NUMBERS 20      Other translations  -  previous  -  next  -  notes  -  discussion  -  Numbers  -  BM Home  -  Full Page

Numbers Chapter 20

Summary of the Spiritual Sense

1. A change in the state of the church is described, ver. 1.
2. The opposition of the external to the internal man in a state of temptation, involving deficiency as to truths, and a state of discontent, contention and strife, vers. 2-6.
3. There is revelation, that man, as of himself, must exercise the power of interior truth in controlling the natural man, and searching the Word, that the natural man may be refreshed; and, in this case, even the internal man does this from a state of indignation; and yet there is an abundant supply of truths, vers. 7-11.
4. But Divine Good declares that such intelligence and affection cannot lead man to the heavenly state which is entirely from the Lord; and that even the truths of the Word in such circumstances appear to intensify the temptation, vers. 12-13.
5. Concerning the tendency with the man of the church, in temptation, to suppose that natural good which is selfish good, provided there be truths, is a genuine means of leading to the heavenly life, vers. 14-21.
6. Revelation is given that corrupted good, or merely representative worship, or external worship separated from internal, must be rejected, since it can form no part of the heavenly life, vers. 22-29.

1.  The children of Israel, even the whole congregation, or assembly, coming into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, denotes that the man of the church both as to the understanding and will, now passes into another state, which is one of the obscurity of the natural man arising from a tendency to defend the truth, 3654, 7843, 2708, 7828, 7831; Zin means a buckler, and coldness, and therefore denotes an attitude of defending the truth, from selfish impulses, 1788, 34, and a month also signifies what has relation to faith rather than love, 851; the people abiding in Kadesh denotes a state of faith from the general affection of truth, which is also a state of contention about truths, for people denote truths, 1259, abiding, or dwelling, denotes living, 2708, and Kadesh means holy, and denotes truths and contentions about truths, 1678; Miriam means, among other things, the bitter-ness of the sea, and therefore denotes merely natural faith, or truths which are undelightful because there is no affection for good, 8349, 8337; dying denotes the end of a state, 2908; and burial denotes rejection, 4564.

   [Back to 1]

2.  There being no water for the congregation, or rather assembly, denotes that truths appear to fail, 2702; and their assembling together against Moses and against Aaron, denotes that the external man is elevated against the internal, both as to truth and good, because the assembly in relation to their leaders clearly denotes what is external in relation to what is internal, 7843, 7010, 9946.

   [Back to 2]

3.  The people striving with Moses and speaking saying, denotes that the External is arrayed against the Internal from the affection and the perception, 1259, 15,71, 5012; and "Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord," denotes that it would have been better to have yielded to the delights of the merely natural man in previous states of conflict than to suffer this trial, 7507, chap 16:33.

   [Back to 3]

4.  "Why have you brought the assembly, or rather, congregation, of the Lord into this wilderness that we should die there, we and our cattle?" denotes why is this obscurity with those who have truths from the Lord? And why does it appear that good affections both interior and exterior must perish? 7843, 2001, 2708, 2908, 6049.

   [Back to 4]

5.  "Wherefore have you made us to come up out of Egypt to bring us into this evil place?" denotes why had the spiritual man been led from the delights of the natural life into such conditions as this? 7843, 7010, 9946, 6183, 2625; and it being no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; while there was no water to drink, denotes a state in which he is deprived of truth, of good, and of knowledge as to spiritual good internal and external, as well as into a state in which, indeed, even general truths can neither be acquired nor appropriated, 57, 5113¹³, 9552, 2702, 3168.

   [Back to 5]

6.  Moses and Aaron going from the presence of the assembly, or rather congregation, denotes that, in this extremity, interior principles are separated from the merely natural man, 7010, 9946, 3030, 7843; the door of the tent of meeting, denotes communication with essential truth leading to and derived from good, 2356, 3540³; falling upon their faces, denotes entering into a state of profound humility, 1999; and the glory of the Lord appearing to them, denotes the perception of heavenly good and truth from the Lord, 5922.

   [Back to 6]

7.  This is evident, because by Jehovah is denoted the Divine Being as to His love, 2001; by speaking is denoted influx, 2051; by Moses is represented Divine Truth, or the Word, 7010; and by saying is denoted perception, 1822.

