10480. 'For Aaron had caused them to become so undisciplined' means that the external things which they loved were the cause of this. This is clear from the meaning of 'causing to become undisciplined' as turning away from what is internal, and so from what is Divine, as immediately above in 10479; and from the representation of 'Aaron' as the external, also dealt with above, in 10468. Which they loved is meant because those whose interest lies in external things separated from what is internal, love external things alone. The reason why 'causing to become undisciplined' here means turning away and not causing to turn away is that Aaron is not meant in the internal sense by 'Aaron' but the external, and so it is meant without reference to that person, in accord with what has been stated above in 10469.

10468. 'And Moses said to Aaron' means perception from the internal regarding that kind of external. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' as perception, dealt with in the places referred to 10290; from the representation of 'Moses' as the Word, dealt with in the places referred to in 9372, at this point the internal side of it; and from the representation of 'Aaron' as the external side of the Word, the Church, and worship, dealt with above in 10397. The reason why 'Moses' here represents the internal is that he is talking to Aaron, who represents the external. Here it makes no difference whether you say the internal and the external sides of the Word or simply the internal and the external. For the Word is Divine Truth, the source of perception that a person has, at this point perception regarding the kind of external that existed with the Israelite nation, not only in its worship but also in everything belonging to the Church and everything belonging to the Word. It should be remembered that all perception regarding what is external comes from what is internal. For things present on an external level are visible from an internal level; but they are not visible from the external level on which they are present, and those present on the internal level are even less visible from there. This explains why those whose interest lies in external things and not in what is internal do not acknowledge internal things, because they do not discern and see them with their bodily senses, and also why some deny the existence of those things, and everything heavenly and Divine along with them.