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.

6071. 'And placed them before Pharaoh' means an introduction into factual knowledge. This is clear from the representation of 'Pharaoh' as factual knowledge in general, dealt with in 5799, 6015. An introduction is meant by 'placing before him', for the intention behind his presentation of them was so that he might introduce them, that is, the truths of the Church, since these are meant by 'the sons of Jacob'. Regarding the need for the truths known to the Church to be introduced into the Church's factual knowledge, see 6004, 6023, 6052; but as this is a subject that is not known about at the present day, let some more light be shed on it.

[2] The facts known to the Church are at the present day the things stated in the literal sense of the Word. Unless truths from the internal sense are introduced into those facts the mind can be misled into all kinds of heresy; but once truths have been introduced into them the mind cannot be misled into heresies. For example the person who has learned from the literal sense of the Word statements that God can be angry, punish, lead into temptations, cast into hell, and do evil can be misled into false ideas about God. He may be led to think that Goodness itself, which is what God is, can be the source even of evil, thus the opposite of what He is, when in fact good comes from good, and evil from evil. But this fact [which he knows from the literal sense] takes on a different appearance if interior truths are introduced into it, such as the truth that evil in a person is what creates anger in him, leads into temptations, punishes, casts into hell, and constantly brings forth further evils. There is also the truth that the situation with these woes is like the laws that countries have; the laws come from the monarch, but the miseries that come with punishment are not attributable to the monarch but to those who commit evils.

[3] Then there is the truth that the hells are the source of all evil and are allowed to be the source of it because on man's account it cannot be otherwise. For he is sunk in evil and his life arises out of it, and therefore unless he is left in evil he cannot be in freedom, or thus be reformed. Even so, nothing but good comes from God, for to the extent a person allows, God turns that evil towards what is good.

[4] There is too the truth that the very general outlines of belief must come first, after which they must be filled out with individual truths. This is so with the general piece of knowledge that all things which happen come without exception from God, including the miseries that punishment brings. In what way those miseries come from Him has to be learned subsequently, as also do the nature and source of what happens by permission.

[5] There is likewise the truth that all worship of God inevitably has its beginning in holy fear, which holds within it the belief that God rewards good people and punishes the bad. Simple people and young children must believe this because they have no understanding as yet of permission; and their belief is in keeping with the Lord's words,

Rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in Gehenna. Matthew 10:28.

So although to begin with it is out of fear that they do not dare to do evil, love accompanied by good is gradually introduced, and then they start to know and perceive that nothing but good comes from God, and that evil comes from themselves; then at length that all evil comes from hell.

[6] Furthermore those in heaven perceive that nothing but good comes from God; but those in hell say that everything evil comes from God because He permits it and does not take it away. But in reply to this those of them who are in the world of spirits are told that if evil were taken away from them they would not possess any life; and neither would anyone in the world who is engrossed in evil. They are also told that the evil within them punishes itself in accordance with the law, and that the miseries that punishment brings eventually causes them to refrain from the doing of evils, also that the punishment of evil persons is the protection of the good.

[7] Added to all this is the consideration that people engrossed in evil, also those whose worship is external devoid of anything internal, as that of the Jews was, must live altogether in fear of God and in a belief that He is the one who punishes; for their fear of God can lead them to do what is good, but love never can. When these and many other truths are introduced into that known fact [drawn from the literal sense of the Word] it takes on a completely different appearance. It becomes like a transparent vase containing truths which shine through and make the vase look like nothing else than a single and general body of truth.