LEVITICUS 4
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Leviticus Chapter 4

Summary of the Spiritual Sense

1. The purification of the celestial man, as to the natural degree, from errors committed without fault, and the worship of the Lord Involved in the process, is described, vers. 1-12.
2. The purification of the spiritual man, and worship in like manner, vers. 13-21.
3. The purification of natural men, their worship, and their regeneration, are next treated of; and first, as to the state of truth leading to good, vers. 22-26.
4. Secondly, as to their state of the good of truth, or of good, adopted as a principle of life, vers. 27-31.
5. And lastly, as to their state of genuine good, which is their inmost state, vers. 32-35.

1.  By the Lord, or by Jehovah, is denoted the Divine Being as to His love, 2001; by speaking is denoted influx, 2951; by Moses is represented Divine Truth or the Word, 7010, 6752; and by saying is denoted perception, 1791, 1822.

   It is to be observed that the words of this verse, and similar expressions, frequently occur in the Word, the reason for which is, that they signify, with regard to the internal sense, a new beginning, but continuous with what goes before, and thus a change of the subject, and the connection of one subject with another. Up to this point the general subject has been the worship of the Lord by man in different states; and this subject is now continued; but whereas the previous chapters have relation to the adoration of the Lord from various affections, what now follows describes such worship as ought to be offered, in consequence of error and sin. And if we reflect upon our own experience in the course of regeneration, we shall actually find that our changes of life internal and external mostly bring with them new states of thought, or new revelations; and thus the Word itself in many places appears to us in a new light, because every change in the state of our affections which is the consequence of continued and determined resistance to evil, makes our perceptions of truth clearer, fulfilling the law expressed in the words, " Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." To become pure in heart is to have the affections purified; and to see God, as a consequence, is to discern the truth more clearly, 7191.

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2.  The proofs are as follow: speaking denotes revelation, 8920; the children of Israel represented the Spiritual Church, 3654; to sin unwittingly, is to violate the Divine law through ignorance and error, 9156, 10042, III.; the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done are evils that should be avoided, as is evident; and to do these is to commit sin, 5076.

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3.  This is clear from the signification of the anointed priest, as denoting those in celestial good by reception from the Lord, 9954⁷; of sinning as, in this case, denoting error, ver. 2; of guilt as here denoting the consequences of error, namely injury, 3400; of the people in respect to the priest as denoting those in a lower state, 6451; of people, therefore, as denoting those in truths and not yet in good, 1259; of the priest, as evidently denoting one in the innocence of ignorance, ver. 3; of an offering for sin, as denoting the worship of the Lord in that state, 5913, 6126; of a young bullock without blemish, as denoting the good of innocence in the natural man, 9391, 7837; and of the sin offering, as denoting that the error is not imputed, and that remission shall take place, 3400, 10122. See also the notes under ver. 4, chap, i., where the subject of atonement is considered, to which it may be added that the forgiveness of sin depends on the repentance of man; the worship of the Lord in that state of repentance; and man's coming, consequently, fully into the state of good, or, in other words, of love to God and man, which is the real atonement or reconciliation (Rom 5:11; 2 Cor 5:19).

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4.  This is seen by considering that, to bring the bullock to the door of the tent of meeting, denotes the acknowledgement of the Lord and His operation through the heavens, 2356, 3540³; that to lay his hand upon its head, denotes influx from the internal man into the good of innocence in the external with power, 878, 10023; and that killing it before the Lord denotes preparation by self-denial for such worship, 10024, 9990.

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5.  This is true, because the anointed priest denotes the essential good belonging to the offender conjoined with its truth, 9954⁷; the blood of the bullock, denotes the Divine Truth relating to the good of innocence in the natural man, 10047; and bringing it to the tent of meeting denotes the acknowledgement of the Lord, and His influence through the heavens, 2356, 3540³.

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6.  Here, by the priest dipping his finger in the blood, is denoted operation from Divine Good with some power by Divine Truth, 7430; by sprinkling the blood seven times before the Lord is denoted a holy state of acknowledgement that truth is to be conjoined with good in the Natural, 10047, 716; by the blood being of the bullock is denoted, what is of the Natural, 5913, 6126; and by its being sprinkled before the veil of the sanctuary, is denoted that the inmost state of conjunction does not appear, 9670, 3207.

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7.  To put of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense, denotes that this conjunction is through the celestial and spiritual degrees, even in the ultimate truths thereof, and shall be acknowledged to be from the Lord there, 10176, 10208, 2832, 10642; and to pour the blood of the bullock out at the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the door of the tent of meeting, denotes that this conjunction shall be effected, also in the natural degree in completeness by a similar acknowledgement, 10047, 2356, 3540³.

