7418. 'And strike the dust of the land' means that he should remove those things in the natural which are damned. This is clear from the meaning of 'striking' as removing; from the meaning of 'the dust' as that which is damned, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the land', at this point the land of Egypt, as the natural mind, dealt with above in 7409. The reason why 'the dust' means that which is damned is that the places on the fringes below the soles of the feet, where evil spirits are, look like a land. They look like an uncultivated and dry land, to be exact, below which there are certain kinds of hells. That land is what is called the damned land, and the dust there serves to mean that which is damned. I have been allowed on several occasions to see evil spirits shaking off the dust there from their feet when they wished to consign someone to damnation. I saw them doing this in a position on the right slightly in front of me, on the borders of the hell of magicians, where spirits who during their life in the world have possessed a knowledge of matters of belief, but have nevertheless led a life of evil, are cast down into the hell that is theirs. This then is why 'the dust' means that which is damned, and 'shaking off the dust' damnation.
[2] Since it had that meaning the Lord commanded the disciples to shake off the dust on their feet if they were not well received. What He said about this appears in Matthew as follows,
If anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, shake off the dust on your feet. Truly I say to you, It will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that city. Matt 10:14, 15; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5, 10:10-12.
Here the disciples are not meant by the disciples but all aspects of the Church, thus all aspects of faith and charity, 2089, 2129 (end), 2130 (end), 3354, 3858, 3913, 6397. 'Not receiving' and not listening to' mean rejecting the truths of faith and forms of the good of charity, while shaking off the dust on their feet' means damnation. And the reason why 'it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than that city' is that 'Sodom and Gomorrah' is used to mean those who lead a life of evil but have known nothing about the Lord and the Word, and so could not be receptive. From this it may become clear that a house or a city unreceptive of the disciples is not meant, but those who though they are within the Church do not lead the life of faith. Anyone may see that an entire city could not be damned for not receiving the disciples and instantly accepting the new teaching proclaimed by them.
[3] That which is damned is also meant by 'the dust' which people in former times placed on their heads in grief or when penitent, as in Jeremiah,
The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, they are silent; they have caused dust to come up over their heads, they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the virgins of Jerusalem have caused their heads to come down to the ground. Lam 2:10.
In Ezekiel,
They will cry out bitterly, and will cause dust to come up over their heads; they roll themselves in ashes. Ezek 27:30.
In Micah,
Do not weep at all in the house of Aphrah; roll yourself in the dust. Micah 1:10.
In John,
They threw dust onto their heads, and cried out, weeping and wailing. Rev 18:19.
The same actions are referred to throughout the historical narratives of the Word. Casting dust over the head, prostrating body and head on the ground, and rolling over in the dust on it, represented self-abasement, which - when it is genuine - is such that the person acknowledges and perceives that he is damned, yet is rescued from damnation by the Lord, see 1327, 3994, 4347, 5420, 5957.
[4] The dust' into which the golden calf which they made in the wilderness was crushed and ground down likewise means that which is damned. This is spoken of in Moses as follows,
I took your sin which you had made, the calf, and I burnt it in the fire, and crushed it by grinding it right down until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook descending out of the mountain. Deut 9:11.
'Dust' again means that which is damned in the following places: In Genesis,
Jehovah God said to the serpent, On your belly you will go, and dust will you eat all the days of your life. Gen 3:14.
In Micah,
Shepherd Your people as in the days of eternity. The nations will see and be ashamed at all their power; they will lick the dust like a serpent. Micah 7:14, 16, 17.
In Isaiah,
For the serpent, dust will be his bread. Isa 65:25.
In the same prophet,
Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babel. Isa 47:1.
In David,
Our soul was bowed down to the dust, our belly clung to the earth. Ps 44:25.
In the same author,
My soul clings to the dust; vivify me. Ps 119:25.
In the Word 'dust' in addition means the grave, as well as that which is lowly, and that which is numerous too.
This page is part of 
© 2000-2001 The Academy of the New Church