7496. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verses 1-7 And Jehovah said to Moses, Go to Pharaoh, and you are to tell him, Thus said Jehovah the God of the Hebrews, Send My people away, and let them serve Me. For if you refuse to send them away and you still hold them back, behold, the hand of Jehovah will be on your livestock that are in the field, on the horses, on the asses, on the camels, on the herd, and on the flock - an extremely severe pestilence. And Jehovah will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of the Egyptians, and nothing will die of all that belongs to the children of Israel. And Jehovah set a fixed time, saying, Tomorrow Jehovah will do this thing in the land. And Jehovah did this thing on the morrow, and all the livestock of the Egyptians died; and of the livestock of the children of Israel not one died. And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not even one of the livestock of Israel had died. And Pharaoh's heart was stubborn, and he did not send the people away.

'And Jehovah said to Moses' means fresh instruction. 'Go to Pharaoh, and you are to tell him' means the appearance of the truth from God among those engaged in molestation. 'Thus said Jehovah the God of the Hebrews' means a command from the Lord, the God of the Church. 'Send My people away, and let them serve Me' means that they should leave those who belong to the spiritual Church, in order that these may worship the Lord. 'For if you refuse to send them away and you still hold them back' means if they obstinately continued to molest them. 'Behold, the hand of Jehovah will be on your livestock that are in the field' means the laying waste of the truth and good of faith which they had acquired from the Church to which they had belonged. 'On the horses, on the asses, on the camels' means intellectual concepts of and factual knowledge about the truth of faith. 'On the herd, and on the flock' means aspects of the will. 'An extremely severe pestilence' means an overall annihilation. 'And Jehovah will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of the Egyptians' means the difference between the forms of the truth and good of faith of those who belong to the spiritual Church and the forms of the truth and good of faith acquired from the Church which reside with those engaged in molestation. 'And nothing will die of all that belongs to the children of Israel' means that they will not be annihilated. 'And Jehovah set a fixed time' means a predetermining. 'Saying, Tomorrow Jehovah will do this thing in the land' means that this is how it will be with them for evermore, so far as the forms of the truth and good of faith belonging to the Church are concerned. 'And Jehovah did this thing on the morrow' means putting into effect what was predetermined. 'And all the livestock of the Egyptians died' means an annihilation of the truth and good of faith with those engaged in molestation. '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. 'And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not even one of the livestock of Israel had died' means that it was made known to those engaged in molestation. 'And Pharaoh's heart was stubborn' means obstinacy. 'And he did not send the people away means that they did not leave them.