10559. And Moses said unto Jehovah. That this signifies indignation that the Divine was not with them, thus not the church itself, is evident from the signification of “saying,” as here being indignation, for “saying” involves the things which follow, because these are what he said, and the things which follow are things of indignation on this account, that the Divine would not be with them, thus that the church would not be with them, whereby they might be rendered pre-eminent to all that were upon the face of the earth, as is plain from verse sixteen which follows. The reason why the words of Moses to Jehovah were words of indignation on that account, was that Moses here bears relation to the head of the Israelitish nation (see above, n. 10556); wherefore he speaks for himself and for that nation, for he says, “I and the people” (verse 16). And because he here bears relation to that nation as its head, therefore by “Moses said unto Jehovah” is signified indignation; for a man who is such as was that nation, is indignant against God if he does not obtain his desires.

[2] This is done by all those who are in external things without what is internal, for if they reverence and adore God, and as it were love Him, it is not for His own sake, but for the sake of themselves, because they desire nothing else than eminence above others and wealth beyond others, this being the fire which excites their reverence and adoration, and as it were their love. But if they do not obtain what they desire, they forsake God. That that nation was of such a character is very evident from the historicals of the Word. The like is signified by the words of Jacob:

Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way wherein I walk, and will give me bread to eat, and a garment to put on, and I return in peace to my father’s house, then Jehovah shall be to me for God (Genesis 28:20-21).

These words mean that if he should receive these things, he would acknowledge Jehovah for his God; but if he should not receive them, he would not acknowledge Him. Such also was the nation descended from him. From this it is that that nation so often fell away, and worshiped other gods, until at last they were for this reason cast out from the land of Canaan, first the Israelitish nation, and afterward the Jewish. It is evident that the cause of the indignation above spoken of was that if Jehovah did not go with them they would not become preeminent to all in the whole world.

[3] That it was also a cause of indignation that the church itself was not with them, follows from the fact that to be brought by Jehovah into the land of Canaan denotes to become the church. The reason of this is that the church had been in the land of Canaan from the most ancient times, and that the Word could not have been written elsewhere, thus except with the nation which possessed that land; and where the Word is, there is the church. That the Word could not have been written anywhere else was because all the places that were in the whole of that land, and that were round about it, such as the mountains, the valleys, the rivers, the forests, and all the rest, had become representative of celestial and spiritual things; and it was necessary that the sense of the letter of the Word, in both the historical and the prophetical parts, should consist of such things, because the interior things of the Word, which are celestial and spiritual, must close in such things, and as it were stand on them like a house upon its foundation; for unless the Word in respect to the sense of the letter, which is its ultimate, stood upon such things, it would be like a house without a foundation. That this is so is evident from the Word, in that mention is so often made of the places of that land, all of which, having become representative, signify the things of heaven and of the church.

[4] From this it is that to be brought into the land of Canaan signifies the setting up of the church, and that the indignation of Moses involves this also, although he did not think of it. (That the church was in the land of Canaan from the most ancient times, and that consequently all the places therein became representative, see n. 3686, 4447, 454, 4516, 4517, 5136, 6306, 6516, 8317, 9320, 9325; and that from this “the land of Canaan” in the Word signifies the church, see the places cited in n. 9325)

662. Everything that is in the earth shall expire. This signifies those who were of that church and had become of this quality. It has been shown before that the “earth” does not mean the whole world, but only those who were of the church. Thus no deluge was meant here, still less a universal deluge, but the expiring or suffocation of those who existed there, when they were separated from remains, and thereby from the things of the understanding that are of truth and the things of the will that are of good, and therefore from the heavens. That the “earth” signifies the region where the church is, and therefore those who live there, may be confirmed by the following passages from the Word, in addition to those already cited.

In Jeremiah:

Thus hath said Jehovah, The whole earth shall be desolate; yet will I not make a consummation. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above shall be black (Jeremiah 4:27-28).

Here the “earth” denotes those who dwell where the church is that is vastated.

In Isaiah:

I will move the heavens, and the earth shall be shaken out of her place (Isaiah 13:13).

The “earth” denotes the man who is to be vastated, where the church is.

In Jeremiah:

The slain of Jehovah shall be at that day from the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth (Jeremiah 25:33).Here the “end of the earth” does not signify the whole world, but only the region where the church was, and consequently the men who were of the church. Again:

I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth; a tumult shall come even to the end of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the nations (Jeremiah 25:29, 31).

In this passage, in like manner, the whole world is not meant, but only the region where the church is, and therefore the inhabitant or man of the church; the “nations” here denote falsities.

In Isaiah:

Behold, Jehovah cometh forth out of His place to visit the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth (Isaiah 26:21).

Here the meaning is the same. Again:

Have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood the foundations of the earth (Isaiah 40:21)?

Again:

Jehovah, that createth the heavens, God Himself that formeth the earth and maketh it, He establisheth it (Isaiah 45:18).

The “earth” denotes the man of the church.

In Zechariah:

The saying of Jehovah, who stretcheth out the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man in the midst of him (Zechariah 12:1),

where the “earth” manifestly denotes the man of the church. The “earth” is distinguished from the “ground” as are the man of the church and the church itself, or as are love and faith.