10571. 'And Jehovah said to Moses, I will also do this thing that you have spoken' means that the Divine will be present within that external aspect of the Church, worship, and the Word which exists with them. This is clear from the representation of 'Moses', in his capacity as head of that nation, as the external aspect of the Church, worship, and the Word which was not so separate from the internal as the external aspect of them among the nation itself was, dealt with above in 10557, 10563; and from the meaning of 'doing the thing that Moses has spoken', when said by Jehovah, as the promise that the Divine will be present within the external aspect. For 'doing this thing' implies going with them and leading them into the land of Canaan, and going with them and leading them into the land of Canaan means that the Divine will show Himself among them, see above in 10569.

The arcanum that lies concealed in these verses and in those which follow them can scarcely be described unless people have an idea of that external aspect of the Church, worship, and the Word which Moses represents, and of that external aspect of the Church, worship, and the Word which existed with the nation itself. The one is distinguished from the other by this, that the external that Moses represents is not so separate from the internal as the external existing with the nation itself is. This accounts for the use sometimes of the words 'Moses and the people', at other times of 'Moses' without 'the people', or 'the people' without 'Moses', and for Moses' saying, when he speaks to Jehovah, 'I and the people', whereas Jehovah, when speaking to Moses, refers to Moses alone, as in verses 12, 14, 17-23, or to the people separately from him, as in verse 2 of the next chapter ¹ and elsewhere.

Footnotes:

3286. 'On behalf of his wife because she was barren' means that the Divine Natural did not as yet exist. This is clear from the meaning of 'a wife' as Divine Truth joined to the Divine Good of the Rational, which Truth, as shown in the previous chapter, is represented by 'Rebekah'; and from the meaning of 'barren' as the non-existence as yet of the Divine Natural. For the truth of the matter is that the Divine Natural came into being from the Divine Good of the Rational as the father and from Divine Truth there as the mother. While the Divine Natural does not as yet exist the Truth of the Rational is called 'barren', here 'a barren wife'.

[2] In man's case the situation is that while he is being regenerated the Lord instills good, that is, goodwill to the neighbour, into his rational. This goodwill or good has truth from the natural man allied to it. Once this is completed his natural has still to be regenerated, as anyone may recognize from the fact that the internal or rational man often conflicts with the external or natural; and as long as conflict exists the natural is not regenerate. And while the natural remains unregenerate the rational as regards truth is barren. As is the case in general so it is similarly in every particular instance in which the rational does not agree with the natural; in every such instance the rational as regards truth is called barren.

[3] The work of regeneration revolves for the most part around making the natural man correspond to the rational man, not only in general but also in particular. And the natural man is brought into such correspondence by the Lord by means of the rational. That is to say, good is instilled into the rational, and within this good as the soil truths are planted, after which by means of rational truths the natural is brought into obedience. When it is obedient it in that case corresponds; and to the extent it corresponds a person has been regenerated.