To-day as of old the cry goes up, from the length and breadth of our land, for a Moses to deliver the people from the bondage of Egypt; and again we hear from those who believe they see the way out of Egypt, the cry for Aaron the priest, or preacher. Would it not be well to analyze these thoughts, and see what motive prompts them, also to see whether they are strictly in line with Science? Several questions present themselves prominently before us at this point, viz.: Why do we know so much of Moses? Why do we know of him at all? Should we know of Aaron were it not for Moses? To answer the first seems the important thing to do; and in answering this, the others will largely, if not completely, be solved.
Moses comes before us most prominently when he is about eighty years of age. The record of his earthly life, divides into three periods of forty years each. These three periods are full of significance to the student of Divine Science; but it is the closing of the second, together with the opening of the third period, that is of special interest to us at this time. Moses, having been in the Wilderness forty years, taught of God, has become conscious of a high realization of Truth; a consciousness so high and pure that he hears the voice of Wisdom in audible response. The communion with Mind would now seem perfect; but, there remains more to be realized.
In this state of thought, Moses sees a wonderful phenomenon: a bush on fire, that is not consumed. As he approaches it, he hears the one Voice revealing to him that he is on holy ground, i. e.: he has reached the consciousness of the one Mind.
But Moses has yet another lesson to learn; has yet to perfect himself in the realization of Truth. He is holding to a latent belief in intelligent matter; and, before he is ready to take up the great work of his life, this fear must be removed. "And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:"
Exodus iv. 2-4. As the fear of intelligence in matter is destroyed, Moses is prepared to become the agent of God in freeing his people.
The error of Egypt, then as now, was this belief of intelligent matter. There is to-day no individual ready to lead his brother out of darkness, error, out of the unbelief of Egypt, until this illusion is first overcome. Through many channels, we hear error voicing itself to-day, saying: "You do not need to handle me. Simply ignore error, and you will come out right." Does that harmonize with the grand lesson to this great demonstrator? Consider the fact that, for forty years in the Wilderness, this Moses had been taught by Wisdom; that he had reached the high consciousness of omnipresent Truth; that he heard the one Voice, and talked audibly with Spirit. If, in this consciousness, Moses yet needed this lesson to overcome his fear, what need we who have not as yet approximated this consciousness? Shall we contradict God, and say handle not the error? Note the result of his obedience: "It became a rod in his hand"— and rod is the symbol of power.
A further lesson was given when God told Moses to put his hand in his bosom. Exodus iv. 6, 7, Science and. Health, p.191. When this latent fear was destroyed, Wisdom said: "Go, return into Egypt ... bring forth my people ... And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand." So also Jesus taught: "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." After he had demonstrated over the belief of intelligent matter, Moses was ready to lead a nation out of error. Thus, as far as he has proven the unreality of error, the Scientist of to-day may follow in the footsteps of this demonstrator—and no farther.
Moses now seems ready to receive his commission; but there is another point which, in belief, he has yet to compass. He must go to the Court of Pharaoh, and present his cause. At this Court were the best orators of the world, and Moses feels unable to cope with them. It is now suggested that he take his brother Aaron as his mouthpiece, and thus all seems ready for the deliverance of the bondmen. We may infer that Aaron went before Pharaoh, and, from the highest standpoint of intellectuality, plead his cause ably and correctly; yet neither sacred nor profane history mentions any speech of Aaron as worthy of note. Pharaoh is not moved by intellectual speeches;—and they never affect the great error (Pharaoh). Speech-making and arguing with the error on the basis of intellect having failed, demonstrations in Science begin. Moses, having had the fear of intelligent matter so nearly destroyed to his consciousness, demonstrates before Pharaoh; and the cry at once is raised, My magicians can do the same thing! The cry is repeated, to-day, in the ears of every demonstrator in Science, My magicians can do the same thing! This error must be met to-day, as it was met then, by higher demonstrations. Moses proceeds in a line of demonstration; whereupon the magicians are called, and they apparently do the same thing. This continues even to casting the rod on the ground. These enemies, essaying to follow even here, cast theirs on the ground also; and each rod, like that of Moses, appears to become a serpent. At this point the scene changes. Moses' rod "swallowed up their rods." Then the magicians exclaim, We can follow no further! "Error is self-destroyed."
