8860. THE INTERNAL SENSE
Verse 1 And God spoke all these words, saying means God's truths for those in heaven and for those on earth.
Exodus 20
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And God spake all these words, saying,
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I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
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Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
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Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
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Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
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And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
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Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
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Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
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Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
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But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
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For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
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Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
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Thou shalt not commit adultery.
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Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
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Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
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And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
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And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God Speak with us, lest we die.
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And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
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And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
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And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
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Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
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An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
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And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
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Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
Arcana Coelestia＃8658
8658. 'Where he was encamped at the mountain of God' means near to the good of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'encamping' as an arrangement into order of the Church's truth and good with a person, dealt with in 8103 (end), 8130, 8131, 8155; and from the meaning of 'the mountain of God' as the good of love, dealt with in 795, 796, 2722, 4210, 6435, 8327, at this point the good of truth, since the subject is the good of those belonging to the spiritual Church, who are represented by 'the children of Israel'. Good as it exists with them is the good of truth, and this good is also the good of charity. This also accounts for the words 'the mountain of God', for 'God' is used when truth is the subject, and 'Jehovah' when good is the subject, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921 (end), 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873. From all this it is evident that 'he was encamped at the mountain of God' means an arrangement into order of the Church's good and truth near to the good of truth.
[2] How to understand all this must also be stated briefly. When a person is in the first state, that is to say, when his actions spring from truth but not as yet from good, that is, when they spring from faith but not as yet from charity, he is in the state in which temptations have to be undergone. By means of these he is brought step by step to the second state - to the one in which his actions spring from good, that is, from charity and the affection belonging to it. When therefore he is getting near to that state he is said 'to be encamped at the mountain of God', that is, at the good from which his actions later on spring. This is said because what follows refers to a new arrangement or re-ordering of truths for entrance into that state, to which members of the Church also come after they have undergone temptations and before God's law is written on their hearts. In what has gone before temptations have been the subject, and in what now follows the subject is the law issued from Mount Sinai, 'Mount Sinai' being good which holds truth within it.