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8.  This is demonstrated thus: the fat of the bullock denotes celestial good, 10033; to be taken away, is to be distinguished and separated from merely natural good, as is evident, chap 3:4, 5; and the fat that covers the inwards, and all the fat that is upon them, denote this good in the lowest, or natural degree as to the understanding and will, chap. iii. ver. 3.

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9.  Also the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the loins, and the long lobe upon the liver, denote the middle degree as to discriminating truths and the affections thereof by which the conjunction of truth with good is effected, and the interior degree where the conjunction of good with truth is effected, chap. iii. ver. 4.

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10.  Here, "as it is taken off from the ox, of the sacrifice of peace offerings," denotes just as it is in the worship of the Lord from freewill, 10097; and the priest burning them upon the altar of burnt offering, denotes that all these varieties of good are wholly consecrated as from the Lord, chap. iii. ver. 5.

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11.  By the skin of the bullock, is denoted all merely natural truth, 3540; by the flesh, all merely natural good, 10040; by the head is denoted the inmost, 10048; by the legs is denoted the middle, 10049, 10050; by the inwards is denoted the lowest, 10049; and by the dung is denoted everything that is absolutely impure, 10037.

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12.  By the whole bullock is here denoted the entire unregenerated natural man, 10040; by without the camp, is denoted separation from the heavenly life, 4236; by the clean place, is denoted that the act of separation is pure, 4545, 2625; by where the ashes are poured out, is denoted the removal of things that have served their use, 9723; by the wood is denoted the good of merit, 2784; by fire is denoted love, 934; and by burning is denoted vastation through self-love, or rejection through love to the Lord as the case may be, 934, 2445, 2449.

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13.  This is plain from the signification of the whole congregation of Israel as denoting, the spiritual Church, 3654; of the erring as evidently denoting sinning by mistake, 9156; of the thing being hidden from the eyes, as denoting through ignorance of truth in the understanding, 6721, 4526; of doing any of those things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, as denoting to commit sin which is contrary to Divine Order, 5076; and of being guilty, as denoting a consciousness of the error, 3400.

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14.  This is evident, because the sin becoming known, denotes the discovery of the fault from a knowledge of the truth, 2230; because a young bullock denotes, in the sacrifices, the worship of the Lord from the good of innocence in the natural man, 9391; because a sin offering denotes the removal of evil, 3400, 10122; and because bringing it before the tent of meeting, denotes the acknowledgement of the Lord, and the heavenly life from Him, 2356, 3540³.

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15.  The elders of the congregation denote, with respect to the assembly generally, the internal man, since they denote chief points of wisdom, 6524; laying their hands upon the head of the bullock, denotes influx with power into the natural affection, 878, 10023; before the Lord, evidently denotes with acknowledgement of the Lord, 10024, and the bullock being killed denotes preparation by self-denial for such worship, 10024, 9990.

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16.  The truth of this appears from considering that the anointed priests denotes the essential good of the offender conjoined with its truths, 9954; the blood of the bullock, denotes the Divine Truth relating to the good of innocence in the natural man, 10047; and bringing it to the tent of meeting, denotes the acknowledgement of the Lord and of His influence through the heavens, 2356, 3540³.

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17.  Here, by the priest dipping his finger in the blood, is denoted operation from Divine Good, with some power, by Divine Truth, 7430; by sprinkling the blood seven times before the Lord, is denoted a holy state of acknowledgement that truth is to be conjoined with good in the Natural, 10047, 716; by the blood being of the bullock, is denoted what is of the Natural, 5913, 6126; and by its being sprinkled before the veil of the sanctuary, is denoted that the inmost state of conjunction does not appear, 9670, 3207.

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18.  To put of the blood on the horns of the altar, which is before the Lord in the tent of meeting, denotes that the conjunction of truth with good in the spiritual degree is to be acknowledged with power in worship, 10176, 10208, 2832, 10642; and to pour the blood of the bullock out at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the door of the tent of meeting, denotes that this conjunction is effected with fullness also in the Natural, by the acknowledgement of the Lord, and His operation through the heavens, 10047, 2356, 3540³.

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19.  This is clear from the signification of the fat, as denoting celestial good, 10033; and of burning upon the altar, as denoting entire consecration to the Lord in worship by acknowledgement, faith and love, 10052.

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20.  To do thus with the bullock, denotes the law for the purification and sanctification of the Natural, 9391, 7837; as he did with the bullock of the sin offering, so shall he do with this, denotes that as it is in the remission of sins, so it is in the case of errors, 10042, III.; the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven, denotes that the state as to good from the Lord and consequent purification, brings about the reconciliation of the spiritual man with the Lord, and of the External with the Internal, 9506¹, 10023, 10042, II.

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21.  Carrying forth the bullock out of the camp, signifies that all merely natural affections shall be separated from the heavenly life, 10040, 4236; doing with it as he did with the first bullock, signifies the same for the spiritual as for the celestial man, because the priest denotes the celestial and the assembly the spiritual, 9954⁷, 3654; burning the bullock without the camp, signifies consumption by selfish love, 934, 2445, 2449; and a sin offering for the assembly, signifies the removal of evil and error from the whole man, since the assembly denotes the external man, 3654, 10243.

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22.  This is thus proved: a ruler or prince denotes one in primary truths, and thus one in the truth of faith, 2089, 8314; doing unwittingly what is commanded not to be done, denotes to sin through ignorance, 9156, 10042, III.; the things which ought not to be done are falsities and evils that ought to be shunned as sins; and to be guilty is to incur guilt, as is evident.

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23.  By his sin being made known to him is denoted that he is enlightened by the Truth so as to perceive his fault, 2230; by bringing an oblation is denoted to worship the Lord, 349, 922; by a goat, a male, is denoted the truth of faith, 4169, 725; and by being without blemish is denoted freedom from error, 7837.

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24.  Laying his hand upon the head of the goat, denotes that the internal man flows into the truth of his faith in the external man with power, 878, 10023; killing the goat denotes preparation, by self-denial for the worship of the Lord from love, 10024, 4169; in the place where they kill the burnt offering denotes in a state of worshiping from love, 2625, 923; and its being a sin offering denotes the removal of the evil by such worship, 3400, 10122.

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25.  This is evident from considering that the priest denotes the principle of good, 9946; that the blood of the goat denotes the truth of faith, 10047, 4169; that dipping his finger in the blood denotes the operation of good upon truth with some power, 7430; that putting the blood upon the horns of the altar denotes the conjunction of truth with good internally; and pouring it at the base of the altar of burnt offering denotes the conjunction of truth with good in the natural degree, 10047.

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26.  The fat being burned upon the altar denotes that the celestial good belonging to the natural man shall be acknowledged to be from the Lord, and shall be consecrated to Him, 10033, 10052; like the fat of the peace offerings, denotes from a principle of free-will, 10097; and the priest making atonement for him denotes the removal of the evil, and consequently forgiveness, 9506¹, 10042, II.

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27.  This is evident, because one of the common people, or, more strictly, one of the people of the land, denotes one in the good of faith, which is interior, 2928, 2950; and because sinning unwittingly in doing any of those things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and being guilty, denotes sinning through ignorance and without any evil intention, 5076, 3400.

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28.  His sin being made known to him evidently denotes when his error is discovered by means of truth from the Word, 2230; to bring for his oblation a goat, a female without blemish, denotes to worship the Lord from the good of his faith without any admixture of evil or error, 349, 922, 4169, 725, 7837; and that it was for his sin which he had sinned, denotes the acknowledgement of having acted against the laws of order, 9506, 10023, 10042, II.

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29.  Laying his hand upon the head of the sin offering denotes that the internal man flows into the good of faith in the external man with power, 878, 10023; and killing the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering denotes preparation of the interior man for the worship of the Lord from love, 10024, 4169, 2625, 923.

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30.  By the priest taking of the blood thereof with his finger and putting it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, is denoted that from celestial good shall the good of faith be rendered active, and shall be conjoined with truth with some power in the interior, 9946, 10047, 4169, 7430; and by all the blood being poured also at the base of the altar, is denoted that the conjunction of truth with good is effected also in the Natural, 10047.

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31.  This is demonstrated from the signification of the fat as denoting celestial good, 10003; of being taken away, as evidently denoting to be separated from evil and error, chap. iii. vers. 4, 5; of the peace offerings as denoting adoration from free-will, 10097; of burning upon the altar, as denoting consecration to the Lord, 10052; of a sweet savour, or an odour of rest to the Lord, as denoting what is grateful and acceptable to Him, 10054; and of the priest making atonement, and of his being forgiven, as denoting the removal of evil and the reconciliation of the external man with the internal, 9506¹, 10023, 10042, II.

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32.  This is thus proved: a lamb as an oblation for a sin offering denotes celestial love, and its innocence which is inmost, 10132; a female denotes good, as distinguished from a male which denotes truth, 725; and without blemish denotes without any admixture with evil, 7837.

