7032. 'And I will harden his heart, and he will not send the people away' means obstinacy and so a failure to set free as yet. This is clear from the meaning of 'hardening' as obstinacy, and from the meaning of 'heart' is that a new perception is meant, as the will, dealt with in 2930, 3888, so that the words used here mean an obstinate determination that springs from the will, and therefore from a delight in doing what is evil since what is present in the will is that in which one takes delight, and that in which one takes delight springs from the love one has; and from the meaning of 'not sending the people away' as an obstinate unwillingness to set free, thus a failure to set free as yet. It says here and in places further on that Jehovah hardened Pharaoh's heart. Such wording is based on appearances and on the general idea about the Divine, that all things are brought about by Him. But this should be understood in exactly the same kind of way as the attribution to Jehovah or the Lord of evil, anger, fury, devastation, and many other things like these should be, 2447, 6071, 6991, 6997.

[2] As regards the obstinacy of those who are steeped in falsities and the resulting evils and in evils and the resulting falsities, it should be recognized that the nature of it is such that it defies description. They never leave off, unless they are deterred by harsh punishments and the fears these create; exhortations and threats have no effect whatever. The reason for this is that for them the delight of life consists in doing evil, a delight which they acquired while they lived in the world, chiefly because they loved solely themselves, not their neighbour, and so did not have any Christian charity. Because people like this do not allow themselves to be led by the Lord, their actions are motivated by their own selfish will, which is evil owing to heredity and also to the actual life they lead. And people whose actions are motivated by their own selfish will do what is evil from a love of evil, since what comes from the will comes from love. From love springs the delight they feel in doing evil, and in the measure that this delight reigns in them obstinacy reigns in them.

[3] It is not evident in the world that this is so, but that is because in the world they are restrained by self-love and love of the world, for they are afraid they would suffer loss of reputation, consequently of monetary gain and of position if they were to do evil openly. Laws and fear for their lives also serve to keep them in check. But if those restraints did not exist they would quickly seek to ruin all who are not favourably disposed towards them, plunder everyone's resources, and ruthlessly kill anyone. This is what the person is like inwardly, that is, as to his spirit, though he may not seem in the world to be like that, as may be seen perfectly clearly from those who are in the next life. Those who have been like that in the world have external things taken away from them and are left to [the desires of] their own will, thus to their own loves; and when they have been left to these nothing gives them greater delight than doing what is evil. They also do it with such obstinate determination that they never leave off, unless, as has been stated, they suffer punishments, after which they sink into hell. All this shows what a person is like who has no charity towards the neighbour, also that everyone's life awaits him, not his external life as a citizen which could be seen in the world, but his spiritual life, which was internal and unseen in the world.

2447. 'From Jehovah out of heaven' means from the laws of order in regard to truth, because they separate themselves from good. This does not become clear except from the internal sense, by means of which the truth of the matter regarding forms of punishment and condemnation is disclosed, namely that the author of these is in no sense Jehovah or the Lord, but man, evil spirit, or devil himself; and this is so from the laws of order in regard to truth because they separate themselves from good.

[2] All order begins in Jehovah, that is, in the Lord, and it is in accordance with that order that He rules over every single thing. But there is much variation to His rule; that is to say, it may be His Will, or His Good Pleasure, or His Consent, or His Permission from which He rules. Things that have their origin in His will or in His good pleasure are products of laws of order which have regard to what is good, as also do many things that exist by His consent, and even some that do so by His permission. But when a person separates himself from good he subjects himself to the laws of order which are those of truth separated from good and which are such as condemn. For all truth condemns a person and casts him down into hell; but out of good, that is, out of mercy, the Lord rescues him and raises him up into heaven. From this it is clear that it is a person himself who condemns himself.

[3] Things that are the result of permission are for the most part of this nature - for example, besides countless others, the fact that one devil punishes and torments another. These things are from the laws of order in regard to truth separated from good, for there is no other way in which such devils could be kept under control and prevented from rushing on all the good and upright and destroying them eternally. The prevention of their doing this is the good which the Lord has in view. This is similar to what happens on earth where a benign and compassionate ruler exists who intends and does nothing but good. If he did not allow his laws to punish evil and criminal persons - though he himself punishes nobody but instead grieves that those people are such that their evils must punish them - he would leave his kingdom itself open to plunder by such people; and this would be a manifestation of a complete lack of benignity and compassion.

[4] From these considerations it is evident that Jehovah in no way rained down brimstone and fire, that is, condemned to hell, but that those subject to evil and to falsity which arises out of this did so, the reason being that they separated themselves from good and in so doing put themselves under the laws of order deriving from truth alone. From all this it follows that such is the internal sense of these words.

[5] In the Word, evil, punishment, cursing, condemnation, and many other things are attributed to Jehovah or the Lord, similar to the attribution here that He rained brimstone and fire: in Ezekiel,

I will dispute with him with pestilence and blood; fire and brimstone will I rain on him. Ezekiel 38:22.

In Isaiah,

The breath of Jehovah is like a stream of burning brimstone. Isaiah 30:33.

In David,

Jehovah will rain on the wicked snares, fire and brimstone. Psalms 11:6.

In the same author,

Smoke went up out of His nose, and fire out of His mouth devoured; glowing coals flamed forth from Him. Psalms 18:8-9.

In Jeremiah,

Lest My wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it. Jeremiah 21:12.

In Moses,

Fire has flared up in My anger, and will burn right down to the lowest hell. Deuteronomy 32:22.

Similar attributions occur in many other places besides these. Why in the Word such things are attributed, as has been stated, to Jehovah or the Lord has been explained in Volume One, in 223, 245, 589, 592, 696, 735, 1093, 1683, 1874. The idea that such things come from the Lord is as remote from the truth as good is from evil, or heaven from hell, or what is Divine from what is of the devil. Evil, hell, and the devil do those things, and in no way the Lord who is mercy itself and good itself. But because those things do seem to come from Him, for reasons presented in the paragraphs just quoted, they are attributed to Him.

[6] From the wording of this verse, 'Jehovah rained from Jehovah out of heaven', it seems in the sense of the letter as though there were two of Them - one on earth, and one in heaven. But the internal sense teaches how this matter is to be understood, namely as follows: The Jehovah mentioned first means the Lord's Divine Human and His Holy proceeding, which in this chapter are meant by 'the two men', while the Jehovah mentioned second means the Divine itself, called the Father, who is referred to in the previous chapter. The internal sense also teaches that this Trinity exists within the Lord, as He Himself says in John,

He who has seen Me has seen the Father. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me. John 14:9-11.

And referring to the Holy proceeding He says in the same gospel,

The Paraclete will not speak from Himself. He will receive it from what is Mine and declare it to you. John 16:13-15.

Thus there is but one Jehovah even though two are mentioned here. Two are mentioned because all laws of order spring from the Lord's Divine itself, Divine Human, and Holy proceeding.