Chapter 7
THE FRUITS
OF FAITH
GENESIS 19, 20, 21 and 22
Charles Fillmore
Mysteries of Genesis
IN THE PRECEDING chapter
we read that when Jehovah appeared to
Abraham the patriarch was sitting in
the door of his tent. There is a
remarkable parallel here, for Jehovah
appeared to Lot as he sat in the gate
of Sodom.
Gen. 19:1-11. And
the two angels came to Sodom at
even; and Lot sat in the gate of
Sodom: and Lot saw them, and rose
up to meet them; and he bowed
himself with his face to the earth;
and he said, Behold now, my lords,
turn aside, I pray you, into your
servant's house, and tarry all
night, and wash your feet, and ye
shall rise up early, and go on your
way. And they said, Nay; but we
will abide in the street all night.
And he urged them greatly; and they
turned in unto him, and entered
into his house; and he made them a
feast, and did bake unleavened
bread, and they did eat. But before
they lay down, the men of the city,
even the men of Sodom, compassed
the house round, both young and
old, all the people from every
quarter; and they called unto Lot,
and said unto him, Where are the
men that came in to thee this
night? bring them out unto us, that
we may know them. And Lot went out
unto them to the door, and shut the
door after him. And he said, I pray
you, my brethren, do not so
wickedly. Behold now, I have two
daughters that have not known man;
let me, I pray you, bring them out
unto you, and do ye to them as is
good in your eyes: only unto these
men do nothing, forasmuch as they
are come under the shadow of my
roof. And they said, Stand back.
And they said, This one fellow came
in to sojourn, and he will needs be
a judge: now will we deal worse
with thee, than with them. And they
pressed sore upon the man, even
Lot, and drew near to break the
door. But the men put forth their
hand, and brought Lot into the
house to them, and shut to the
door. And they smote the men that
were at the door of the house with
blindness, both small and great, so
that they wearied themselves to
find the door.
As Abraham represents
the positive side of faith and Lot the
negative side, it can also be said that
Abraham represents the spiritual
consciousness and that Lot is the
natural consciousness, which however is
turned toward the light. Jehovah
appeared to Abraham as three. Spiritual
consciousness understands the trinity
of being that is spirit, soul, and
body. Lot saw Jehovah as two angels,
which shows that the natural mind
leaves Spirit out of
consideration.
When Abraham invited the
three into his tent they accepted his
hospitality without comment. But when
Lot asked the two to spend the night
under his roof, wash their feet, and
partake of his food, they refused. It
took persistent urging on the part of
Lot to persuade them to abide with
him.
When the unfolding
nature (Lot) begins to entertain higher
spiritual thoughts (angels), all the
evil and degenerate thoughts (men of
Sodom) come at once and "compass the
house." They demand that the higher
thoughts be put out, or that they be
admitted (into mind) to throw them out.
When the demand is refused they become
violent. Man's way is to compromise
with evil thoughts by giving to them
his love and emotion, even if he does
not allow them free expression in his
mind. Lot offered his daughters to the
men of Sodom. When carnal thoughts
become strong and numerous enough
(compass the house) they assert
complete mastery over the individual
and tell him: "Stand back . . . This
one fellow came in to sojourn, and he
will needs be a judge."
The angels (high
spiritual thoughts) whom Lot induced to
enter his house, came to his rescue.
They struck the men of Sodom (carnal
thoughts) with blindness so that they
were thrown into confusion and their
destructive efforts rendered futile, at
least for the time being: blind
passions that stop at nothing to gain
their ends must be
annihilated.
Gen. 19:12-23. And
the men said unto Lot, Hast thou
here any besides? son-in-law, and
thy sons, and thy daughters, and
whomsoever thou hast in the city,
bring them out of the place: for we
will destroy this place, because
the cry of them is waxed great
before Jehovah; and Jehovah hath
sent us to destroy it. And Lot went
out, and spake unto his
sons-in-law, who married his
daughters, and said, Up, get you
out of this place; for Jehovah will
destroy the city. But he seemed
unto his sons-in-law as one that
mocked. And when the morning arose,
then the angels hastened Lot,
saying, Arise, take thy wife, and
thy two daughters that are here,
lest thou be consumed in the
iniquity of the city. But he
lingered; and the men laid hold
upon his hand, and upon the hand of
his wife, and upon the hand of his
two daughters, Jehovah being
merciful unto him: and they brought
him forth, and set him without the
city. And it came to pass, when
they had brought them forth abroad,
that he said, Escape for thy life;
look not behind thee, neither stay
thou in all the Plain; escape to
the mountain, lest thou be
consumed.
