2010. Now because the word 'names means the essential nature, and also the knowledge of that nature, the meaning of the statement made in this verse becomes clear. That is to say, 'No longer will you be called by your name Abram, but your name will be Abraham' means, not what his nature had been previously but what it was going to be. The fact that Abram served other gods and worshipped the god Shaddai was shown above in 1992; but because he was to represent the Lord, and in particular His Internal Man, and so the celestial side of His love, his previous nature had to be effaced, that is, the name Abram had to be altered to another which was such that the Lord could be represented by means of it. The letter H therefore was taken from the name Jehovah - which letter alone in the name Jehovah entails the Divine, and means I AM or TO BE - and was inserted into his name, so that he was called Abraham. The same happened with Sarai further on; the same letter was added to her name, so that she was called Sarah. From this it also becomes clear that in the internal sense of the Word Abraham represents Jehovah or the Lord.

[2] It should be realized however that in representations no significance is attached to the nature or character of the one who represents, for in those representations no attention is paid to the person representing but to the thing which he represents, as stated and shown already in 665, 1097 (end), 1361. Therefore the meaning of the words here in the internal sense is that the Lord cast off the human and put on the Divine, which is also the particular point in the train of thought both before and after this statement, for the promise is now made concerning Isaac his son, who was to represent the Lord's Divine Rational.

1097. 'Canaan will be a slave to him' means that such people as make worship consist solely in external things are among those who are able to perform inferior services to members of the Church. This becomes clear especially from the representatives in the Jewish Church. In the Jewish Church the internal Church was represented by Judah and Israel - the celestial Church by Judah, the spiritual by Israel - and the external Church by Jacob. People however who made worship consist solely in external things were represented by 'the gentiles' whom they called foreigners. The latter were to be 'their slaves' and were to perform inferior services in the Church, as in Isaiah,

Aliens will stand and pasture your flock, and sons of the foreigner will be your field-workers and your vine-dressers; and you will be called the priests of Jehovah, you will be spoken of as the ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of the gentiles, and in their glory will you glory. Isaiah 61:5-6.

Here celestial people are called 'the priests of Jehovah', spiritual people 'the ministers of God', while those who made worship consist solely in external things are called 'sons of the foreigner' who were to serve in their fields and vineyards.

[2] In the same prophet,

The sons of the foreigner will build up your walls, and their kings will minister to you. Isaiah 60:10.

Here similar reference is made to the service they were to render. In reference to the Gibeonites the following is said in Joshua,

You are cursed, and some of you will always be slaves, ¹ both hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God. Joshua made them on that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, especially for the altar of Jehovah. Joshua 9:23, 27.

It may be seen elsewhere whom the Gibeonites represented because of the covenant made with them, even though they belonged among those who were to be servants in the Church. Regarding foreigners, the law was laid down that if they would accept peace and open their gates they would become tributary and serve, ² Deuteronomy 20:11; 1 Kings 9:21-22. Every single detail written down in the Word concerning the Jewish Church was representative of the Lord's kingdom. The Lord's kingdom is such that everyone, no matter who or what kind of person, must perform a use. In His kingdom the Lord looks to nothing else than use. Even those in hell have to perform a use, though the uses they do perform are the lowest of all. Among those performing inferior uses are people in the next life whose worship has been wholly external, separated from internal.

[3] Furthermore representatives in the Jewish Church were such that no attention was paid to the person who represented, but to that which was represented by him. The Jews, for example, who were anything but celestial people, nevertheless represented these, while Israel, anything but a spiritual man, nevertheless represented that man; and it was similar with Jacob and the rest. The same applied to kings and priests; they nevertheless represented the Kingship and Holiness of the Lord. This matter becomes clearer still from the fact that even inanimate objects were representative, such as Aaron's garments, the altar itself, the tables with the leaves on them, the lamps, bread and wine; as well as oxen, calves, goats, sheep, kids, lambs, doves, and pigeons. And because the sons of Judah and Israel did no more than represent the internal and the external worship of the Lord's Church, and yet more than anybody else made all worship consist merely in external things, it is therefore they, more than all others, who may be called 'Canaan' according to his meaning here.

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