   [Back to 7]

8.  Taking the rod, denotes that man, as of himself, must exercise the power of interior truth, 4876; assembling the congregation, or gathering together the assembly, denotes controlling and bringing into order the natural man, 7843; you and Aaron your brother, denotes in reality from Divine Truth and Divine Good, 7010, 0946, 9806; speaking to the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water, denotes that there must be the influx of life from the Lord in searching the Word, so that comforting truth may appear, 2951, 8581⁷, 8582, 2403, 2702; bringing forth the water out of the rock, denotes that thus man may be refreshed, inwardly, 2702, 8581⁷, 7010; and giving the congregation, and their cattle drink, denotes that the natural man may be refreshed inwardly and outwardly, 7843, 6049, 3168.

   [Back to 8]

9.  Moses taking the rod from before the Lord, as He commanded him, denotes that the internal man receives from the Lord the power to resist evil by influx and correspondence, because Moses denotes the internal man, 7010; receiving the rod denotes correspondence, ver. 8; and the Lord commanding denotes influx, 5486.

   [Back to 9]

10.  Moses and Aaron gathering the assembly, or congregation, together before the rock, denotes that the man of the church as to truth and good in a state of temptation, controls and arranges the natural man appealing to the Word, 7010, 9946, 7843, 8581⁷; and saying to them, "Hear now, you rebels; shall we bring you forth water out of this rock?" denotes that, in this case, even the internal man is impelled to obey from a state of indignation; and to search the Word from self-derived intelligence, 1822, 2542, 1668, 8582.

    [Back to 10]

11.  Moses lifting up his hand and smiting the rock with his rod twice, denotes such intelligence and such affection applied to the Word, because by lifting up the hand and the rod is denoted the exercise of power, 5327, 4876, and by Moses smiting the rock twice is denoted the operation of the understanding and the will in a state of indignation, while by the rock is denoted the Word, 8851', 8852 683; the water coming forth abundantly denotes an appearance of abundance of truths, 2702; and the congregation, or assembly, and their cattle drinking, denotes the support of the natural man, internal and external, 7843, 6049, 3168.

    [Back to 11]

12.  The Lord saying to Moses and Aaron, denotes perception given from Divine Good to the man of the corrupted, and merely representative church, or in other words, the dictate of Divine Good concerning such natural intelligence and affection, 2001, 1822, 8582; "Because you believed not me to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel," denotes because they are contrary to true faith in the Lord, which ought to guide the man of the church, in devoting himself outwardly as well as inwardly to the service of the Lord, and this both as to good and truth, 2001, 30, 8042, 2403, 3654; and "therefore you shall not bring this assembly," or rather congregation, "into the land which I have given them," denotes that they cannot lead man to the heavenly state, which is entirely from the Lord, 7843, 8898, 8899.

    [Back to 12]

13.  These being the waters of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and He was sanctified in them, denotes that even the truths of the Word, under such influence, seem to intensify temptation and not to remove it, by a state of continual contention and strife, while yet it is the evil of the natural man, which causes the temptation by opposing Divine Good; and it is the Lord Himself who really delivers man, and brings the Natural into harmony with the Spiritual, 2702, 1678, 3654, 2001, 1571, 2768, 8042.

    [Back to 13]

14.  Here Moses denotes those who are in representative worship merely external as the content of the internal sense shows, ver. 12; his sending messengers from Kadesh, denotes persuasion from the natural affection of truth, 1678, 2503, 4239; the king of Edom denotes natural good, which is selfish good, to which truths are adjoined, 3322; his saying "your brother" Israel, denotes the assumption that natural good is a genuine means of leading to the heavenly life in conjunction with spiritual good, 3815, 3654; and " you know all the travail that has befallen us," denotes that it is in the natural life that regeneration is effected, 3322, 3318.

    [Back to 14]

15.  "How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians evil entreated us and our fathers," denotes that the man of the church is instructed, and apparently supported by this persuasion, while yet natural love merely is opposed to, and destructive of spiritual love, both as to understanding and evil, 1461, 6169, 2712, 6666, 3703².

    [Back to 15]

16.  Crying to the Lord denotes supplication, 6801; the Lord hearing their voice denotes that by His love and truth He delivers man, 6802, 6803, 4085; an angel denotes what is from the Divine, and thus love and truth, 4085; bringing the Israelites out of Egypt denotes deliverance from the bondage of merely natural love, 8866; and being in Kadesh, a city in the border of Edom, denotes being endowed with the affection of truth which is intermediate between the natural and spiritual man, 1678, 402, 3322, 8063.