And Lot said unto
them, Oh, not so, my lord: behold
now, thy servant hath found favor
in thy sight, and thou hast
magnified thy lovingkindness, which
thou hast showed unto me in saving
my life; and I cannot escape to the
mountain, lest evil overtake me,
and I die: behold now, this city is
near to flee unto, and it is a
little one. Oh let me escape
thither (is it not a little one?),
and my soul shall live. And he said
unto him, See, I have accepted thee
concerning this thing also, that I
will not overthrow the city of
which thou hast spoken. Haste thee,
escape thither; for I cannot do
anything till thou be come thither.
Therefore the name of the city was
called Zoar. The sun was risen upon
the earth when Lot came unto
Zoar.
Jehovah's promise to
Abraham was that He would save the
righteous. Here Jehovah's angels
invited Lot to take with him those of
his household (thought people) who were
ready to advance spiritually. Only Lot,
his wife, and his two virgin daughters
were prepared to take the step. However
after the Lord had delivered them
outside the walls of the city Lot
(negative faith) was afraid to attempt
flight to the mountain (high state of
consciousness). He knew he was not
fully prepared for such a step. The
angels consented to let him escape to
the little city of Zoar, the name of
which means "reduced," "made small,"
"lessened." Thus Lot was given
opportunity to open his mind to the
light to such a degree that seeming
negation was minimized in
consciousness, and he was blessed with
a new understanding of Truth. ("The sun
was risen upon the earth when Lot came
unto Zoar.")
Gen. 19:24-26. Then
Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon
Gomorrah brimstone and fire from
Jehovah out of heaven; and he
overthrew those cities, and all the
Plain, and all the inhabitants of
the cities, and that which grew
upon the ground. But his wife
looked back from behind him, and
she became a pillar of salt.
Eventually all error
must be wiped out of consciousness. In
our efforts to overcome the sins of the
flesh we pass through strange
experiences, and wonderful revelations
come to those of us who conform to
divine law. The destruction of Sodom
and Gomorrah by fire represents a
mighty purifying process that makes man
ready for a great realization of divine
life.
Lot's wife was turned
into a pillar of salt. Salt is a
preservative, corresponding to memory.
When we remember the pleasures of the
senses and long for their return, we
preserve the sense desire. This desire
will manifest itself sometime,
somewhere, unless the memory is
dissolved through
renunciation.
Gen. 19:27-29. And
Abraham got up early in the morning
to the place where he had stood
before Jehovah: and he looked
toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and
toward all the land of the Plain,
and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of
the land went up as the smoke of a
furnace.
And it came to
pass, when God destroyed the cities
of the Plain, that God remembered
Abraham, and sent Lot out of the
midst of the overthrow, when he
overthrew the cities in which Lot
dwelt.
The above Scripture
means that after a degree of cleansing
or destruction of sense we mentally
review our experiences and recognize
that nothing is really destroyed but
rather transmuted (Abraham beheld the
result). Through faith we take stock of
the progress we have made and find that
we are getting a consciousness of
radiant substance (smoke) and of a
higher life (heat). Nothing is lost.
When sense consciousness is raised to a
higher plane all that belongs to it is
saved with it. This is represented by
Jehovah's saving Lot's life.
Gen. 19:30-38. And
Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt
in the mountain, and his two
daughters with him; for he feared
to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a
cave, he and his two daughters. And
the first-born said unto the
younger, Our father is old, and
there is not a man in the earth to
come in unto us after the manner of
all the earth: come, let us make
our father drink wine, and we will
lie with him, that we may preserve
seed of our father. And they made
their father drink wine that night:
and the first-born went in, and lay
with her father; and he knew not
when she lay down, nor when she
arose. And it came to pass on the
morrow, that the first-born said
unto the younger, Behold, I lay
yesternight with my father: let us
make him drink wine this night
also, and go thou in, and lie with
him, that we may preserve seed of
our father. And they made their
father drink wine that night also:
and the younger arose, and lay with
him; and he knew not when she lay
down, nor when she arose. Thus were
both the daughters of Lot with
child by their father. And the
first-born bare a son and called
his name Moab: the same is the
father of the Moabites unto this
day. And the younger, she also bare
a son, and called his name
Ben-ammi: the same is the father of
the children of Ammon unto this
day.
