10051. 'And put them on top of its pieces and of its head' means the arrangement into order of the more external things under the interior and under the inmost ones. This is clear from the meaning of 'pieces' as the interior things, dealt with above in 10048; from the meaning of 'the head' as what is inmost, dealt with in 5328, 6436, 9656, 9913, 9914; from the meaning of 'the intestines and the legs', which were to be put on top of them, as the outermost and the more external things (for the meaning of 'the intestines' as the outermost or lowest things, see 10030, and for that of 'the legs' as the more external things, 10050); and from the meaning of 'putting these on top of the others' as arranging them into order. The reason why arranging the more external things into order under the interior ones is meant and not, according to the literal sense, above them is that the altar and the fire on the altar are the highest or inmost things. For the altar represented the Lord's Divine Human in respect of Divine Good, and the fire His actual Divine Love, and therefore the parts of the ram and burnt offering nearest the fire of the altar were higher or more internal, while those on top of them, being further away from the fire of the altar, were lower or more external. For in the internal sense the things nearest to what is highest are regarded as being higher or more internal, and those that are further away from it are regarded as being lower or more external, unlike the way things are stated in the literal sense. Whether you say higher and lower ones, or more internal and more external, it amounts to the same thing, because what is higher is more internal and what is lower is more external, 2148, 3084, 4599, 5146, 8325. From this it is now evident that 'you shall put the intestines and legs on top of the pieces and on top of the head' means that the outermost and the more external things must be arranged into order under the interior and the inmost ones.

The altar was representative of the Lord's Divine Human in respect of Divine Good, see 921, 2777, 2811, 9388, 9389, 9714, 9964.

The fire of the altar is His Divine Love, 6832.

2811. 'And Abraham built the altar there' means preparation of the Lord's Divine human. This is clear from the meaning of 'the altar' and of 'building the altar'. Altars used to mean all worship in general because they were the chief feature of the worship of the representative Church, 921. And because they meant all worship in general they meant the Lord's Divine Human, for the Lord's Divine Human is essentially present in all worship and all doctrine, so much so that it is the very essence of worship itself and doctrine itself. This becomes clear also from the Holy Supper which superseded altars, that is, burnt offerings and sacrifices, 2165, 2187, 2343, 2359. The Holy Supper is the chief feature of external worship because it is the Lord's Divine Human that is bestowed there. From all this it may become clear, and so without further explanation, that 'building an altar' means preparing the Divine human. The final preparation of the Lord's Divine human for undergoing the last degrees of temptation is the subject in the present verse and is described by the statement that Abraham laid the pieces of wood in order, bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the pieces of wood.

921. 'Noah built an altar to Jehovah' means a representative of the Lord. This is clear from what has been stated just above. All the religious observances of the Ancient Church were representative of the Lord, as also were those of the Jewish Church. But the chief representative in later times was the altar, and also the burnt offering, which, because it was made from clean beasts and clean birds, represented the same as that of which it was the meaningful sign. Clean beasts represented goods that stem from charity, and clean birds the truths of faith. And when offering these, members of the Ancient Church meant that they were offering gifts of those goods or truths to the Lord. Nothing else can be offered up to the Lord that will please Him. But their descendants, like the gentiles, and also the Jews, corrupted these offerings, for they did not even know that these had such a meaning. They confined worship solely to things of an external nature.

[2] That the altar was the chief representative of the Lord becomes clear also from the consideration that there were altars even among gentiles before all the other religious observances were established, before the Ark [of the Covenant] was made, and before the Temple was built. This is clear from Abram's going on to the mountain east of Bethel, erecting an altar, and calling on the name of Jehovah, Genesis 12:8; from his being commanded to offer Isaac as a burnt offering on an altar, Genesis 22:2, 9, from Jacob's building an altar in Luz, which was Bethel, Genesis 35:6-7; and from Moses' building an altar at the foot of Mount Sinai and offering sacrifice, Exodus 24:4-6. Each of these events took place before the establishment of the sacrificial system and before the construction of the Ark, the place where worship was at a later time celebrated in the wilderness. The fact that gentiles too had altars is clear from what is said about Balaam telling Balak to build seven altars and to prepare seven young bulls and seven rams, Numbers 23:1-7, 15-18, 29-30, and also from the command to destroy the altars of the nations, as in Deuteronomy 7:5; Judges 2:2. Consequently Divine worship involving the use of altars and sacrifices was not something new when it was established among the Jews. Indeed men were building altars, especially those for commemorative purposes, before they ever knew of immolating young bulls and other animals on them.

[3] That 'altars' means a representative of the Lord, and 'burnt offerings' consequent worship of Him, is quite clear from the Prophets and also in Moses where Levi to whom the priesthood was entrusted is the subject,

They will teach Jacob Your judgements and Israel Your law. They will put incense in Your nostrils, and whole (burnt offering) upon Your altar. Deuteronomy 33:10.

This stands for the whole of worship. 'Teaching Jacob His judgements, and Israel His law' stands for internal worship, while 'putting incense in His nostrils, and whole [burnt offering] on the altar' stands for corresponding external worship, and so for the whole of worship. In Isaiah,

On that day a man will look to his Maker and his eyes will regard the Holy One of Israel. And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands. Isaiah 17:7-8.

Here 'looking to the altars' clearly means representative worship in general, which was to be abolished. In the same prophet,

On that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at its border to Jehovah. Isaiah 19:19.

Here too 'altar' stands for external worship.

[4] In Jeremiah,

The Lord has abandoned His altar, He has abhorred His sanctuary. Lamentations 2:7.

'Altar' stands for representative worship which had become idolatrous. In Hosea,

Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, they have been to him altars for sinning. Hosea 8:11.

'Altars' here stands for all representative worship separated from internal, and so stands for what is idolatrous. In the same prophet,

The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed. Thorn and thistle will grow up on their altars. Hosea 10:8.

Here too 'altars' stands for idolatrous worship. In Amos,

On the day I visit Israel for his transgressions, I will visit the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar will be cut off. Amos 3:14.

Here also 'altars' stands for representative worship that had become idolatrous.

[5] In David,

They will bring me to Your holy mountain, and to Your dwellings! Then I will go in to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy. Psalms 43:3-4.

Here 'altar' clearly stands for the Lord. So the making of an altar in the Ancient and the Jewish Churches stood for a representative of the Lord. Because worship of the Lord was carried out principally by means of burnt offerings and sacrifices, and these principally meant representative worship, it is clear that the altar itself means representative worship itself.