8315. 'The powerful ones of Moab' means those leading a life of falsity resulting from that love. This is clear from the meaning of 'the powerful ones' as ruling and predominant elements; and from the representation of 'Moab' as people who are governed by natural good yet easily allow themselves to be led into error, dealt with in 2468, thus who lead a life of falsity as a result. For people governed by natural good and not by good that springs from the truth of faith, thus who are not governed by spiritual good, allow themselves to be carried away into believing any falsities whatever, and so into living in accordance with them. They are carried away from truths to falsities, in particular by ones that accord with the kinds of love they have. These are the people that 'Moab' serves to mean. Those governed by natural and not by spiritual good cannot at all be led by any influx from heaven, see 3470, 3471, 3518, 4988, 4992, 5032, 6208, 7197, 8002. The word used in the original language to express 'powerful ones' refers to those strong in truth that is grounded in good, and in the contrary sense to those strong in falsity that is rooted in evil. The word is used in the latter sense in Ezekiel 31:11; 2 Kings 24:15.

5032. 'As his lord heard his wife's words which she spoke to him' means the communication of falsity which looked like the truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'hearing the words' as communication, for 'hearing' means discerning, 5017, and so being communicated; from the meaning of 'wife' as unspiritual natural truth, dealt with already, though in this case falsity is meant. Actual false-speaking is meant by the things she told him, as above in 5024, and the one to which the falsity is communicated is unspiritual natural good, meant here by 'his lord', as above in 5023. The idea that to that good this falsity looked like the truth is clear from what follows below.

[2] Dealt with here is the fact that unspiritual natural good is easily convinced, so easily that to it falsity looks altogether like truth. For what unspiritual natural good is and what it is like - that is, who those people are with whom that good resides, and what they are like - see above in 4988, 4992, 5008, 5013, 5028. In these places it is shown that they are those who by heredity and consequently adventitiously are disposed to be meek and upright, and so who do what is good from some natural inclination and not from any religious motive. Doing good from some natural inclination is entirely different from doing it from a religious motive. In the world a person cannot distinguish one from the other because he is not immediately aware of inward things; but in the next life he can clearly tell the difference because in that world inward things are laid bare. There thoughts, intentions, and ends in view reveal themselves, being laid bare as if in broad daylight.

[3] This being so I have been allowed to know what those people are like with whom unspiritual good resides and what those are like with whom spiritual good resides. Those with whom unspiritual natural good resides allow themselves to be persuaded by no matter whom, easily so by the evil, for evil spirits and genii are in their element or their life's delight when they can get into another's desires; and once they have entered them they allure that person into every kind of evil. For at such times they convince him that what is false is true. This they can easily do to those with whom unspiritual natural good resides. They cannot do the same to those with whom spiritual good resides because these know from within themselves what evil and falsity are. The reason for this is that when those with whom spiritual good resides lived in the world they welcomed whatever doctrine prescribed, and disciplined their internal man in the same, thereby enabling heaven to act upon their internal man. But when those with whom unspiritual natural good resides lived in the world they did not welcome anything prescribed by doctrine or discipline their internal man in the same. Consequently they have nothing laid down in them into which heaven can operate, but whatever enters them from heaven passes straight through; and when this enters the natural man it is not welcomed there because evil ones, that is, the devil's crew, instantly remove it by smothering it, or repelling it, or perverting it.

[4] Therefore those whose good is wholly natural suffer severely in the next life. Sometimes they complain profusely about being among those in hell even though, they believe, they have done good, just as has everyone else. But they have been told that in their doing of good they were no different from harmless living creatures that are not endowed with reason. They had shown no concern, they are told, for anything good and true that is known to the Church; and since, as a consequence of this, nothing existed in their internal man to receive what was good and true, they now have nothing enabling angels to protect them. Furthermore, under a cloak of goodness, they had performed very many evil deeds.

3956. 'And Leah said, God has given me my reward, because I gave my servant-girl to my husband' in the highest sense means Divine Good wedded to Truth, and Truth wedded to Good; in the internal sense heavenly conjugial love; and in the external sense mutual love. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'reward'. 'Reward' is mentioned in various places in the Word, but few know what is meant there by 'reward'. It is well known in the Churches that man can merit nothing through the good deeds which he performs, for the good deeds which he performs are not his but the Lord's, and that merit-seeking or the earning of merit has man himself in view and so joins itself to self-love and to thought of superiority over others, consequently to contempt for others. Works therefore which are done for the sake of reward are not good in themselves since they do not spring from a genuine source, that is to say, out of charity towards the neighbour. Charity towards the neighbour holds within itself the desire that the neighbour will fare as well as oneself, and in the case of the angels the desire that he will fare better than themselves. Such is the nature of the affection that goes with charity. Consequently the affection that goes with charity loathes all idea of merit and so every good action done with a view to reward. Reward for people who have charity consists in their having the ability to do good, in being allowed to do it, and in the recipient's willing acceptance of it. This is the actual delight, indeed blessing, that is present with people with whom the affection that goes with charity exists.

[2] This shows what is meant by 'reward' which is mentioned in the Word, namely the delight and blessing belonging to the affection that goes with charity, or what amounts to the same, the delight and blessing belonging to mutual love, 3816, for the affection that goes with charity is one and the same as mutual love; see what has been stated already on these matters in 1110, 1111, 1774, 1835, 1877, 2027, 2273, 2340, 2373, 2400. From these paragraphs it is evident that at this point 'reward' in the external sense means mutual love. In the sense higher than this, which is the internal sense, 'reward' means heavenly conjugial love, as may be seen from what has been stated already about the heavenly marriage in 2618, 2739, 2741, 2803, 3024 (end), 3132, 3952 - that is to say, it is the joining together of good and truth, and mutual love is the offspring of that conjunction or marriage, 2737, 2738. From all this one may see that in the internal sense 'reward' means heavenly conjugial love.

[3] As regards 'reward' meaning in the highest sense Divine Good wedded to Truth, and Truth wedded to Good, this is evident from the fact that from these comes the heavenly marriage. For that union of the two exists within the Lord and proceeds from Him; and when it passes into heaven, the conjugial relationship between good and truth is effected, and through this relationship mutual love exists. From what has been stated here and in what has gone before one may see what is meant in the internal sense by these words spoken by Leah, 'God has given me my reward, because I gave my servant-girl to my husband'; 'a servant-girl' has meant an affirmative means that serves in the joining together of the external man and the internal man, 3913, 3917, 3931. So until those things meant by the sons of the servant-girls have been affirmed and acknowledged no joining together of good and truth, and so no mutual love, is able to come about, for those affirmations must of necessity come first. These are the considerations meant by these words.