When the soul reaches a
certain stage of unfoldment the natural
progressive quality of faith shows a
tendency toward spiritual growth. Lot
here represents natural faith in a
state of evolution, yet his living in a
cave in the mountain denotes that this
faith is still in the clutches of
materiality. The feminine forces of
faith (daughters of Lot) reflect the
parent desire for continued
perpetuation of their line. There was
no other masculine principle on the
plane of consciousness on which these
feminine forces were functioning
("there is not a man in the earth to
come in unto us after the manner of all
the earth"). Through stimulating life
(wine) the seed idea was implanted by
the father principle (Lot) in receptive
soil and brought forth
fruit.
Moab, son of Lot's
eldest daughter, represents the thought
that perpetuates body consciousness. It
is found in the idea of organized
substance ("flowing from the father")
but it is impregnated with the lusts of
the flesh. Referring to the Moabites,
Jeremiah says, "Cursed be he that doeth
the work of Jehovah negligently." So
Moab represents one phase of the lusts
of carnal mind for expression through
the flesh. While Moab pertains to the
body and the most external conditions
of life, there is something good in
him, or at least a possibility of
good.
Ben-ammi, the name of
the son of Lot's youngest daughter and
father of the Ammonites, means "son of
my people," "son of my kindred," "son
of my tribe," which points to
segregation and personal selfishness.
This thought is the source of the clan,
then the nation. When this egotism is
exalted the nation looks on itself as
being superior to all other nations and
proceeds to compel them to acknowledge
this superiority by force of arms. The
Ammonites waged constant war against
the Israelites but were eventually
defeated.
Gen. 20:1. And
Abraham journeyed from thence
toward the land of the South, and
dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and
he sojourned in Gerar.
The name Shur means
"going round about," "wall,"
"fortification," "ox." Shur represents
the never-ceasing progress, unfoldment,
and development of man. In his
evolution man has apparently always
moved in cycles; but each time he comes
again to his starting place he seems to
be a little in advance of his former
state. When he begins to awaken
spiritually his progress is more rapid.
There is also a thought of strength and
might ("wall," "ox").
The name Kadesh means
"pure," "bright," "holy," "sacred."
Kadesh represents the inherently pure,
sinless, perfect, ideal state in the
depths of the consciousness of every
individual.
Abraham "dwelt between
Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in
Gerar." Gerar symbolizes subjective
substance and life. Abraham had on one
hand Kadesh --the inherently pure,
sinless, ideal state--and on the other
hand Shut (unceasing progress) while he
had his existence in Gerar (substance
and life). Thus does faith (typified by
Abraham) develop in the spiritually
awakening individual.
Gen. 20:2-13. And
Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She
is my sister: and Abimelech king of
Gerar sent, and took Sarah. But God
came to Abimelech in a dream of the
night, and said to him, Behold,
thou art but a dead man, because of
the woman whom thou hast taken; for
she is a man's wife. Now Abimelech
had not come near her: and he said,
Lord, wilt thou slay even a
righteous nation? Said he not
himself unto me, She is my sister?
and she, even she herself said, He
is my brother: in the integrity of
my heart and the innocency of my
hands have I done this. And God
said unto him in the dream, Yea, I
know that in the integrity of thy
heart thou hast done this, and I
also withheld thee from sinning
against me: therefore suffered I
thee not to touch her. Now
therefore restore the man's wife;
for he is a prophet, and he shall
pray for thee, and thou shalt live:
and if thou restore her not, know
thou that thou shalt surely die,
thou, and all that are
thine.
And Abimelech
rose early in the morning, and
called all his servants, and told
all these things in their ears: and
the men were sore afraid. Then
Abimelech called Abraham, and said
unto him, What hast thou done unto
us? and wherein have I sinned
against thee, that thou hast
brought on me and on my kingdom a
great sin? thou hast done deeds
unto me that ought not to be done.
And Abimelech said unto Abraham,
What sawest thou, that thou hast
done this thing? And Abraham said,
Because I thought, Surely the fear
of God is not in this place; and
they will slay me for my wife's
sake. And moreover she is indeed my
sister, the daughter of my father,
but not the daughter of my mother;
and she became my wife: and it came
to pass, when God caused me to
wander from my father's house, that
I said unto her, This is thy
kindness which thou shalt show unto
me: at every place whither we shall
come, say of me, He is my
brother.
If spiritual faith
through the affectional side of one's
nature (Sarah) makes union with the
controlling unregenerate will in the
subconscious (Abimelech) there is a
reversal of the progressive law and
bodily ills (the plagues of Egypt) are
brought forth, as we noted with
reference to a previous experience of
Abraham. (See interpretation of Gen.
