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.

4281. That by “the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint in his wrestling with him,” is signified that this conjunction was wholly injured and displaced in Jacob’s posterity, is evident from the signification of being “out of joint” in the sense in question, as being to be displaced, and thus to be injured. That the “hollow of the thigh” denotes conjunction, is manifest from what was said above (n. 4280); and because in the Word “Jacob” denotes not only Jacob, but also all his posterity, as is evident from many passages in the Word (Numbers 23:7, 10, 21, 2 23:23; 24:5, 1 24:17, 19; Deuteronomy 33:10; Isaiah 40:27; 43:1, 22; 44:1-2, 21; 48:12; 59:20; Jeremiah 10:16, 25; 30:7, 10, 18; 31:7, 11; 46:27-28; Hosea 10:11 Amos 7:2; Micah 2:12; 3:8; Psalms 14:7; 24:6; 59:13; 78:5; 99:4 and elsewhere).

[2] That Jacob and his posterity were of such a character that with them celestial and spiritual love could not be conjoined with natural good (that is, the internal or spiritual man with the external or natural man), is manifest from everything which is related of that nation in the Word; for they did not know, nor were they willing to know, what the internal or spiritual man is, and therefore this was not revealed to them; for they believed that nothing exists in man except that which is external and natural. In all their worship they had regard to nothing else, insomuch that Divine worship was to them no otherwise than idolatrous; for when internal worship is separated from external, it is merely idolatrous. The church that was instituted with them was not a church, but only the representative of a church; for which reason that church is called a representative church. That a representative of a church is possible with such people may be seen above (n. 1361, 3670, 4208).

[3] For in representations the person is not reflected upon, but the thing which is represented; and therefore Divine, celestial, and spiritual things were represented not only by persons, but also by inanimate things, as by Aaron’s garments, the ark, the altar, the oxen and sheep that were sacrificed, the lampstand with its lamps, the bread of arrangement upon the golden table, the oil with which they were anointed, the frankincense, and other like things. Hence it was that their kings, the evil as well as the good, represented the Lord’s royalty; and the high priests, the evil as well as the good, represented the things that belong to the Lord’s Divine priesthood, when they discharged their office in an outward form according to the statutes and precepts. In order therefore that the representative of a church might come forth among them, such statutes and laws were given them by manifest revelation as were altogether representative; and therefore so long as they were in them and observed them strictly, so long they were able to represent; but when they turned aside from them, as to the statutes and laws of other nations, and especially to the worship of another god, they then deprived themselves of the faculty of representing. For this reason they were driven by outward means, such as captivities, disasters, threats, and miracles, to laws and statutes truly representative; but not by internal means, as are those who have internal worship in external. These things are signified by the “hollow of Jacob’s thigh being out of joint,” taken in the internal historical sense, which regards Jacob and his posterity.

9216. Wherein he may sleep. That this signifies rest upon them, is evident from the signification of “sleeping,” as being to rest, here upon the external sensuous which is signified by the “garment” (see n. 9212); for it is said, “the garment wherein he may sleep.” How it is to be understood that interior things have rest upon the sensuous, shall be told. The sensuous is the ultimate of man’s life, as was shown above. This contains all the interior things, and is common to them, for they terminate in it, and thus rest upon it; as for example the skin, which is the ultimate covering of the body; for in this the interior things of the body terminate, because it contains them, wherefore also they rest upon it. The case is the same with the peritoneum in the body; as this membrane contains the viscera of the abdomen, they rest upon it, and also have a general connection with it. It is the same with the pleura relatively to the viscera of the chest.

[2] It is the same with all things that belong to man’s very life, as with those which relate to his understanding, and those which relate to his will. These also follow in order from interior to exterior things. Exterior things are memory-knowledges with their pleasant feelings; and outermost things are those of the senses, which communicate with the world by the sight, the hearing, the taste, the smell, and the touch. Upon these the interior things rest, for in these they terminate. These are the things which are signified in the spiritual sense by the “covering” or “garment wherein he may sleep.” That sensuous things are a “garment” or “covering,” is from correspondences; for, as before said (n. 9212), spirits and angels appear clothed in garments according to their truths of faith; in shining garments those who are in truths from good, as were the angels at the Lord’s sepulchre (Luke 24:4; Matthew 28:3); others in white garments of fine linen; as those spoken of in Revelation 19:14; and others in garments of various colors.

[3] Be it known moreover, that each and all things advance from the first or inmost successively to their ultimates, and there rest; also that prior or interior things have a connection with ultimates in successive order. Wherefore if the ultimates are removed, the interior things also are dispersed. From this also there are three heavens; the inmost or third heaven flows into the middle or second heaven; the middle or second heaven flows into the first or ultimate heaven; and this again flows in with man. Consequently the human race is the last in order, in which heaven terminates, and upon which it rests. Wherefore the Lord always provides from His Divine that there shall be a church among the human race, in which there shall be revealed truth Divine, which on our earth is the Word. By means of this, there is a continuous connection of the human race with the heavens. Therefore it is that in every detail of the Word there is an internal sense which is for heaven, and which is of such a nature that it conjoins angelic minds with human minds by a bond so close that they act as a one. From this it is again evident how the case is with the resting of interior things upon ultimates.