10401. 'And Aaron said to them' means the outward features of the Word, the Church, and worship, devoid of the inward. This is clear from the representation here of 'Aaron' as the outward features of the Word, the Church, and worship, devoid of the inward, dealt with above in 10397. The fact that no Church existed among the Israelite and Jewish nation, only what was representative of a Church, thus an outward form devoid of the inward substance, is perfectly clear from Aaron, who, though a typical member of that nation, was nevertheless made the high priest, to whom the most sacred things of the Church were entrusted, and who was therefore considered to be holier than everyone else. For it is said of him that he made the golden calf, built an altar for it, made a proclamation that there was to be 'a feast to Jehovah' for it, brought that sin upon the people, and caused them to become undisciplined, in verses 2, 4-5, 21, 25, 35; and elsewhere that Jehovah was greatly moved with anger against Aaron and would have destroyed him, and that Moses prayed for him, Deuteronomy 9:20. These words imply that Aaron was like the people, who were idolatrous at heart, 4208, 4281, 4820, 5998, 6877, 7401, 8301, 8882. But since only the outward form of a Church devoid of its inward substance existed with that nation, and yet by means of it there was contact with heaven, it did not matter what a person there was like, provided that when engaged in external observances he obeyed what had been decreed and revered it.

In the case of representatives no attention is paid to the person, only to the reality represented by that person, see 665, 1097(end), 3670, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4444, 8588.

1356. That 'Terah' means idolatrous worship becomes clear from the derivatives mentioned from verse 20 down to this point. This second Ancient Church declined from a kind of internal worship, becoming adulterated as it did so until in the end it became idolatrous, as Churches usually do. They pass from internal things to external, ending up with mere externals when internal things have been erased. The fact that the same happened to this Church, even to the extent that a large part of them did not acknowledge Jehovah as God but worshipped other gods, is clear in Joshua,

Joshua said to all the people, Thus said Jehovah, the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt of old beyond the River, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. Joshua 24:2.

Now fear Jehovah, and serve Him in sincerity and truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve Jehovah. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve Jehovah, choose this day whom you are to serve, whether the gods which your fathers served who were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites. Joshua 24:14-15.

From this it is quite evident that Terah, Abram, and Nahor were idolaters.

[2] The fact that Nahor was a nation in which idolatrous worship existed is clear also from Laban the Syrian, who dwelt in the city of Nahor and who worshipped the images or teraphim which Rachel carried away with her, Genesis 24:10; 31:19, 26, 32, 34. And the fact that Abraham had one god, Nahor another, and Terah their father yet another, is clear from Genesis 31:53. It is also explicitly stated in Moses that Jehovah was unknown to Abram,

I, Jehovah, appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Shaddai, and by My name Jehovah I was not known to them. Exodus 6:3.

From this it is evident how much this Church with this people declined into idolatrous worship, which is meant here by 'Terah'. And since Terah means that worship, so do Abram, Nahor, and Haran.