12:10-20.) However in an instance like
this, when faith, lacking
understanding, would have repeated the
error, the soul has progressed until
the subconsciousness has come under the
guidance of Spirit, and the plagues
that came as a result of a former
mistake are not repeated on this
occasion.
Abimelech (unregenerate
will) was quickened to the point where
he could receive instruction through
dreams. Spirit revealed to Abimelech
the true relationship between Abraham
and Sarah, and thus he was saved from
making an unlawful union.
When Abimelech (will)
faced Abraham (pioneering faith) with
the fact, Abraham admitted that he had
lost sight of the possibilities of the
divine omnipresence and was not aware
that the all-knowing Spirit could
penetrate into every consciousness.
"Because I thought, Surely the fear of
God is not in this place." Abraham and
Sarah were of the same blood and
therefore he said truly, "She is my
sister."
Gen. 20:14-18. And
Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and
men-servants and women-servants,
and gave them unto Abraham, and
restored him Sarah his wife. And
Abimelech said, Behold, my land is
before thee: dwell where it
pleaseth thee. And unto Sarah he
said, Behold, I have given thy
brother a thousand pieces of
silver: behold, it is for thee a
covering of the eyes to all that
are with thee; and in respect of
all thou art righted. And Abraham
prayed unto God: and God healed
Abimelech, and his wife, and his
maid-servants; and they bare
children. For Jehovah had fast
closed up all the wombs of the
house of Abimelech, because of
Sarah, Abraham's wife.
This is a situation
where there is apt to be contention
between the soul and the body
consciousness unless adjustment is
made. Pioneering faith (Abraham) in
union with the spiritual soul (Sarah)
issues in a high realization of both
soul and body. It is only the highest
emanation of body consciousness that is
ready for transmutation, consequently
there needs to be an equalizing and
adjusting power to establish peace and
safety in the body consciousness in
order to avoid some form of plague. To
teach this truth Abimelech (the ruling
power that controls the substance side
of man's being), his wife, and
maidservants are represented as being
unproductive for a season, but as being
healed through faith (Abraham
interceded with God).
Gen. 21:1-7. And
Jehovah visited Sarah as he had
said, and Jehovah did unto Sarah as
he had spoken. And Sarah conceived,
and bare Abraham a son in his old
age, at the set time of which God
had spoken to him. And Abraham
called the name of his son that was
born unto him, whom Sarah bare to
him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised
his son Isaac when he was eight
days old, as God had commanded him.
And Abraham was a hundred years
old, when his son Isaac was born
unto him. And Sarah said, God hath
made me to laugh; every one that
heareth will laugh with me. And she
said, Who would have said unto
Abraham, that Sarah should give
children suck? for I have borne him
a son in his old age.
Isaac was born after
Abraham and Sarah were both past the
age of bringing forth. So we when born
of the Spirit through faith are born
not "of the will of the flesh, nor of
the will of man, but of God." The
natural man has no power to bring forth
the "new man" in Christ Jesus. The
natural man brings forth Hagar's son,
who is not the chosen heir. The new man
is a "new creature," begotten not of
the flesh but of the divine word. This
begetting represents the forming of a
new state of consciousness, the
consciousness referred to by Paul when
he expressed the hope to the Galatians
that "Christ be formed" in
them.
As one gains a certain
inner satisfaction from doing a good
deed, so in repeatedly following the
promptings of Spirit one accumulates a
fund of satisfaction that finally
breaks forth in laughter. Isaac was not
born until Abraham and Sarah had
reached old age--had accumulated a
"faith consciousness." Note the
different kinds of laughter in this
allegory. Abraham laughed
questioningly, hopefully, when it was
announced that Sarah would bear a son.
Sarah laughed incredulously when the
promise was announced to her. Both
Abraham and Sarah, with their friends,
laughed joyfully and thankfully when
Isaac was born.
Religion is not the
dolorous thing that many have pictured
it, much to its loss and to ours as
well. On the contrary religion should
make man joyful. God is not to be
served in the spirit of bondage to a
taskmaster but in the spirit of
happiness. In Deuteronomy we read:
"Because thou servedst not Jehovah thy
God with joyfulness, and with gladness
of heart, by reason of the abundance of
all things; therefore shalt thou serve
thine enemies . . . in hunger, and in
thirst, and in nakedness, and in want
of all things." If one's prayers are
not answered or one fails to
demonstrate the reason may perhaps be
found here.
