Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Exodus Chapter 11
Metaphysically Interpreting Exodus 11:1-10
11:1And Jehovah said unto Moses, Yet one plague more will I bring upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. 11:2Speak now in the ears of the people, and let them ask every man of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. 11:3And Jehovah gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people.
11:4And Moses said, Thus saith Jehovah, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: 11:5and all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill; and all the first-born of cattle. 11:6And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there hath not been, nor shall be any more. 11:7But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that Jehovah doth make a distinction between the Egyptians and Israel. 11:8And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.
11:9And Jehovah said unto Moses, Pharaoh will not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. 11:10And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and Jehovah hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land.
December 8, 1901: Exodus 11:1-10
Moses and Pharaoh represent two forces at work in the consciousness, especially that part pertinent to the body. Moses represents the evolutionary force of new ideas, which have grown in the subconsciousness and are tugging at the old states of [----ation?] and material ignorance and trying to rise out of their depths into a higher life expression. Pharaoh represents the force that rules the body under the material regime. The Lord is the Universal Law whose impulse is always upward and onward, yet seeking always to preserve equilibrium.
It is found by those who are undergoing the regenerative process, which the Scriptures symbolically illustrate, that these two forces are constantly at work in the organism, one holding to old ideas and striving to perpetuate them in form, and the other idealizing the new and bending every effort to break away from material bondage and rise above its limitations. Paul says, “The flesh warreth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.” Looking at it from the personal standpoint we are apt to cry out in this struggle, “Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” But as philosophers in the understanding of the law of change, we balance ourselves between these two forces, and let them work out under the equilibrium of the Universal Preserver of all forms, which is the Lord.
Here is consolation for those who chafe under the whips and cords of the regenerative law. They think that the many defeats and the snail's pace, under which they grunt and sweat, indicate that they are somehow off the track. Not at all; just persevere and patiently wait upon the Lord. If the spiritual could instantly have the ascendancy in you it would destroy your body entirely, and you would be left without a working vehicle. The purpose of the children of Israel down in the body Egypt is to raise it up to gradually infuse into it a more enduring life [?]. When you affirm the spirituality of the body, and yearn for release from its bondage, you are making demands upon Pharaoh, and in fear that he will all at once lose his hold upon life, he “hardens his heart,” and sometimes the Lord, the Universal Law of Equilibrium, hardens it for him. Then there seems a failure to attain that which yon have tried to demonstrate. But a step has been taken in the all-round evolution of the body, and you will find that you are gradually becoming stronger both physically and spiritually.
There are climaxes in this refining trend of the consciousness in which we make a signal effort and realize a great uplift. Jewels of silver and gold represent wisdom and love in its external sense, which are to be asked or demanded by the children of Israel. (The word “borrowed” in the common version is an error.) This means that we are to affirm that all wisdom and all love, even in their most external manifestations, are spiritual. This puts the spirit in control both within and without, and does away with that external ruling power which is the “firstborn of the Egyptians.” The “firstborn” of every state of consciousness is the personal “I.” When the flood of light from the Universal is let in through our declaration of the One Wisdom and One Love, this “I” of every mortal state of consciousness is slain and there is a “great cry throughout all the land of Egypt.”
– UNITY magazine.
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 02-02-2014
