7104. 'Why, O Moses and Aaron, do you draw the people away from their work?' means that their Divine Law and doctrinal teachings must not exempt them from hardship. This is clear from the representation of 'Moses' as the Lord in respect of the Divine Law, dealt with in 6723, 6752; from the representation of 'Aaron' as the Lord in respect of teachings derived from that Law, dealt with in 6998, 7009; from the meaning of 'drawing away' as exempting; and from the meaning of 'work' as hardship, for that work was hard labour, also 'burdens', as Pharaoh went on to speak of it, and so was hardship because of conflicts, meant by work' and 'burdens' in the internal sense.

6998. 'And He said, Is there not Aaron your brother, the Levite?' means teachings that present what is good and true. This is clear from the representation of 'Aaron' as the Lord's Divine Goodness or His Priesthood; but here, before his introduction into the priesthood, he represents teachings that present what is good and true. This is also the reason why it says that he will be for Moses 'as a mouth', and Moses will be for him 'as a god'; for 'Moses' represents the Lord's Divine Truth as it goes forth directly from the Lord, and therefore 'Aaron' represents Divine Truth that goes forth from the Lord in an indirect way. And this truth consists in teachings that present what is good and true. The kind of truth that 'Moses' represents here is truth that a person is unable to hear or discern, 6982; but the kind of truth that 'Aaron' represents is truth he can hear and discern. This is why Aaron is called 'a mouth' and Moses is called 'his god'. It also explains why Aaron is referred to as 'the Levite', for Levite' means the Church's teachings presenting what is good and true, teachings which are of use and service to the priesthood.