Those who persistently
exercise faith in God find there is
generated in their mind a condition
that gradually grows into a conviction
of the permanent presence of divine
substance within, and this gives rise
to the most exquisite joy. Inward
ecstasy is what gives the countenance
of peace to the saint and of
illumination and purity to the sister
of mercy. It is experienced by all who
pass into the second degree of faith
(Isaac, son of Abraham).
Gen. 21:8-21. And
the child grew, and was weaned: and
Abraham made a great feast on the
day that Isaac was weaned. And
Sarah saw the son of Hagar the
Egyptian, whom she had borne unto
Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she
said unto Abraham, Cast out this
handmaid and her son: for the son
of this handmaid shall not be heir
with my son, even with Isaac. And
the thing was very grievous in
Abraham's sight on account of his
son. And God said unto Abraham, Let
it not be grievous in thy sight
because of the lad, and because of
thy handmaid; in all that Sarah
saith unto thee, hearken unto her
voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed
be called. And also of the son of
the handmaid will I make a nation,
because he is thy seed. And Abraham
rose up early in the morning, and
took bread and a bottle of water,
and gave it unto Hagar, putting it
on her shoulder, and gave her the
child, and sent her away: and she
departed, and wandered in the
wilderness of Beer-sheba. And the
water in the bottle was spent, and
she cast the child under one of the
shrubs. And she went, and sat her
down over against him a good way
off, as it were a bowshot: for she
said, Let me not look upon the
death of the child. And she sat
over against him, and lifted up her
voice, and wept. And God heard the
voice of the lad; and the angel of
God called to Hagar out of heaven,
and said unto her, What aileth
thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath
heard the voice of the lad where he
is. Arise, lift up the lad, and
hold him in thy hand; for I will
make him a great nation. And God
opened her eyes, and she saw a well
of water; and she went, and filled
the bottle with water, and gave the
lad drink. And God was with the
lad, and he grew; and he dwelt in
the wilderness, and became, as he
grew up, an archer. And he dwelt in
the wilderness of Paran: and his
mother took him a wife out of the
land of Egypt.
When Isaac was weaned
(symbolizing his readiness to take a
forward step in soul responsibility)
Ishmael, Hagar's son, mocked him. Such
mockery is the experience of everyone
in the new birth. The thoughts that are
the fruit of the mind of flesh rise up
within him and mock the new man. Here
the overcomer has a definite work to
do. The animal soul (Hagar, the
bondmaid) and the natural desires (her
son) must be cast out. As Abraham
grieved when Hagar was banished, so we
sometimes grieve at giving up the
fruits of material thinking brought
forth by the natural man.
In the development of
spiritual faculties, of which faith
(Abraham) is one, there is an ascending
movement of the consciousness that is
felt and understood by the individual
having the experience but that is
difficult to explain to one who has not
yet entered upon that plane of
development. The faculty of faith grows
stronger with each trial, and when it
is obedient to the Lord as its divine
guide, it finds an added pleasure in
the exercise of both mind and body at
every upward step. Each function of
man's organism is spiritual at its
foundation, and when he exercises it as
intended by Divine Mind his every
breath and every heartbeat is a song of
joy. Even the most earthly functions
may be spiritualized and become sources
of unending pleasure, while when they
are under the control of the animal
mind of man they become demoralizers of
the body. Under divine guidance the
retrogression produced by mere
animalism may be harmonized and
purified through the descent of the
fires of Spirit. This is what happened
to Sodom and Gomorrah, which represent
the desires and activities pertaining
to generation.
When we have faith in
God and the ways of Spirit, we are
willing to give up all our material
pleasures if such be the instruction of
the inner guide. This giving up is
symbolized by the sacrifices so often
referred to in the history of the
Children of Israel. The body and its
vital forces are in perpetual action,
which is progressive under the divine
law. When the law is disregarded there
is a waning of the higher forces that
brings a sense of discomfort. It is
frequently through pain that we are
brought to see the error of our ways.
Then we should hasten to find the law
of being that will give real
satisfaction without
inharmony.
The action of Abraham is
an example of this practice. After
giving up animal gratification and
purifying the mind of sense thoughts
(banishing Hagar and Ishmael), he
experienced a greater pleasure from a
more interior or spiritual action of
the same function. Isaac was the
fulfillment of Abraham's greatest
desire. But the use of the natural
functions must also be raised to a
higher plane. On each of the ascending
stages in bodily transmutation there is
a residuum of the last preceding stage
remaining in consciousness. This too
must be purified so that the whole man
may be a fit temple for the Holy
Spirit.
The seemingly inhuman
treatment of Hagar and Ishmael by
Abraham and Sarah is symbolical of the
activity of forces at work in the soul
of man. The natural soul (Hagar),
lacking real understanding of the newly
awakened spiritual soul (Sarah), looks
on it with a jealous and antagonistic
eye. The product of the thoughts of the
natural man at work in the flesh
(Ishmael) reflects the natural soul's
attitude and scoffs at the possibility
of joy brought about through mere
pleasure in spiritual life. Such an
attitude brings about a separation
between the spiritual state of
consciousness and the natural state
that depletes the supply on the natural
plane.
The wilderness of
Beer-sheba represents in individual
consciousness the multitude of
undisciplined and uncultivated
thoughts. Even in this state of mind a
person can hear the voice of God. God
spoke to Hagar, which opened her eyes
to the truth that the well of living
water was close by and that she and her
son would be amply sustained and
prospered.
This tells us that even
the outermost part of man (the body) is
to be saved and to be given the chance
to unfold and become efficient in all
its activities.
Ishmael became an
archer, which indicates that he was an
expert at hitting the mark. Later he
left Beer-sheba and "dwelt in the
wilderness of Paran." The name Paran
means "region of caverns," "region of
searching," "place of much digging."
Paran represents the multitude of
seemingly confused and undisciplined
thoughts of the subconscious mind; also
a place or period of much earnest
searching after Truth. That "his mother
took him a wife out of the land of
Egypt" means that Ishmael (fruits of
the flesh) through Hagar (the natural
soul) unites with the feminine force of
materiality.
Gen. 21:22-34. And
it came to pass at that time, that
Abimelech and Phicol the captain of
his host spake unto Abraham,
saying, God is with thee in all
that thou doest: now therefore
swear unto me here by God that thou
wilt not deal falsely with me, nor
with my son, nor with my son's son:
but according to the kindness that
I have done unto thee, thou shalt
do unto me, and to the land wherein
thou hast sojourned. And Abraham
said, I will swear. And Abraham
reproved Abimelech because of the
well of water, which Abimelech's
servants had violently taken away.
And Abimelech said, I know not who
hath done this thing: neither didst
thou tell me, neither yet heard I
of it, but today. And Abraham took
sheep and oxen, and gave them unto
Abimelech; and they two made a
covenant. And Abraham set seven ewe
lambs of the flock by themselves.
And Abimelech said unto Abraham,
What mean these seven ewe lambs
which thou hast set by themselves?
And he said, These seven ewe lambs
shalt thou take of my hand, that it
may be a witness unto me, that I
have digged this well. Wherefore he
called that place Beer-sheba;
because there they sware both of
them. So they made a covenant at
Beer-sheba: and Abimelech rose up,
and Phicol the captain of his host,
and they returned into the land of
the Philistines. And Abraham
planted a tamarisk tree in
Beer-sheba, and called there on the
name of Jehovah, the Everlasting
God. And Abraham sojourned in the
land of the Philistines many
days.
The name Phicol means
"spokesman for all," "all-commanding,"
"every tongue." Phicol was the captain
of the host of Abimelech and represents
the seeming all-sufficiency of sense
consciousness in man at a certain stage
of his evolution. He was a Philistine,
a Philistine denoting sense
consciousness.
The name Beer-sheba
means "well of the oath," "well of
fulfillment," "well of the seven."
Abraham represents the first activity
of the faith faculty in man's
consciousness. Abimelech represents the
will, which though unregenerate at this
stage of man's unfoldment, recognizes
faith and its attainments (Abraham and
his possessions). Abimelech fears that
he and his kingdom will be overrun by
Abraham and his everincreasing family
and household. On the other hand,
Abimelech's servants take by force the
well that Abraham had dug. This latter
means that the life forces, which have
been discovered and laid hold of by
faith's activity, have been utilized
and corrupted by the fleshly man
instead of being retained for the use
of the mental and spiritual. The
covenant between Abraham and Abimelech
denotes the establishing of a right
relation in consciousness between the
spiritual and so-called material.
Beer-sheba represents the establishing
of this agreement ("well of the oath")
between the inner and the outer,
wherein faith and its adherents (higher
thoughts) are given ample room in the
organism and are allowed to retain
possession of the well (reservoir of
life) that they have been instrumental
in bringing to light. On the other
hand, the higher thoughts of faith
realize that they must not harm or
destroy the outer man (Abimelech and
his kingdom).
To swear by the seven is
to covenant that the thing promised
will be fulfilled, the number seven
representing fulfillment of the natural
law.
Gen. 22:1-18. And it
came to pass after these things,
that God did prove Abraham, and
said unto him, Abraham; and he
said, Here am I. And he said, Take
now thy son, thine only son, whom
thou lovest, even Isaac, and get
thee into the land of Moriah; and
offer him there for a
burnt-offering upon one of the
mountains which I will tell thee
of. And Abraham rose early in the
morning, and saddled his ass, and
took two of his young men with him,
and Isaac his son; and he clave the
wood for the burnt-offering, and
rose up, and went unto the place of
which God had told him. On the
third day Abraham lifted up his
eyes, and saw the place afar off.
And Abraham said unto his young
men, Abide ye here with the ass,
and I and the lad will go yonder;
and we will worship, and come again
to you. And Abraham took the wood
of the burnt-offering, and laid it
upon Isaac his son; and he took in
his hand the fire and the knife;
and they went both of them
together. And Isaac spake unto
Abraham his father, and said, My
father: and he said, Here am I, my
son. And he said, Behold, the fire
and the wood: but where is the lamb
for a burnt-offering? And Abraham
said, God will provide himself the
lamb for a burnt-offering, my son:
so they went both of them
together.
And they came to
the place which God had told them
of; and Abraham built the altar
there, and laid the wood in order,
and bound Isaac his son, and laid
him on the altar, upon the wood.
And Abraham stretched forth his
hand, and took the knife to slay
his son. And the angel of Jehovah
called unto him out of heaven, and
said, Abraham, Abraham: and he
said, Here am I. And he said, Lay
not thy hand upon the lad, neither
do thou anything unto him; for now
I know that thou fearest God,
seeing thou hast not withheld thy
son, thine only son, from me. And
Abraham lifted up his eyes, and
looked, and, behold, behind him a
ram caught in the thicket by his
horns: and Abraham went and took
the ram, and offered him up for a
burnt-offering in the stead of his
son. And Abraham called the name of
that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is
said to this day, In the mount of
Jehovah it shall be provided. And
the angel of Jehovah called unto
Abraham a second time out of
heaven, and said, By myself have I
sworn, saith Jehovah, because thou
hast done this thing, and hast not
withheld thy son, thine only son,
that in blessing I will bless thee,
and in multiplying I will multiply
thy seed as the stars of the
heavens, and as the sand which is
upon the sea-shore; and thy seed
shall possess the gate of his
enemies; and in thy seed shall all
the nations of the earth be
blessed; because thou hast obeyed
my voice.
The story of the near
sacrifice of Isaac illustrates the
truth that we must be willing to give
up the pleasures of sense without
question if we are to have the
consciousness of the greater
satisfactions of Spirit. Being willing
and obedient in submitting our
sensations to the law of Spirit, we
then find that we do not at all
sacrifice the real inner joy but only
its coarser expression in physical
generation (which is represented by the
ram).
It seemed to Abraham
that the law of Spiritual growth
demanded the slaying of Isaac, the
whole consciousness of joy. At various
stages of unfoldment there are trials
as well as triumphs, and those who have
but a transient faith in the wisdom and
power of Spirit are apt to give up and
turn back before the process is
complete. (Abraham did not turn back.)
Moriah, the name of the land where
Abraham was sent to make his sacrifice,
signifies the "bitterness of Jehovah."
So we find that the changes that take
place in consciousness sometimes are
bitter experiences, and it takes a
strong faith to believe that good will
come out of them. Yet it always does
come when there is steadfast obedience
to God and faith in His goodness. The
successful meeting of such trials gives
great power to the body and brings a
sure reward. Abraham became the father
of a multitude as numerous "as the
stars of the heavens, and as the sand
which is upon the sea-shore." The child
was not sacrificed although Abraham
took every step in preparation. After
he had successfully passed this test,
the angel of the Lord repeated the
promise of the covenant: "By myself
have I sworn, saith Jehovah . . . and
in thy seed shall all the nations of
the earth be blessed; because thou hast
obeyed my voice."
In the regeneration man
must be willing to sacrifice his
greatest pleasure in life (Isaac). But
when he has given up willingly, made
the spiritual surrender, he finds that
it is not the joy of life that he
sacrifices but only the sensuous aspect
of joy.
Faith in God (Abraham)
and obedience to the divine law brings
forth a serene peace and joy.
Christians well know that the
development of faith and obedience does
cause one to become inwardly happy and
outwardly serene. Jesus had this inward
happiness, and He tried to pass it on
to His disciples: "These things have I
spoken unto you, that my joy may be in
you, and that your joy may be made
full."
