As this story begins, the Children of Israel have escaped Egypt, and are camped near Mount Sinai. Moses, their leader, as climbed up the mountain, and is receiving the Ten Commandments from Jehovah. The people get impatient, and think that perhaps Moses will not return, and they ask his brother Aaron, the High Priest, to make them new gods.

Aaron complies - which is surprising - given that he has been involved in the Exodus since the beginning, supporting Moses. But he does, and collects golden earrings, melts them down , and fashions them into a golden idol shaped like a calf. He builds an altar before the calf, and proclaims a feast to Jehovah.

God sees what is happening, and is angry, telling Moses that he will destroy these people, and start over again, using Moses to start a new church. Moses persuades God not to do this, reminding him of the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yet, as Moses descends from the mountain, carrying the Ten Commandments etched by the hand of God on two tables of stone, and sees the extent of the forbidden idolatry, he too is angry. He shatters the tables of stone, grinds the calf into dust, mixes the dust into water, and makes the people drink it.

What's the inner meaning of this story?

It's explained in detail in Arcana Coelestia, starting in section 10395. Every detail is important. Very briefly, though:

If we don't realize, or recognize, that the Word contains truths from God, we can react by "gathering to Aaron" - just being religiously observant in an external, perfunctory way.

Detached from internal worship, we gravitate to developing false ideas - idols - that we use in religious teachings and worship. Not knowing Moses's whereabouts means a total unawareness of the internal truths of the Word.

When Aaron gathers the earrings, that signifies the external church cherry-picking truths from the literal sense of the Word to support a man-made religion that reinforces what it loves.

We can think ways that churches that have done this, and on a personal level, there's a strong tendency for us to do this, too - to think shallowly, to extract things from the Word and mold them into idols, or justifications for the things we want to do.

The two tables of stone are inscribed on both sides. There are internals and externals of religion. We need both. This is the reason why the internal meaning of the Word is so important to us all; it contains the inner truths that we need to understand, and live by, and learn to love.

This is much too brief a summary to do the story justice; it's one of they key turning points in the religious history of humankind, and it has profound meaning for us as individuals, and for our churches and nations.

1156. And slaves and souls of men.- That these signify worship from truths and goods from a natural origin, profaned, is evident from the signification of slaves, which denote truths scientific, which are from the natural man, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of souls of men, which denote the goods corresponding to those truths, which in general are the affections of knowing; for by souls of men are here meant those who are sold for servants, that is, things for service. These are also called souls of men in the prophet Ezekiel:

"Javan, Tubal, and Mesech, were thy merchants, with the soul of man and with vessels of brass they gave thy trading" (27:13).

This refers to Tyre, by which the knowledges of truth and good are signified; and by the soul of man are meant servants, who are sold, thus slaves (mancipia). And because it is also said with vessels of brass, by the soul of man, in the spiritual sense scientifics serving for use are signified; vessels of brass have a similar signification.

A man who is sold is also called soul in Moses:

"If any one steal the soul of his brethren, and make gain of him by selling him, he shall be killed" (Deuteronomy 24:7).

The reason why a slave signifies truth scientific is, that the scientifics of the natural man administer to and serve the rational man for the purposes of thought, and therefore those scientifics are signified in the Word by attendants, household servants, servants, slaves, and here also by souls of men. Here, as above, is meant worship from those truths and goods, profaned by Babylon.

[2] Continuation concerning the Athanasian Creed.- All those who wish for miracles and visions resemble the sons of Israel, who, after they had seen so many wonders in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and on Mount Sinai, yet within a month forsook the worship of Jehovah, and worshipped a golden calf (Exodus 32). They are also like the rich man in hell (in inferno), who told Abraham that his brethren would repent if one from the dead went to them; to whom Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them; if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rise from the dead" (Luke 16:29, 30, 31). And they are also like Thomas, who said that he would not believe unless he saw; to whom the Lord said, "Blessed are they who believe and yet do not see" (John 20:29). Those who believe and yet do not see are those who do not desire signs, but truths from the Word, that is, Moses and the prophets, and believe them. The latter are internal men and become spiritual, but the former are external and remain sensual, and when they see miracles, and believe only by means of them, are not unlike a handsome woman who is inwardly affected with a fatal disorder, of which she soon dies. They are also, like apples which have a beautiful rind, but are rotten at the core; or like nuts, in which a worm lies concealed. It is moreover well known that no one can be compelled to love and believe, but that love and belief must be rooted inwardly in man; consequently, no one can be led to love God and to believe in Him by miracles and visions, for they compel. For how will he who does not believe notwithstanding the miracles recorded in the Word, believe by means of miracles which have no place in the Word?