8588. And Meribah. That this signifies the quality of the complaining, is evident from the fact that in the original tongue “Meribah” means “contention,” or “quarreling,” and “quarreling” signifies complaining (see n. 8563, 8566); and because names signify the quality of the thing (n. 8587), therefore “Meribah” here signifies the quality of the complaining. As regards this temptation itself and its quality, be it known that in this passage are described those who in temptations almost yield, namely, those who complain against heaven and also against the Divine Itself, and at last almost disbelieve in the Divine Providence. These things are signified in the internal sense by what precedes, and also by what follows in this verse, namely, the quality of the state of the temptation, which is signified by “Massah,” and the quality of the complaining in the temptation, which is signified by “Meribah.” That this quality is here signified by “Meribah,” is plain in David:

Thou calledst upon Me in distress, and I rescued thee; I answered thee in the secret place, I proved thee at the waters of Meribah (Psalms 81:7).

[2] But in the internal historical sense, in which the subject treated of is the state of religion with the Israelitish nation, that nation is described in respect to its quality toward Jehovah, namely, that they were not willing by supplication to entreat Him for aid, but that they expostulated. The reason was, that at heart they did not acknowledge Jehovah as the supreme God, but only in the mouth, when they saw the miracles. That at heart they did not acknowledge Him is very evident from the Egyptian calf which they made for themselves and worshiped, saying that these were their gods; also from their frequent apostasy (of which see n. 8301). This is what is here described in the internal historical sense; but in the internal spiritual sense is described the quality of the temptation with those who before they are liberated are brought to the last of temptation.

[3] That the quality of the Israelitish nation and of its religiosity is described by contention with Moses at Massah and Meribah, is also evident in the following passages:

Harden not your heart, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness, where your fathers tempted Me; they tempted Me, and saw My work; for forty years did I feel loathing at the generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and the same have not known My ways, to whom I sware in Mine anger that they should not come unto My rest (Psalms 95:8-11).

Ye shall not tempt Jehovah your God, as ye tempted Him in Massah (Deuteronomy 6:16; 9:22, 24).

Of Leviticus he said, Thy Thummim and thy Urim are with the Holy Man, whom thou didst tempt at Massah, with whom thou didst contend at the waters of Meribah (Deuteronomy 33:8).

“The Holy Man” here denotes the Lord, whom they tempted, and whom Moses and Aaron did not sanctify.

[4] In the internal historical sense, in which the subject treated of is the religiosity of the Israelitish nation, by Moses and Aaron is not represented truth Divine, but the religiosity of that nation whose leaders and heads they were (n. 7041). Because this religiosity was such as said above, it was intimated to them that they should not bring the people into the land of Canaan, as is written in the book of Numbers:

Jehovah said unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye have not believed in Me, and sanctified Me in the eyes of the sons of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them; these are the waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel contended with Jehovah (Numbers 20:12-13; 27:14).

Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall not come into the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because ye rebelled against My mouth at the waters of Meribah (Numbers 20:24).

The same is said of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:50-51).

[5] That still representative Divine worship was instituted with that nation, was because representative worship could be instituted with any nation that had holy externals of worship, and worshiped almost idolatrously; for what is representative does not regard the person, but the thing (n. 1361), and it was the genius of that nation, beyond any other nation, to worship merely external things as holy and Divine, without any internal; as for instance to worship as deities their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and afterward Moses and David, and moreover to account holy and as Divine, and to worship, every stone and every piece of wood that had been inaugurated in their Divine worship; as the arks, the tables therein, the lamp, the altar, the garments of Aaron, the Urim and Thummim, and afterward the temple. Of the Lord’s Providence there was then given a communication of the angels of heaven with man by means of such things. For there must needs be somewhere a church, or the representative of a church, in order that there may be communication of heaven with the human race; and as that nation, beyond any other nation, could make Divine worship consist in external things, and thus act the representative of a church, therefore that nation was taken.

[6] At that time communication with the angels in heaven was effected by means of representatives in the following way. Their external worship was communicated to angelic spirits who are simple, and who do not reflect upon internal things, but still are interiorly good. Such are they who in the Grand Man correspond to the outer skin. These pay no attention whatever to the internal of man, but only to his external. If this appears holy, they think holily of the internal also. The more interior angels of heaven saw in those spirits the things that were represented, consequently the heavenly and Divine things that corresponded; for they could be present with these spirits, and see those things; but not with the men except by means of the spirits. For angels dwell with men in things interior; but where there are no such things, they dwell in the interior things of simple spirits; for the angels have no interest in other than spiritual and heavenly things, which are the interior things contained in representatives. From these few words it can be seen how there could be communication with heaven by means of such a people. But see what has been previously shown on this subject, namely: That with the Jews the holy of worship was miraculously elevated into heaven quite apart from them (n. 4307); that whatever their quality might be, the descendants of Jacob could represent what is holy, provided they closely observed the rituals commanded (n. 3147, 3479, 3480, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4289, 4293, 4307, 4444, 4500, 4680, 4825, 4844, 4847, 4899, 4912, 6304, 6306, 7048, 7051, 8301).

9341. 'And from the wilderness even to the River' means from delight belonging to the sensory level even to good and truth belonging to the rational level. This is clear from the meaning of 'setting the boundary' as the full range, dealt with immediately above in 9340; from the meaning of 'the wilderness' as a place where no one lives and nothing is grown, so that when it applies to the spiritual matters of faith and the celestial aspects of love 'the wilderness' is a place where no good nor any truth resides, as is the situation with the level of the senses (that this is what the sensory level of the human mind is like, see end of 9331), for no celestial good nor any spiritual truth exists on the sensory level, only delight and pleasure having a bodily and worldly origin exist there, which being so 'the wilderness' means this outermost level of mind in a member of the Church; and from the meaning of the Euphrates, to which 'the River' refers here, as good and truth belonging to the rational level. The reason why the Euphrates has this meaning is that Assyria lay there, and Assyria or Asshur means the rational level of the mind, 119, 1186.