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33.  Laying his hand upon the head of the sin offering denotes that the internal man shall flow into the external with power, 878, 10023; and killing the sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering, denotes preparation for the true worship of the Lord from love, 10024, 2625, 923.

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34.  The priest taking of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and putting it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, denotes that, from the Lord, shall celestial good in innocence be animated with some power, and shall be conjoined with truth in the inmost, 9946, 7430, 10207; and his pouring the blood at the base of the altar denotes full conjunction of truth with good in the Natural, 10047.

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35.  This is seen from the signification of the fat as denoting celestial good, 10033; of being taken away, as evidently denoting to be separated from evil and error, chap. iii. vers. 4, 5; of the peace offerings as denoting adoration from free-will, 10097; of burning upon the altar, as denoting consecration to the Lord, 10052; of an offering made by fire, as denoting worship from pure love, 934, 10055; and of making atonement for him, and his being forgiven, as denoting the removal of evil by celestial love from the Lord, reconciliation to the Lord, and the reconciliation of the external man to the internal, and thus a full state of separation from evil, 9506¹, 10023, 10042, II.

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We may now profitably take a general review of this whole chapter, already having given a brief summary of it. What precedes in the previous chapters is a connected series of truths descriptive of the worship of the Lord from pure, natural, spiritual, and celestial affections, showing that the essence of all real worship is the love of the Lord and the neighbour. To worship the Lord is to love Him. And when this truth is realized, it follows naturally that no one can worship the Lord without knowing Him; for how can any one love him of whom he knows nothing? Hence, then, one of the primary things in worship is to have a correct knowledge of the object of worship. But the question immediately arises, "How is such knowledge to be obtained? Is man so constituted that he can, from the visible things of creation around him, discover either the fact of the Lord's existence or what He is? " Certainly not; for no observation of this kind, by itself, can suggest the being of a God or disclose His character. And this is one reason why so many persons of vast attainments in science and philosophy have denied His existence. Who can by "searching" find out God (Job 11:7)? From all this, then, it follows that the idea of God, and some positive knowledge of Him, can only have come from God Himself, in the first instance, by Revelation. For we can hardly suppose the existence of a Divine Being, Who has endowed man with the capacity of thinking about Him, without at the same time concluding that "to believe in a God and in no revelation from Him is to believe in a God unjust and unwise." The Lord, therefore, we may be sure, has always revealed Himself to man; and this revelation is what we call the Word, or Divine Truth proceeding from Him, whether it has assumed the form of open communication, or of written composition preserved and handed down from age to age. And from this point of view we may see that the Word, as we now have it, must be wholly from the Lord, both as to its inward spirit and life, and as to its outward form. From the Word therefore we have our knowledge of the Lord, and to the Word only must we apply for even a more extensive knowledge of Him than we at present possess.

The Word, then, even in its literal sense, and more particularly in its internal sense, shows us the character of the Lord in order that we may worship Him right. He is, essentially, the self-existent Being, Who is love itself and wisdom itself united; and from Whom continually proceeds all the love and intelligence that man enjoys; and hence He is the Giver of every good and perfect gift, with Whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning. And if we worship Him, therefore, that is, if we love Him, we, too, shall be givers from Him, desiring to communicate to our fellow-creatures all that we can of His goodness, His truth and His happiness. "To love God and to love the neighbour is to love the good and the true, and to do them from the heart" (HH 16). And hence it is that by worship is not meant the adoration of the Lord in the sanctuary, by ceremonials and rituals, or even by prayers and praises, the reading of the Word, and the hearing of sermons, these being only either aids to the true worship of the Lord from love to Him, or the effects of our love to Him.

But now having made these general remarks illustrative of what real worship is, and ought always to be, we notice that our chapter in its internal sense, has special reference to that worship of the life which exists with those who, nevertheless, are guilty of violations of the laws of order through ignorance or error. And certainly one great truth that shines brightly in this description is, that the highest as well as the lowest order of mankind, and mankind in the aggregate as well as individuals, are liable to error, from the effects of which only their real worship of the Lord by love can deliver them. For the remission of sin, or the forgiveness of sin, as it is often called, really means the removal of evil or error through genuine love, according to the laws of Divine Order, 865, 868, 874, etc.

Next we may notice the general similarity of the sacrifices required from the four sets of offenders by error, representing, of course, that the love of the Lord with them all has a certain general resemblance in externals. In short, all must do the work of repentance, even as regards unintentional mistakes, and all must recognize from the Lord that they are in innocence, by virtue of their ruling love of good, and not on account of any inherent good in themselves. And thus the bullocks, the goats, and the lamb are equally representative of innocence according to its different kinds and degrees.

