ACV9 S19 7080-7105

CLICK TO PRINT READING 7080. Exodus 5 THE DOCTRINE OF CHARITY In what precedes it has been told what the neighbor is: it is now to be told what the charity or love is which there must be toward the neighbor. 7081. The very life of man is his love; and such as his love is, such is his life; nay, such is the whole man. But it is the ruling or reigning love, that is, the love of that which he has as the end, which makes the man. This love has subordinate to itself many particular and singular loves, which are derivations, and appear under a different shape; but still the ruling love is in each one of them, and directs them, and through them, as through mediate ends, looks to and aims at its end, which is the first and last of them all; and this both directly and indirectly. 7082. There are two things in the natural world which make the life there, namely, heat and light; and there are two things in the spiritual world which make the life there, namely, love and faith. Heat in the natural world corresponds to love in the spiritual world, and light in the natural world corresponds to faith in the spiritual world. Hence it is that when spiritual heat or fire is mentioned, love is meant; and when spiritual light is mentioned, faith is meant. Moreover, love is actually the vital heat of man, for it is known that man grows warm from love; and faith is actually the light of man, for it can be known that man is illumined from faith. 7083. The heat and light in the natural world arise from the sun of the world; but spiritual heat and light, or love and faith, arise from the sun of heaven. The sun of heaven is the Lord; the heat which comes from Him as a sun is love, and the light which comes from Him as a sun is faith. That the Lord is light is evident from these words in John: Jesus said, I am the light of the world, he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12); and that the Lord is a sun is evident in Matthew: When Jesus was transfigured, His face shone as the sun, and His garments became white as the light (Matt. 17:2). 7084. From this correspondence it can also be known how the case is with faith and with love. Faith without love is like light without heat, as is the light of winter; and faith with love is like light with heat, as is the light of spring. That in the light of spring each and all things grow and flower, is known; and also that in the light of winter all things become torpid and die. It is similar with faith and love. 7085. Now as love is the source of man's life, and as the whole man is such as is his love, and also as love is spiritual conjunction, it follows that all in the other life are consociated according to the loves; for everyone's life, that is, his love, follows him. They who are in love toward the neighbor, and in love to God, are consociate in heaven; but they who are in the love of self and the love of the world are consociate in hell; for the love of self is opposite to love to God, and the love of the world is opposite to love toward the neighbor. 7086. It is said "love to God," and there is meant love to the Lord, because in Him is the Trinity, and He is the Lord of heaven, for He has "all power in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18). EXODUS 5 1. And afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said unto Pharaoh, Thus said Jehovah the God of Israel, Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness. 2. And Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah, whose voice I should hear, to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, and also I will not let Israel go. 3. And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us; let us go, we pray, a way of three days into the wilderness, and let us sacrifice to Jehovah our God; lest He fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. 4. And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, draw away the people from their works? Go ye unto your burdens. 5. And Pharaoh said, Behold the people of the land are now many, and ye have made them cease from their burdens. 6. And Pharaoh commanded in that day the taskmasters in the people, and their officers, saying, 7. Ye shall no more give the people straw to make bricks, as yesterday, and the day before yesterday; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8. And the tale of the bricks which they made yesterday and the day before yesterday, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not take away from it; for they are idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. 9. Let the service be made heavier upon the men, and let them do it; and let them not regard the words of a lie. 10. And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spoke to the people, saying, Thus said Pharaoh, I will by no means give you straw. 11. Go ye yourselves, get you straw where ye can find it; for nothing whatever shall be taken away from your service. 12. And the people scattered into all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13. And the taskmasters were urgent, saying, Complete ye your works, the work of a day in its day, as when there was straw. 14. And the officers of the sons of Israel were beaten, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, saying, Wherefore do ye not complete your task in making brick, as yesterday and the day before yesterday, also yesterday, also today? 15. And the officers of the sons of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore doest thou so to thy servants? 16. There is no straw given to thy servants, and they say to us, Make ye bricks; and behold thy servants are beaten; and thy people have sinned. 17. And he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle; therefore ye say, Let us go and sacrifice to Jehovah. 18. And now go ye, serve ye, and straw shall not be given you, and the tale of bricks shall ye give. 19. And the officers of the sons of Israel saw that they were in evil when it was said, Ye shall not take away from your bricks on a day in its day. 20. And they met Moses and Aaron standing to meet them as they went forth from Pharaoh. 21. And they said unto them, Jehovah look upon you, and judge, because ye have made our odor to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword into their hand to slay us. 22. And Moses returned unto Jehovah, and said, Lord, wherefore hast Thou done evilly to this people? Why is this that Thou hast sent me? 23. For since I came unto Pharaoh to speak in Thy name, he hath done evilly to this people; and liberating Thou hast not liberated Thy people. 7087. THE CONTENTS. In this chapter in the internal sense the subject of the infestation by falsities of those who are of the spiritual church is continued. First those who were infesting are treated of-that they paid no attention whatever to the Divine exhortation; and next that afterward they infested still more, by injecting fallacies and fictitious falsities, which those who belonged to the spiritual church could not shake off; and as in this condition they could not remove from themselves those who were infesting, they lamented before the Divine. 7088. THE INTERNAL SENSE. Verses 1-4. And afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said unto Pharaoh, Thus said Jehovah the God of Israel, Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah whose voice I should hear, to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, and also I will not let Israel go. And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us; let us go we pray, a way of three days into the wilderness, and let us sacrifice to Jehovah our God; lest He fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, draw away the people from their works? Go ye unto your burdens. "And afterward Moses and Aaron came," signifies the Divine law and doctrine thence derived; "and said unto Pharaoh," signifies exhortation thence to those who are against the truths of the church; "Thus said Jehovah the God of Israel," signifies that it was from the Divine Human of the Lord; "Let My people go," signifies that they should desist from infesting them; "that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness," signifies that from a glad mind they may worship the Lord in the obscurity of faith in which they are; "and Pharaoh said," signifies contrary thought; "who is Jehovah, whose voice I should hear?" signifies concerning the Lord, to whose exhortation they should hearken; "to let Israel go," signifies that they should desist; "I know not Jehovah," signifies that they care not for the Lord; "and also I will not let Israel go," signifies that neither will they desist from infesting; "and they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us," signifies that the God Himself of the church has commanded; "let us go we pray a way of three days into the wilderness," signifies that they must be in a state quite removed from falsities, although in the obscurity of faith; "and let us sacrifice to Jehovah our God," signifies that they may worship the Lord; "lest He fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword," signifies to avoid damnation of evil and falsity; "and the king of Egypt said unto them," signifies the answer from those who are in falsities; "wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, draw away the people from their works?" signifies that their Divine law and doctrine will not release them from sufferings; "go ye unto your burdens," signifies that they must live in combats. 7089. And afterward Moses and Aaron came. That this signifies the Divine law and the doctrine thence derived, is evident from the representation of Moses, as being the Lord as to the Divine law (see n. 6752); and from the representation of Aaron, as being the doctrine of good and truth (n. 6998). By the Divine law which Moses represents is meant the Word such as it is in its internal sense, thus such as it is in the heavens; but by doctrin