10469. 'What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?' means, Why is it that that nation has so turned itself away from the Divine? This is clear from the meaning of 'what did this people do to you?' as, Why is it that that nation is such? ('doing to you' here does not mean doing something to him, for 'Aaron' is not used to mean Aaron but the external, the essential nature of which is contemplated from the internal, and therefore 'what did they do to you?' - when understood in the abstract sense, without reference to persons - means, Why is it?); and from the meaning of 'a sin' as a turning away from the Divine, dealt with in 5841, 9346. Consequently 'bringing upon them so great a sin', when the external in that abstract sense is meant by 'Aaron', describes such and so great a turning away from the Divine.

5841. 'I shall be sinning against my father all my days' means a turning away, as a result of which the good of the Church ceases to exist. This is clear from the meaning of 'sinning' as a separation, dealt with in 5229, 5474, and so a turning away. And if the good of the external Church, which 'Judah' represents, turns away from the good of the internal Church, which 'Israel' represents, the good of the Church is made to go out of existence. The actual joining together causes the good from which the Church receives its being to exist. With those two kinds of good - the good of the internal Church and the good of the external Church - the situation is this: By means of influx the good of the internal Church, which is internal good, brings the good of the external Church, which is external good, into being. This being so, internal good raises external good up to itself so that such external good may look to it, and thereby look up towards the Lord. This is the situation when they exist joined together. But if they are separated external good turns away and looks downwards, and by doing that is destroyed. This turning away is what is meant by 'I shall be sinning against my father all my days'.