8214. 'And troubled the camp of the Egyptians' means that as a result all their reaching out with falsity arising from evil recoiled on them. This is clear from the meaning of 'troubling the camp of the Egyptians' as the recoiling on them of the falsities arising from evil which they attempted to inflict on those governed by truth and goodness. The reason why such things are meant by these words is that the Lord's presence among the evil produces that effect. For the evil who wish to do violence to the good by introducing falsity and evil on them expose themselves to retaliatory punishment, which involves the recoiling on themselves of the falsities and evils which they aim to inflict on others. This punishment, called retaliatory punishment, has its origin in the following law of order existing in heaven,
All things whatever you wish people to do to you, do also to them; this is the Law and the Prophets. Matt 7:12.
Therefore those who are moved by good, or from the heart, to do good receive good from others; and also conversely, those who are moved by evil, or from the heart, to do evil receive evil from others. So it is that all good has its reward attached to it, and all evil its punishment, 696, 967, 1857, 6559. From all this it is now evident that 'Jehovah troubled the camp of the Egyptians' means that all their reaching out with falsity arising from evil recoiled on them, and that this was the reason for their being troubled. The Lord's presence is what gives rise to this among the evil, see 7989.
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