ACV9 S30 7450-7487

CLICK TO PRINT READING CLICK TO GO TO COMMENTS 7450 Verses 21-28. And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. And Moses said, It is not meet to do so, for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Jehovah our God; lo, we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians unto their eyes, and will they not stone us? We will go a way of three days into the wilderness, and will sacrifice to Jehovah our God, as He hath said unto us. And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, and ye shall sacrifice to Jehovah your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: supplicate for me. And Moses said, Behold, I go forth from thee, and I will supplicate unto Jehovah that He may remove the noisome fly from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow; only let not Pharaoh mock any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to Jehovah. And Moses went out from before Pharaoh, and he supplicated unto Jehovah. And Jehovah did according to the word of Moses; and He removed the noisome fly from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there was not one left. And Pharaoh made heavy his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go. "And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron" signifies the presence of the law Divine; "and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land," signifies that they would not oppose their worshiping their God, but it must be done in their neighborhood; "and Moses said," signifies the answer; "it is not meet to do so, for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Jehovah our God," signifies that infernal foulness and filthiness would flow in; "lo, we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes," signifies that Divine worship would be infested by such if done in their presence; "and will they not stone us?" signifies that thus they would extinguish the truths of faith which are of worship; "we will go a way of three days into the wilderness," signifies that they would utterly depart so as to be in freedom; "and will sacrifice to Jehovah our God," signifies that in this way there would be worship; "as He hath said unto us," signifies as He has commanded; "and Pharaoh said, I will let you go, and ye shall sacrifice to Jehovah your God in the wilderness," signifies that they would leave them, and not infest them, so that they may worship their God in freedom; "only ye shall not go very far away," signifies although they are in the neighborhood; "supplicate for me," signifies that they should intercede; "and Moses said, Behold, I go forth from thee," signifies the removal of the appearance of truth Divine among them; "and I will supplicate unto Jehovah," signifies intercession; "that He may remove the noisome fly from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people" signifies that there may be an end of this state in respect to the falsities of malevolence; "tomorrow," signifies forever; "only let not Pharaoh mock anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to Jehovah," signifies provided he does not deceive by a lie, and does not [fail to] leave them to worship their God in freedom; "and Moses went out from Pharaoh" signifies the removal of the appearance of truth Divine among those who are in falsities of malevolence; "and he supplicated unto Jehovah," signifies intercession; "and Jehovah did according to the word of Moses," signifies that it was so done according to the word of the Lord; "and he removed the noisome fly from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people," signifies the end of this state of falsity; "there was not one left," signifies a full removal; "and Pharaoh made heavy his heart this time also," signifies obstinacy again; "and he did not let the people go," signifies that they would not leave those who were of the spiritual church. 7451 And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron. That this signifies the presence of the law Divine, is evident from the signification of "calling," as being presence (see n. 6177, 7390); and from the representation of Moses and Aaron, as being the law Divine; Moses the internal law, and Aaron the external law (n. 7381, 7390). 7452 And said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. That this signifies that they would not oppose their worshiping their God, but it must be done in their neighborhood, is evident from the signification of "he said, Go ye," as being that they would not oppose; from the signification of "sacrificing," as being to worship (of which above, n. 7393); and from the signification of "in the land," that is, in the land of Egypt, as being in their neighborhood. That "in the land" denotes in their neighborhood, is plain from the answer of Moses, that it was not meet to do so, for they would sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, but that they would go a way of three days into the wilderness, and sacrifice to Jehovah their God; and also from the reply of Pharaoh, that they should not go very far away (verses 21-23). Thus by "the land" in the internal sense is meant where they are who are in falsities and infest, concerning whose nearness see n. 7090. 7453 And Moses said. That this signifies the answer, see n. 7103, 7394. 7454 It is not meet to do so, for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Jehovah our God. That this signifies that infernal foulness and filthiness would flow in, is evident from the signification of "it is not meet to do so," as being that it cannot be so done; from the signification of "abomination," as being infernal foulness and filthiness; and from the signification of "sacrificing to Jehovah God," as being to worship their God (of which above, n. 7452). Hence by "sacrificing to Jehovah God the abomination of the Egyptians" is signified that they would worship God with a worship which those would abominate who are in falsities from what is infernal contrary to this worship, and which would infest it.[2] How the case stands with this matter is very evident from things that show themselves clearly in the other life. Every spirit, and still more every society, is surrounded with a sphere of the faith and of the life of that spirit or society. This sphere is a spiritual sphere, and by it is known the quality of the spirit, and even better that of the society. For the sphere is perceived by those who have perception, sometimes at a considerable distance; and this although the spirit or the society is in hiding, and does not communicate by thought or by speech. This spiritual sphere may be compared to the material sphere which encompasses the body of a man in the world, which is a sphere of effluvia exuding from him, and is smelled by keen-scented beasts. (Of the spiritual sphere which encompasses spirits, see n. 1048, 1053, 1316, 1504, 1519, 2401, 2489, 4464, 5179, 6206.)[3] From all this it can be seen that if infernal spirits were near where they are who are in Divine worship, they would infest them by their sphere, for in this way they who are in Divine worship would perceive what is shocking and abominable. All this shows how it is to be understood that infernal foulness and filthiness would flow in, if they were to worship God in that neighborhood. From what has been said about the spiritual sphere, or the sphere of faith and life, which exhales from every spirit, and still more from a society of spirits, it can also be seen that nothing whatever is hidden of that which a man in the world has thought, spoken, and done, but that it is in the open; for it is these things which make this sphere. Such a sphere also pours forth from the spirit of a man while he is in the body in the world; and from this his quality is also known. Therefore believe not that the things a man thinks in secret and that he does in secret, are hidden, for they are as clearly shown in heaven as are those which appear in the light of noon, according to the Lord's words in Luke:There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; or hidden that shall not be known; therefore whatsoever ye have said in the darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in bed-chambers, shall be proclaimed upon the housetops (Luke 12:2-3). 7455 Lo, we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes. That this signifies that Divine worship would be infested by such if done in their presence, is evident from the things just unfolded above (n. 7454). 7456 And will they not stone us? That this signifies that they would thus extinguish the truths of faith which are of worship, is evident from the signification of "stoning," as being to extinguish and blot out falsities; but in the opposite sense, when done by the evil, as being to extinguish and blot out the truths of faith. If the infernal foulness and filthiness spoken of above (n. 7454) were to flow in with those who are in the holy of worship, the holy of worship would be extinguished; for the reason that when man is in the holy of worship, he is withheld from such things, and they who are in the good of faith and of life are elevated from the sensuous where such things are; but when such objects flow in, there are then excited the filthy things which are in the sensuous mind (and from which, as just said, the man is withheld when he is in the holy of worship, and they who are in good are being elevated), and thereupon the holy of worship is extinguished. This may also be plain from experience, for if when a man is engaged in Divine worship a filthy object appears, and is not removed, so long as it remains, the worship perishes and is extinguished. This is what is meant by the truths of faith which are of worship being extinguished by those who are in falsities from evils if these were in the neighborhood.[2] As regards the signification of "stoning," be it known that there were two death penalties among the Israelites and Jews, with whom the representative of a church had been instituted