NUMBERS 32      Other translations  -  previous  -  next  -  notes  -  discussion  -  Numbers  -  BM Home  -  Full Page

Numbers Chapter 32

Summary of the Spiritual Sense

1. The perception of the natural man from the Lord or the perception of those who are in faith and good works in the external church, that various truths, which have been applied to selfish purposes, are to be rendered useful to the man of the church, vers. 1-4.
2. They perceive also that the delights of the external man are to be kept distinct from those of the internal man, ver. 5.
3. But Divine Truth teaches that the spiritual man cannot engage successfully in temptation without the co-operation of the natural man; that the separated natural man hinders and opposes the progress of the spiritual towards the heavenly life, either causing a long series of temptations, or condemnations and vastation, and that therefore a caution is necessary to the natural man who desires to enjoy his own peculiar delights, vers. 6-15.
4. But the new natural man is willing to co-operate with the spiritual man in the subjugation of evil, while still desiring to live his own life distinctly; and this is agreeable to Divine Truth, to Divine Good, and to the primary truths of the church, vers. 16-32.
5. And hence it actually happens that those who are in good works, and those who are in faith, in the external church come into the possession of the natural powers establishing themselves in doctrines of good and truth according te their requirements, vers. 33-38.
6. And hence, too, it follows that the new will of good is firmly established in the inmost of the natural man; the general evil principle being expelled; the interior natural is enlightened and confirmed in Divine Truths; and even the sensual man shares in the purification, vers. 39-42.

1.  The children of Reuben and the children of Gad having a great multitude of cattle, denotes that those who are in the external church as to faith in the understanding, and as to good works are abundant also in natural affections, 5912, 3863, 3934, 6126; and their seeing the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead that it was a place for cattle, denotes the enjoyment of a strong perception of natural truths, and great delight in natural affections, 2150, chap 21:32, 26:29, 2625.

   [Back to 1]

2.  Their coming and speaking to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the princes of the congregation, saying, denotes that such persons being also influenced by Divine Truth and Divine Good with which they have communication as to the understanding and will, and also by the primary truths of the church, have the perception, 1853, 2951, 7010, 9946, 1482, 7843, 1822.

   [Back to 2]

3.  Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon, denote various doctrinals of truth relating to natural, spiritual, and celestial things in their degrees—namely, to the affection for natural truth, the knowledges thereof, and the application thereof; the affection for spiritual truth, the knowledges thereof, and the application thereof; with the affection of celestial truths, their knowledges and their application, because by Ataroth is meant crowns, and therefore it denotes the affection of natural truth, 9818²¹; by Dibon is meant understanding, knowledge, building, and therefore it denotes the knowledges of natural truth, chap 21:25, 30; by Jazer is meant he that helps, and therefore it denotes doctrine, which aids in the interpretation of the Word, or, in other words, the application of knowledge to the ascension of God, or the burnt offering of God, and therefore it denotes the affection of spiritual truth, 2702; by Heshbon is meant he that hastens to understand—or build, and therefore it denotes the knowledge of spiritual truth, chap 21:25, 30; by Elealch is meant the ascension of God, or the burnt offering of God, and therefore it denotes the application of spiritual truth in worship, 795, 10053; the meaning of Sebam, or Sibmah, is not known, and therefore we cannot know its correspondence from the mere expression, but we may infer from its position that it denotes the affection for celestial truth according to the series, 5114; by Nebo is meant one that speaks, prophesies, or fructifies, and therefore it denotes the same as Dibon and Heshbon on the highest plane, namely, celestial truth or knowledge, 2951, 2534, 913, chap 21:25, 30; and. by Beon, or Baal-meon, is meant the house or habitation of Baal, and therefore it denotes the ultimate, or application of celestial truth, 2451.

   [Back to 3]

4.  The land which the Lord smote before the congregation, or rather the assembly, of Israel being a land for cattle, and the Israelites having cattle, denotes that these various affections and powers have been devoted to the merely natural life, and are now subdued by the Lord and rendered useful to the man of the church; and that the external man is delighted with such things and possesses such things, chap 21:25-26, 566, 6126, 1713.

