Exodus 16:10 – Word Study

And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.

Discussion:

This is a beautiful scene with a beautiful meaning: Swedenborg says this shows the people of Israel receiving instruction from the Lord, and regarding their state of temptation with new eyes, eyes that can see the Lord's true purposes. The cloud is a fascinating part of the image; it shows that we cannot perceive the Lord's guidance directly, much as we can't look at the sun directly, but can see it when it is diffused through many tiny water droplets, which represent simple ideas that we can grasp.

This is something we can in a small degree experience in states of prayer or deep consideration: We can sense an idea of such power and breadth that it is breathtaking, but find we don't have adequate words to express it. There is a sense of something profound but inexpressible that is driving everything -- and we can only see it through a cloud.

Passages from Swedenborg:

Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 8436

Verses 9-12 And Moses said to Aaron, Say to all the assembly of the children of Israel, Come near before Jehovah, for He has heard your grumblings. And so it was, as Aaron was speaking to all the assembly of the children of Israel, that they looked back towards the wilderness, and behold, the glory of Jehovah was seen in the cloud. And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, I have heard the grumblings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, At evening ¹ you will eat flesh, and in the morning you will be filled with bread; and you will know that I am Jehovah your God.

'And Moses said to Aaron' means an influx of God's truth that goes forth directly from the Lord, expressing itself through God's truth that goes forth in an indirect way. 'Say to all the assembly of the children of Israel' means instruction. 'Come near before Jehovah' means a state in which that influx is accepted and applied. 'For He has heard your grumblings' means in order that He may bring help because of their grief in temptation. 'And so it was, as Aaron was speaking to all the assembly of Israel' means instruction received from the Divine through influx. 'That they looked back towards the wilderness' means recollecting the state of temptation in which they had been. 'And behold, the glory of Jehovah was seen in the cloud' means the Lord's presence within truth adjusted to their discernment. 'And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying' means truth that goes forth from the Lord's Divine and holds the Lord's presence within it. 'I have heard the grumblings of the children of Israel' means that there will be an end to the complaints which the temptation gives rise to. 'Speak to them, saying' means instructions conveyed through influx. 'At evening you will eat flesh' means that at the end of a state good will become their own through delight. 'And in the morning you will be filled with bread' means that at the beginning of a new state they will have as much good as they can receive. 'And you will know that I am Jehovah' means in order that they may know that the Lord is the only God.

...

8441. 'And so it was, as Aaron was speaking to all the assembly of Israel' means instruction received from the Divine through influx. This is clear from the meaning of 'speaking' - when done by the Divine through truth going forth in an indirect way from the Lord, which is represented by 'Aaron' - as instruction received through influx, for when the Divine flows into a person He enters the truth that the person has been taught (for the meaning of 'speaking' as influx, see 2951, 5481, 5797, 7270, 8128, and as instruction, 7226, 7241); and from the representation of 'Aaron' as truth going forth from the Lord in an indirect way, dealt with in 7009, 7382.

8442. 'That they looked back towards the wilderness' means recollecting the state of temptation in which they had been. This is clear from the meaning of 'looking back to something' as thinking and reflecting, dealt with in 7341, and therefore also recollecting since one who thinks and reflects is recollecting; and from the meaning of 'the wilderness' as a state when temptations have to be undergone, dealt with in 6828, 8098.

8443. 'And behold, the glory of Jehovah was seen in the cloud' means the Lord's presence within truth adjusted to their discernment. This is clear from the meaning of 'the glory of Jehovah' as the presence and arrival of the Lord, dealt with above in 8427; and from the meaning of 'the cloud' as the literal sense of the Word, dealt with in the Preface to Genesis 18, and in 4391, 5922, 6343 (end), 6752, 8106, thus truth adjusted to people's discernment, for the Word in the letter is that kind of truth. But 'the glory that is in the cloud' is Divine Truth, which is not adjusted in that way to people's discernment, because it is above illusions and appearances of the senses; so it is also the internal sense of the Word, Preface to Genesis 18, and 5922, 8427. The reason why 'the glory' is the internal sense of the Word is that this sense deals with the Church and the Lord's kingdom, and the highest sense with the Lord Himself, which sense also contains Divine Truth in its absolute form.

Exodus 16: 1-18

Exodus 16:1 And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

²And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:

³And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

⁴Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

⁵And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

⁶And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:

⁷And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord; for that he heareth your murmurings against the Lord: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?

⁸And Moses said, This shall be, when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the Lord heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.

⁹And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the Lord: for he hath heard your murmurings.

¹⁰And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.

¹¹And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

¹²I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.

¹³And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.

¹⁴And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.

¹⁵And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.

¹⁶This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.

¹⁷And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.

¹⁸And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.