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.

'Honey,' as mentioned in Ezekiel 3:3, denotes the delight of divine truth as to the external sense.

'Honey,' as mentioned in Isaiah 7:14, 15, signifies what is derived from the celestial principle of the Lord.

In general, 'honey' signifies the delight derived from good and truth or from the affection thereof, and specifically the external delight. Thus it signifies the delight of the exterior natural principle. Because this delight is of such a nature that it comes from the world through the senses, the use of honey was forbidden in the meat offerings. Honey denotes delight because it is sweet, and everything sweet in the natural world corresponds to what is delightful and pleasant in the spiritual world.

(References: Arcana Coelestia 5620; Deuteronomy 32:13)