Chapter 8
THE MENTAL
SUPPLANTS THE PHYSICAL
GENESIS 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28
Charles Fillmore
Mysteries of Genesis
IT IS SELF-EVIDENT that
both the physical and metaphysical
sides of life are capable of manifold
expression. Some metaphysicians contend
that all is mind and matter is the
negative of mind or nothingness.
However, contemplation of the
tremendous possibilities infolded in
the earth makes us pause when we hear
that assertion. Here beneath our feet
is a crust of substance upon whose
pages like a mighty book is written a
record of the earth's evolution during
the aeons and ages through which it has
passed from mist to matter. In it the
geologist finds the fossils that tell
him of its physical history, and the
trained psychic can hold in his hand a
piece of inanimate rock and it will
tell him its evolution from ether to
matter. The souls of all forms from
mollusk up to man have left a certain
memory essence upon the substance they
handled, and that essence is preserved
ready to be redeemed and raised to
higher levels by the minds that gave it
form. Although the body of
"Imperious Caesar,
dead and turned to clay
Might stop a hole
to keep the wind away,"
its soul essence endures
and will in the final judgment, or
justification, of man's work be merged
into the perfect body. Daniel pointed
to this when he wrote, "Many of them
that sleep in the dust of the earth
shall awake."
The purchase by Abraham
of the cave of Machpelah as a grave for
Sarah involves this mystical soul
essence. Machpelah means infolded,
winding, spiral, symbolizing a
condition in which great possibilities
of expression are involved. Not only
Sarah but Abraham himself, Isaac,
Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob were buried
there. All these were spiritually
quickened and therefore impressed their
soul qualities upon matter more
definitely than the children of Heth;
but all are to undergo judgment,
through numerous incarnations, at the
end of the ages, "some to everlasting
life, and some to shame and everlasting
contempt." "And they that are wise
shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament; and they that turn many to
righteousness as the stars for ever and
ever."
Gen. 23:1-2. And the
life of Sarah was a hundred and
seven and twenty years: these were
the years of the life of Sarah. And
Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (the
same is Hebron), in the land of
Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn
for Sarah, and to weep for
her.
The name Kiriath-arba
means "city of Arba," "city
foursquare." Symbolically Kiriath-arba
denotes the state of consciousness that
attributes to material reason the
perfection belonging to and coming from
spiritual understanding only; that
attributes strength, power, knowledge,
and greatness to the outer formed world
instead of knowing that all power and
reality exists in Spirit, in the
unformed ideas of the one
Mind.
Sarah (symbolizing the
spiritual soul in a certain degree of
unfoldment) died in Kiriath-arba. In
truth however the higher activities of
the soul cannot die. It may seemingly
become entangled in thoughts on the
natural plane and disappear for a
season from the conscious mind. However
it is enjoying a period of rest in
preparation for a new and higher
expression.
Gen. 23:3-20. And
Abraham rose up from before his
dead, and spake unto the children
of Heth, saying, I am a stranger
and a sojourner with you: give me a
possession of a burying-place with
you, that I may bury my dead out of
my sight. And the children of Heth
answered Abraham, saying unto him,
Hear us, my lord; thou art a prince
of God among us: in the choice of
our sepulchres bury thy dead; none
of us shall withhold from thee his
sepulchre, but that thou mayest
bury thy dead. And Abraham rose up,
and bowed himself to the people of
the land, even to the children of
Heth. And he communed with them,
saying, If it be your mind that I
should bury my dead out of my
sight, hear me, and entreat for me
to Ephron the son of Zohar, that he
may give me the cave of Machpelah,
which he hath, which is in the end
of his field; for the full price
let him give it to me in the midst
of you for a possession of a
burying-place. Now Ephron was
sitting in the midst of the
children of Heth: and Ephron the
Hittite answered Abraham in the
audience of the children of Heth,
even of all that went in at the
gate of his city, saying, Nay, my
lord, hear me: the field give I
thee, and the cave that is therein,
I give it thee; in the presence of
the children of my people give I it
thee: bury thy dead. And Abraham
bowed himself down before the
people of the land. And he spake
unto Ephron in the audience of the
people of the land, saying, But if
thou wilt, I pray thee, hear me: I
will give the price of the field;
take it of me, and I will bury my
dead there. And Ephron answered
Abraham, saying unto him, My lord,
hearken unto me: a piece of land
worth four hundred shekels of
silver, what is that betwixt me and
thee? bury therefore my dead. And
Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and
Abraham weighed to Ephron the
silver which he had named in the
audience of the children of Heth,
four hundred shekels of silver,
current money with the
merchant.
So the field of
Ephron, which was in Machpelah,
which was before Mamre, the field,
and the cave which was therein, and
all the trees that were in the
field, that were in all the border
thereof round about, were made sure
unto Abraham for a possession in
the presence of the children of
Heth, before all that went in at
the gate of the city. And after
this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife
in the cave of the field of
Machpelah before Mamre (the same is
Hebron), in the land of Canaan. And
the field, and the cave that is
therein, were made sure unto
Abraham for a possession of a
burying-place by the children of
Heth.
Abraham requested the
children of Heth to "entreat for me to
Ephron the son of Zohar" that he might
give him the cave of Machpelah for a
burying place for Sarah.
The name Zohar means
"whiteness," "brightness," "nobility."
Zohar represents thoughts of a pure,
clear, lofty, discriminating
character.
The name Ephron means
"gazellelike," "quick," "volatile."
Ephron represents a type of thought
that is very impulsive, light, airy,
and quick to change.
The name Machpelah means
"equally divided," "twofold," "spiral
form." Machpelah represents
subconscious body substance (a field in
which there was a cave). Sarah and the
others buried in this cave symbolize
the submergence of spiritual ideals in
us. When these ideals have done their
work in the conscious realm of our
mind, for the time being they give way
to other activities of the mind, while
they sink back into the
subconsciousness (cave). There they
take deep root in substance and
continue their work, which is not
apparent to the outer, conscious,
thinking part of the mind. They work
out into the body consciousness in
another incarnation, thus aiding in
raising the whole organism to a higher
plane of expression.
When going through the
inner experience of releasing from
consciousness some much-cherished soul
quality or thought activity that has
become useless for the time being, one
may have a tendency to grieve and to
hold to the good that seems to be
becoming inactive in one's life. Then
the thought activity represented by
Ephron comes to one's rescue to aid one
in making the necessary change and in
letting go of the old. Sarah died in
Hebron, and it was in Hebron that
Abraham bargained with Ephron for the
cave of Machpelah in which to bury
Sarah. Hebron refers to the conscious
mind; also to a certain "association"
of thoughts. Faith (Abraham) suggests
the awakening of man's mind to higher
ideals, and hills denote their
manifestation.