    [Back to 16]

17.  "Let us, I pray you, pass through your land," denotes that in the temptation the man of the church desires to enjoy the delights of the merely natural life, 3322, 3992; "we will not pass through field or vineyard, neither will we drink of the water of the wells," denotes that he is willing to avoid its evils and its falsities, and even its appearances of truth from the Word by which he is supported, 4440, 5117¹⁰, 3168, 2702; "we will go by the king's high way," denotes to be willing to be guided by the leading principles of the Word, 3335, 1672, 2234; "we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left," denotes to continue in the path of rectitude, without being diverted by evils or errors, 4816, 9511; and "until we have passed your border," denotes to keep free from the evils of the world while passing through it, 3322, 3992, 8063.

    [Back to 17]

18.  By Edom saying, "You shall not pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against you," is denoted that the corrupted natural man is utterly opposed to the spiritual man, and desires his destruction by means of falsities derived from evil, 3322, 1822, 3992, 8187, 2799¹⁵.

    [Back to 18]

19.  The children of Israel saying to him, "We will go by the high way," denotes that in spite of this warning the temptation of the spiritual man continues, and he thinks he will pursue the path of rectitude, 3654, 1822, 3335, 1672, 2234; "if we drink of the water, I and my cattle," denotes that if he imbibes false doctrines internal and external, 3168, 2702, 3654, 6049; "then will I give the price thereof," denotes that his redemption is still secure, 2959, 2966; and "let me only, without doing any thing else, pass through on my. feet," denotes that he is still persuaded that he may gratify his natural man, and yet suffer no injury, 4997, 3992, 2162.

    [Back to 19]

20.  His saying, "You shall not pass through"; and Edom coming out against him with much people, and with a strong hand, denotes that the truth dictates that this cannot be; and that the natural man is utterly opposed to man's spiritual progress, both in affection and thought, 3322, 3992, 8187, 8279, 1259, 8050.

    [Back to 20]

21.  By Edom refusing to give Israel a passage through his border; and by Israel turning away from him, is denoted that the spiritual man is led to see the true character of the corrupted Natural; that he cannot make progress in the spiritual life by tampering with it; and that he must, therefore, separate himself, and advance by means of uncontaminated truths, 3322, 3993, 8063, 6226.

    [Back to 21]

22.  The children of Israel, even the whole congregation, or rather assembly, journeying from Kadesh, and coming to mount Hor, denotes that following this temptation, as to truth and as to good, is a change of state from the affection, or from the good, of truth, to a further state of desolation arising from the corrupted natural man, 3654, 7843, 1457, 1678, 1675⁴.

    [Back to 22]

23.  The Lord speaking to Moses and to Aaron, saying, denotes influx from the Lord as to truth and as to good giving perception, 2001, 2951, 7010, 9946, 1822; and in mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, denotes in a state of desolation arising from the corrupted natural man, 1675⁴, ver. 16.

    [Back to 23]

24.  "Aaron shall be gathered to his people," denotes that corrupted or merely representative worship, or external worship separated from internal, must be rejected, 8588, 9928, 3255, 4619; "for he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the children of Israel," denotes since it can form no part of the truly heavenly life which is from the Lord, 8898, 8899; and "because you rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah," denotes because it is contrary to Divine Truth; causes a disregard or misunderstanding of internal promptings; and provokes contention and strife about truths, 2001, 1288, vers. 8, 13.

    [Back to 24]

25.  "Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up to mount Hor," denotes that thus corrupted worship, and the appearances of truth by which it is supported, must be completely desolated, 8588, 9928, 9812, 9813, 1675⁴.

    [Back to 25]

26.  "Strip Aaron of his garments and put them upon Eleazar his son," denotes that those who are in such worship must be deprived of the truths by means of which they have been able to simulate true worship, a new arrangement of those truths with those who are in truth conjoined with good following, 8588, 9928, 4741, 9952, 9812, 9813; and "Aaron shall be gathered to his people, and shall die there," denotes that those in external worship without internal must be associated with their like in the life eternal; and that such worship must be entirely rejected, 3255, 4619, 10244.

    [Back to 26]

27.  Moses doing as the Lord commanded, and their going up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation, denotes that this actually happens according to Divine Order, and that corrupted worship is desolated, this being fully perceived by the regenerated man, 7010, 4258, 5486, 1728, 1675, 2403, 7843.