   [Back to 4]

5.  By their saying, is denoted that they further perceive, 1822; by "If we have found grace in your sight," is denoted that possibly it is according to Divine Good conjoined with Divine Truth, 2423, 2572; by "let this land be given to us for a possession," is denoted that the natural man should enjoy all natural delights, ver. 1, 566, 8899, 1713, 5942; and by "bring us not over Jordan," is denoted distinction from the spiritual man, 6183, 901¹.

   [Back to 5]

6.  Moses saying to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, denotes that Divine Truth from the Lord insinuates into the minds of those who are in the good of life and in faith, and thus are in the external church, 7010, 1822, 5912, 3863, 3934; and "Shall your brethren go to the war, and shall you sit here?" denotes that the spiritual man cannot engage in temptation without the co-operation of the natural man, because the latter must be in harmony with the former, since charity should unite them, 1222, 1664, 9422.

   [Back to 6]

7.  "And wherefore discourage you the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord has given them?" denotes that therefore the separated natural man greatly hinders the earnest desire of the spiritual man, for the heavenly life which is given to him by the Lord, 5912, 3863, 3934, 8782 on Isa 37:27, 7272, 3654, 901^l, 2001, 8899.

   [Back to 7]

8.  "Thus did your fathers when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land," denotes that it is even greatly opposed to the spiritual man during states of instruction in heavenly things, chap 13:29-33, 2397, 2503, 2150, 3705, 8899. Note here that Kadesh-barnea means the holiness of an inconstant son, and also the holiness of the fountain of delight, and thus denotes, on the one hand, the state represented by the rebellious spies, and on the other the state represented by those who did not rebel.

   [Back to 8]

9.  "For when they went up into the valley of Eshcol," denotes although they were instructed in the letter of the Word, and in the general doctrine of charity, chap 13:23, 1543, 1723, 4715; "and saw the land," denotes that they were able to understand the character of the heavenly life, 2150, 8899; "they discouraged the heart of the children," denotes that the natural man has not faith springing from love, ver. 7; and "that they should not go into the land which the Lord had given them," denotes a disposition to retard the progress of the man of the church toward the heavenly state, 3335, 8899.

   [Back to 9]

10.  "And the Lord's answer was kindled in that day and He swore, saying," denotes that therefore there is aversion from the Lord in such a state, evil and falsity being confirmed in him, with the perception 5798, 2842, 1822.

    [Back to 10]

11.  "Surely none of the men that came up out of the land of Egypt," denotes although he has been delivered from the absolute dominion of merely natural love, 8866; "from twenty years old and upward," denotes a state of instruction and religious experience, 10225; "shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," denotes that yet in the exercise of his liberty he rejects the heavenly life, which, from the Lord, is provided not only for the celestial, but also for the spiritual and natural man, 2150, 8899, 2842, 6098; and "because they have not wholly followed me," denotes and this on account of wilful disobedience, 3191.

    [Back to 11]

12.  "Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite," denotes those who are in good from truth, and thus have the perception of truth, chap 13:6; the meaning of a Kenizzite is uncertain, but some think it means a hunter, in which case it will denote one who persuades, 1178, or it may mean simply a descendant of Kenaz, Judg 1:13, and then it will mean this possession, this purchase, and will therefore denote good acquired by means of truth, 7999; "and Joshua the son of Nun," denotes those who are in truth, and engage in spiritual temptation, perseveringly acquiring the heavenly life, chap 13:8; and "because they have wholly followed the Lord," denotes clearly, because they are obedient to the Lord, 3191, 2001.

    [Back to 12]

13.  "And the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel," denotes that therefore the man of the Spiritual Church is averted from the Lord, 5798, 3654; "and he made them wander to and fro in the wilderness forty years," denotes the endurance of a full course of spiritual temptations, chap 14:33-34; and "until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was consumed," denotes until he is purified from the evils of the merely natural life, 1145, 4839, 10431.

    [Back to 13]

14.  "And behold you are risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel," denotes that all those who make hereditary evil actual with themselves, in the same way avert themselves from the Lord, become a corrupted church, and are vastated, 8876, 5076, 5798, 3654, 6997⁵.

    [Back to 14]

15.  "For if you turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and you shall destroy all this people," denotes that therefore a caution is necessary, lest man should turn away from the Lord, and thus either prolong the state of temptation, or confirm himself in evil altogether, 10702, 3191, 2708, 10510.

