Since the dawn of human history, religious beliefs have wielded a tremendous influence in the affairs of mankind. Probably no factor has exerted so great an effect on the course of civilization as beliefs concerning Deity. The more spiritual the concept of God, the higher has been the ethical standard of men, and the greater the social advancement, expressed in justice, mercy, liberty. A material concept of God finds its counterpart in the materiality that deifies human personalities, thwarts righteous activity, fosters selfish nationalism, and halts the progress of universal peace.
Religious awakening in different ages has come to those prepared to receive divine revelation through their communion with God. Centuries ago the word of Truth was revealed to Moses, who under divine direction became the great Hebrew leader, lawgiver, and prophet, one of the outstanding characters of all times. Moses' mission was not only to lead the children of Israel from Egypt, the house of bondage, and through the wilderness toward the promised land, but spiritually to lead them from material thinking to true worship of God, to teach them the truth about God and how to obey Him. In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mary Baker Eddy has written (p. 200), "Moses advanced a nation to the worship of God in Spirit instead of matter, and illustrated the grand human capacities of being bestowed by immortal Mind."
In the Glossary in the textbook (ibid., p. 583) Mrs. Eddy defines "Children of Israel" in part as "the representatives of Soul, not corporeal sense; the offspring of Spirit, who, having wrestled with error, sin, and sense, are governed by divine Science; some of the ideas of God beheld as men, casting out error and healing the sick." The children of Israel, then, are those who, because of their understanding of the spiritual laws of God, are enabled to demonstrate the power of good over the manifold phases of error that present themselves in human experience. The spiritually-minded do the will of God, and now, as aforetime, are led and governed by Spirit, as God's children. The same power that long ago enabled the children of Israel to escape from bondage and oppression, to pass through the Red Sea and the wilderness, to overcome what appeared to be unsurmountable obstacles and, finally, to dwell in the promised land, is available now and forever to those who understand and demonstrate divine law.
