Session 20 Overview: In our times of struggle the task masters drive us further into old patterns and ideas that have worked for us in the past but we find that straw is not available which prompts a new search (8 mins)

And Pharaoh said, Behold the people of the land are now many, and ye have made them cease from their burdens. And Pharaoh commanded in that day the taskmasters in the people, and their officers, saying, 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. 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. Let the service be made heavier upon the men, and let them do it; and let them not regard the words of a lie. 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. Go ye yourselves, get you straw where ye can find it; for nothing whatever shall be taken away from your service. And the people scattered into all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. And the taskmasters were urgent, saying, Complete ye your works, the work of a day in its day, as when there was straw. Exodus 5: 5-13 Arcana Coelestia 7106... “And Pharaoh said,” signifies the will of those who infest the truths of the church; “Behold the people of the land are now many,” signifies the multitude of those who are of the spiritual church; “and ye have made them cease from their burdens,” signifies that they have not infested enough; “and Pharaoh commanded in that day,” signifies the cupidity of infesting the truths of the church while in that state; “the taskmasters in the people, and their officers, saying,” signifies those who most closely infest and most closely receive; “Ye shall no more give the people straw,” signifies the lowest memory-knowledges which are the most general of all; “to make bricks,” signifies for the things fictitious and false that will be injected; “as yesterday and the day before yesterday,” signifies not as in the former state “let them go and gather straw for themselves,” signifies that they should procure for themselves these lowest memory-knowledges; “and the tale of bricks, which they made yesterday and the day before yesterday, ye shall lay upon them,” signifies that the things fictitious and false must be injected in abundance as before; “ye shall not take away from it,” signifies without diminution; “for they are idle,” signifies that they are not assaulted enough; “therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God,” signifies that consequently they have so much thought about such worship; “let the service be made heavier upon the men,” signifies that the assault should be increased; “and let them do it,” signifies to obtain the effect; “and let them not regard the words of a lie,” signifies lest they turn to truths. AC 7123... “And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers,” signifies the sending forth and presence of those who most closely infest, and of those who most closely receive; “and they spoke to the people, saying,” signifies perception; “Thus said Pharaoh,” signifies about the infestations; “I will by no means give you straw,” signifies no longer thence the most general memory-knowledges; “Go ye yourselves, get you straw where ye can find it,” signifies that they should procure these for themselves elsewhere, wherever they could; “for nothing whatever shall be taken away from your service,” signifies injections of falsities without diminution; “and the people scattered into all the land of Egypt,” signifies that they overspread the natural mind on every side; “to gather stubble for straw,” signifies to find some truth of memory-knowledge; “and the taskmasters were urgent,” signifies that they who most closely infested were insistent; “saying, Complete ye your works, the work of a day in its day,” signifies that they should serve falsities so called in every state; “as when there was straw,” signifies just as they served their truths so called. The straw AC 7112. Ye shall no more give the people straw. That this signifies the lowest memory-knowledges and the most general of all, is evident from the signification of “chaff” or “straw,” as being truths of memory-knowledge (see n. 3114), and indeed memory-knowledges the lowest and most general of all, for the lowest food in a spiritual sense is straw or chaff, because it is the food of beasts. Those knowledges are called lowest which are full of fallacies of the senses, which the evil abuse to pervert goods and truths, and thus to defend evils and falsities; for on account of fallacies these knowledges can be turned in favor of principles of falsity and of cupidities of evil. Moreover such knowledges are the most general of all, and unless they are filled with truths less general and more particular, they may be of service to falsities and evils, but in proportion as they are filled with truths, they are of less service to them. Such are the knowledges whereby they who in the world have professed faith alone, and yet have lived a life of evil, infest the upright in the other life; but as these knowledges are dispelled by the angels, it is now said that they should not give straw to make brick, that is, that they did not add these to the fictitious and false things that would be injected... That “straw” or “grass” denotes the lowest memory-knowledge, and that “bricks” denote things fictitious and false, can be seen from many considerations; for all herbage and straw have no other signification; but seeds, barley, wheat, and the like denote interior truths and goods; and stones not artificial denote truths. The faith that used to serve us AC 7122...Such infestation is permitted to the end that falsities may be removed, and truths be instilled, which cannot possibly be done without infestation; for after death there clings to a man, and there is in his memories, everything of his thought in the world, of his intention, of his will, of his speech, and of his action, for nothing is obliterated. That these things have been impressed on his memories, especially on the interior memory, which is properly the memory of his spirit, see n. 2469, 2470, 2474, 2475. And this being so, it must needs be that there cling to him things foul and filthy, and also evil and false, from his life in the world; and which cause the truths which the man has also learned, and the goods which he has imbued, to be hidden. For truths and goods cannot come forth among such things; and therefore before truths and goods can appear, and the man be thus associated with those who are in heaven, it is necessary that these evils and falsities be uncovered, so that he may see them and know them, and thus learn what is true and what is good. This cannot possibly be done without combat with the evils and falsities in himself; which combat takes place actually, the evil spirits exciting falsities and evils, and the angels excusing if the end has been good, and instilling truths. This is perceived as if it were in himself, as is the case with temptation in man, which is felt no otherwise than as being in him, when yet it is the combat of angels with evil spirits outside of him (see n. 3927, 4249, 4307, 5036, 6657). That this is so has been granted me to know with certainty from much experience. These things have been said in order that it may be known why infestation by falsities takes place with those who are of the spiritual church, which infestation has been treated of in the above verses, and is treated of also in those which follow. AC 7127. I will by no means give you straw. That this signifies no longer thence the most general memory-knowledges, is evident from the signification of “by no means giving,” as being no longer to furnish; and from the signification of “straw,” as being the most general memory-knowledges of all (see n. 7112). How the case herein is has already been told. But it must be told further, that in the other life those who have been of the church, and have persuaded themselves that faith alone saves, yet have not lived the life of faith, but a life of evil, especially put straw (that is, the most general memory-knowledges of all) before the upright whom they are infesting. These men are of the same character there as they had been in the world; they are acquainted with confirming arguments in favor of faith alone, by which they say that man is saved no matter how he had lived; but these confirming arguments are nothing but reasonings that agree with the given proposition; for everything, even what is most false, can be confirmed by reasonings, and can also be presented to the simple as true, by means of the arts of eloquence and of inference. [2] For this purpose they especially employ such things from the Word as are the most general of all, and which without the internal sense of the word can be drawn to favor any opinion whatever. Such are the things which they put before those who are of the spiritual church; and by means of which they infest them; although they are nothing but chaff or straw for making bricks, for they exclude the most essential thing of all, namely, charity. They indeed say that works of charity are the fruits of faith, but still they make these works of no account, and persuade their hearers that man is saved by faith alone no matter what his life has been, even in life’s last moments; thus by faith without its fruits, consequently without the life of faith and charity. [3] So long as such things are put before the upright in the other life, these wield fighting arguments, and are able to defend themselves, for they see that reasonings are fallacious when the essential, which is charity, is thus excluded, and also when they see that no regard is paid to the life. From everything in the other life, both in general and in particular, they see these things as in clear day. Such then is what is meant by the memory-knowledges