The word Mamre means
"firmness," "vigor," "strength." The
oak trees (which surrounded Mamre) in
themselves denote strength and
protection; but the Hebrew name for oak
trees has a deeper significance than
this; it comes from a root similar to
the one from which is derived the word
Elohim. Thus we are reminded of the
truth that those who trust in God as
their defense, their refuge, and their
fortress, and who dwell in the secret
place of the Most High, abide under the
shadow of the Almighty, and not only
are kept from all evil and its results
but also continue to grow and unfold in
understanding, in spirituality, in
every good. The Hebrew words ayil,
elon, and allah all refer to the oak or
terebinth, and express the ideas of
power, elevation, and expansion. The
prefix al or el that begins the name
Elohim, or better AElohim, comes from
the same root, which refers to the
power of expansive movement, the power
of extension, and is also the personal
pronoun el, which stands for the strong
one or the absolute.
Abraham's insistence on
paying Ephron for the ground where
Sarah was to be buried emphasizes the
sufficiency of Spirit and the opulence
of those who live under its law.
Abraham was the possessor of an
all-producing faith, and he was
expected to use it on all occasions to
supply his every need. Those who have a
living faith in God's all-sufficiency
do not beg or accept things without
recompense but give value received for
everything.
Gen. 24:1-9. And
Abraham was old, and well stricken
in age: and Jehovah had blessed
Abraham in all things. And Abraham
said unto his servant, the elder of
his house, that ruled over all that
he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand
under my thigh: and I will make
thee swear by Jehovah, the God of
heaven and the God of the earth,
that thou wilt not take a wife for
my son of the daughters of the
Canaanites, among whom I dwell: but
thou shalt go unto my country, and
to my kindred, and take a wife for
my son Isaac. And the servant said
unto him, Peradventure the woman
will not be willing to follow me
unto this land: must I needs bring
thy son again unto the land from
whence thou camest? And Abraham
said unto him, Beware thou that
thou bring not my son thither
again. Jehovah, the God of heaven,
who took me from my father's house,
and from the land of my nativity,
and who spake unto me, and who
sware unto me, saying, Unto thy
seed will I give this land; he will
send his angel before thee, and
thou shalt take a wife for my son
from thence. And if the woman be
not willing to follow thee, then
thou shalt be clear from this my
oath; only thou shalt not bring my
son thither again. And the servant
put his hand under the thigh of
Abraham his master, and sware to
him concerning this matter.
The progenitor of the
house of Abraham (primitive faith) is
Spirit. Abraham desired to perpetuate
the spiritual trend of consciousness.
The "servant, the elder of his house,
that ruled over all that he had"
(representing the personal ego that
rules over the body or "house"
consciousness), obeyed every injunction
of his. Abraham (the progressive mind)
desires Isaac (his happy, joyous
thoughts) to unite in marriage with one
of his kindred (Rebekah: high ideals)
in the land of Haran (exalted state of
mind). Abraham (progressive faith) then
requires his obedient servant (the
personal ego ruling over the body
consciousness) to take an oath or
affirm, with his hand (power) on
Abraham's thigh, that this shall be
accomplished.
Yarek, the Hebrew word
translated "thigh," comes from a little
used root and is sometimes used
euphemistically to designate the
genitals. This oath was not taken on
the thigh but on the genital organs, a
practice not peculiar to the Hebrews
but known to many other primitive
people. Such a custom hints at
phallicism or the worship of the
physical source of life. As our courts
impress on the witness the sacredness
of his oath by having him place his
hand on the Bible while making it, so
these people used the source of
physical life to enforce the sanctity
of an oath.
Spiritual light comes
through the activity of pioneering
faith. Abraham realized that through
his struggles for a higher state of
consciousness (Haran) his soul had
become rooted and grounded in the
fundamental principles of Truth.
Therefore he desired his happy, joyous
thoughts (Isaac) to unite with a
feminine soul force that had sprung
from the original root of Spirit (his
own kindred).
Gen. 24:10-62. And
the servant took ten camels, of the
camels of his master, and departed,
having all goodly things of his
master's in his hand: and he arose,
and went to Mesopotamia, unto the
city of Nahor. And he made the
camels to kneel down without the
city by the well of water at the
time of evening, the time that
women go out to draw water. And he
said, O Jehovah, the God of my
master Abraham, send me, I pray
thee, good speed this day, and show
kindness unto my master Abraham.
Behold, I am standing by the
fountain of water; and the
daughters of the men of the city
are coming out to draw water: and
let it come to pass, that the
damsel to whom I shall say, Let
down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that
I may drink; and she shall say,
Drink, and I will give thy camels
drink also: let the same be she
that thou hast appointed for thy
servant Isaac; and thereby shall I
know that thou hast showed kindness
unto my master. And it came to
pass, before he had done speaking,
that, behold, Rebekah came out, who
was born to Bethuel, the son of
Milcah, the wife of Nahor,
Abraham's brother, with her pitcher
upon her shoulder. And the damsel
was very fair to look upon, a
virgin, neither had any man known
her: and she went down to the
fountain, and filled her pitcher,
and came up. And the servant ran to
meet her, and said, Give me to
drink, I pray thee, a little water
from thy pitcher. And she said,
Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and
let down her pitcher upon her hand,
and gave him drink. And when she
had done giving him drink, she
said, I will draw for thy camels
also, until they have done
drinking. And she hasted, and
emptied her pitcher into the
trough, and ran again unto the well
to draw, and drew for all his
camels. And the man looked
stedfastly on her, holding his
peace, to know whether Jehovah had
made his journey prosperous or not.
And it came to pass, as the camels
had done drinking, that the man
took a golden ring of half a shekel
weight, and two bracelets for her
hands of ten shekels weight of
gold, and said, Whose daughter art
thou? tell me, I pray thee. Is
there room in thy father's house
for us to lodge in? And she said
unto him, I am the daughter of
Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she
bare unto Nahor. She said moreover
unto him, We have both straw and
provender enough, and room to lodge
in. And the man bowed his head, and
worshipped Jehovah. And he said,
Blessed be Jehovah, the God of my
master Abraham, who hath not
forsaken his loving-kindness and
his truth toward my master: as for
me, Jehovah hath led me in the way
to the house of my master's
brethren.