    [Back to 27]

28.  Moses stripping Aaron of his garments, and putting them upon Eleazar his son, denotes that those who are in merely external worship are deprived of truths; and that those who are in genuine worship are fully supplied with them, ver. 26; Aaron dying there in the top of the mount, denotes that corrupted worship is vastated even as to its inmost things, ver. 26, 8827; and Moses and Eleazar coming down from the mount, denotes that Divine Good and Divine Truth conjoined cease to be desolated, 7010, 9946, 5637, 1675.

    [Back to 28]

29.  The congregation, or rather, the assembly, seeing that Aaron was dead, and weeping for him thirty days even all the house of Israel, denotes that when, with the man of the church, a prior state passes away and a new state succeeds, there is mourning on account of lost truth, because good now triumphs, and the affection of truth, as well as the affection of good, is distressed, 7843, ver. 28, 2910, 3608, 6539, 9082, 2233, 4286.

    [Back to 29]

Discussion

Wonderful are the changes of state through which the man of the church passes in the course of his regeneration; and such a change is described in the beginning of this chapter. Hence, then, from the correspondences we shall be able to realize whether we have been in anything like this state. To begin with, it was an obscure state signified by a wilderness; and it clearly appears that it was a state of faith and not so much a state of charity, because that is the signification of a month, which has relation to the moon, as a state of charity or love has to the sun. And just as the moon derives her light from the sun, so does faith take its quality from love and charity, and also from selfish and worldly love, when it is influenced by those loves. Many times in his life does a man use his faith for selfish purposes; and this is just the state here described. For Zin means a buckler and also coldness, a buckler, of course, corresponding to the faith which defends like a shield, as Paul says, and coldness to the absence of love, with, at the same time, the activity of selfishness.

But this is only the state of the external man, while what follows describes something more interior. For by the people abiding in Kadesh, which means what is holy, is denoted such a state, and by Miriam dying there is denoted the cessation of faith merely natural. But still this interior state was by no means a perfect one, since there was contention about truths, and this also is signified by Kadesh. Now all these things are shown in the places to which reference is given; and it is only necessary to add that all such fluctuating experiences as these, are, of course, the result of the continued activity of the selfish affections on the one hand, and of the love of truth on the other.

Proceeding, however, a step further, we notice that the temptation continues and becomes intensified; for truths fail with the spiritual man, and this is aptly represented by a scarcity of water. In the literal sense the want of water under the circumstances described was a very great calamity, because of the two general uses it serves. For it is both a cleanser and also a nourisher. No wonder, therefore, that the people were discontented and complained. But, spiritually, water corresponds to the truth of the Word, and many illustrations of this are to be met with in various parts of Scripture; but perhaps none are more interesting than the account of the Lord's conversation with the woman of Samaria at Jacob's well. "Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again: but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." That is, merely natural truth does not satisfy the soul of man; but spiritual truth does so, and its only source is the Lord God the Saviour. And as water signifies the truth of the Word, so the two uses of water correspond respectively to purification from sin, and the nourishment of the soul; for by the truth we overcome evil, and by it also our spiritual life is supported as we journey through the wilderness of this world to the celestial state of heavenly love. And really it is a very grand thing for the man of the church when he thirsts for the living waters of Divine Truth. And it is a good thing for him when he is very eager for it, even though there may be contention and strife in attaining to it on account of the waywardness and contrariety of his natural affections. We may study with advantage, therefore, the internal sense of this section as given in the series, and particularly the interior state of the spiritual man under the circumstances.

Here, then, are four things. When the natural man is so active as just described, interior principles are drawn inwards, and these are represented by Moses and Aaron, for those principles are Divine Truth and Divine Good. Secondly, they approach the door of the tent of meeting, signifying that there is communication with essential truth derived from good, or, in other words, with the Lord, Who is the door. Thirdly, there is a state of humiliation before the Lord, denoted by falling upon the face. And, lastly, there is revelation, or the perception of heavenly good and truth, denoted by the glory of the Lord appearing. And this verse, therefore, while cohering with the series, at the same time exhibits what happens in the general course of regeneration. For, first, there must be with all who are regenerated, separation from evil; secondly, there must be the acknowledgement of the Lord; thirdly, a state of humiliation will follow involving the confession that man, of himself, is nothing but evil; and, lastly, there will be the reception of truth and goodness. And this is very often the case in the internal sense of the Word, one striking example of which is Matt, xxv., which, as a whole, is descriptive of the process of the Judgement, each of the three parts into which it is divided presenting an aspect of that process, while yet describing it fully; and yet the three parts taken together denoting Judgement as to the affections; as to the intellect, and as to the actions of the life.

