9371. THE INTERNAL SENSE.

Verses 1-2. And He said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah, thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and bow yourselves afar off; and Moses, he alone, shall come near unto Jehovah; and they shall not come near; and the people shall not come up with him. “And He said unto Moses,” signifies that which concerns the Word in general; “come up unto Jehovah,” signifies conjunction with the Lord; “thou and Aaron,” signifies the Word in the internal sense and the external sense; “Nadab and Abihu,” signifies doctrine from both senses; “and seventy of the elders of Israel,” signifies the chief truths of the church which are of the Word, or of doctrine, and which agree with good; “and bow yourselves afar off,” signifies humiliation and adoration from the heart, and then the influx of the Lord; “and Moses, he alone, shall come near unto Jehovah,” signifies the conjunction and presence of the Lord through the Word in general; “and they shall not come near,” signifies no separate conjunction and presence; “and the people shall not come up with him,” signifies no conjunction whatever with the external apart from the internal.

To roast something is, in Biblical culinary terms, to cook it over a fire. Fire represents the Lord's infinite love for all things, so roasting food means producing the desire for what is good and actual good works from the love we feel from the Lord. This is used most often in reference to meat, particularly meat for sacrifices. It is also, however, used occasionally in reference to a drying process for grain; young David, for instance, was delivering “roasted” or “parched” grain to his brothers when he saw Goliath. This dried grain represents the desire for good that springs from a love of others; green grain represents the desire for good that comes from an understanding of what is true. This can be tricky, because many translations (including the King James Version) use “parched” for grain prepared this way, and also for people and things dried out by desert heat and wind, which has a separate meaning.

In Exodus 12:8, this signifies good which is from love, for fire signifies love. (Arcana Coelestia 7852)

In Isaiah 44:16, this signifies to operate from a filthy love. (Arcana Coelestia 7852[3])

In Exodus 12:9, this signifies to enjoy the good that comes from love, but not that which comes from the truth of faith. (Arcana Coelestia 7857)

5579. When they had finished the eating of the produce. That this signifies when truths failed, is evident from the signification of “produce,” as being truth (see n. 5276, 5280, 5292, 5402); that truth failed is signified by their “finishing the eating of it.” Those who are in the spiritual world are sated with things true and good, for these are their food (n. 5576); but when these have served their purpose, they come again into want. This is as with the nourishment of man by material food when this has fulfilled its use, hunger comes on again. The hunger that is a need of spiritual things, in the spiritual world is evening or the twilight of their day; but after it comes daybreak and morning. Thus there are alternations there. They come into that evening or into spiritual hunger, in order that they may feel hungry and long for truths and goods, which yield them more nourishment when they are hungry, just as does material food to one who is famishing. From all this it is evident what is meant by the need of spiritual things when truths failed.