9373. Come up unto Jehovah. That this signifies conjunction with the Lord, is evident from the signification of “coming up,” as being to be raised toward interior things (see n. 3084, 4539, 4969, 5406, 5817, 6007), consequently also to be conjoined (n. 8760). That it denotes conjunction with the Lord, is because by “Jehovah” in the Word is meant the the Lord, (n. 1343, 1736, 1793, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6280, 6303, 6905, 8274, 8864, 9315). A secret which also lies hidden in the internal sense of these words, is that the sons of Jacob, over whom Moses was the head, were not called and chosen; but they themselves insisted that Divine worship should be instituted among them (according to wh at has been said in n. 4290, 4293); and therefore it is here said, “and He said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah,” as if not Jehovah, but another, had said that he should come up. For the same reason in what follows it is said that “the people should not go up” (verse 2); and that “Jehovah sent not His hand unto the sons of Israel who were set apart” (verse 11); and that “the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the sons of Israel” (verse 17); and lastly that Moses, being called the seventh day, “entered into the midst of the cloud.” For by “the cloud” is meant the Word in the letter (n. 5922, 6343, 6752, 6832, 8106, 8443, 8781); and with the sons of Jacob the Word was separated from its internal sense, because they were in external worship without internal, as can be clearly seen from the fact that now, as before, they said, “all the words which Jehovah hath spoken we will do” (verse 3); and yet scarcely forty days afterward they worshiped a golden calf instead of Jehovah; which shows that this was hidden in their hearts while they were saying with their lips that they would serve Jehovah alone. But nevertheless those who are meant by “the called and the chosen” are those who are in internal worship, and who from internal worship are in external; that is, those who are in love to and faith in the Lord, and from this in love toward the neighbor.

7572. And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven. That this signifies communication with heaven, is evident from the signification of “stretching forth a rod,” as being to direct the attention to, thus to communicate, according to what was unfolded above (n. 7568). By “heaven” is signified the angelic heaven.

3295. 'And [one] people will prevail over [the other] people' means that at first truth must be superior to the good of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'people' as truth, dealt with immediately above in 3294, and from the meaning of 'prevailing over' as being superior to. The 'people' mentioned first means truth, whereas the 'people' mentioned second means the good of truth. The good of truth is good which arises out of truth, and, as it exists first of all, is truth. It is called good however because it looks like good. Consequently 'people' also means this good, which is called the good of truth as it is when it first arises.

[2] To have any concept of this good it should be recognized that until he has been regenerated a person does good from truth, but after he has been regenerated he does it from good. Or to make the point clearer still, before he has been regenerated the good he does is a product of the understanding, but after he has been regenerated it is a product of the will. Good therefore which is a product of the understanding is not in itself good but truth, whereas good that is a product of the will is good. For example, when a person does not honour his parents but then learns from the Ten Commandments to do so, his honouring of them is at first a product of the commandment. Such honouring however, being a product of the commandment, is not in itself good because it does not flow from love. It flows either from obedience to the law or from fear of the law, but is nevertheless called the good of truth. When it first arises however it is truth, for at that time it is not good that he performs but truth. When however his honouring of them is the product of love it is in that case good. The same is so in every other example that could be taken.