Exodus 16:14

And 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.

Discussion:

This verse shows the beginning of a new state, a peaceful state with new ideas to gather following a state of temptation. 

Swedenborg says the dew represents the profound truth we can find after a battle: That the Lord loves us and would never abandon us. And when the dew evaporated, the wilderness -- representing a new, receptive spiritual state -- is covered by small round objects. Swedenborg says this represents "the good of truth," or the elevated state we can attain if we nurture in our hearts a desire to do what is good and train our minds on the Lord so we can know what "good" really is. 

Passages from Swedenborg:

Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 8450

8450. Verses 13-15 And it happened in the evening, that the selav 1 came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a deposit of dew around the camp. And the deposit of dew went up, and behold, on the face of the wilderness a tiny round thing, tiny like hoar frost on the earth. And the children of Israel saw it and said, a man to his brother, Man 2 is it? because they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, It is the bread which Jehovah has given you to eat.

'And it happened in the evening' means the end of a state. 'That the selav came up' means natural delight through which good was imparted. 'And covered the camp' means that it filled a person's natural. 'And in the morning' means the beginning of a new state. 'There was a deposit of dew around the camp' means the truth of peace attaching itself. 'And the deposit of dew went up' means an introduction of truth. 'And behold, on the face of the wilderness' means a new will. 'A tiny round thing' means the good of truth in its initial form. 'Tiny like hoar frost on the earth' means truth in the form of good - uninterrupted and flowing. 'And the children of Israel saw it' means discernment. 'And said, a man to his brother' means bewilderment. 'Man is it? because they did not know what it was' means owing to its not being known. 'And Moses said to them' means instructions given through the truth from God. 'It is the bread which Jehovah has given you to eat' means that this is the good that will become their own and constitute their life, in the highest sense that this is the Lord within you.

8456. 'And the deposit of dew went up' means an introduction of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'going up' here as being dispersed and so not appearing to view; and from the meaning of 'dew' as the truth of peace, dealt with immediately above. The deposit of dew onto the manna means an introduction of truth, for the truth of peace is Divine Truth that goes forth from the Lord and is present in heaven. This being inmost, it introduces itself into the truth underneath it and gives it life, as dew usually enlivens grass or crops on which it settles in the morning. When the truth underneath is given life by it the truth of peace goes up; that is, it no longer seems to be there; only the truth that has received life from it is to be seen. This is how the truth of faith is born; for no truth contained in doctrine or in the Word becomes a truth residing with a person until it has received life from the Divine. It receives that life through the introduction of truth that goes forth from the Lord, called the truth of peace. This truth is not the truth of faith; rather it is the life or soul of the truth of faith. It organizes into a heavenly form everything within the truth which is called the truth of faith, and also after that the truths themselves in relation to each other. All this goes to show what happens when the introduction of truth by means of the truth of peace takes place in a person. It should in addition be recognized that the lower or more external levels of a person who is being regenerated receive life from higher or more internal levels in order, so that the truth of faith receives life from the truth of peace, and this from the Lord Himself. Life from the Lord is introduced into those who are being regenerated in consecutive stages coming down from Him, that is, down through the inmost part and so through interior levels into exterior. With those who have been regenerated therefore the way lies open right through to the Lord, but with those who have not been regenerated it is closed.

8457. 'And behold, on the face of the wilderness' means a new will. This is clear from the meaning of 'the wilderness' here as a new will that comes through the introduction of truth. The new will received by a member of the spiritual Church is formed from good by means of truth; it manifests itself with him as conscience, a conscience consisting of truth, as is clear from what has been shown already about the regeneration of the spiritual man. Strictly speaking 'a wilderness' means that which is uncultivated and uninhabited, and in the spiritual sense means a place where there is no goodness or truth, thus also where there is no life, 1927, 2708, 3900. When therefore it says that the dew appeared on the face of the wilderness, with the manna underneath the dew, 'the wilderness' means a new will.

8458. 'A tiny round thing' means the good of truth in its initial form. This is clear from the meaning of 'tiny' as a word having reference to truth; and from the meaning of 'round' as a word having reference to good. Consequently 'a tiny round thing' has reference to the good of truth. The expression 'good of truth' describes good as it exists with a member of the spiritual Church; such good not only begins in truth, but also is in essence truth. One sees it as truth, but one feels it as good; that being so, as truth it forms the understanding part of the mind, and as good it forms the new will part. For a person's understanding is distinguishable from the will in that the understanding presents things to itself in mental pictures, in order that it may see them as in light, whereas the will forms an affection for them, in order that it may simultaneously feel them as a delight, thus as good, doing so in conformity with the kind of picture that has been formed.

The use of 'tiny' to refer to truth and of 'round' to refer to good may be traced back to the visual presentations of truth and good that are made in the next life. When any truth or good is presented visually, which is done in the next life in a way clearly perceptible to the eyes of spirits and angels, truth is presented in a definite quantity, thus as something large or something tiny, depending on the nature of the truth. Truth is in addition presented as something angular-shaped; it is also presented as something white. But good there is presented in an indefinite quantity, thus not as something large or something tiny. Good is also presented as something rounded, as a shape that is uninterrupted, and in respect of colour as something blue, yellow, or red. Good and truth assume these different appearances when they are presented visually because each is different as to its essential nature; when the nature of either is made visual, they express and represent themselves in a natural form such as has just been described. So it is that things which in the world resemble such forms mean either truth or good; for nothing exists in creation that is unrelated, so far as its essential nature is concerned, either to good or to truth.

8459. 'Tiny like hoar frost on the earth' means truth in the form of good - uninterrupted and flowing. This is clear from the meaning of 'tiny' as a word having reference to truth, dealt with immediately above; and from the meaning of 'like hoar frost' as in the form of good. The good of truth, the good existing with a member of the spiritual Church, 8458, is compared to hoar frost because it forms more of a continuous sheet than snow. Consisting of tiny white flakes snow has reference to truth, while hoar frost, being the nearest thing to it, has reference to truth that has become good, which is the good of truth. 

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.

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

3 And 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.

4 Then 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.

5 And 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.

6 And 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:

7 And 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?

8 And 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.

9 And 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.

10 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.

11 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

12 I 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.

13 And 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.

14 And 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.

15 And 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.

16 This 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.

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

18 And 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.