And the damsel
ran, and told her mother's house
according to these words. And
Rebekah had a brother, and his name
was Laban: and Laban ran out unto
the man, unto the fountain. And it
came to pass, when he saw the ring,
and the bracelets upon his sister's
hands, and when he heard the words
of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus
spake the man unto me; that he came
unto the man; and, behold, he was
standing by the camels at the
fountain. And he said, Come in,
thou blessed of Jehovah; wherefore
standest thou without? for I have
prepared the house, and room for
the camels. And the man came into
the house, and he ungirded the
camels; and he gave straw and
provender for the camels, and water
to wash his feet and the feet of
the men that were with him. And
there was set food before him to
eat: but he said, I will not eat,
until I have told mine errand. And
he said, Speak on. And he said, I
am Abraham's servant. And Jehovah
hath blessed my master greatly; and
he is become great; and he hath
given him flocks and herds, and
silver and gold, and men-servants
and maid-servants, and camels and
asses. And Sarah my master's wife
bare a son to my master when she
was old: and unto him hath he given
all that he hath. And my master
made me swear, saying, Thou shalt
not take a wife for my son of the
daughters of the Canaanites, in
whose land I dwell: but thou shalt
go unto my father's house, and to
my kindred, and take a wife for my
son. And I said unto my master,
Peradventure the woman will not
follow me. And he said unto me,
Jehovah, before whom I walk, will
send his angel with thee, and
prosper thy way; and thou shalt
take a wife for my son of my
kindred, and of my father's house:
then shalt thou be clear from my
oath, when thou comest to thy
kindred; and if they give her not
to thee, thou shalt be clear from
my oath. And I came this day unto
the fountain, and said, O Jehovah,
the God of my master Abraham, if
now thou do prosper my way which I
go: behold, I am standing by the
fountain of water; and let it come
to pass, that the maiden that
cometh forth to draw, to whom I
shall say, Give me, I pray thee, a
little water from thy pitcher to
drink; and she shall say to me,
Both drink thou, and I will also
draw for thy camels: let the same
be the woman whom Jehovah hath
appointed for my master's son. And
before I had done speaking in my
heart, behold, Rebekah came forth
with her pitcher on her shoulder;
and she went down unto the
fountain, and drew: and I said unto
her, Let me drink, I pray thee. And
she made haste, and let down her
pitcher from her shoulder, and
said, Drink, and I will give thy
camels drink also: so I drank, and
she made the camels drink also. And
I asked her, and said, Whose
daughter art thou? And she said,
The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's
son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and
I put the ring upon her nose, and
the bracelets upon her hands. And I
bowed my head, and worshipped
Jehovah, and blessed Jehovah, the
God of my master Abraham, who had
led me in the right way to take my
master's brother's daughter for his
son. And now if ye will deal kindly
and truly with my master, tell me:
and if not, tell me; that I may
turn to the right hand, or to the
left.
Then Laban and
Bethuel answered and said, The
thing proceedeth from Jehovah: we
cannot speak unto thee bad or good.
Behold, Rebekah is before thee,
take her, and go, and let her be
thy master's son's wife, as Jehovah
hath spoken. And it came to pass,
that, when Abraham's servant heard
their words, he bowed himself down
to the earth unto Jehovah. And the
servant brought forth jewels of
silver, and jewels of gold, and
raiment, and gave them to Rebekah:
he gave also to her brother and to
her mother precious things. And
they did eat and drink, he and the
men that were with him, and tarried
all night; and they rose up in the
morning, and he said, Send me away
unto my master. And her brother and
her mother said, Let the damsel
abide with us a few days, at least
ten; after that she shall go. And
he said unto them, Hinder me not,
seeing Jehovah hath prospered my
way; send me away that I may go to
my master. And they said, We will
call the damsel, and inquire at her
mouth. And they called Rebekah, and
said unto her, Wilt thou go with
this man? And she said, I will go.
And they sent away Rebekah their
sister, and her nurse, and
Abraham's servant, and his men. And
they blessed Rebekah, and said unto
her, Our sister, be thou the mother
of thousands of ten thousands, and
let thy seed possess the gate of
those that hate them.
And Rebekah
arose, and her damsels, and they
rode upon the camels, and followed
the man: and the servant took
Rebekah, and went his way. And
Isaac came up from the way of
Beer-lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the
land of the South.
A declaration of Truth
is always demonstrated in mind and
body. Paul says the man is not without
the woman in the Lord. In the above
Scripture the law is in process of
being fulfilled (the oath or
affirmation made by Abraham's servant
is here being demonstrated.
Abraham's servant
journeyed into the land of Mesopotamia
in search of a wife for Abraham's son
Isaac and was led by Jehovah to the
city of Nahor, where he found
Rebekah.
The state of
consciousness represented by
Mesopotamia lies close to the
spiritual, at least close enough to be
open to the divine urge for light and
higher attainment ("country between,"
"middle region," "middle land").
Otherwise it could not have been the
home of Rebekah and her brother Laban,
nor of Abraham at the time when he
received from God the revelation
directing him to come out from his
people into another country (to enter
into a higher and more spiritual state
of mind) that he might possess his
divine inheritance.
Nahor denotes the
arousing of a more lofty desire in man
through the activity of faith
(Abraham). These greater aspirations
pierce the darkness of materiality and
aid in bringing about a new trend of
thought ("eager," "piercing,"
"slaying").
Bethuel, father of
Rebekah, represents conscious unity
with Spirit. Milcah, mother of Rebekah,
represents wisdom and good judgment
through the intuitional or feminine
nature. The name Rebekah means "tying
firmly," "noosed cord," "beauty that
ensnares." Rebekah represents the
soul's natural delight in beauty. This
essence of the soul is continually
going forth and making contact with the
harmonious and the
beautiful.
Abraham's servant
adorned Rebekah with rings and
bracelets of gold, which appealed to
her love of the beautiful. This no
doubt influenced her in her decision to
make the journey to the house of
Abraham. Metaphysically Rebekah's
taking this step represents an esthetic
feminine force within the soul
penetrating down into the subconscious
and there making union with life and
substance. The servant (personal ego)
guided Rebekah into Beer-lahai-roi, in
the "land of the South" (the
subconscious), where Isaac
dwelt.
(For further
interpretation of Beer-lahai-roi see
comments on Gen. 16:1-15.)
Through the inherent
love of the harmonious thousands are
blessed and many hearts of "hate" are
directed into other channels of
expression ("let thy seed possess the
gate of those that hate
them").
Gen. 24:63-67. And
Isaac went out to meditate in the
field at the eventide: and he
lifted up his eyes, and saw, and,
behold, there were camels coming.
And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and
when she saw Isaac, she alighted
from the camel. And she said unto
the servant, What man is this that
walketh in the field to meet us?
And the servant said, It is my
master: and she took her veil, and
covered herself. And the servant
told Isaac all the things that he
had done. And Isaac brought her
into his mother Sarah's tent, and
took Rebekah, and she became his
wife; and he loved her: and Isaac
was comforted after his mother's
death.
The happy Isaac
consciousness claimed its counterpart
in Rebekah. Faith and obedience
(Abraham) bring forth joy, and joy
(Isaac) is linked with the beauty of
nature without. The devout, joyous soul
readily makes union with the natural,
harmonious expression of Spirit, and in
the joy of spiritual realization the
thoughts are lifted up in exaltation
and praise. "And Isaac went out to
meditate in the field at the eventide:
and he lifted up his eyes, and saw . .
. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes . . .
and he loved her." Thus is portrayed
the union of the devout, joyous nature
with the soul of love.
The joyous soul, when
established in spiritual faith and
poise, is screened from contact with
inharmonies: "and she took her veil,
and covered herself."
Isaac led Rebekah into
his mother Sarah's tent. This signifies
that the soul powers symbolized by
Isaac and Rebekah are ever penetrating
into the physical, here represented by
the tent.
Gen. 25:1-4. And
Abraham took another wife, and her
name was Keturah. And she bare him
Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and
Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And
Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And
the sons of Dedan were Asshurim,
and Letushim, and Leummim. And the
sons of Midian: Ephah, and Epher,
and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah.
All these were the children of
Keturah.
The name of Abraham's
second wife, Keturah, means "incense,"
"perfume," "aloeswood." Keturah
represents a soul consciousness that
aspires to higher things even though
still in sense.
To Abraham Keturah bare
six sons. Zimran represents a positive
expression of joy, harmony, and grace,
the first conscious result of a union
in the individual of awakening faith
(Abraham) with the aspiration of the
soul for higher bodily attainment
(Keturah). Jokshan represents a sly,
treacherous, deceitful tendency that
often exists in the sense mind of man
and that places the individual who
gives way to it in difficult
situations. Medan and Midian represent
the sense of dominion that to a degree
is founded on discrimination and
understanding but that is still full of
contention and strife. Ishbak typifies
the transitoriness of human ambition
and its results. Shuah denotes an
exceedingly depressed, downcast state
of thought.
The meaning of the names
of the six sons of Abraham and Keturah
point to divided thought; the thoughts
are partly good thoughts and partly
limited thoughts, thoughts of the sense
mind. The descendants of these sons
became enemies of the Israelites. While
the trend of thought represented by
them may to a certain extent be helpful
to the natural man at a certain stage
of his unfoldment, the time comes when
they must be released from the mind so
that the real, true thoughts and
activities (Israelites) may have full
sway in the consciousness.
Jokshan begat Sheba, who
represents wholeness or fullness on
various planes of existence ("return to
an original state," "repose,"
"equilibrium"), and Dedan ("mutual
attraction," "physical love," "low"),
who represents a phase of physical or
animal attraction and affection. This
must give way to true love, which is
spiritual in its character and is
unselfish and pure.
Dedan had three sons.
Asshurim represents the reasoning power
of faith operating in sense
consciousness. The reasoning of the
intellect, guided by the senses, may
seem almost invincible at times, but it
does not endure. Only spiritual ideas
and their manifestation are truly
strong, powerful, and abiding. The
second son of Dedan was Letushim, who
represents the sense of being oppressed
and hard driven that all persons in the
lower, earthly consciousness experience
much of the time. In the Letushim
consciousness advancement is slow and
is gained by means of hard experiences.
The third son of Dedan was Leummim, who
symbolizes great increase and
multiplication of thoughts in
consciousness but without real
spiritual quickening.
Midian had five sons.
Ephah represents darkened and obscured
phases of thought and soul in which the
Spirit of God is working--over which
Spirit is brooding--that Truth may
blossom forth and come to fruition in
due time. Midian's second son was
Epher, who represents thoughts on the
animal plane of consciousness in man
that are active but young and
inexperienced. His third son was
Hanoch, who represents entrance into a
higher consciousness than has been
known and experienced before. The
fourth son, Abida, represents the
belief that knowledge comes through the
senses. The judgment of the senses,
based on outer appearances, produces
discordant thoughts, jealousies, and
the like. Midian's fifth son Eldaah
("whom God has called"), represents a
central thought that responds in a
measure to the quickening presence of
Spirit although it belongs to the sense
phase of man consciousness. It
perceives that God is the source of
understanding, yet it does not bring
forth definite fruit in
consciousness.
Gen. 25:5-6. And
Abraham gave all that he had unto
Isaac. But unto the sons of the
concubines, that Abraham had,
Abraham gave gifts; and he sent
them away from Isaac his son, while
he yet lived, eastward, unto the
east country.
Isaac was the product of
Abraham's spiritual consciousness,
while the sons of the concubines were
the product of his personal
consciousness. Hence Isaac (meaning
divine sonship) was the rightful heir
to all that Abraham had.
Gen. 25:7-11. And
these are the days of the years of
Abraham's life which he lived, a
hundred three-score and fifteen.
And Abraham gave up the ghost, and
died in a good old age, an old man,
and full of years, and was gathered
to his people. And Isaac and
Ishmael his sons buried him in the
cave of Machpelah, in the field of
Ephron the son of Zohar the
Hittite, which is before Mamre; the
field which Abraham purchased of
the children of Heth: there was
Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.
And it came to pass after the death
of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac
his son; and Isaac dwelt by
Beer-lahai-roi.
Machpelah was a field
"before Mamre" that Abraham bought from
Ephron, of the children of Heth.
Machpelah represents the subconscious
body substance. As in the case of
Sarah, when the aggregation of thoughts
symbolized by Abraham has done its
perfect work in the conscious realm of
mind, it gives way for the time being
to other activities of the mind and
sinks back into the subconsciousness.
(See comments on Gen.
23:3-20.)
The name Mamre means
"firmness," "vigor," "strength." The
lesson here is that faith in God
(suggested by Abraham) brings about the
right relation among all the faculties,
establishing firmness, vigor, and
strength. After Abraham's passing God
blessed Isaac, and he dwelt in
Beer-lahai-roi by the well of the same
name. The name Beer-lahai-roi means
"the well of the living one." Isaac
symbolizes divine sonship. When the
individual realizes that life is
omnipresent and eternal and that Spirit
is its source he has laid the
foundation for its manifestation
throughout his whole being.
Gen. 25:12-18. Now
these are the generations of
Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar
the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid,
bare unto Abraham: and these are
the names of the sons of Ishmael,
by their names, according to their
generations: the first-born of
Ishmael, Nebaioth; and Kedar, and
Adbeel, and Mibsam, and Mishma, and
Dumah, and Massa, Hadad, and Tema,
Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: these
are the sons of Ishmael, and these
are their names, by their villages,
and by their encampments; twelve
princes according to their nations.
And these are the years of the life
of Ishmael a hundred and thirty
seven years: and he gave up the
ghost and died, and was gathered
unto his people. And they dwelt
from Havilah unto Shur that is
before Egypt, as thou goest toward
Assyria: he abode over against all
his brethren.
The first-born of
Ishmael was Nebaioth. Nebaioth
represents the outer, sensate, or
material consciousness, reflecting the
light of the inner, true ideas that are
born of Spirit ("heights"), and
realizing the possibility of bringing
forth abundant good ("cultivation of
the soil," "fruitfulness,"
"germinations") through the power of
the word of understanding ("prophetic
utterances," "inspired
words").
