9371. THE INTERNAL SENSE.

Verses 1-2. And He said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah, thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and bow yourselves afar off; and Moses, he alone, shall come near unto Jehovah; and they shall not come near; and the people shall not come up with him. “And He said unto Moses,” signifies that which concerns the Word in general; “come up unto Jehovah,” signifies conjunction with the Lord; “thou and Aaron,” signifies the Word in the internal sense and the external sense; “Nadab and Abihu,” signifies doctrine from both senses; “and seventy of the elders of Israel,” signifies the chief truths of the church which are of the Word, or of doctrine, and which agree with good; “and bow yourselves afar off,” signifies humiliation and adoration from the heart, and then the influx of the Lord; “and Moses, he alone, shall come near unto Jehovah,” signifies the conjunction and presence of the Lord through the Word in general; “and they shall not come near,” signifies no separate conjunction and presence; “and the people shall not come up with him,” signifies no conjunction whatever with the external apart from the internal.

10702. 'And whenever Moses went in before Jehovah to talk to Him' means the state of what was outward when what was inward from the Lord flowed into it and it received instructions. This is clear from the representation of 'Moses' as what is outward containing what is inward, dealt with in 10694; from the meaning of 'going in before Jehovah' as the state of this when the Lord flows into it, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'talking' as instructions, dealt with in the places referred to in 10280. The situation with what is outward when what is inward flows into it, meant by 'whenever Moses went in before Jehovah', is as follows: There are with people two states so far as things of the Church, worship, and the Word are concerned. There are some who turn themselves to the Lord, thus to heaven, and some who turn to self and to the world. Those who turn to the Lord or heaven receive the influence from there, become enlightened, and for that reason have the ability within themselves to perceive truth; and this influence comes from the Lord by way of what is inward into what is outward. This is what 'going in before Jehovah' serves to mean here. But people who turn to self and to the world cannot receive any influence from the Lord or heaven, and so they are unenlightened and have no ability to perceive truth. For self-regard causes the world to be the influence, and this either completely destroys, or drives back, or perverts whatever comes from heaven. Consequently these people are in thick darkness so far as all things of the Church, worship, and the Word are concerned. This is what 'the veil before Moses' face' serves to mean. The interiors of a person also actually turn to face the things he loves. The interiors of those who love the Lord turn to the Lord or heaven, thus in an inward direction; those who love themselves turn to the world, thus in an outward direction. Turning to the Lord implies being turned by the Lord Himself, for no one can raise his interiors by his own efforts. But turning to self implies being turned by hell; and when this happens the things belonging to the internal man are closed, to prevent the person from serving two masters.