7695. 'And Pharaoh hastened to call Moses and Aaron' means fear at this time of the truth from God. This is clear from the meaning of 'hastening' as acting out of fear, for all haste is the result of some feeling that has been aroused, in this case a feeling of fear, as is evident from Pharaoh's words 'I have sinned against Jehovah your God, and against you; plead with Him to remove from me this death only'; from the representation of 'Pharaoh' as those who engage in molestation, dealt with rather often; and from the representation of 'Moses and Aaron' as the truth from God, 'Moses' being inward truth and 'Aaron' outward truth, dealt with in 7089, 7382.

7088. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verses 1-4 And afterwards Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, Thus said Jehovah, the God of Israel, Send My people away, and let them hold a feast to Me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah whose voice I am to hear, [telling me] to send Israel away? I do not know Jehovah, and moreover I will not send Israel away. And they said, The God of the Hebrews has met us; let us go, we beg you, a way of three days ¹ into the wilderness, and sacrifice to Jehovah our God, lest perhaps He fall on us with pestilence or sword. And the king of Egypt said to them, Why, O Moses and Aaron, do you draw the people away from their work? ² Go to your burdens!

'And afterwards Moses and Aaron came' means the Divine Law and the teachings derived from it. 'And said to Pharaoh' means an admonition from them to those who are opposed to the Church's truths. 'Thus said Jehovah, the God of Israel' means that it comes from the Lord's Divine Human. 'Send My people away' means that they should leave off molesting them. 'And let them hold a feast to Me in the wilderness' means in order that they may worship the Lord with gladness of mind, in the obscurity of faith they live in. 'And Pharaoh said' means thinking that was of a contrary nature. 'Who is Jehovah whose voice I am to hear' means regarding the Lord whose admonition they should listen to. 'To send the people away?' means to leave off [molesting them]. 'I do not know Jehovah' means that they have no interest in the Lord. 'And moreover I will not send Israel away' means that neither are they going to leave off molesting. 'And they said, The God of the Hebrews has met us' means that the God of the Church has Himself issued the command. 'Let us go, we beg you, a way of three days in the wilderness' means that they must be in a state completely removed from falsities, even though they live in obscurity of faith. 'And sacrifice to Jehovah our God' means in order that they may worship the Lord. 'Lest perhaps He fall on us with pestilence and sword' means to avoid the damnation of evil and falsity. 'And the king of Egypt said to them' means the reply from those steeped in falsities. 'Why, O Moses and Aaron, do you draw the people away from their work?' means that their Divine Law and doctrinal teachings must not exempt them from hardship. 'Go to your burdens!' means that they must lead lives involving conflict.

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