The third section presents us with another picture, however, and is worthy of careful study. And, first, it is to be observed that the rod or staff, which was taken by Moses on this occasion, was the rod of Aaron, and, therefore, denoted truth from good in its power; and it is said, therefore, that man as of himself must exercise the power of interior truth, because it is afterwards said that Moses took the rod from before the Lord, the act of taking it according to the command of the Lord, denoting reciprocal action on the part of man and thus the correspondence of man with the Lord, and of the external man with the internal, when man willingly obeys the Lord, 4876³, for there can only be this correspondence, when man acts as of himself, and it is broken when man presumes to act of himself and is disobedient to the Lord. And indeed this is a most important distinction, as the story shows, since afterwards Moses disobeyed by striking the rock instead of speaking to it, and thus acted of himself and not as of himself, and consequently he and Aaron lost the privilege of entering into the promised land, for the latter evidently acted with the former, because Moses said, "Shall we bring you forth water out of this rock?" Hence, then, spiritually, when we act according to the Divine commandments, we act as of ourselves in the proper exercise of our freedom and reason; but when we disobey we act of ourselves through the abuse of our freedom and reason. And hence, also, we see that it is willing obedience that gives correspondence and conjunction with the Lord, and not an imperfect obedience such as is here illustrated by Moses striking the rock, and not speaking to it as he had on this occasion been told to do. Let us beware, therefore, of acting selfishly, either in regard to the worship of the Lord in the sanctuary, or in performing the various uses of life.

And again, we may also reflect on the fact that although Moses disobeyed, yet the water came forth abundantly from the rock. Why was this? It was because there was a partial obedience; and because, in the best sense, striking the rock twice corresponded to obedience both as to the understanding and will, and from humility of heart, and not from a hard heart, 3582, and even representative obedience had its correspondential effect at that time. Also, spiritually, an outward act of obedience to the laws of Divine Order produces a good result, and hence a man may from selfish and worldly motives perform many uses for the benefit of others, study the Word, learn its truths, and even preach and teach truths, and thus be a means of much good to others, without himself loving the good and the true, and so practising them as to be regenerated thereby. And this is really the meaning of the words of Paul when he said, "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity it profits me nothing" (1 Cor 13:2-3).

But the next short section shows all these truths in a remarkable way, and also how the best of men may be betrayed, in states of temptation and trial, into actions, which in their hearts they yet despise and abominate. And also with regard to Moses and Aaron not being allowed to enter into the promised land, we are clearly to understand that this historical fact represented that merely natural truths and love cannot enter into the heavenly kingdom; but must be fully rejected by man in the course of his regeneration, while yet the spiritual or celestial natural man does enjoy all heavenly delights in the ultimate degree of his life, because the new natural degree in every regenerated man is from the internal or spiritual, and thus "the old natural, being formed of evils and falsities, must become as nothing, and when it becomes as nothing the man is gifted with a new natural, which is called the spiritual natural, spiritual from the circumstance that the spiritual is what acts by its means, and manifests itself by it, as the cause by the effects; and it is well known that the cause is the all of the effect; hence the new natural, as to thinking, willing, and producing effect, is merely a representative of the spiritual. When this is the case the man receives good from the Lord, and when he receives good, he is gifted with truths, and when he is gifted with truths, he is perfected in intelligence and wisdom, and when he is perfected in intelligence and wisdom, he is blessed with happiness to eternity," 5651⁴. And now it is proper to add that we are not to infer from the circumstance that Moses and Aaron did not enter Canaan, that neither did they enter heaven after death; for at any rate we know that Moses did so (Matt 17:3). But with regard to the second part of the section, namely, that the truth appears to cause contention and strife, experience shows that this is the case so long as men are in the state of truth leading to good, because the man of the church, as he advances in regeneration, becomes more and more anxious about the attainment of genuine truths; and besides this, the states of men vary so much, and freedom requires that each should form his own conception of the truth, which presents itself under a different aspect to every one according to his prevailing state as to good; and the imperfection of the merely natural man intensifies these differences, until self is subdued, and charity begins to prevail.