    [Back to 15]

16.  Their coming near to him and saying, denotes the perception of the external man as distinct from the internal, 3863, 3934, 3572, 7010, 1822; "We will build sheepfolds for our cattle and cities for our little ones here," denotes, both as to the exercises of charity, and as to the formation of doctrine from the Word, "in which are preserved incipient good and truth, 4390, 2088², 402, 5946.

    [Back to 16]

17.  "But we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel," denotes that the natural man is ready to co-operate with the spiritual man against the powers of evil, 3863, 3934, 2686, 3335, 3654; "until we have brought them to their place," denotes until a state of spiritual rest is obtained, 5947, 2451, 2625; and "our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land," denotes that remains are stored up for future use, and are adequately defended by the Lord against the influx of evil from the hells in the meantime, 3183, 2451, 7297³, 10640.

    [Back to 17]

18.  "We will not return to our houses until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance," denotes that the natural man who co-operates with the spiritual is not content to be in tranquillity, and in the enjoyment of his own peculiar delight, unless the spiritual man is victorious, and each enjoys the delight of his own life, 2288, 2233, 3654, 2658. The particular Hebrew word used in this verse for "inheritance," according to the last reference, has relation to truth rather than to good, and therefore to the External than to the Internal, so that it implies, in the spiritual sense, that by victory in temptation the External becomes not simply submissive to the Internal, but completely harmonious with it, as the furniture of a house does when it is properly arranged by its owner according to his peculiar tastes.

    [Back to 18]

19.  "For we will not inherit with them on the other side Jordan and forward," denotes that the man of the external church cannot realize the heavenly state of the man of the internal, 3863, 3934, 2658, 10584 on Jer 7:24; and "because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side of Jordan eastward," denotes which is separated from him even as is the literal sense of the Word from the spiritual and celestial, because it is of Divine Providence that this should be so, 2658, 9927, 1585, 4300.

    [Back to 19]

20.  Moses saying to them denotes that these truths are confirmed by the Word, 7010, 1822; and "if you will do this thing; if you will arm yourselves to go before the Lord to the war," denotes that if the natural man acts truly, as from himself, and is willing to endure spiritual temptations, being protected by the truths of the Word, 4258, 1288, 5075, 2686, 3335, 2001, 1664.

    [Back to 20]

21.  "And every armed man of you will pass over Jordan before the Lord, until he has driven out his enemies from before him," denotes at the same time being elevated into the perception of spiritual realities by the Lord, until evils are entirely subdued, 2686, 1585, 2001, 10638, 9313, 9306.

    [Back to 21]

22.  "And the land be subdued before the Lord," denotes so that the new heaven for the Spiritual is adequately formed, 6858, 8054; "then afterwards you shall return and be guiltless before the Lord," denotes that then the natural man, in his own heaven, which is the ultimate, shall be in a state of innocence and truthfulness, 3863, 3934, 2288, 9262, 9306, 2001, 3654, 8054; "and this land shall be to you for a possession before the Lord," denotes that the external man shall enjoy his own peculiar life, 2028, 2029.

    [Back to 22]

23.  "But if you will not do so, behold you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out," denotes that where the external man does not so co-operate, there is aversion from the Lord through disobedience, and man will be confirmed in a state of evil, and will endure its punishment, 3863, 3934, 2686, 5076, 1857.

    [Back to 23]

24.  "Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which has proceeded out of your mouth," denotes that truly the natural man must remain distinct from the spiritual both as to the preservation of remains and the reception of charity in appropriate forms of doctrine; for he must act entirely according to his own understanding of Divine Truth, 4309, 2088², 402, 5946, 3313, 6987.

    [Back to 24]

25.  The children of Gad and the children of Reuben speaking to Moses, saying, "Your servants will do as my lord commands," denotes that those who are in good works and in faith, and constitute the external church, both perceive and acknowledge that the teaching of the internal man is just, 3863, 3934, 2951, 7010, 1822, 2541, 4258, 2921, 5486.

    [Back to 25]

26.  "Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead," denotes that hence they have remains, and the affections of truth internal and charity and the good of innocence external, in the state of natural delight received from the Lord, 5946, 2088², 6134, 402, 4117.

