeremiah 21:10.

And in David,

Jehovah's face is against evildoers, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. Psalms 34:16.

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