When the Bible speaks of "Jehovah," it is representing love itself, the inmost love that is the essence of the Lord. That divine love is one, whole and complete in itself, and Jehovah also is one, a name applied only to the Lord. The divine love expresses itself in the form of wisdom. Love, then, is the essence of God -- His inmost. Wisdom -- the loving understanding of how to put love into action -- is slightly more external, giving love a way to express itself. Wisdom, however, is expressed in a great variety of thoughts and ideas, what the Writings collectively call divine truth. There are also many imaginary gods, and sometimes angels and people can be called gods (the Lord said Moses would be as a god to Aaron). So when the Bible calls the Lord "God," it is in most cases referring to divine truth. In other cases, "God" has reference to what is called the divine human. The case there is this: As human beings, we cannot engage the Lord directly as divine love. It is too powerful and too pure. Instead, we have to approach Him by understanding Him through divine truth. Divine truth, then, is the Lord in human form, a form we can approach and understand. Thus "God" is also used in reference to this human aspect, because it is an expression of truth.

6650. Verses 8-14 And a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are many and numerous, more than ourselves. Come, let us use prudence with them; perhaps they will multiply, and it will be when wars occur, that they also will join themselves to our enemies and fight against us, and go up out of the land. And they set princes of tributes ¹ over them, to afflict them with burdens. And they built cities of store-houses for Pharaoh - Pithom and Raamses. And according as they afflicted them, so they multiplied and so they grew; and they were filled with loathing because of the children of Israel. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigour. And they made their life bitter with hard service, in clay and in bricks, and in all [manner of] service in the field, with all their [other] service in which they made them serve with rigour.

'And a new king arose over Egypt' means separated factual knowledge, which is opposed to the Church's truths. 'Who did not know Joseph' means which is completely alienated from the internal. 'And he said to his people' means subordinated factual knowledge. 'Behold, the people of the children of Israel are many and numerous, more than ourselves' means that the Church's truths are prevailing over alienated factual knowledge. 'Come, let us use prudence with them' means guile. 'Perhaps they will multiply, and it will be when wars occur' means superior strength if they increase. 'That they also will join themselves to our enemies and fight against us' means that in that way allied forces who inflict harm will be made stronger. 'And go up out of the land' means that the Church will have thereby been established. ' And they set princes of tributes over them' means falsities which would compel them to serve. 'To afflict them with burdens' means increasing distress caused by forms of hard service. 'And they built cities of store-houses for Pharaoh' means teachings composed of falsified truths in the natural where alienated factual knowledge resides. 'Pithom and Raamses' means the essential nature of those teachings. 'And according as they afflicted them, so they multiplied' means that in the measure that there were molestations, so the truths increased. 'And so they grew' means that they became strong. 'And they were filled with loathing because of the children of Israel' means greater aversion. 'And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve' means the aim to bring them under their control. 'With rigour means without showing any mercy. 'And they made their life bitter with hard service' means to such an extent that the aim to bring them under their control became vexatious. 'In clay and in bricks' means on account of the evils which they devised and the falsities which they fabricated. 'And in all [manner of] service in the field' means the aim to bring things of the Church under their control. 'With all their [other] service in which they made them serve with rigour' means the aim to bring them under their control by the use of many methods, without showing them any mercy.

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