[2] This rational level is meant by 'the Euphrates' where the words 'from the wilderness to the Euphrates' occur, and also 'from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates', as in Joshua,

From the wilderness and Lebanon even to the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea, the going down of the sun, will be your boundary. Joshua 1:4.

And in Moses,

To your seed I will give this land, from the river of Egypt even to the great river, the River Euphrates. Genesis 15:18.

Similarly in David,

You caused a vine to journey out of Egypt. You sent out its shoots even to the sea, and its little branches to the River. Psalms 80:8, 11.

'A vine out of Egypt' stands for the spiritual Church represented by the children of Israel; 'to the sea' and 'to the River' stand for interior truths and forms of good. The like occurs in Micah,

They will come to you from Asshur and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt even to the River, and from sea to sea, ¹ from mountain to mountain. Micah 7:12.

[3] But something different is meant by 'the Euphrates' when, from the middle of the land of Canaan as the standpoint, it is seen to be the furthest limit of the land on one side or that which encloses it on one side. In this case that river means the last and lowest level of the Lord's kingdom, that is, the last and lowest level of heaven and the Church in respect of rational goodness and truth. The fact that the boundaries of the land of Canaan, which were seas and rivers, meant the lowest things in the Lord's kingdom, see 1585, 1866, 4116, 4240, 6516. 'The Euphrates' therefore meant the kinds of truths and forms of good on the sensory level that were in agreement with truths and forms of good on the rational level. But since the sensory level of the human mind lies next to earth and the world and receives its impressions from them, 9331 (end), it does not acknowledge anything as good except that which delights the body, nor anything as truth except that which lends support to that delight. In this sense therefore 'the River Euphrates' means pleasure which is attributable to self-love and love of the world, and falsity that supports it with reasonings based on the illusions of the senses.

[4] These things are meant by 'the River Euphrates' in John,

A voice said to the sixth angel, Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates. They were released, and they killed a third part of mankind. Revelation 9:14-15.

'The angels bound at the Euphrates' stands for falsities which arise through reasonings based on the illusions of the senses, and which lend support to pleasures attributable to self-love and love of the world. In the same book,

The sixth angel poured out his bowl over the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way of the kings who were from the rising of the sun. ² Revelation 16:12.

Here 'the Euphrates' stands for falsities from a similar origin. 'Dried up water' stands for those falsities after they had been removed by the Lord; and 'the way of the kings from the rising of the sun' stands for the fact that at that time the truths of faith were seen by and revealed to those governed by love to the Lord.

'Waters' are truths and in the contrary sense falsities, see 705, 739, 756, 790, 839, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 7307, 8137, 8138, 8568, 9323.

'The way' is truth that has been seen and revealed, 627, 2333, 3477.

'The kings' are those with whom truths exist, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148.

'The rising' or 'the east' is the Lord, also love from Him and to Him, 101, 1250, 3708.

'The sun' has the same meaning, 1529, 1530, 2440, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060, 4696, 5377, 7078, 7083, 7171, 7173, 8644, 8812.

[5] In Jeremiah,

You have forsaken Jehovah your God at a time when He led you in the way. For this reason what have you to do with the way of Egypt, that you drink the waters of Shihor, or what [have you to do] with the way of Asshur, that you drink the waters of the River? Jeremiah 2:17-18.

'Leading in the way' stands for teaching truth. 'What have you to do with the way of Egypt, that you drink the waters of Shihor?' stands for, What have you to do with falsities arising through a perverse use of factual knowledge? 'What have you to do with the way of Asshur, that you drink the waters of the River?' stands for, What have you to do with falsities that arise on account of reasonings - reasonings which are based on the illusions of the senses and lend support to pleasures attributable to self-love and love of the world?

[6] In the same prophet,

Jehovah [said] to the prophet, Take the girdle which you have bought, which is over your loins, and arise, go away to the Euphrates, and hide it there in the cleft of a rock. He went away and hid it by the Euphrates. Afterwards it happened at the end of many days, that Jehovah said, Arise, go away to the Euphrates, take from there the girdle. Therefore he went away to the Euphrates and dug, and took the girdle from the place where he had hidden it. But behold, the girdle was spoiled; it was profitable for nothing. Jeremiah 13:3-7.

'The girdle of the loins' is the outward bond that holds within itself all things of love and consequently of faith. 'Being hidden in the cleft of a rock beside the Euphrates' means in a place where faith dwells in obscurity and is rendered no faith at all by falsities that are the product of reasonings. 'The girdle that had been spoiled, so that it was profitable for nothing' stands for the fact that then all the things of love and faith had been broken apart and scattered.

[7] When Jeremiah was to tie a stone to the book written by him and to throw it into the middle of the Euphrates, Jeremiah 51:63, the meaning was that the prophetical part of the Word would be destroyed by like falsities. In the same prophet,

The swift will not flee away, nor the strong man escape. Northwards on the bank of the River Euphrates they have stumbled and fallen. But Jehovah Zebaoth takes revenge on His adversaries, for the Lord Jehovah Zebaoth holds a sacrifice in the land of the north beside the River Euphrates. Jeremiah 46:6, 10.

Here also 'the River Euphrates' stands for truths that have been falsified and forms of good that have been adulterated by reasonings based on illusions, and therefore stands for factual knowledge which lends support to self-love and love of the world.

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