7147. 'And your people have sinned' means that for this reason they are guilty of having done what is evil. This is clear from the meaning of 'sinning' as becoming guilty of evil; and, if guilty, as receiving deserved punishment. What the situation is in general regarding the matters contained in this verse and in those that come before it must be stated. Those who are on the lower earth are molested by the falsities and evils introduced by the surrounding hells. Such molestation takes place in order that evils and falsities may be removed and truths and forms of good may be instilled, as a result of which they are brought into a state in which they can be raised to heaven, see 7090, 7122. But near the end they are molested more harshly than ever before, for at that stage truths are taken away from them and utter falsities are allowed to molest them, even until they are made to despair. For it is in accordance with Divine order that despair should be the final stage of molestation and temptation, see 1787, 2694, 5279, 5280. In order that this state experienced by those belonging to the spiritual Church might be represented by the children of Israel, Pharaoh acted as the narrative describes here. He did what he did when the molestations were near the end, that is to say, when the children of Israel were about to be set free and led to the land of Canaan.

[2] It should be recognized that molestations take place in the following way: Falsities and evils are introduced into a person's thoughts by the hells, and truths and forms of good by heaven, that is, by the Lord through heaven; and that introduction takes place in him because no man or spirit has any thought that originates in himself. Rather, everything flows in from without. Although this is entirely contrary to anyone's perception of what is going on inside him and for that reason seems impossible to believe, it is nevertheless absolutely true. See what has already been brought forward and shown from experience on the matter in 2886, 4151, 4249, 5846, 5854, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626. From these places one may know how to understand the idea that molestations are effected by the introduction of falsities, and are increased until a person is made to despair.

Hands in the Bible represent power, the force with which things are put into action. To be specific, they represent the power of spiritual good -- which is the love of others and serving others -- expressed through spiritual truth -- which is an understanding and knowledge of what it is to love and serve others. This is in contrast to the feet, which represent power on the natural level, and a “rod,” which represents the power of the hand passed down into external or natural ideas. In a few cases in the Bible, hands also represent communication and a drawing together. This is true when people lift their hands to heaven or to Jehovah, and also when the Lord touches children or touches people to heal them.