    [Back to 26]

27.  "But your servants will pass over, every man that is armed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord says," denotes that yet they are fully able to co-operate, from the Lord, with those in the internal church, or with their own internal man, in the subjugation of evil, according to the law of the Lord, 2541, 4255, 2686, 1664, 2001, 2921, 1822, 7010.

    [Back to 27]

28.  Moses giving charge concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel, denotes that all this is confirmed by Divine Truth; by the good and truth of the interior man; and by the primary truths of the church which govern the external man, 7010, 3382, 9946, 8595, 3728, 7833, 3858, 3654,

    [Back to 28]

29.  Moses saying to them, denotes perception from Divine Truth by the spiritual man, 7010, 1822, 3654; "If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man that is armed to battle, before the Lord, and the land be subdued before you," denotes that the man of the external church who is in good works and in faith must co-operate with the man of the internal church, in contending against evil; and that evil must be destroyed, 3934, 3863, 4255, 2686, 1664, 55⁴; and "then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession," denotes that in this case the natural man will enjoy his own peculiar life, 9946, 8595, 8899, 4117. 2028, 2029.

    [Back to 29]

30.  "But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan," denotes that if the natural man is unwilling to co-operate with the spiritual man, he does not enjoy his own life distinctly and in freedom, but is in external worship without internal, or in merely selfish religion, 3863, 3934, ver. 29, 2028, 2029, 1063.

    [Back to 30]

31.  The children of Gad and the children of Reuben answering and saying, "As the Lord has said to your servants so will we do," denotes that those who are in good works and in faith are willing to obey the commandments of the Lord, 3934, 3863, 2919, 2001, 1822, ver. 25.

    [Back to 31]

32.  "We will pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond Jordan," denotes that they are willing to co-operate with the spiritual man in the subjugation of evil, and yet they are persistent in having the enjoyment of their own peculiar life, vers. 19, 29.

    [Back to 32]

33.  Moses giving them, even to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, and to the half tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land according to the cities thereof, with their borders even the cities of the land round about, denotes that it is according to Divine Truth that the natural man who is in good works and in faith, and who also acts from the new will of good, which is from the Celestial of the Spiritual, should enjoy all the delights of the natural man internal and external in harmony therewith, 7010, 8899, 3863, 3934, 6275, 4592⁴, chap 21:23, 33, 402, 7643, 2973.

    [Back to 33]

34.  The children of Gad building Dibon, and Ataroth and Aroer, denotes that those who are in good works form to themselves doctrines concerning the knowledges of good in their varieties, namely, those having relation to the exterior natural, as to truth, as to good, and as to innocence, because by the children of Gad are denoted those in good works, 3934; to build cities denotes to form doctrines, 1187; Dibon denotes the knowledges of natural truth, ver. 3; Ataroth denotes the affection of natural truth, ver. 3; and by Aroer is meant naked, bare, and therefore it denotes, in the best sense, innocence, or, more particularly, the doctrine relating thereto, 402, 165.

    [Back to 34]

35.  And Atroth-shophan, and Jazer, and Jogbehah, denotes to the interior natural in the same way, because by Atroth-shophan is meant what is crowned, or covered or concealed, and therefore it denotes the same as Ataroth more interiorly, ver. 3; Jazer denotes doctrine which aids in the interpretation of the Word, or in the application of knowledge to use, ver. 3; and by Jogbehah is meant what is lofty, it is said, but not with certainty; but if so it will denote doctrine relating to motives of life, still more interiorly, 2148.

    [Back to 35]

36.  And Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran: fenced cities and folds for sheep, denote to the inmost of the natural in the same w,ay, where is the conjunction between the Natural and the Spiritual; all involving Divine Truths in general, which protect and preserve good, because Beth-nimrah denotes the affection of spiritual truth, ver. 3; and by Beth-haran is meant the house of consecration, and therefore it denotes inmost devotion, chap 18:14, 8042; and fenced cities and folds for sheep denote Divine Truths in general which protect and preserve good, ver. 16.

    [Back to 36]

37.  The children of Reuben building Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim, denotes that those who are in faith form, in like manner, doctrines of truth to themselves in their varieties externally, because the children of Reuben denote those who are in faith, 3863; to build cities denotes to form doctrines, 1187; Heshbon denotes the knowledges of spiritual truth, ver. 3; Elealeh denotes the application of spiritual truth in worship, ver. 3; and by Kiriathaim is meant the two cities, and therefore it denotes the conjunction of truth and good in doctrine, 5194, 402.

