7214. Verses 9-13 And Moses spoke in this way to the children of Israel, and they did not hear ¹ Moses, for shortness of breath and for hard ² servitude. And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Come, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt to send the children of Israel out of his land. And Moses spoke before Jehovah, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not heard ³ me; and how will Pharaoh hear me, and I am uncircumcised in the lips? And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them orders for the children of Israel, and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to lead the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

'And Moses spoke in this way to the children of Israel' means an exhortation from the law of God to those who belonged to the Lord's spiritual kingdom. 'And they did not hear Moses' means that they did not receive it in faith and obedience. 'For shortness of breath' means because of the state in which they were close to despair. 'And for hard servitude' means as a result of molestations by utter falsities. 'And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying' means a continuation. 'Come, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt' means a warning to those who molest by means of utter falsities. 'To send the children of Israel out of his land' means to go away and leave them. 'And Moses spoke to Jehovah, saying' means the law from God and thought from it. 'Behold, the children of Israel have not heard me' means that those who are spiritual have not received the things which have been declared to them. 'And how will Pharaoh hear me' means that those steeped in falsities are not going to accept me. 'And I am uncircumcised in the lips' means that to them I am impure. 'And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron' means instruction once again from the law of God and at the same time from doctrinal teachings. 'And gave them orders for the children of Israel' means regarding the command to be issued to those belonging to the Lord's spiritual kingdom. 'And for Pharaoh king of Egypt' means the warning to be given to those who molest by means of utter falsities. 'To lead the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt' means that they are to be delivered.

脚注:

6637. 'These are the names of the children of Israel' means the essential nature of the Church. This is clear from the meaning of' the name as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2628, 2724, 3006, 3421; from the representation of 'the sons of Israel' as spiritual truths, dealt with in 5414, 5879, 5951; and from the representation of 'Israel' as the good of truth, which is spiritual good, dealt with in 3654, 4598, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833. Since Israel' represents the good of truth or spiritual good and 'his sons' represent spiritual truths in the natural, 'the sons of Israel' also represent the Church, for what makes it the Church is spiritual good and the truths that spring from that good. A person without spiritual good, that is, the good of charity, and without spiritual truths, that is, the truths of faith, does not belong to the Church in spite of having been born within the Church. The whole of the Lord's heavenly kingdom possesses the good of love and faith, and unless the Church possesses good like that it cannot be the Church since it is not joined to heaven; for the Church is the Lord's kingdom on earth.

[2] The term 'Church' is not used because it is the place where the Word is and teachings drawn from it, or because it is where the Lord is known and the sacraments are celebrated. Rather it is the Church because it lives in accordance with the Word or with teachings drawn from the Word, and seeks to make those teachings its rule of life. People who do not live like this do not belong to the Church but are outside it; and those who lead wicked lives, thus lives contrary to that teaching, are further away outside the Church than gentiles who know nothing whatever about the Word, the Lord, or the sacraments. For since those people are acquainted with the forms of good that the Church fosters and with the truths it teaches they annihilate the Church within themselves, something gentiles cannot do because they are unacquainted with those things. It should also be realized that everyone who leads a good life, in charity and faith, is a Church, and is a kingdom of the Lord. He is for that reason also called a temple, and a house of God too. Those who are Churches individually, no matter how remote from one another they may be, constitute one Church collectively. This then is the Church meant by the expression 'the children of Israel' here and in what follows.