9373. Come up unto Jehovah. That this signifies conjunction with the Lord, is evident from the signification of “coming up,” as being to be raised toward interior things (see n. 3084, 4539, 4969, 5406, 5817, 6007), consequently also to be conjoined (n. 8760). That it denotes conjunction with the Lord, is because by “Jehovah” in the Word is meant the the Lord, (n. 1343, 1736, 1793, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6280, 6303, 6905, 8274, 8864, 9315). A secret which also lies hidden in the internal sense of these words, is that the sons of Jacob, over whom Moses was the head, were not called and chosen; but they themselves insisted that Divine worship should be instituted among them (according to wh at has been said in n. 4290, 4293); and therefore it is here said, “and He said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah,” as if not Jehovah, but another, had said that he should come up. For the same reason in what follows it is said that “the people should not go up” (verse 2); and that “Jehovah sent not His hand unto the sons of Israel who were set apart” (verse 11); and that “the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the sons of Israel” (verse 17); and lastly that Moses, being called the seventh day, “entered into the midst of the cloud.” For by “the cloud” is meant the Word in the letter (n. 5922, 6343, 6752, 6832, 8106, 8443, 8781); and with the sons of Jacob the Word was separated from its internal sense, because they were in external worship without internal, as can be clearly seen from the fact that now, as before, they said, “all the words which Jehovah hath spoken we will do” (verse 3); and yet scarcely forty days afterward they worshiped a golden calf instead of Jehovah; which shows that this was hidden in their hearts while they were saying with their lips that they would serve Jehovah alone. But nevertheless those who are meant by “the called and the chosen” are those who are in internal worship, and who from internal worship are in external; that is, those who are in love to and faith in the Lord, and from this in love toward the neighbor.

7512. 'And of the livestock of the children of Israel not one died' means that no annihilation of faith took place among those who belonged to the spiritual Church. This is clear from the explanations just above in 7506, 7507.

7507. 'And nothing will die of all that belongs to the children of Israel' means that they will not be annihilated. This is clear from the meaning of 'nothing dying' as not being annihilated; from the meaning of the livestock, in reference to which it is said that '[nothing] will die', as the truth and good of faith, dealt with above in 7502; and from the representation of 'the children of Israel' as those who belong to the spiritual Church. The reason why the forms of the good of faith and the truths of faith residing with those who belong to the Church cannot die is that they have been linked through charity to the Divine, and the Divine is life itself and He is eternal. Anything linked to life itself and to what is eternal cannot die or be annihilated. It remains for evermore, constantly being made more perfect. But because matters of faith residing with those who belong to the Church and are damned are not linked to the Divine, and do not consequently have life within them, they die; for they are like lifeless statues. And being lifeless those things are annihilated in the next life, that is, they are taken away.