The second son of
Ishmael was Kedar. Kedar represents a
confused, unsettled, disturbed, obscure
thought yet one with a degree of power
that belongs to the outer or sense side
of consciousness.
The third son of Ishmael
was Adbeel. Adbeel represents a
yearning of the soul for something
higher and better. This yearning will
bring forth fruit in time, when it has
been subjected to the necessary
education and training. Though not
always recognized as coming from God,
this discipline is brought about by the
working of the divine law.
The fourth son, Mibsam,
represents a perception or sensing, to
a degree, of the joys and beauties of
Spirit: the power to perceive,
discriminate, detect,
estimate.
The fifth son, Mishma,
represents a receptive, attentive,
obedient attitude in the outer or sense
consciousness.
The sixth son, Dumah,
represents the condition that man calls
death; also the state of man wherein he
is dead through his trespasses and
sins.
The seventh son, Massa,
represents the ushering in of a new
thought regarding that in man which has
hitherto been deemed by him to be
wholly material and so doomed to death
and dissolution. This new thought is a
prophecy that the seemingly physical
body will ultimately be lifted up and
saved alive. Massa represents a type of
thought that lays hold of, retains, and
transports this truth ("divine
declaration," "a lifting up,") into the
outer organism, the seemingly mortal
part of the individual.
Ishmael's eighth son was
Hadad. Hadad symbolizes the setting up
as all-powerful of the intellect in its
spiritually unawakened state. Back of
the intellect however, back of every
expression of intelligence or
understanding, there exists the hidden
principle of all light, all wisdom, all
knowledge: God, Spirit.
The ninth son, Tema,
represents abundant substance and life,
firmness, faithfulness, and Truth
stored in the
subconsciousness.
The tenth son, Jetur,
represents an idea of order, solidity,
strength, that which keeps within
bounds; the idea or belief that the
individual can be kept in orderly
existence only when limited to certain
lines of thought and action, only when
his thoughts, beliefs, and acts are
fenced in. The sense man's way of
making the individual better is always
to limit him by means of outer rules
and regulations; it knows nothing of
true spiritual freedom and guidance,
which alone can bring about real
strength, unity, and adjustment in
consciousness.
The eleventh son,
Naphish, symbolizes the activity of the
very breath of life by which every
living creature is animated and
inspired, consciously or
unconsciously.
The twelfth son,
Kedemah, represents the inner or true
being of man, divine principle; that
which exists from everlasting to
everlasting, man's true spiritual or
Christ self.
Ishmael represents the
thoughts that are the fruit of the
personal or carnal in man. Kedemah, the
youngest of his twelve sons, symbolizes
the individual's turning within to his
inner or true being, which is
spiritual, eternal. This makes us think
of Paul's words in I Corinthians 15:46,
47: "Howbeit that is not first which is
spiritual, but that which is natural;
then that which is spiritual. The first
man is of the earth, earthy: the second
man is of heaven." God, Spirit, and the
Christ, who is man's true inner self,
are first; otherwise the outer man
could not be. In outer expression and
manifestation however the physical man
appears to come first, and he seems to
run the full gamut of experience in the
outer consciousness before he finally
turns about and begins to seek within
his own inner being to find God,
Spirit, his true source and
sustenance.
Gen. 25:19-22. And
these are the generations of Isaac,
Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac:
and Isaac was forty years old when
he took Rebekah, the daughter of
Bethuel the Syrian of Paddanaram,
the sister of Laban the Syrian, to
be his wife. And Isaac entreated
Jehovah for his wife, because she
was barren: and Jehovah was
entreated of him, and Rebekah his
wife conceived. And the children
struggled together within her; and
she said, If it be so, wherefore do
I live? And she went to inquire of
Jehovah.
When Isaac (representing
serenity, peace, joy) was forty years
old he took Rebekah to be his wife.
Rebekah symbolizes the soul's natural
delight in beauty. She was the daughter
of Bethuel, who symbolizes unity with
God, a conscious abiding in Him, and
the sister of Laban, who symbolizes an
exalted state of mind.
Gen. 25:23-28. And
Jehovah said unto her,
Two nations are
in thy womb,
And two peoples
shall be separated from thy
bowels:
And the one
people shall be stronger than the
other people;
And the elder
shall serve the younger.
And when her days
to be delivered were fulfilled,
behold, there were twins in her
womb. And the first came forth red,
all over like a hairy garment; and
she called his name Esau. And after
that came forth his brother, and
his hand had hold on Esau's heel;
and his name was called Jacob: and
Isaac was three-score years old
when she bare them.
And the boys
grew: and Esau was a skilful
hunter, a man of the field; and
Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in
tents. Now Isaac loved Esau,
because he did eat of his venison:
and Rebekah loved Jacob.
The inner joyous life
current (Isaac) gradually builds up a
physical body of great vitality and at
the same time develops an active
mentality. These two phases of life,
the mental and the physical, are
represented by Isaac's twin sons Jacob
and Esau. They were twins, but Esau was
slightly the older, which fact under
the Hebrew law gave him the rights of
the eldest son and made him Isaac's
heir. Metaphysically this denotes the
physical vigor comes first at this
stage of development but that the mind
accompanies it as a close second. Jacob
had hold of Esau's heel when they were
born, showing that the mental is
directly connected with the physical
and holds it in check at all times,
even from the beginning.
Isaac loved Esau better
than he loved Jacob. When we remember
that Isaac represents joy in the
individual consciousness we can
understand why the physical man seems
to supply the needs of joy better than
does the mental. Esau continually
brought venison (substance to nourish
the animal appetite) to please his
father.
Rebekah loved Jacob
better than she loved Esau. The exalted
mother principle (Rebekah) loves its
expression (Jacob) better than the
physical expression (Esau) and seeks
the blessing of the father principle
(Isaac) upon it. Esau's birthright is
the body and the all-round development
to which it is entitled. It is an
inheritance of potential mental powers,
which rightly used will lift the
physical man out of the fleshly
consciousness to the higher
consciousness of the allness of Divine
Mind. Under the natural law of
evolution the physical man (Esau) is
brought forth first and has precedence
over the intellectual man (Jacob).
However in this allegory the physical
man is overwhelmed by his desire for
creature comforts ("pottage") and does
not sufficiently value the mind power
that has been given to man. The mental
man, being on a higher plane, naturally
draws to himself the finer forces of
being. In consequence Jacob (the
intellect) acquires precedence over
Esau (the body
consciousness).
Gen. 25:29-33. And
Jacob boiled pottage: and Esau came
in from the field, and he was
faint: and Esau said to Jacob, Feed
me, I pray thee, with that same red
pottage; for I am faint: therefore
was his name called Edom. And Jacob
said, Sell me first thy birthright.
