9634. 'And you shall make the boards for the dwelling-place' means the good supporting that heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'the boards' as good that lends support, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the dwelling-place' as the middle or second heaven, dealt with in 9594. The reason why good that lends support is meant by 'the boards' is that they were made from wood and supported the curtains both of the dwelling-place and of the tent, as well as the two coverings over them. Consequently supports are meant by 'the boards'; and since they were made from wood they meant ones that were formed from good, for everything made from wood means some form of good, even to actual houses built from wood, 3720. The particular nature of the good is meant by 'shittim wood' from which they were built. Since all representatives on the natural level resemble the human form and carry the same meaning as the parts of it they resemble, 9496, so it is with the boards of the dwelling-place. They correspond to the parts consisting of muscle or flesh in the human being which lend support to encompassing membranes and skin. 'Flesh' furthermore means good, 7850, 9127. This explains why the boards were made from shittim wood, by which the good that supports heaven is meant, 9472, 9486, and also why they were overlaid with gold, by which also good is meant.

9486. 'Of shittim wood' means righteousness. This is clear from the meaning of 'shittim wood' as the good of merit which is the Lord's alone, dealt with above in 9472, and therefore also righteousness, which is the good of merit. For by His own power the Lord restored the whole of heaven to order and subdued the hells, and at the same time made Divine the Human within Himself; therefore to Him belong merit and righteousness. For this reason the one and only good that reigns in heaven and that makes heaven is the Lord's good of merit and His righteousness, thus His Divine Human since This was made merit and righteousness. The fact that the Lord accomplished these things by His own power is clear in Isaiah,

Who is this who comes from Edom? I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples not a man (vir) was with Me. I looked around, but there was no helper, and I wondered, but there was no one to uphold; therefore My own arm brought salvation to Me. Isaiah 63:1-5.

In the same prophet,

He saw that there was no man (vir), and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness lifted Him up. He put on righteousness as a breastplate. Isaiah 59:16-17.

[2] In Jeremiah,

This is His name which they will call Him, Jehovah our Righteousness. Jeremiah 23:6; 33:15-16.

And in John,

I lay down My life, ¹ so that I may receive it again. No one takes it from Me, I lay it down of Myself; I have power to lay it down and I have power to receive it again. John 10:17-18.

From these places it is evident that the Lord in His Divine Human possesses merit and righteousness acquired by Himself. Since 'the ark' means heaven where the Lord is, shittim wood, by which that good is meant, was used in the making of it; for 'wood' in general means good, 643, 3720, 8354. This explains why people who assume that merit lies in works are seen in the next life to be cutting wood, under which there is something of the Lord, 1110, 4943, 8740. And so it is that 'splitting pieces of wood for a burnt offering' means the good of merit, or good belonging to works, 2784, 2812.

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