8478. 'Let no one leave any of it until the morning' means that they must not be anxious to acquire it of themselves. This is clear from the fact that the manna was given every morning and that worms bred in what was left over, meaning that the Lord provides people's requirements every day and that for this reason they ought not to be anxious to acquire them of themselves. The same thing is meant by daily bread in the Lord's Prayer and also by the Lord's words in Matthew,

Do not be anxious for your soul, what you are going to eat or what you are going to drink, nor for your body, what you are going to put on. Why be anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they do not toil, nor do they spin. Do not therefore be anxious, so that you say, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For all these things the gentiles seek. Does not your heavenly Father know that you have need of all these things? Seek first the kingdom of God ¹ and its righteousness, then all these things will be added to you. Do not therefore be anxious about the morrow; for the morrow will take care of the things that belong to it. Matthew 6:25-end.

Similar words occur in Luke 12:11-12, 22-31.

[2] The present verse and the one that follows refer in the internal sense to concern for the morrow, a concern which was not only forbidden but also condemned. The forbiddance of it is meant by their being told not to leave any of the manna till the morning, and the condemnation of it is meant by worms breeding in any they did leave and its becoming putrid. Anyone who does not view the matter from anywhere beyond the sense of the letter may think that all concern for the morrow is to be avoided, which being so, people should then await their requirements every day from heaven. But a person who views it from a position deeper than the literal meaning, that is, who views it from the internal sense, may recognize what concern for the morrow is used to mean - not concern to obtain food and clothing for oneself, and also resources for the future; for it is not contrary to order to make provision for oneself and one's dependents. But people are concerned about the morrow when they are not content with their lot, do not trust in God but in themselves, and have solely worldly and earthly things in view, not heavenly ones. These people are ruled completely by anxiety over the future, and by the desire to possess all things and exercise control over all other people. That desire is kindled and grows greater and greater, till at length it is beyond all measure. They grieve if they do not realize the objects of their desires, and they are distressed at the loss of them. Nor can they find consolation, for in times of loss they are angry with the Divine. They reject Him together with all belief, and curse themselves. This is what those concerned for the morrow are like.

[3] Those who trust in the Divine are altogether different. Though concerned about the morrow, yet are they unconcerned, in that they are not anxious, let alone worried, when they give thought to the morrow. They remain even-tempered whether or not they realize desires, and they do not grieve over loss; they are content with their lot. If they become wealthy they do not become infatuated with wealth; if they are promoted to important positions they do not consider themselves worthier than others. If they become poor they are not made miserable either; if lowly in status they do not feel downcast. They know that for those who trust in the Divine all things are moving towards an everlasting state of happiness, and that no matter what happens at any time to them, it contributes to that state.

[4] It should be recognized that Divine providence is overall, that is, it is present within the smallest details of all, and that people in the stream of providence are being carried along constantly towards happier things, whatever appearance the means may present. Those in the stream of providence are people who trust in the Divine and ascribe everything to Him. But those not in the stream of providence are people who trust in themselves alone and attribute everything to themselves; theirs is a contrary outlook, for they take providence away from the Divine and claim it as their own. It should be recognized also that to the extent that anyone is in the stream of providence he is in a state of peace; and to the extent that anyone is in a state of peace by virtue of the good of faith, he is in Divine providence. These alone know and believe that the Lord's Divine providence resides within every single thing, indeed within the smallest details of all, as has also been shown in 1919 (end), 4329, 5122 (end), 5894 (end), 6058, 6481-6486, 6490, 7004, 7007, as well as that Divine providence has what is eternal in view, 6491.

[5] Those with the contrary outlook are scarcely willing to allow any mention of providence. Instead they put every single thing down to prudence; and what they do not put down to prudence they put down to fortune or to chance. Some put it down to fate, which they do not ascribe to the Divine but to natural forces. They call those people simple who do not attribute all things to themselves or to natural forces. From all this one may again see what those people are like who are concerned for the morrow, and what those are like who are not concerned for the morrow.

Footnotes:

8452. 'That the selav came up' means natural delight through which good was imparted. This is clear from the meaning of 'the selav' as natural delight. The reason why 'the selav' means natural delight is that it was a bird of the sea, and 'a bird of the sea' means the natural, while its 'flesh' which was desired means delight, dealt with above in 8431. And the reason why it means that good was imparted through it is that it was given in the evening. For when in the next life the state corresponding to evening arrives good spirits, and also angels, are taken back to the state of natural affections that moved them when they were in the world. Consequently they are taken back to the delights belonging to their natural man. This is done in order that good may thereby be imparted, that is, in order that they may thereby be made more perfect, 8426. All people are made more perfect by the implantation of faith and charity in their external or natural man. Unless they are implanted there no goodness or truth can flow in from the internal or spiritual man, that is, from the Lord by way of the internal man, because they are not accepted. And if that goodness and truth are not accepted the influx of them is halted and perishes, indeed the internal man is also closed. From this it is evident that the natural must be perfectly adjusted to act as a receiver; this is done through delights, for forms of good as they exist with the natural man are called delights, since they are feelings.

[2] 'The selav' means natural delight because, as has been stated, it was a bird of the sea; for it is said in Numbers 11:31 to have been cut off from the sea - A wind set out from Jehovah, and it cut off ¹ the selav from the sea, and sent them down over the camp - and a bird of the sea and its flesh mean natural delight, and in the contrary sense the delight that goes with craving. The latter kind of delight is meant by 'selav' in the following verses in Moses,

The rabble who were in the midst of the people had a strong craving, and wished to have flesh. They said, Now our soul is dry; and there is nothing at all except the man[na] for our eyes [to look] at. A wind set out from Jehovah, and it cut off the selav from the sea, and sent them down over the camp. The people rose up that whole day, and the whole night, and the whole of the next day, and gathered the selav. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers, which they spread out for themselves all around the camp. The flesh was still between their teeth, before it could be swallowed, when Jehovah's anger flared up against the people, and Jehovah struck the people with an extremely great plague. So he called the name of that place The Graves of Craving, because there they buried the people having the craving. Numbers 11:4-6, 31-34.

Here 'the selav' stands for the delight that goes with craving. It is called the delight that goes with craving when the delight belonging to any bodily or worldly love becomes dominant and takes possession of the whole person, to such an extent that the good and truth of faith residing with him are annihilated. This is the kind of delight that is being described, for the people were struck by a great plague. But natural delight, meant in the present chapter by 'the selav' which was given to the people in the evening, is not the delight that goes with craving; it is the natural or external man's delight complementing the spiritual or internal man's good. This delight holds spiritual good within itself; but the delight that goes with craving, spoken of in Numbers 11, holds hellish evil within itself. Both are called delight, and also both are experienced as delight. But the difference between them could not be greater, for the one holds heaven within itself and the other holds hell. Also the one becomes heaven to the person when he sheds his external, and the other becomes hell to him.

[3] They are like two women who both seem to outward appearances to have lovely faces and to lead beautiful lives, but inwardly are completely different from each other That is to say, the one is chaste and wholesome, the other immoral and revolting, so that the spirit of the one is with angels, the spirit of the other with devils. But their true natures are not visible except when the external is rolled away and the internal is revealed. These things have been said in order that people may know what natural delight is that has good within it, meant by 'the selav' in the present chapter, and what natural delight is that has evil within it, meant by 'the selav' in Numbers 11.

Footnotes: