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And he said, In me, my Lord, send I pray by the hand Thou wilt send. And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses, and He said, Is there not Aaron, thy brother, the Levite? I know that speaking he will speak. And also behold he goeth forth to meet thee; and he will see thee, and he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and shalt put the words in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall speak for thee unto the people; and it shall be that he shall be to thee for a mouth, and thou shalt be to him for God. And thou shalt take in thy hand this rod, wherewith thou shalt do the signs. And Moses went, and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, Let me go, I pray, and return unto my brethren who are in Egypt, and I shall see whether they yet live. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. And Jehovah said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt; because all the men seeking thy soul are dead. And Moses took his wife and his sons, and made them ride upon the ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt; and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.
Exodus 4:13-20
Divine Truth is immediate and truth Divine is meditate
Arcana Coelestia 6998…for by Moses is represented the Lord as to the Divine truth which proceeds immediately from the Lord; consequently by Aaron, the Divine truth which proceeds mediately from the Lord, and which is the doctrine of good and truth. That truth which Moses here represents is truth which cannot be heard or perceived by man (n. 6982); but the truth which Aaron represents is truth which can be both heard and perceived by man; hence Aaron is called the “mouth,” and Moses his “God;” and hence Aaron is called a “Levite,” for by a “Levite” is signified the doctrine of good and truth of the church, which ministers to and serves the priesthood.
AC 7009… It is said the truth of doctrine which also proceeds mediately from the Lord, because the truth of doctrine, which is represented by Aaron, is such as is heard and perceived by angels and men. This truth is what proceeds mediately from the Lord; but the truth which is represented by Moses, is that which proceeds from the Lord immediately, and is not heard or perceived by men, nor even by angels (n. 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004).
6996[3] That the Divine truth proceeding immediately from the Lord cannot be heard or perceived, is also evident from the correspondences and derivative representatives; namely, that the things a man speaks are presented quite differently with spirits; and the things spirits speak, quite differently with the angels. This can be seen from the spiritual sense of the Word and its literal sense, in that the literal sense, which is adapted to man, is significative and representative of the things which are in the spiritual sense; while this latter sense is not perceptible to man except insofar as it can be presented and expressed by such things as are of the world and of nature; and still less the angelic sense. What then must be the case with the Divine truth proceeding immediately from the Divine of the Lord, which is infinitely above the angelic understanding, and which is not perceptible in heaven except insofar as it passes through heaven, and so puts on a form adapted and suited to the perception of those who are there, which is effected by means of a wonderful influx, not at all comprehensible to anyone! These things have been said in order that it may be known that the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord cannot be heard or perceived by anyone, except through mediations.
Fear of Jehovah’s anger arises from the response of the proprium to truth
AC 6997. And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses. That this signifies clemency, is evident from the signification of “the anger of Jehovah,” as not being anger, but the opposite of anger, thus mercy, and here clemency. That Jehovah has not any anger is evident from the fact that He is love itself, good itself, and mercy itself; and anger is the opposite, and also is a weakness, which cannot be applicable to God; and therefore when in the Word “anger” is predicated of Jehovah or the Lord, the angels do not perceive anger, but either mercy or the removal of the evil from heaven; here clemency, because it is said to Moses, by whom is represented the Lord as to Divine truth when He was in the world.
[2] That in the Word “anger” is attributed to Jehovah or the Lord is because it is a most general truth that all things come from God, thus evil things as well as good. But this most general truth, which must be taught to children, youths, and the simple, should afterward be illustrated, that is, by showing that evils are from man, though they appear as if from God, and that it is so said in order that they may learn to fear God, lest they should perish by the evils which they themselves do; and afterward may love Him; for fear must precede love in order that in love there may be holy fear. For when fear is instilled in love, it becomes holy from the holy of love; and then it is not fear of the Lord’s being angry and punishing, but lest they should act against good itself, because this will torment the conscience.
…it is plain that by the “anger of Jehovah” are signified punishments and damnations. That by “anger” is meant clemency and mercy, is because all the punishments of the evil arise from the mercy of the Lord toward the good, lest these should be harmed by the evil; yet the Lord does not impose the punishments on them, but they do so upon themselves, for in the other life evils and punishments are conjoined together. Especially do the evil impose punishments on themselves when the Lord does mercy to the good, for then evils increase upon them, and consequently punishments. It is from this that instead of the “anger of Jehovah,” by which are signified the punishments of the evil, the angels understand mercy.
[7] From all this it can be seen what is the nature of the Word in the sense of the letter, and also what Divine truth is in its most general form, namely, that it is according to appearances; and this for the reason that man is such that what he sees and apprehends from his sensuous, he believes; and what he does not see nor apprehend from his sensuous, he does not believe; thus does not receive. Hence it is that the Word in the sense of the letter is according to things that so appear; and yet it has genuine truths stored up in its inward bosom; and in its inmost bosom, the truth Divine itself which proceeds immediately from the Lord; thus also Divine good, that is, the Lord Himself.
Finite understanding of truth is like ‘specks in the atmosphere’
AC 7004… For each and all things are from the First being, and the order has been so instituted that the First being may be present in the derivatives both mediately and immediately, thus alike in the ultimate of order and in its first; for the Divine truth itself is the one only substantial, the derivatives being nothing but successive forms thence derived. From this also it is plain that the Divine flows immediately also into each and all things, because all things have been created from the Divine truth, the Divine truth being the one only essential (n. 6880), thus that from which all things are. The Divine truth is what is called “the Word” in John: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word; all things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made (John 1:1-2). By such influx the Lord leads man not only by providence in the universal, but also in every singular, nay, in the veriest singulars of all. For these reasons it is said that the things which are uttered proceed from the Divine Human. [3] That there is an immediate influx of the Lord where there is also a mediate, thus in the last of order equally as in the first of order, has been told me from heaven, and a living perception of it has been given; also that what is effected by mediate influx, that is, through heaven and the angels there, is relatively very little; and further, that the Lord leads heaven by means of immediate influx, and at the same time by means of it keeps all things there in their connection and order.
7007…man’s own prudence is like a few specks of dust in the atmosphere, and Providence like the whole atmosphere
Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.