Science, however, does not stop; but goes on in an ascending scale. Error (Pharaoh) will not be moved by Science, until the very belief of life in error is touched; then, it cries out to Moses to take the people forth to serve God in their own way. Thousands of years have made no change in the demonstrations in Truth, or in the unbelief of error. These same scenes are being re-enacted to-day. When with the light of Science we see that all this depicts phases of mind, we have before us Moses, Aaron, Pharaoh and the magicians of Egypt; while as a result of demonstration, destruction of this error, we see one individual, who has triumphed over the fear of intelligent matter, lead three millions of people out from the bondage of sin. Is it not uplifting to contemplate what is possible for us to be and to do when we rise to this height in Divine Science?—one to lead out three millions! "Yet a greater than Moses is here."
We follow these people (three millions of slaves set free, in a night, by the demonstrations of one child of God) to the Red Sea. Unbelief arises in those led out by another's work, yet all go over dry shod. We see the final destruction of error (Pharaoh and his host) in the Red Sea; and God's prophet still leading on, teaching the rudiments of Science to those who, but a day since, were bondsmen. We hear them murmur against revelation and demonstration; yet this prophet, who has been taught by Wisdom, goes on sacrificing for these bondsmen. Finally, the prophet is not seen; he is in the Mount with God, alone. No other in the three millions has yet risen in realization to be the companion of Moses. Soon the people murmur louder and longer. They do not expect to see their leader again, so go to Aaron desiring that he make them a god. The record does not state that he even remonstrated with them. Aaron, politic, intellectual, subtle, craving the good will of error, falls in with the grossest statements of error; and, allowing the people to relapse into Egyptian mythology, makes a golden calf for them to worship. This is the Aaron presented to us at this stage of the record. Demonstration is with God in the Mount. Oratory, intellectuality, craftiness, man-pleasing, makes a golden calf and bids the people worship it.
Intellectuality separated from demonstration ever brings out the golden calf. Aaron was the first of the Levitical priesthood. Moses designed that the priesthood should bring the world to Christ; but the priests, through preventing the teaching of Moses, crucified the Christ, and forbade the people to speak his name. Some may also say here, "We will have no more preaching of Christian Science"; but this would be as great an error as preaching from a wrong standpoint, "Who made man's mouth?" Aaron was the brother of Moses. The preaching of the Truth should go hand in hand with demonstration; "then will all be fulfilled." We do not desire the Aaron-thought portrayed here, to lead us, in the absence of demonstration, away from God to the golden calf.
In Moses we find a high type of the Christ, but not the fulness of the Christ.
Science and Health, p. 546. We must look to Jesus to see the Christ fully demonstrated. But how shall we see the Christ? Not by sitting "in Moses' seat," without doing his works. Jesus said: "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, . neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."
Luke xvi. 31. Have not many of us, to-day, made the mistake of asserting that we have realized the fulness of the Christ— when we have not even comprehended Moses? The demonstration of Moses precedes the realization of the Christ. Again, how can we to-day see the Christ if we have not seen the prophet through whom Divine Principle is revealed? There was but one Moses to the people of Israel; but one prophet to a generation, though there were many false prophets. "Even so now." There is one prophet to this day, through whom comes the revelation of Truth; and this is the Divine order. "My sheep hear my voice," and they hear it through the shepherd that feeds the sheep; but an hireling will they not follow.
Hear a child who cannot walk alone, misquoting Scripture in thought, say: "God is no respecter of persons." "God reveals himself to me." "I have the revelation without being taught by the prophet." This is the same old error. (See Num. xii. 1-15.) The person maintaining this thought is struck with leprosy as surely as was Miriam; and must come to the prophet of God before he can be healed. "This is the Divine order." Can we—dare we say with Aaron: "hath he not spoken also by us?" What are our demonstrations? Have we overcome the fear of intelligent matter? If so, the Lord speaks by us; for the speech of the Lord is the demonstration of Truth.
What is preaching in Science—is it repeating some words nicely arranged? Aaron can do that; but breathing the Truth is infinitely more. That requires understanding. "Not until the last vestige of error has disappeared from mortal concept,"
Science and Health, p. 57. will the time come to cease preaching. We have one example, Jesus the Christ. He preached the glorious gospel of salvation, healed the sick, reformed the sinner, and raised the dead. Herein we find the fulness of preaching: "faith with works," and Wisdom guiding. In him was the law fulfilled. Preaching without demonstration, upon however high an intellectual plane, is like "sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal." Christian Scientists need not an Aaron to espouse their cause. If we but live in the atmosphere of Love, guided by our prophet, we will surely lead the people out of Egypt; we will not teach them to worship strange gods, but will fix their eye on Omnipresence.
Imperfect Priesthood; see Hebrews v. 1-4.
Perfect Priesthood; see balance of 5th, also 7th chapter.
Levi; see Science and Health p. 540.
Wilderness; see Science and Health p. 551.
Egypt; the synonym for darkness and sin, which induces all forms of error.