    [Back to 37]

38.  And Nebo, and Baal-meon, and Sibmah, their names being changed, denotes, in their varieties internally, their qualities being changed, for by regeneration outward forms of truth gain a new quality from the new life of good or charity, because Nebo denotes celestial truth or knowledge; Baal-meon denotes the application of this to life; and Sibmah denotes the affection for celestial truth, ver. 3; while by their names being changed is denoted the new quality of outward forms acquired by regeneration, 145.

    [Back to 38]

39.  The children of Machir the son of Manasseh going to Gilead, and taking it, and dispossessing the Amorites which were therein, denotes that those who are in truths from the new will of good, and who are in natural delights, expel from such natviral delights the general evil principle, chap 26:29, 1857.

    [Back to 39]

40.  Moses giving Gilead to the son of Manasseh, and his dwelling therein, denotes that Divine Truth from the Lord forms the new-natural man, as to doctrine, and that therein he securely dwells internally, 7010, 8899, 4117, 489, chap 26:29.

    [Back to 40]

41.  Jair the son of Manasseh going and taking the towns thereof, and calling them Havvoth-jair, or the towns of Jair, denotes that the internal of the Natural as to doctrine is also regenerated, and has a new quality from the truth which is from good there, because Jair means one who is enlightened, and therefore denotes truth from good, 3195; the towns of Gilead denote the external of the Natural, 402, 4117; and calling them Havvoth-jair denotes a new quality, 145.

    [Back to 41]

42.  Nobah going and taking Kenath and the villages, or daughters, thereof, and calling it Nobah after his own name, denotes that the sensual man shares in the purification, and is regenerated, having also a new quality from truth which is from good there, because Nobah means barking like a dog, and therefore denotes those in truth from good in the lowest or sensual man, 9231; Kenath means possession, and therefore it denotes the sensual man regenerated, 2028, 2029; villages, or daughters, denote affections, 489; and a new name denotes a new quality, 145.

    [Back to 42]

Discussion

In order clearly to understand the internal sense of this whole chapter, it will be useful to observe that the part of the promised land on the eastern side of the river Jordan denotes, generally speaking, the natural man as distinguished from the spiritual and celestial man, which are denoted by the part on the western side of that river. And that the natural man regenerated forms a part of the Lord's heavenly kingdom is plain from the following remarkable words: "God has spoken in His holiness; I will exult: I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. Gilead is mine, and Manassch is mine; Ephraim also is the defence of mine head; Judah is my sceptre, or lawgiver, Moab is my washpot; upon Edorn will I cast my shoe; Philistia, shout you because of me. Who will bring me to the strong city? Who has led me to Edom?" (Ps 60:6-9). For it is evident that each of the names here used, and called His possessions by God Himself, must contain a spiritual sense, Gilead and Manasseh as distinguished from Ephraim, and Judah plainly signifying what is external in the church, and in heaven, as compared with what is internal. The parts of the country, therefore, assigned to the tribes of Reuben, of Gad, and of Manasseh denote the natural man regenerated, or in the course of regeneration ; and the conquest of these parts by the Israelites shows that the natural man is to be brought into subjection by the spiritual man as a preliminary step in man's heavenward progress. And considering that Reuben signifies faith in the understanding, and Gad, good works, while Manasseh denotes the new will of good, according to the correspondences, we also see why those tribes came into the possession of the district that had formed the kingdoms of Sihon king of the Amorites and Og the king of Bashan, and the representation is that the merely natural man must be subdued, and become the possession of the spiritual man.

But now, our first two sections teach very plainly that, although the corrupted natural will and understanding are indeed to be destroyed as the Amorites were, yet the natural man itself is not to lose its identity, and its distinctness in the regenerated state. And, more than this, the new natural man is not only to remain distinct from the spiritual man, but, in the heavenly state, he is actually to be delighted with and to cultivate all his natural affections, appropriately denoted by the cattle, and all his natural intellectual powers, not even excluding what relates to the proper use of the outward senses, which are denoted by the various cities named. And, indeed, this is very important and practical spiritual instruction. For the regenerating man, in the beginning of his warfare, is very apt to imagine, as history shows, that the natural affections and powers are really to be crushed out of existence when a man devotes himself to the service of the Lord. But our chapter shows that this is not the truth; and, in fact, that there is no natural affection or power which cannot be consecrated for heavenly uses, or which cannot minister, in its proper place, to the development of the celestial and spiritual life.

