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.

7439. Let My people go, that they may serve Me. That this signifies that they should release those who are of the spiritual church in order that they may worship their God in freedom, is evident from the signification of “letting go,” as being to release; from the representation of the sons of Israel, here “My people,” as being those who are of the spiritual church (n. 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223); and from the signification of “serving Jehovah,” as being to worship. That they should worship in freedom is plain from what follows (verses 21-23), and also from the fact that all worship which is truly worship must be in freedom.

[2] The sons of Israel being called “the people of Jehovah” was not because they were better than other nations, but because they represented the people of Jehovah, that is, those who are of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom. That they were not better than other nations is plain from their life in the wilderness, in that they did not at all believe in Jehovah, but in their hearts believed in the gods of the Egyptians, as is evident from the golden calf which they made for themselves, and which they called their gods who had brought them forth out of the land of Egypt (Exodus 32:8). The same is evident also from their subsequent life in the land of Canaan, as described in the historicals of the Word, and from what was said of them by the prophets, and finally from what was said of them by the Lord.

[3] For this reason also few of them are in heaven, for they have received their lot in the other life according to their life. Therefore do not believe that they were elected to heaven in preference to others; for whoever so believes, does not believe that everyone’s life remains with him after death, nor that man must be prepared for heaven by his whole life in the world, and that this is done of the Lord’s mercy, and that none are admitted into heaven from mercy alone, regardless of how they have lived in the world. Such an opinion about heaven and the Lord’s mercy is induced by the doctrine of faith alone, and of salvation by faith alone without good works; for those who hold this doctrine have no concern about the life, and so believe that evils can be washed away like dirt by water, and thus that man can in a moment pass into the life of good, and consequently be admitted into heaven. For they do not know that if the life of evil were taken away from the evil, they would have no life whatever, and that if they who are in a life of evil were admitted into heaven, they would feel hell in themselves, and this the more grievously, the more interiorly they were admitted into heaven.

[4] From all this it can now be seen that the Israelites and Jews were by no means elected, but only accepted to represent the things that belong to heaven; and that this must needs be done in the land of Canaan, because the Lord’s church had been there from the most ancient times, and from this all the places there became representative of heavenly and Divine things. In this way also the Word could be written, and the names in it could signify such things as belong to the Lord and His kingdom.

1343. That “Eber” was a nation called, from Eber as its father, the Hebrew nation, and that thereby is signified the worship in general of the Second Ancient Church, is evident from those historical parts of the Word wherein it is spoken of. From that nation, because the new worship commenced there, all were called Hebrews who had a similar worship. Their worship was of the kind that was afterwards restored among the descendants of Jacob; and its chief characteristic consisted in their calling their God “Jehovah,” and in their having sacrifices. The Most Ancient Church with unanimity acknowledged the Lord, and called Him Jehovah, as is evident from the first chapters of Genesis, and elsewhere in the Word. The Ancient Church, that is, the church after the flood, also acknowledged the Lord, and called Him Jehovah, especially those who had internal worship, and were called “sons of Shem.” The others, who were in external worship, also acknowledged Jehovah, and worshiped Him. But when internal worship became external, and still more when it became idolatrous, and when each nation began to have its own god whom it worshiped, the Hebrew nation retained the name Jehovah, and called their God Jehovah; and hereby were distinguished from the other nations.

[2] Together with their external worship, the descendants of Jacob in Egypt lost this also-that they called their God Jehovah; nay, Moses himself did so; and therefore they were instructed first of all that Jehovah was the God of the Hebrews, and the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; as may be seen from these words in Moses:

Jehovah said unto Moses, Thou shalt come in, thou and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, Jehovah the God of the Hebrews hath met with us; and now let us go, we pray thee, a three days’ journey into the wilderness, and we will sacrifice to Jehovah our God (Exodus 3:18). Again:

Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah, that I should hearken unto His voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, and moreover I will not let Israel go. And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us; let us go, we pray thee, a three days’ journey into the wilderness, and we will sacrifice to Jehovah our God (Exodus 5:2-3).

[3] That together with the worship the descendants of Jacob in Egypt lost also the name of Jehovah, may be seen from these words in Moses:

Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the sons of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, What is His name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM WHO I AM. And He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the sons of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the sons of Israel, Jehovah the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you; this is My name to eternity (Exodus 3:13-15).

[4] From these words it is evident that even Moses did not know Jehovah; and that they were distinguished from others by the name of Jehovah the God of the Hebrews. Hence in other places also Jehovah is called the God of the Hebrews:

Thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Jehovah the God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee (Exodus 7:16).

Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith Jehovah the God of the Hebrews (Exodus 9:1, 13).

And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah the God of the Hebrews (Exodus 10:3).

And in Jonah:

I am a Hebrew; and I fear Jehovah the God of the heavens (Jonah 1:9).

And also in Samuel:

The Philistines heard the voice of the shouting, and said, What meaneth the voice of this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews? And they knew that the ark of Jehovah was come into the camp. And the Philistines said, Woe unto us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these august gods? These are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all manner of plagues in the wilderness. Be like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews (1 Samuel 4:6, 8-9).

Here also it is evident that the nations were distinguished by the gods on whose name they called, and the Hebrew nation by Jehovah.

[5] That the second essential of the worship of the Hebrew nation consisted in sacrifices, is also evident from passages cited above (Exodus 3:18; 5:2-3); as well as from the fact that the Egyptians abominated the Hebrew nation on account of this worship, as is evident from these words in Moses:

Moses said, It is not right so to do, for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Jehovah our God; lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? (Exodus 8:26).

For this reason the Egyptians so abominated the Hebrew nation that they would not eat bread with them (Genesis 43:32). It is also evident from all this that the posterity of Jacob was not the only Hebrew nation, but all who had such worship; and therefore in Joseph’s time the land of Canaan was called the land of the Hebrews:

Joseph said, I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews (Genesis 40:15).

[6] That there were sacrifices among the idolaters in the land of Canaan, may be seen from many passages, for they sacrificed to their gods-to the Baals and others; and moreover Balaam, who was from Syria where Eber dwelt and whence the Hebrew nation came, not only offered sacrifices before the descendants of Jacob came into the land of Canaan, but also called Jehovah his God. That Balaam was from Syria, whence came the Hebrew nation, see Numbers 23:7; that he offered sacrifices, Numbers 22:39-40; 23:1-3, 14, 29; that he called Jehovah his God, Numbers 22:18, and throughout the chapter. What is said of Noah (Genesis 8:20), that he offered burnt-offerings to Jehovah, is not true history, but is history so made up, because by burnt-offerings there is signified the holy of worship, as may there be seen. From all this it is now evident what is signified by “Ber,” or by the Hebrew nation.