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.

'A reed shaken with the wind,' as in Matthew 11:7, signifies the Word when explained at pleasure, because 'a reed' in the internal sense is truth in the extreme, like the Word is in the letter.

(References: Arcana Coelestia 9372; Matthew 11:8)

3436. 'And he went up from there to Beersheba' means that the Divine doctrine of faith came from there. This is clear from the meaning of 'Beersheba' as the Divine doctrine of faith, dealt with in 2723, 2858, 2859. The doctrine of faith, which is meant by Beersheba here, is the literal sense itself of the Word, for the Word is doctrine itself. And although the literal sense of the Word is such that people are able to draw truths from it, it is also such that they are able to confirm from it things that are not true, as is well known from heresies. But anyone who reads the Word with the intention of being wise, that is, of doing good and understanding truth, gains instruction according to his intention and affection. In fact without his knowing it the Lord flows in and enlightens the mind, and when he cannot grasp what is said in one place in the Word the Lord imparts to him understanding from others.

[2] Furthermore anyone in whom simple good is present and who in simplicity believes the Word according to its literal sense is granted the ability to perceive truths when he is taught by angels in the next life. In the meantime the few truths that do reside with him are given life by charity and innocence. And when the latter are present in him the falsities which have also infiltrated the darkness of his ignorance do no harm. For these do not become allied to the good there but are held back from it so to speak on the boundaries and so can be removed without difficulty. But things are different in the case of those who are not leading a good life. With them the falsities which by wrong interpretation they hatched out of the Word occupy the middle or so to speak the centre, while truths are in the surrounding areas or boundaries. They are as a consequence falsities which do become allied to the evil life they are leading, and truths are scattered.