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.

8589. Because of the quarreling of the sons of Israel. That this signifies a complaining from the grievousness of the temptation even so that they nearly yielded, is evident from the signification of “quarreling,” as being a grievous complaining (see n. 8563); that it denotes that they nearly yielded, is evident from the character of their quarreling, namely, that they had almost stoned Moses, and that they tempted Jehovah, saying, Is Jehovah in the midst of us?

7382. 'Stretch out your hand with your rod' means the power of inward truth directed through outward truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'hand' as spiritual power, which belongs to inward truth, and from the representation of 'rod' as natural power, which belongs to outward truth, both dealt with in 6947, 6948. For the fact that all power in the spiritual world belongs to truth, see 3091, 3787, 4931, 6344, 6423, 6948. Since 'Moses' represents inward law, which is the same as inward truth, and 'Aaron' represents outward law, which is the same as outward truth, and since inward truth flows into outward truth and gives it power, 7381, Moses' word of command to Aaron 'stretch out your hand with your rod' means the power of inward truth directed through outward truth.