The name Jehovah-jireh
means "Jehovah will see," "Jehovah will
behold," "Jehovah will provide." It
signifies "I am the provider." If we
expect to demonstrate prosperity from
without, we find it a slow process; but
if we know that the I AM is the
provider, we have the key to the
inexhaustible resource.
Gen. 22:19. So
Abraham returned unto his young
men, and they rose up and went
together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham
dwelt at Beer-sheba.
The two young men
represent masculine forces that have
been trained for service under the
supervision of pioneering faith.
Beer-sheba represents the establishing
of a right relationship in
consciousness between the spiritual and
the seemingly material. Faith (Abraham)
and the young masculine thoughts dwell
in the state of consciousness
represented by Beer-sheba, and it is in
the light of this fact that the
following incidents are to be
understood.
Gen. 22:20-24. And
it came to pass after these things,
that it was told Abraham, saying,
Behold, Milcah, she also hath borne
children unto thy brother Nahor: Uz
his first-born, and Buz his
brother, and Kemuel the father of
Aram, and Chesed, and Hazo, and
Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these
eight did Milcah bear to Nahor,
Abraham's brother. And his
concubine, whose name was Reumah,
she also bare Tebah, and Gaham, and
Tahash, and Maacah.
Milcah represents the
soul in its function of expressing
dominion, wisdom, and good judgment.
The soul of man on its feminine side is
intuitional and often perceives or
senses things that, while they are not
perceived by the outer or more active
and positive part of the individual
consciousness, should be heeded by
it.
Nahor symbolizes a
piercing and breaking up of the
individual sense consciousness hitherto
unpenetrated by Truth so that a new
line of thought may be brought
forth.
Nahor and Milcah united
to produce eight children (states of
consciousness), whose names are
interpreted here.
(For Uz see
interpretation of Gen. 10.)
The name Buz means
"despicable," "contempt," "despised."
Buz represents a scornful, scoffing
state of thought, which is despicable
in the light of Truth. The name Kemuel
means "God stands," "God's
righteousness." Kemuel symbolizes the
righteousness and judgment of God in
the process of becoming ascendant in
individual consciousness, of growing
and taking a firmer hold; also of
bringing about a closer union of the
true, higher, spiritual thoughts of the
mind in order to establish the
adjustment that is needed for the
further progress of the
individual.
The name Chesed means
"an astrologer," "a magus," "wisdom."
Chesed represents a certain type of
wisdom, a wisdom that is psychical in
its nature rather than
spiritual.
The name Hazo means
"vision," "revelation," "agreement."
The arousing of a higher desire in man
(Nahor) through the activity of faith
(Abraham) causing the piercing of the
darkness of material belief and opens
the way for a new and clearer insight
into Truth. This new insight is
symbolized by Hazo.
The name Pildash means
"flame of fire." Pildash represents
zeal, ardor, the result of a quickening
that has taken place in
consciousness.
The name Jidlaph means
"dropping," "distilling," "tearful."
Jidlaph represents a very negative type
of thought in man.
The name Bethuel means
"dweller in God," "abode of God."
Bethuel represents unity with God; a
conscious abiding in Him.
Rebekah (the name of
Bethuel's daughter) means "tying
firmly," "snare," "beauty that
ensnares." Rebekah represents the
soul's natural delight in
beauty.
Reumah (the name of
Nahor's concubine means "lofty,"
"sublime," "pearl." Reumah symbolizes
the soul or feminine principle in man
elevated to a place of appreciation, of
high esteem, in
consciousness.
By Reumah, Nahor had
four children, whose names are given
here.
The name Tebah means
"slaughter," "slaying," "life guard."
Tebah represents an active thought of
or strong belief in self-defense ("life
guard") that is very destructive
("slaughter," i. e., of animals or
persons).
The name Gaham means
"flaming," "burning," "charring." Gaham
symbolizes the heat of sense
consciousness brought to a climax, a
focus, and burning itself out. This is
caused by the higher desires (Nahor and
Reumah) that have been aroused by the
awakening of faith (Abraham) in the
individual. Thus a reaction sets in,
the whole consciousness revolts against
sense beliefs, and a measure of
purification is
accomplished.
The name Tahash means
"burrowing," "diving," "ram." Tahash
symbolizes an increase of life activity
in the organism but an activity more of
the animal than the spiritual
kind.
The name Maacah means
"squeezed," "compressed." Maacah
represents an oppressively aggressive
character. He is of the outer sense
man.
(For Aram see
interpretation of Gen.
10:27-32.)
Chapter
8 * * * * *
Mysteries of
Genesis
Table of
Contents
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