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.

4217. 'And Laban went and resumed to his place' means the end of the representation by means of Laban. This is clear from the meaning of 'returning to his place' as going back to a previous state - for 'place' means state, see 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 3404 - and therefore the words used here mean the end of the representation by means of Laban. All that has been shown makes it clear that every single part of the Word has an interior content, which is of such a nature that it is suited to the perception of the angels present with man. For example, when the word 'bread' is used in the Word the angels do not call to mind material bread but spiritual bread, and so instead of bread perceive the Lord who, as He Himself teaches in John 6:33, 35, is the Bread of life. And because they perceive the Lord they perceive the things which derive from Him, and therefore His love towards the whole human race. In so doing they perceive at the same time man's reciprocal love to the Lord, for these two kinds of love are knit together within one idea occupying their thought and affection.

[2] Not unlike this are the thoughts of the person who has a holy mind, when he receives the bread in the Holy Supper; for at that time he does not think of the bread but of the Lord and His mercy, and of the things which constitute love to Him and charity towards the neighbour, because he is thinking about repentance and amendment of life. Yet the way people think about these things varies according to the degree of holiness present not only in their thought but also in their affection. From this it is evident that when 'bread' is mentioned in the Word no idea of bread presents itself to angels but the idea of love and of countless things connected with love. It is similar when wine is referred to in the Word and also received in the Holy Supper. In this case angels do not think at all of wine but of charity towards the neighbour. This being so, and since man in this way is linked to heaven and through heaven to the Lord, bread and wine have been made the symbols and unite a person who leads a holy life to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord.

[3] The same applies to every detail within the Word, and therefore the Word is the means by which man is united to the Lord. If that uniting means did not exist heaven would not be able to flow in with man - for without a means no uniting together would be possible - but would remove itself from him. And if heaven were removed it would no longer be possible for anyone to be led to that which is good, not even to physical and worldly good. Instead all restraints, including external ones, would be abolished. For the Lord governs the person in whom good dwells by means of internal restraints, which are those of conscience, whereas the person in whom evil dwells is governed solely by external restraints. If these were abolished everybody governed solely by external restraints would become insane in the way a person is insane who has no fear of the law, no fear for his life, nor any fear of losing position and gain, and so of reputation - for these are the external bonds - and so the human race would perish. This explains why the Word exists, and the true nature of the Word. The Lord's Church where the Word exists is like the heart and the lungs, and the Lord's Church where it does not exist is like all the other internal organs which get their life from the heart and lungs - see 637, 931, 2054, 2853.