Nor should we fail to notice, in our careful study of the subject before us in these sections, the wonderful adaptability of the names and thus of the correspondences of the various places mentioned to the requirements of the internal sense. For we must remember that a single name wrongly applied would have broken the continuity of the series; nor would it have been possible for any person, without ascertaining the meaning of the names, and thence their correspondences, to have discerned the particular spiritual import of each, and thence the properly connected spiritual series involved. And these remarks are applicable not only to the particulars of this chapter, but also to those of the following chapter especially, as we shall see. Also, from these considerations we may be led, more and more to confirm ourselves in the truth that only the Lord Himself could have caused the Word to be written so as to contain, in every expression, Divine Wisdom so wonderfully clothed in human language.

The first verse of the third section shows that, in the progress of regeneration, yea, even when it is advanced, there is disagreement between the natural and spiritual man, because the former appears to be reluctant to engage in the spiritual warfare, and not to recognize that there should be co-operation, while the latter is disturbed by this appearance, not, in that state, discerning the cause of it. For although the external or natural man may desire, in an orderly way, to enjoy and cultivate his proper natural powers, he may not be unwilling to fight in the great battle of life, side by side with the spiritual man, because he may be, in his own degree, a recipient of good from the Lord. And the lesson for us here, therefore, is that interior men, such as are or may be represented by Moses, should not misjudge exterior men, who are, in reality, equally conscientious with themselves. But proceeding according to the series, we learn, or are reminded on reflection, that the merely natural man greatly hinders the spiritual man in his eagerness to attain to the heavenly life, and is, in itself, opposed to the investigation of heavenly principles by means of holy truths from the Word received with delight. And who has not at some time in his life felt in himself such opposition? For the natural man is instructed, indeed, according to his state in the genuine truths of the spiritual life, and also in the doctrine of charity, but from himself he has not faith springing from love, and fears to encounter his spiritual adversaries, so that he is averted from the Lord and is disposed to confirm himself in evil.

But the rest of this section, in its inner sense, impresses upon us some weighty truths in connection with the Lord's work of redemption, which is represented by the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. For we here see that, notwithstanding that every one has been redeemed, by the preservation of the freedom of the human race to choose either the life of evil or the life of good, yet no person is compelled, and the consequences of an evil life or of a good life still remain the same. That is, a life of disobedience to the laws of Divine Order either retards the progress of man, in regeneration by a long course of temptation signified by the forty years' wandering, or it causes total vastation as to all true spiritual life, since we read that "when man is in temptation, he is in a vastation as to all things that pertain to his proprium, and those things which are corporeal, for whatever belongs to the proprium or is corporeal must die, and indeed by combats and temptations, before he is born again a new man, or before he becomes spiritual and celestial, therefore the forty days and nights denote the duration of vastation. The same meaning is here involved, the subject treated of being both the temptation of the man of the new church, called Noah, and the devastation of the antediluvians," 730.

In the fourth section, again, there are also some interesting and practical truths in the spiritual sense. And the first is that the natural man is submissive to the spiritual, although it appears all through as if he might not continue to be so, because doubt is expressed by Moses even to the end. Now, this is just how it happens in the church. The man of the external church, who is a faithful servant of the Lord, may really be as conscientious and earnest in his determination to do his duty as the man of the internal church, and yet the latter, equally conscientious and true, may not quite understand his brother in some things; and thus each ought to be considerate, and both have to learn that they have their specific uses in the kingdom of the Lord. Let us now, therefore, sec what the natural man requires. He must have doctrines of good, denoted by the sheepfolds, and doctrines of truth denoted by the cities, adapted to his external affections, and to his interior delights grounded in innocence. For, considered as an individual, he is to remain a natural man in the ultimate heaven to eternity. And we see from the series that the spiritual man, on consideration, recognizes the truth of this. And, moreover, the spiritual man himself, and even the celestial man, each in his own heaven, has his corresponding natural man; and also, during regeneration, passed through the preparatory states in which that natural man was led by the Lord. And this is worthy of notice just here, as we have pointed out, the Lord says, "Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine." But this may be interpreted in its several senses. As applied to the Lord's glorification it means that He made His Human Divine even to the ultimate; the celestial man also was regenerated, and was first in the merely natural state, 286; the spiritual man had the same experience, 18; and, in short, every man is first, during his spiritual training and trial, introduced into the delights of the natural life, in order that he may learn properly to use his natural powers. But as to this read 4117.