But now we see in what follows, that the spiritual man is not only troubled in the course of his regeneration, by contentions about truths; for he is also persuaded that the merely natural affections will help him on the way to heaven. And all the particulars given, therefore, in this fifth section are really very interesting. And to begin with, how striking is this message of Moses to the king of Edom, as a description of the way in which we all desire, on our spiritual journey, to temporize and tamper with the merely natural man. In fact, we are quite charmed with him, because we have truths through his means; for it does appear to be the case, because, surely, the spiritual and the natural man are brothers! In the best sense indeed it is so; but, all the same, this thought of the regenerating man, which appears to be spiritual, is in reality from the merely natural. And here we may note how very insidious are our spiritual enemies, as they operate by influx upon us through our merely natural feelings, which seem to be quite proper! Here, then, is an important lesson for us.

And now just mark what follows. This natural man has been well instructed. He knows all about us. And no wonder, indeed, because it has been under his influence that we have acquired our first experiences of the spiritual life. For the oppression of the Egyptians has been very great, and we cannot forget it. It arose from two sources. Our natural delights were then so strong that they compelled our obedience to them; and also the king of Egypt, or the truth as we then knew it, was exceedingly distasteful, so that our obedience to it also was a sore trial. How disagreeable was it for us even to learn truths against our inclinations, and much more so to comply outwardly and unwillingly with their requirements! Yes, we remember it all; and that, also, these first troubles were not the worst, but that others followed, for there was the brick making, and the building, or the activity of the merely natural understanding and will with their vain thoughts and their foolish imaginations. And, secondly, we cannot forget the time when our deliverer came in the form of Divine Truth, or the Word, signified by Moses, and the Spirit of the Lord operating through it and causing our spiritual enemies to let us go free, that we might worship the Lord, even though in the wilderness, or very obscurely.

And yet now here we are, tampering with the old enemy in a new guise. For he is no longer an Egyptian, but an Edomite, and our brother. And we think we can travel through his country either without imbibing his falsities, or if we do so, by paying a fair price and receiving no injury; for we persuade ourselves that we will go by the king's high way; and we will be very conscientious. Now how many of us, spiritual men although we have been, have deluded ourselves in this way, by supposing that the merely natural man so well instructed, can not only do us no harm, but help us greatly. But now, lastly, we learn how this experience may be good for us. For the temptation brings out the real character of merely natural love, which is essentially selfish; the spiritual man now sees this; and he turns another way by determining to make progress by means of uncontaminated principles of real truth and goodness. Let every man of the church, therefore, so determine.

Coming now to the last section, it is to be observed that an entirely different subject occurs in the literal sense. But in the internal sense there is a connection; for it is evident that after the regenerating man has passed through the temptations described by the deficiency of water and the desire to pass through Edom, which denote, respectively, contentions concerning truths, and the delusion that merely natural good is conducive to regeneration, it naturally follows in the series, that external worship separated from internal is rejected, which is represented by the death of Aaron on mount Hor. And, first, it is said that the children of Israel journeyed from Kadesh to mount Hor, to denote a change of state from the affection of truth in which there has been contention, to another state of temptation, in which there is desolation as to truth and good, because Hor means, in the best sense, that which conceives or shows, and also a mountain, thus denoting an elevated state; but in the opposite sense a state of desolation, 1675⁴; and as, moreover, mount Hor was upon the border of Edom, it thus denotes the influence of the merely natural man, ver. 16. And we now see, therefore, why mount Hor was the place where Aaron died, and where Eleazar took his place.

But, of course, the main spiritual teaching in this section is the change of state as to worship, and the consequent transfer of truths from those who are in merely representative and external worship to those who are in genuine worship. Or, to express it with regard to the individual, it is a change in which truths are no longer used for selfish purposes, and in which they are used entirely for the glory of the Lord and the general good of mankind. For he only truly worships the Lord, who truly devotes his life to the service of man; and we say truly because the man who is without truths, although he may have the desire, is not properly supplied with the means of doing good. Hence, therefore, the great lesson to be learned from this section is, that if we wish to preserve our truths, we must diligently cultivate unselfishness, for it is one of the fundamental laws of human life that, in the perfect heavenly state, our truths must be in complete harmony with our state as to love and charity, and consequently in complete harmony with our eternal capacity for the performance of uses.