And Esau said, Behold, I am about
to die: and what profit shall the
birthright do to me? And Jacob
said, Swear to me first; and he
sware unto him: and he sold his
birthright unto Jacob.
The ambitious ideas of
the intellect forge far ahead of the
growth of the body. Instead of
supplying the body with its natural
substance, which is spiritual, it gives
the body consciousness intellectual
ideas (boiled pottage). (Esau was named
Edom, "red," because he sold his
birthright for the red pottage. Edom
pertains to the outer man, the physical
phase of man's consciousness and
organism.) This results in a temporary
separation in consciousness between the
mind and the body. Esau went his way,
and Jacob became a man rich in the
world's goods. Under divine law,
however, they were twins and the
separation was only apparent. They were
to become united again and share all
the blessings that Jacob (intellect)
had gained.
We must remember that
the "birthright" that Esau so willingly
bartered away for a mess of pottage
meant not only a right to the material
goods of his father Isaac but to the
spiritual blessings of the covenant of
Abraham, which descending on him,
should through him bless the world.
Instead of "Abraham, Isaac, and Esau"
the immortal words would be "Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob." To a "profane
person" (Heb. 12:16) this would have no
meaning, for spiritual blessings are
visionary and unreal to him.
The name Jacob means
"supplanter." In the development of the
spiritual consciousness the supplanting
quality finds its true office in
replacing selfishness with
unselfishness. We who seek to bring the
ideal into active expression in our
life know that to do this we must put
into the place occupied by willful
self-seeking an unwavering faith in the
unseen God. The sensual must be
supplanted by the spiritual, the
apparent by the ideal. The fact that
Jesus approvingly cited the Jewish
tradition in His words "Many shall come
from the east and the west, and shall
sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and
Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven" proves
the value of this supplanting power or
power that man has to change his mind
and so remake his consciousness and his
life.
Jacob, representing a
limited concept of the I AM, is
ambitious to receive original
inspiration and is unwilling to let
appetite and passion rule. Therefore as
the whole scheme of development is from
lower to higher, Jacob (intellect) must
supplant Esau (the immature
consciousness of the natural man that
is moved by desire).
It is by the work of
conscious re-creation of his life after
the pattern of the divine ideal that
man gains self-dominion and becomes a
citizen of the kingdom of the heavens,
the inner kingdom of peace and
power.
Gen. 26:1-11. And
there was a famine in the land,
besides the first famine that was
in the days of Abraham. And Isaac
went unto Abimelech king of the
Philistines, unto Gerar. And
Jehovah appeared unto him, and
said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell
in the land which I shall tell thee
of: sojourn in this land, and I
will be with thee, and will bless
thee; for unto thee, and unto thy
seed, I will give all these lands,
and I will establish the oath which
I sware unto Abraham thy father;
and I will multiply thy seed as the
stars of heaven, and will give unto
thy seed all these lands; and in
thy seed shall all the nations of
the earth be blessed; because that
Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept
my charge, my commandments, my
statutes, and my laws. And Isaac
dwelt in Gerar: and the men of the
place asked him of his wife; and he
said, She is my sister: for he
feared to say, My wife; lest, said
he, the men of the place should
kill me for Rebekah; because she
was fair to look upon. And it came
to pass, when he had been there a
long time, that Abimelech king of
the Philistines looked out at a
window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac
was sporting with Rebekah his wife.
And Abimelech called Isaac, and
said, Behold, of a surety she is
thy wife: and how saidst thou, She
is my sister? And Isaac said unto
him, Because I said, Lest I die
because of her. And Abimelech said,
What is this thou hast done unto
us? one of the people might easily
have lain with thy wife, and thou
wouldest have brought guiltiness
upon us. And Abimelech charged all
the people, saying, He that
toucheth this man or his wife shall
surely be put to death.
The soul established in
a consciousness of serenity, peace,
laughter, joy (Isaac), accepts
spiritual things as real. God's promise
is: "I will be with thee, and will
bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy
seed, I will give all these lands, and
I will establish the oath which I sware
unto Abraham thy father; and I will
multiply thy seed as the stars of
heaven, and I will give unto thy seed
all these lands; and in thy seed shall
all the nations of the earth be
blessed." When there is a need of
substance the serene, joyous side of
the soul through mind activity
penetrates into the subconsciousness
(Gerar), where there is an abundance of
all things. But here the personal will
(Abimelech) rules. When a mind is not
strong enough to work from principle or
has not faith enough to trust God, it
exposes the beautiful and gracious side
of its nature (Rebekah) to the
undisciplined sense consciousness, the
law is broken, and plagues result. In
this case however personal will has
received enough light to preceive the
truth and the threatened harm is
averted.
Gen. 26:12-22. And
Isaac sowed in that land, and found
in the same year a hundredfold: and
Jehovah blessed him. And the man
waxed great, and grew more and more
until he became very great: and he
had possessions of flocks, and
possessions of herds, and a great
household: and the Philistines
envied him. Now all the wells which
his father's servants had digged in
the days of Abraham his father, the
Philistines had stopped, and filled
with earth. And Abimelech said unto
Isaac, Go from us; for thou art
much mightier than we. And Isaac
departed thence, and encamped in
the valley of Gerar, and dwelt
there.
And Isaac digged
again the wells of water, which
they had digged in the days of
Abraham his father; for the
Philistines had stopped them after
the death of Abraham: and he called
their names after the names by
which his father had called them.
And Isaac's servants digged in the
valley, and found there a well of
springing water. And the herdsmen
of Gerar strove with Isaac's
herdsmen, saying, The water is
ours: and he called the name of the
well Esek, because they contended
with him. And they digged another
well, and they strove for that
also: and he called the name of it
Sitnah. And he removed from thence,
and digged another well; and for
that they strove not: and he called
the name of it Rehoboth; and he
said, For now Jehovah hath made
room for us, and we shall be
fruitful in the land.
Isaac was working
according to law, and he was
prospering. The Isaac faculty in man
has a double mission. Isaac was the
connecting link between Abraham and
Israel; that is, between faith in God
and rulership or manifestation of God.
His activity in "unstopping" the wells
dug by Abraham allegorizes the
reopening of the hidden springs of life
and the keeping of the soul consciously
connected with its inner source. Isaac
was not a well digger so much as a well
"reopener." Abraham had dug the wells.
Faith delves into the deep things of
Spirit and unearths the pure life
essence. In the beginning of spiritual
unfoldment however the outer senses
(Philistines) suppress or crowd out
this fine substance and life of Spirit.
The Philistines represent evil material
thoughts that "fill with earth" the
channels of spiritual expression.
