From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #6866

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6866. 'And Moses said to God' means perception received from the Divine, and a state of humility. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' as perception, dealt with often; from the representation of 'Moses' as the Lord in respect of the law of God, dealt with in 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, the Divine being meant by 'God'. These words also imply a state of humility, as is evident from what follows, for he says, 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should lead the children of Israel out?' Since 'Moses' represents the Lord and mention is made here of humility, something must be said about the Lord's state of humility when He was in the world. To the extent that the Human which had not yet been made Divine came to the forefront in the Lord He was in a state of humility; but to the extent that His Human which had been made Divine came to the forefront He could not be in a state of humility, for to that extent He was God and was Jehovah. The reason why He was in a state of humility when the Human which had not yet been made Divine came to the forefront was that the human which He derived from His mother was evil by heredity, and this could not draw near the Divine except in a state of humility. For when real humility is present in a person he surrenders all power to think or do anything by himself and abandons himself completely to the Divine, and in this condition draws near to the Divine. The Divine was, it is true, within the Lord, since He had been conceived from Jehovah; but the more the inheritance from His mother came to the forefront in His Human the more remote the Divine seemed to be. For in spiritual and celestial things dissimilarity of state is what lies behind remoteness and absence, while similarity of state is what lies behind nearness and presence; and what lies behind similarity and dissimilarity is love. From this one may now recognize the source of the state of humility that existed with the Lord when He was in the world. but later on, when He had cast off all the human derived from His mother, so completely that He was no longer her son, and had clothed Himself with the Divine, the state of humility came to an end; for then He was one with Jehovah.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

The Bible

 

Exodus 3

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1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:

17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

18 And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to The LORD our God.

19 And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.

20 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.

21 And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:

22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.