But again, if there is a general similarity in the worship of the Lord, respectively with celestial, spiritual and natural men, there are also specific differences; and these, in the chapter, are described by their appropriate symbolism. Let us notice them, therefore. Comparing the case of the priest that sinned unwittingly, with that of the assembly, we find that while the latter is said not to have known of the offence and afterwards to have been informed, it is not so said of the former, and this indicates one point of difference in character between the celestial, who are denoted by the priests, as we have shown, and the spiritual, who are denoted by the assembly or congregation. The celestial perceive their errors from their state of good, but the spiritual have to discover their errors from a knowledge of the truth. Some people seem to imagine that the celestial, before the commencement of the decline of the Most Ancient Church, were not the subjects of evil or error, and that their regeneration consisted in their advancement from a lower merely natural good, through spiritual good, to a perfect state of celestial good. But a careful study of the description of their regeneration as given in the first chapter of Genesis, reveals the fact that those early celestials, who lived as wild animals, were not free from evil and error; for their darkness which was upon the face of the deep denoted the lusts and consequent falsities of their unregenerate natural man, 286, 18 (AE 294). Thus we see that the most ancient people, who were of a celestial, as distinguished from a spiritual race, 640, were the subjects of evil and error, equally with those who, when the Most Ancient Church began to decline, also fell by the abuse of their liberty, 146. True, the origin of evil and the cause of it are not described previously, but they are certainly taken for granted as existing; and indeed, how can we suppose that while the highest order of celestial men gradually declined from their state of perfection, the lowest order did not do so at all? Hence we see from these considerations, as well as from our chapter, that a celestial race of men may err, and fall into sin equally with a spiritual race.

But now another point of difference between the worship of the celestial and spiritual orders is indicated in these accounts. Not only is there a difference as to the understanding, but there is a difference also as to the will. For the will of the celestial is represented by the priest, and the will of the spiritual by the elders. That is, the will of the celestial is good or love, while the will of the spiritual is truth or wisdom, since the elders denote chief points of wisdom. And thus it appears that the will of the celestial is more interior than the will of spiritual. Yet in both cases the will is the internal of the man and flows into the external with power to bring about a state of harmony.

And again a third peculiarity here noticeable is, that it is not the elders who make atonement in the case of the spiritual, but the priest. The reason is, because the spiritual heaven derives its life from the Lord through the celestial, and thus only the pure good peculiar to the celestial can fully effect the perfect reconciliation of man with the Lord and of the External with the Internal.

We turn now, however, to the cases of the ruler or prince, and the man of the common people, or, more correctly, of the people of the land. And in passing we remark that, when the priest sinned, even the anointed priest, who represents those in truth conjoined with good, he brought guilt upon the people; and that when he made the atonement, the guilt must have been removed from both. Can any one sin, even unwittingly, and not affect injuriously those who are dependent upon him; and, more interiorly, can the affections wander into forbidden tracks, and the intellect remain unimpaired? And so again, can an individual err, and his error not affect the community; or, more interiorly, can the intellectual principle in the External of the Natural, which ought to guide the affections, be in error, and not affect the well-being of those affections, and indeed of the whole man? Thus is the life of man in the aggregate one life, in which no individual can escape from his responsibility to mankind as a whole. Now that this ruler, or prince, rightly corresponds to the External of the Natural, is seen from observing that he was required to offer a goat, a male without blemish. It was a goat and not a bullock, because it denotes what is of the intellectual principle in the External of the Natural, rather than what is of the affections; it was a male, because the truth of faith, as a ruling motive, is understood, and it was without blemish to denote such purity and perfection as belongs to a state of innocence. Natural men who have nothing but the truth of faith as a sincere principle of life, do not intentionally commit sin, or fall into error. But besides this we must remark that, in this case, the priest was required to take of the blood of the goat with his finger and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and not as before on the horns of the altar of sweet incense, again showing that the person making the offering denotes worship from the External of the Natural.

And coming at length to the fourth case, we observe that the description differs from that of the third in one or two particulars, which require notice. This person was one of the people of the land, and he represents those in good derived from truth, which is interior. Hence, therefore, his offering was a goat, a female, which corresponds to such good, but in other respects the description of his worship is the same as that for the ruler, who denotes the truth of faith, which must, in the beginning of man's religious experience, govern him until he advances thence. But it is not sufficient even for natural men to remain only in good as a principle; for they must become celestial according to their degree, and advance to the love of good itself, and the innocence that properly belongs to it. And this is the reason why, in this fourth case, the offering of a lamb is also described in the same terms as the offering of the goat. And thus we have in this whole chapter a regular series in the internal sense.

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