8668. 'And Moses told his father-in-law all that Jehovah had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians' means perception at this time from God's truth' regarding the power of the Lord's Divine Human against those who were steeped in falsities and engaged in molestation. This is clear from the meaning of 'Moses told' as perception from God's truth, 'telling' meaning perceiving, see 3209, and 'Moses' representing God's truth, 6752, 6771, 7010, 7014, 7382; from the representation of 'the father-in-law of Moses' as Divine Good, the source of the good joined to God's truth, dealt with in 8643, 8644; from the meaning of 'all that Jehovah had done' as the things which had been done for the children of Israel in Egypt and after that in the wilderness - and since these things imply in the internal sense the things that were done for those belonging to the Lord's spiritual Church who were held back on the lower earth until the Lord glorified the Human within Himself, the words here mean perception regarding the power of the Lord's Divine Human (that those who belonged to the Lord's spiritual Church were held back on the lower earth, and were saved by the power of the Lord's Divine Human, see 6854, 7035, 7091 (end), 7828, 8018, 8054, 8099, 8321); and from the representation of 'Pharaoh and the Egyptians' as those who were steeped in falsities and engaged in molestation, dealt with in 7097, 7107, 7110, 7126, 7142, 7220, 7228, 7317.

8643. 'And Jethro, the priest of Midian' means Divine Good. This is clear from the representation of 'Jethro, the priest of Midian' as the good of the Church which is guided by the truth that goes with simple good, dealt with in 7015, but at this point Divine Good, because 'Moses', whose father-in-law he was, represented Divine Truth; for when the son-in-law represents truth, the father-in-law represents good, that is, a higher level of good since he is his wife's father. The reason why Divine Good is represented at this point by 'Jethro' is that the subject in this chapter is the arranging of truths into order with a member of the spiritual Church, which is done by Divine Good working through Divine Truth. For whenever arrangement into order takes place it is done by good working through truth.

[2] Truths are arranged into order in this way with a member of the spiritual Church when his actions begin to be governed no longer by truth but by good. This state is his second state, which arises after he has undergone temptations. When truth governs his actions he undergoes temptation, to the end that the truths with him may become firmly accepted. Once they have been firmly accepted they are arranged into order by the Lord; and once they have been arranged into order the person enters the second state, in which the truths are in his will and in his actions. As a result of this they become part of his life, and are called forms of good. This arranging of truths into order is the subject below.