Isaac's first well was named Esek, a
name signifying "violence" or
"contention." A warring takes place in
the valley (the subconsciousness)
between the Philistine herdsmen (the
animal desires) and Isaac's servants
(the awakening spiritual thoughts). The
new energy and vigor of life that man
gains by his conscious contact with
Spirit is sought by the sense desires
to be used at once for their
gratification and pleasure. They would
take this fine essence and energy to
build up sense rather than to build up
the spiritual nature. Thus contention
and strife arise.
The second well was
called Sitnah, a name that also
signifies "strife" and "hatred." The
material sense thoughts (Philistines)
do not give up easily but follow the
individual a long way on his path to
development of a spiritual
consciousness. However we read that
Isaac's third well, called Rehoboth (a
name signifying "broad places" or
"enlargements"), was not taken by the
Philistine. Material thoughts cannot
continue to follow and annoy the man
who is persistent in his determination
to find the "water of life."
Gen. 26:23-33. And
he went up from thence to
Beer-sheba. And Jehovah appeared
unto him the same night, and said,
I am the God of Abraham thy father:
fear not, for I am with thee, and
will bless thee, and multiply thy
seed for my servant Abraham's sake.
And he builded an altar there, and
called upon the name of Jehovah,
and pitched his tent there: and
there Isaac's servants digged a
well.
Then Abimelech
went to him from Gerar, and
Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the
captain of his host. And Isaac said
unto them, Wherefore are ye come
unto me, seeing ye hate me, and
have sent me away from you? And
they said, We saw plainly that
Jehovah was with thee: and we said,
Let there now be an oath betwixt
us, even betwixt us and thee, and
let us make a covenant with thee,
that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we
have not touched thee, and as we
have done unto thee nothing but
good, and have sent thee away in
peace: thou art now the blessed of
Jehovah. And he made them a feast,
and they did eat and drink. And
they rose up betimes in the
morning, and sware one to another:
and Isaac sent them away, and they
departed from him in peace. And it
came to pass the same day, that
Isaac's servants came, and told him
concerning the well which they had
digged, and said unto him, We have
found water. And he called it
Shibah: therefore the name of the
city is Beer-sheba unto this
day.
This Scripture
interprets itself very definitely
within the soul of man. Isaac
(spiritual peace, joy) under the
guidance of Jehovah is conscious of the
I AM pioneering faith (symbolized by
Abraham). In this "place" in mind a new
order is established, which denotes the
willingness to give up the lower for
the higher, the personal for the
impersonal, the animal for the
divine.
At this stage of the
allegory appears Abimelech, King of the
Philistines (representing
metaphysically the unregenerate will of
the sense man). With him he brings
Ahuzzath (selfishness) and Phicol
("speech") and tries to make an
agreement with Isaac. The will
(Abimelech) believes that it is the
rightful ruler of man and that all the
rich substance that comes to man from
Spirit is for the gratification of
sense desires. Having witnessed the
ever-increasing power and possessions
of Isaac, who represents divine
sonship, Abimelech (the will) fears the
loss of his own rule and
possessions.
The divine Son, the
Christ, does not destroy but fulfills
and saves. Error eventually brings on
its own destruction, but the error
seems to flourish along with the good
during a certain period of development;
the wheat and tares are allowed to grow
together until the harvest. The
harvesttime came when the Israelites
under Joshua took possession of the
Promised Land. Even then the
Philistines made several successful
comebacks and had to be defeated again
and again.
There were seven wells
altogether, culminating in the one
named Beer-sheba, "well of the oath" or
"seventh well." The opening up of these
seven wells symbolizes the
establishment of a right relation in
consciousness between the seven
creative centers in natural man and the
spiritual powers of the Christ man. The
whole allegory illustrates the struggle
going on within man for the possession
of the life generated in his body. This
struggle takes place between the higher
and the lower nature of the
individual--the spirtual soul and the
animal soul--at a certain stage of his
development. Beer-sheba is the place
where the altar of victory is set up
and God is given the thanks.
Gen. 26:34-35. And
when Esau was forty years old he
took to wife Judith the daughter of
Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the
daughter of Elon the Hittite: and
they were a grief of mind unto
Isaac and to Rebekah.
When Esau (the body
consciousness) reaches the age of forty
years (the number forty denoting a
certain degree of completeness) he
takes two wives (makes union with two
forces), Judith and Basemath. Judith
(the feminine consciousness of prayer
and praise) is the daughter of Beeri
(limitation). Basemath (the ability to
receive intuitively spiritual
understanding and guidance) is the
daughter of Elon (materiality and
transitoriness). Because of the
limiting, unenduring, material
character of these forces, this union
for a season is bound to bring trial
and grief to the higher spiritual
forces (Isaac and Rebekah) finding
expression through the body
consciousness (Esau).
The Bible narrative
about Jacob and Esau has always been
read historically, and theologians have
had trouble trying to excuse Jacob and
Rebekah for their apparent duplicity in
their dealings with Isaac and Esau.
When read in the light of spiritual
understanding or considered as part of
the history of the unfoldment of the
individual soul, the incidents lose
their aspect of duplicity and we find
that they are a description of the
subtle working of the soul in spiritual
evolution under the guidance of Divine
Mind. The soul is progressive. It must
go forward. The soul must meet and
overcome its limitations.
Gen. 27:1-17. And it
came to pass, that when Isaac was
old, and his eyes were dim, so that
he could not see, he called Esau
his elder son, and said unto him,
My son: and he said unto him, Here
am I. And he said, Behold now, I am
old, I know not the day of my
death. Now therefore take, I pray
thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and
thy bow, and go out to the field,
and take me venison; and make me
savory food, such as I love, and
bring it to me, that I may eat;
that my soul may bless thee before
I die.
And Rebekah heard
when Isaac spake to Esau his son.
And Esau went to the field to hunt
for venison, and to bring it. And
Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son,
saying, Behold, I heard thy father
speak unto Esau thy brother,
saying, Bring me venison, and make
me savory food, that I may eat, and
bless thee before Jehovah before my
death. Now therefore, my son, obey
my voice according to that which I
command thee. Go now to the flock,
and fetch me from thence two good
kids of the goats; and I will make
them savory food for thy father,
such as he loveth: and thou shalt
bring it to thy father, that he may
eat, so that he may bless thee
before his death. And Jacob said to
Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my
brother is a hairy man, and I am a
smooth man. My father peradventure
will feel me, and I shall seem to
him as a deceiver; and I shall
bring a curse upon me, and not a
blessing. And his mother said unto
him, Upon me be thy curse, my son;
only obey my voice, and go fetch me
them. And he went, and fetched, and
brought them to his mother: and his
mother made savory food, such as
his father loved. And Rebekah took
the goodly garments of Esau her
elder son, which were with her in
the house, and put them upon Jacob
her younger son; and she put the
skins of the kids of goats upon his
hands, and upon the smooth of his
neck: and she gave the savory food
and the bread, which she had
prepared, into the hand of her son
Jacob.
