6273. 'For Manasseh was the firstborn' means since good does indeed occupy the first place. This is clear from the representation of 'Manasseh' as good belonging to the will, dealt with before; and from the meaning of 'the birthright' as the prior and higher position, dealt with in 3325, so that 'the firstborn' is the one who occupies the first place. Is anyone incapable of seeing from natural light alone, provided a superior light brightens it a little, that good occupies the first place, as also do the intentions in a person's will, and that truth occupies the second, as also do the thoughts in his mind? Is anyone also incapable of seeing that the intentions in a person's will cause him to think in one particular way and no other, consequently that the good he possesses causes him to think that this or that is true; so that truth occupies the second place and good the first? Think and reflect on whether truth that composes faith can take root anywhere else than in good, or whether faith other than that which has taken root there is faith. From this you will be able to decide which is the primary or essential element for the Church, that is, for the person in whom the Church exists.

8690. 'And all the people are standing before you from morning until evening' means that at this time it was the source of every act of the will which those belonging to the spiritual Church possessed, in every state. This is clear from the representation of Israel, to whom 'the people' refers here, as those belonging to the spiritual Church, dealt with above in 8645; from the meaning of 'standing before Moses' as obedience to God's truth, also dealt with above, in 8686, and - since obedience is meant - as an act of the will (obedience springs from the will, but from a will to do the truth because it has been commanded, not out of affection for it; and this will is obedience); and from the meaning of 'from morning until evening' as in every state, inwardly and outwardly, dealt with above in 8687.

[2] The subject here is the first state a person passes through before regeneration. During this state he does good in a spirit of obedience and not as yet out of affection. But this good is truth as done by him, since he does it solely because it has been commanded, and so is still acting under compulsion, not in freedom. It is done by him in freedom when he does it out of affection; for everything that flows from love and affection is free. While a person passes through the first state the Lord flows in and leads him directly; but direct influx from the Lord does not come to be perceived because it is an influx into the inmost parts of a person's being and does not therefore generate affection. But when the Lord's influx is direct and at the same time indirect it does come to be perceived and generate affection, since it is an influx not only into the inmost parts of a person but also into the middle and outermost. This latter state is dealt with in the verses following below in this chapter, the former state in the present verses, where it says that Moses judged alone; see what has been stated above in 8685.