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.

491. The same things are signified by “sons” and “daughters” in this chapter (verses 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 26, 30), but such as is the church, such are the “sons and daughters” that is, such are the goods and truths; the truths and goods here spoken of are such as were distinctly perceived, because they are predicated of the Most Ancient Church, the principal and parent of all the other and succeeding churches.

1927. 'Near a spring of water in the desert' means natural truth that has not yet acquired any life. This is clear from the meaning of 'a spring of water' as truth, and from the meaning of 'desert' as that which as yet possesses little life. Something similar is meant by 'desert' in the internal sense of the following reference to the Lord in Luke,

The boy grew and became strong in spirit; he was however in desert places till the days of his manifestation to Israel. Luke 1:80. ¹

It may be confirmed from very many places in the Word that 'spring of water' and 'desert' have these meanings, but as 'springs' and also 'a desert' are frequently mentioned in places further on where they have the same meanings, confirmations will in the Lord's Divine mercy be given in those places. What truth is when it has yet to acquire life will be clear from what is to be stated next.

Footnotes: