Was Moses a loving man?

Was Moses a loving man? 

If one were to take Leviticus' early chapters as a guide, maybe we might doubt that love even entered into the list of duties that governed the Hebrew people under Moses' leadership. That is, until we get to chapter 19. 

Prior to this chapter, we've read about burnt offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, trespass offerings, the consecration of Aaron and his sons and the ram of consecration, laws prohibiting certain foods, the purification of women - and later, of men, tests for discerning leprosy and rites for cleansing a leper, the concept of the scapegoat, and rules for human relations. With chapter 19, there is a new element. 

Here, Moses' instructions now require generosity, honesty, fairness and respect. 

• Generosity - Leave some of your crop "for the poor and stranger" to gather (verse 10).
• Honesty - Don't "deal falsely, neither lie one to another" (verse 11).
• Fairness and respect - Don't "defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him"  and don't delay to pay what you owe (verse 13).

This culminates in the famous instruction to "...love thy neighbour as thyself" (verse 18), which of course was later reiterated by Christ Jesus.

The whole verse reads: "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord."

So, those instructions were about neighbours, presumably fellow Hebrews. But what about foreigners? 

With the world awash with asylum seekers and migrants today, Moses' instructions in 33-34 are worth a thought: "And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."

A quick search for Biblical instances of the phrase "love thy neighbour" (I searched in the brilliant program Concord) reveals just one instance in the Old Testament and seven in the New. So, we can be grateful that Leviticus contains this precious instruction and that Jesus, as a well-versed student of the Torah, was keenly aware of it. 

In fact, Jesus amplifies Moses command. In his sermon on the mount, he tells his disciples that they have to love their enemies! (see Matthew 5:43-47).

 Mary Baker Eddy's famous article Love Your Enemies (see Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896, pp. 8-13) begins: "Who is thine enemy that thou shouldst love him? Is it a creature or a thing outside thine own creation? ... 'Love thine enemies' is identical with 'Thou hast no enemies.'"

I do think Moses was a loving man. He must surely have felt God's loving counsel and direction in all his labours. I am grateful.

Julie Swannell

Old systems… and new

Boy oh boy! 

I am trying to get a hold on just what I might find in Leviticus.

This from Britannica gave some satisfaction:

           Leviticus, (Latin: “of the Levites”) third book of the Latin Vulgate Bible, the name of which designates its contents as a book (or manual) primarily concerned with priests (members of the priestly tribe of Levi) and their duties.

So, it is a manual!

Students of Christian Science know the value of a manual! The slim volume Church Manual of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts by Mary Baker Eddy, is the students’ “go-to” book for starting a church, for the working of church services, holding lectures, Christly conduct, teaching Christian Science, the duties of the Christian Science Board of Directors, conditions for membership, the Christian Science nurse, Sunday School, and more.

I wonder if these activities can be related to the duties of the Levites as put down in Leviticus.

The Harper Collins Study Bible tells me that the construction methods of Israeli cultic implements, the sacred religious objects used in ritual – the tabernacle, its contents, and the priestly vestments – are described in the book of Exodus, while Leviticus describes how those objects were used in worship, by offering scenes from “the living cult”.

Of course, the name starts with Levi, one of Jacob’s sons by Leah. It is said that the Levi tribe was chosen by God to be priests who would serve Him.

There is a definition of Levi in the Glossary of Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p. 590: 11):

Levi (Jacob’s son). A corporeal and sensual belief; mortal man; denial of the fulness of God’s creation; ecclesiastical despotism.

Well! Isn’t that surprising? Well, it is to me. Can the present priesthood be traced back to Levi?

Science and Health speaks of despotism in the chapter Animal Magnetism Unmasked. We find there a quote from the Boston Herald:

“Mesmerism is a problem not lending itself to an easy explanation and development. It implies the exercise of despotic control, and is much more likely to be abused by its possessor, than otherwise employed, for the individual or society.”  (p. 102:25)

The next paragraph begins:

Mankind must learn that evil is not power. Its so-called despotism is but a phase of nothingness. (p. 102: 30)

I now quote from page 141 of Science and Health (chapter Science, Theology, Medicine):

All revelation (such is the popular thought!) must come from the schools and along the line of scholarly and ecclesiastical descent, as kings are crowned from a royal dynasty. In healing the sick and sinning, Jesus elaborated the fact that the healing effect followed the understanding of the divine Principle and of the Christ-spirit which governed the corporeal Jesus. For this Principle there is no dynasty, no ecclesiastical monopoly. Its only crowned head is immortal sovereignty. Its only priest is the spiritualized man. The Bible declares that all believers are made “kings and priests unto God.” (p. 141: 10-21)

Let our pulpits do justice to Christian Science. Let it have fair representation by the press. Give to it the place in our institutions of learning now occupied by scholastic theology and physiology, and it will eradicate sickness and sin in less time than the old systems devised for subduing them, have required for self-establishment and propagation. (p. 141: 28)

Joyce Voysey

Finding the inspired meaning of Scripture

This morning, I was wondering why the third book of the Bible is called Leviticus. As it turns out, it simply refers to the priestly tribe of the Levites. So the book is concerned with the duties of those people. All good.

Then I was thinking about an article by Mary Trammell in the November 2013 issue of The Christian Science Journal. It's called "The 'eternal version' of the Bible". The article discusses Mary Baker Eddy's own journey with the Bible. 

Trammell writes: It was "misinterpretation of the Word" that had cost her decades of invalidism. But with her discovery of Christian Science came the "right interpretation" of the Bible, restoring her health and awakening her to a whole new life as a religious leader. What lay at the root of the misinterpretation that had so buried the inspired meaning of Scripture? Basically, it was a matter-based, literal reading of the Bible..." 

I recommend the article and will be happy to send a copy to anyone who may not have access to it via JSH-Online.com. 

In the meantime, A.J. Kiser's article A lesson on sacrifice (Christian Science Sentinel July 18, 2013) gives a wonderfully helpful view of the book of Leviticus! The writer shares his own journey of Bible study, about being at first daunted by the literal demands described in Leviticus, and of finding the spiritual substance of those demands e.g. "Imbibing the spirit of the message in Leviticus, I've been practicing my own sacrifices to God by letting go of things that seem to hold a great human value..." 

This brings to mind a passage from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy (p. 55: 22): 

The time for the reappearing of the divine healing is throughout all time; and whosoever layeth his earthly all on the altar of divine Science, drinketh of Christ's cup now, and is endued with the spirit and power of Christian healing.

I'm sure this will lead us all to a rewarding study of Leviticus.

Julie Swannell