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.

10653. 'You shall not make gods of cast metal for yourself' means worship of self and not of the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'making gods of cast metal' as establishing worship in tune with self-love, dealt with in 10406, 10503, and worship that is in tune with self-love is worship of self and not of the Lord, because worship of self is the end, whereas worship of the Lord is the means to that end. Whatever is the end is the master and whatever is the means is the servant; and the means is regarded by the end in no other way than as a servant is by his master. This is what worship is like with those who regard the holy things of the Church as the means, and mastery as the end.