But, all the same, the regenerating natural man knows, as we learn in the next place, that he must establish spiritual and celestial life in himself, and be connected therewith by influx and correspondence, in order that he may be a true natural man; and therefore he knows that he must fight the good fight of faith, so to speak, side by side with his brethren. And so he, too, puts on the whole armour of God, namely, the breastplate of righteousness; the shoes of iron and brass, which are the literal truth and good of the Word (Deut 33:25); the shield of faith; the helmet of salvation; and the sword of the Spirit, which is the inner truth of the Word, and does not rest from the warfare until the victory is gained, and his internal man is in peace, so that he also may go home to his place.

But, then, in the meantime, we must not forget the natural man is under the Lord's protection; for although, as of himself, he builds the sheepfolds and the cities, yet he knows that "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it; except the Lord keeps the city, the watchman wakes but in vain" (Ps 127:1); and he has a clear perception also, "that the man of the external church cannot realize the heavenly state of the man of the internal, which is separated from him even as is the literal sense of the Word from the spiritual and celestial, because it is of the Divine Providence that this should be so " (ver. 19). For casting lots, in the best sense, signifies full submission to the will of the Lord. These things, therefore, are the essential truths of the fourth section.

In the fifth and sixth sections, however, we are spiritually instructed regarding two points. The first is that all the operations of Divine Providence do not in the least interfere with the freedom and reason of man; that those who freely act, according to good and truth and thus in harmony with Divine Providence are regenerated; and, consequently, that those who do not so act cannot be regenerated. For it is of the Lord's appointment that every person may be saved who so chooses; that if any one does not so choose he acts contrary to the Lord's will; and that yet the Divine Being controls all things and provides nothing but good for all mankind. For which reason it happens that even the wicked in the hells are not deprived of their life; that, by permission, they surfer terribly whenever they violate Divine laws on their own plane of life; and that with every one of them the fear of punishment finally overcomes the love of doing evil. But the other point above referred to is that the natural man is regenerated, and fully enjoys his own proper life to eternity, because, by the power of the Lord, he has finally overcome not only all evil and falsity in general, as represented by the Amorites with their king Sihon, but all evil and falsity essentially, that is, selfish love and its delusions, which are signified by the Amorites with their ruler, Og the king of Bashan. And herein we see that it is impossible that good and evil can continue to co-exist to eternity in any human being.

But, finally, in addition to this our last two sections emphatically teach, in their internal sense, that the heavenly life is a life of perfect order, in which, even on the natural plane, every voluntary faculty and every intellectual faculty has its appointed place and its appointed function, which state of perfection is fully represented, first by the division of the country on the eastern side of the river Jordan into three distinct districts, assigned respectively to the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the Manassites, who denote successively good works, faith, and charity; the Gadites, occupying the central district, in order to show that good works, or the good of life, is the united expression in ultimates of charity on the one hand, and of faith on the other. And, secondly, the state of heavenly perfection is further represented by the mention of the various cities in the respective divisions of the country, the very meaning of the names in each case corresponding to certain spiritual principles in a series, and thus indicating, in a very remarkable manner, the great exactness with which each term is applied in the composition of the Holy Word, abundantly demonstrating, indeed, that it cannot be of any merely human origin, but must incontrovertibly be what it affirms itself to be, namely, the Word of the Lord, wonderfuly adapted, by the law of correspondence, to be alike an eternal source of instruction for angels and for men; and, more than that, an eternal means of conjunction between heaven and earth and between human beings and the Lord, not only generally but individually. For the Lord teaches every one by the Word cither directly or indirectly, since nothing but the truths of the Word can enable any one to become regenerated, and thus to enter into the kingdom of heaven.