10694. 'And they were afraid to approach him' means that they could not bear an outward form of the Church, worship, and the Word such as this. This is clear from the meaning of 'being afraid to approach' as not being able to bear something, for those who cannot bear interior things are afraid to approach them; and from the representation of 'Moses' as the outward form that the Word, the Church, and worship take, containing what is inward, dealt with in 10563, 10571, 10607, 10614. The situation in all this is that those whose interest lies solely in things of the Church, worship, and the Word on an outward level devoid of what is inward cannot bear interior things. The reason for this is that those whose interest lies in outward things devoid of what is inward are ruled by selfish and worldly love, and consequently see by an inferior light, called natural illumination. But those whose interest lies in things of the Church, worship, and the Word on an inward level as well as those on an outward one are governed by love towards the neighbour and love to the Lord, and consequently see by the light of heaven. And since the two kinds of love are opposites, and consequently the two kinds of light are as well, one cannot bear the other. For when heavenly love, that is, love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, flows into earthly loves, which are self-love and love of the world, it induces feelings of agony like the throes of death; and when heavenly light flows into worldly light, it induces thick darkness and consequently stupidity. So it is that an outward form devoid of inward content cannot bear any outward form when it does have an inner content. Since the Jewish nation was like this they could not bear to hear about the Lord, or about love and faith in Him, which are the interior things of the Word, the Church, and worship. These then are the things which are meant when it says that the children of Israel were afraid to approach Moses because the skin of his face gleamed. What it is that 'the skin of Moses' face' means, see above in 10691.

10614. 'And Jehovah descended in the cloud and stood with him there' means the outward form that the Word takes, in which the Divine is present. This is clear from the meaning of 'the cloud' as the literal and so the outward sense of the Word, dealt with in the Preface to Genesis 18, and 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343(end), 6752, 8106, 8781, 9430, 10574; and from the meaning of 'standing with Moses there', when it refers to what Jehovah did, as the Divine present within it. The reason why Jehovah appeared to Moses in the cloud is that in the present chapter Moses represents the outward form taken by the Word that is receptive of what is inward, see above in 10607; for the Lord appears to everyone in a way suited to the kind of person he is, 6832, 8814, 8819, 9434, 10551.

[2] Something brief must be stated here to explain what an outward form receptive of that which is inward is, and what an outward form unreceptive of that which is inward is. Within the Word there is an outward sense, there is an inward sense, and there is an inmost sense. The nature of the Word in its outward sense is as it is seen to be in the literal statements. This sense is natural because it is suited to what people in the world can grasp, for people here think on a natural level. The Word in its inward sense however is spiritual because it is suited to the understanding of angels in the Lord's spiritual kingdom; for the angels there think on a spiritual level. But the Word in its inmost sense is celestial because it is suited to the perception of angels in the Lord's celestial kingdom; for the angels there think on a level above the spiritual. Since the Word is like this it follows that one exists within another in the same order - the inmost within the inward, and the inward within the outward. As a result of this all things are connected together, and influx takes place in conformity with that connection; and they also derive their ongoing existence one from another. From all this it is evident that the inner things exist in order within what is outward in much the same way as what is prior exists within what is posterior, sequentially, or as the end exists within the cause and the cause within the effect, or - in the case of the human being - as the will exists within thought and thought within speech.

[3] When therefore the character of a person is such that in his own mind he sees the holiness within the external things of the Word, the Church, and worship, then in his case the outward form taken by these contains that which is inward; for that holiness comes from an inward source since it originates in heaven. This outward form is the one that Moses represents. But when the character of a person is such that he sees none of the holiness within the external things of the Word, the Church, and worship, then in his case the outward form is separated from what is inward, as it was with the Israelite nation, see 10396 (end).