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.

2814. And laid him on the altar upon the wood. That this signifies in the Human Divine to which righteousness belongs, is evident from the signification of an “altar,” as being the Lord’s Divine Human (see just above, n. 2811); and from the signification of the “wood of a burnt-offering,” as being the merit of righteousness (see n. 2784, 2798, 2812). The Truth Divine in the Lord’s Human Divine, which underwent the temptations, and which has been treated of, is not the Divine Truth itself, for this is above all temptation; but it is rational truth, such as the angels have, consisting in the appearances of truth, and is what is called the “Son of man,” but before the glorification. But the Divine Truth in the Lord’s glorified Divine Human is above appearances, nor can it possibly come to any understanding, and still less to the apprehension of man, nor even to that of angels, and thus not at all to anything of temptation. It appears in the heavens as light which is from the Lord. Concerning this Divine Truth, or the Son of man glorified, it is thus written in John:

Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him: if God is glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify Him (John 13:31-32).

That a distinct idea may be had of this very deep arcanum, we may call the Truth with the Lord which could be tempted, and which underwent temptations, Truth Divine in the Lord’s Human Divine; but the Truth which could not be tempted, or undergo any temptation, because it was glorified, the Divine Truth in the Lord’s Divine Human; this distinction has also been observed here and there in what goes before.

4316. That in the internal historical sense by “even unto this day” is signified that they are such forever, is evident from the signification of “even unto this day,” which where mentioned in the Word means forever (see n. 2838). That this posterity was such from the earliest times, may be seen from the sons of Jacob themselves-from Reuben, in that he “lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine” (Genesis 35:22); from Simeon and Levi, who killed Hamor and Shechem, and all the men of their city; and that the rest of his sons came upon the pierced and plundered the city (Genesis 34:1-31). Therefore Jacob, then Israel, before he died, spoke of them thus: of Reuben, “Thou shalt not excel, because thou wentest up on thy father’s bed; then didst thou make thyself unworthy; he went up on my couch” (Genesis 49:3-4); and of Simeon and Levi, “Into their secret let not my soul come, with their assembly let not my glory be united; for in their anger they slew a man, and in their set purpose they houghed an ox. Cursed be their anger, for it was vehement, and their fury, for it was grievous; I will divide them among Jacob, and scatter them among Israel” (Genesis 49:5-7).

[2] The quality of Judah may also be seen from the fact that he took a Canaanitess for his wife (Genesis 38:1-2), which nevertheless was contrary to what had been commanded, as may be seen from Abraham’s words to his servant, whom he sent to betroth Rebekah to his son Isaac (Genesis 24:3, 6); and from many other passages in the Word. A third part of that nation was from this stock, that is, from his son Shelah who was born of the Canaanitish mother (Genesis 38:11; 46:12; see Numbers 26:20; 1 Chron. 4:21-22). The same may be further seen from the wicked deed of these and the other sons of Jacob against Joseph (Genesis 37:18-36). The quality of their posterity in Egypt is manifest from what is related of them when they were in the wilderness, where they were so often rebellious; and afterwards in the land of Canaan, where they so frequently became idolaters. Lastly, their quality in the Lord’s time has been shown just above (see n. 4314); and what they are at this day is known, namely, opposed to the Lord, to the things of the church, to charity toward the neighbor, and to one another. From all this it may be seen that this nation has ever been of this nature. Let no one therefore any longer entertain the opinion that there was any church among them, or more than a representative of a church, and still less that they were chosen in preference to others.