Jacob was very dear to
the heart of his mother. Rebekah
symbolizes the beautiful and esthetic
side of man's nature, the
divine-natural. In keeping with the
mother principle, in which these twin
states of mind gestated and grew, she
desires that the mental take precedence
over the animal. The seeming trickery
on the part of Rebekah and Jacob is an
illustration of how we are moved by
emotional states of consciousness and
how, in our half-blind understanding,
we accept their suggestions. The fact
is that the soul (woman, Rebekah) is
constantly making suggestions to us in
dreams, visions, and intuitive flashes.
These suggestions may sometimes be for
our highest good and sometimes they may
not be. Spiritual understanding must
determine this point and decide whether
we should follow them or not. Rebekah
represents the love of the ideal, and
it is only through Jacob, the mental,
that the ideal can be
realized.
The mind feels that its
claim to the control of life should
come before the claims of physical
sense. By its superior quickness, aided
by the soul's (Rebekah's) love of
mental acumen, the mental tricks the
physical and secures the blessing of
substance and the acknowledged
authority in the organism. Then the
head rules the heart in us until the
touch of Spirit (Jacob's wrestling with
the angel) arouses the soul to action
and there is another supplanting, this
time of the intellect's sterile claims,
which are taken over by the soul. In
reality the physical body has an equal
right with the intellect to the
uplifting and refining influence of
Spirit. Being twins, they should be
treated as equals, the law of the
first-born should not be allowed to
operate, but should be blessed and
established in the substance of all
good things.
The difference between
Esau and Jacob is given to us in
Jacob's own words: "Behold, Esau my
brother is a hairy man, and I am a
smooth man." The Semitic word for
"hairy," translators tell us, has a
connotation of intemperance or
licentiousness. In the Epistle to the
Hebrews Paul calls Esau a "fornicator,
or profane person." This may be taken
in a literal sense or in the sense of
one who commits spiritual adultery;
that is, who is unfaithful to God,
divine love. The name Esau also
signifies "one swept away" or "one who
rushes forward wildly and impulsively."
He is the very antipode of Jacob, "the
smooth," clean, reliable man. The word
smooth is used in the story of David's
victory over Goliath: David took "five
smooth stones out of the
brook."
Esau is unfortunately no
uncommon type. As for "smooth" men,
very few are smooth to start with. It
is the constant rubbing, cutting, and
reshaping that makes them at last "the
polished corners of the temple," good
and beautiful after the pattern of
heaven.
The denunciations of
Esau by the prophets Jeremiah, Obadiah,
and Malachi were not directed against a
man of that name but against the course
of conduct exemplified by him.
Therefore it might well appear to
Malachi, interpreting the name
metaphorically, that God loved Jacob
and hated Esau because Jacob symbolized
the mental man and Esau the physical or
animal man.
Gen. 27:18-40. And
he came unto his father, and said,
My father: and he said, Here am I;
who art thou, my son? And Jacob
said unto his father, I am Esau thy
first-born; I have done according
as thou badest me: arise, I pray
thee, sit and eat of my venison,
that thy soul may bless me. And
Isaac said unto his son, How is it
that thou hast found it so quickly,
my son? And he said, Because
Jehovah thy God sent me good speed.
And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come
near, I pray thee, that I may feel
thee, my son, whether thou be my
very son Esau or not. And Jacob
went near unto Isaac his father;
and he felt him, and said, The
voice is Jacob's voice, but the
hands are the hands of Esau. And he
discerned him not, because his
hands were hairy, as his brother
Esau's hands: so he blessed him.
And he said, Art thou my very son
Esau? And he said, I am. And he
said, Bring it near to me, and I
will eat of my son's venison, that
my soul may bless thee. And he
brought it near to him, and he did
eat: and he brought him wine, and
he drank. And his father Isaac said
unto him, Come near now, and kiss
me, my son. And he came near, and
kissed him: and he smelled the
smell of his raiment, and blessed
him, and said,
See, the smell of
my son
Is as the smell
of a field which Jehovah hath
blessed:
And God give thee
of the dew of heaven,
And of the
fatness of the earth,
And plenty of
grain and new wine:
Let peoples serve
thee,
And nations bow
down to thee:
Be lord over thy
brethren,
And let thy
mother's sons bow down to
thee:
Cursed be every
one that curseth thee,
And blessed be
every one that blesseth
thee.
And it came to
pass, as soon as Isaac had made an
end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob
was yet scarce gone out from the
presence of Isaac his father, that
Esau his brother came in from his
hunting. And he also made savory
food, and brought it unto his
father; and he said unto his
father, Let my father arise, and
eat of his son's venison, that thy
soul may bless me. And Isaac his
father said unto him, Who art thou?
And he said, I am thy son, thy
firstborn, Esau. And Isaac trembled
very exceedingly, and said, Who
then is he that hath taken venison,
and brought it me, and I have eaten
of all before thou camest, and have
blessed him? yea, and he shall be
blessed. When Esau heard the words
of his father, he cried with an
exceeding great and bitter cry, and
said unto his father, Bless me,
even me also, O my father. And he
said, Thy brother came with guile,
and hath taken away thy blessing.
And he said, Is not he rightly
named Jacob? for he hath supplanted
me these two times: he took away my
birthright; and, behold, now he
hath taken away my blessing. And he
said, Hast thou not reserved a
blessing for me?
And Isaac
answered and said unto Esau,
Behold, I have made him thy lord,
and all his brethren have I given
to him for servants; and with grain
and new wine have I sustained him:
and what then shall I do for thee,
my son? And Esau said unto his
father, Hast thou but one blessing,
my father? bless me, even me also,
O my father. And Esau lifted up his
voice, and wept. And Isaac his
father answered and said unto
him,
Behold, of the
fatness of the earth shall be thy
dwelling,
And of the dew of
heaven from above;
And by thy sword
shalt thou live, and thou shalt
serve thy brother;
And it shall come
to pass, when thou shalt break
loose,
That thou shalt
shake his yoke from off thy
neck.
Jacob represents the man
of spiritual insight: he is not exactly
spiritual but is beginning to see the
possibilities of mind and is going
forward. In Truth Jacob represents the
illumined intellect. Isaac was not a
spiritual man, but he represents one of
the stages in the evolution of
spiritual man. When this evolution
comes into manifestation and pours out
its essence upon the natural man
(Esau), the spiritual quality in the
natural man is stimulated. It moves
forward and outdistances the physical,
but the physical is not
destroyed.
Isaac placed his
blessing on Jacob. The real point is
that the blessing imparts an inward
impetus or an inspiration to the real,
spiritual man. It stimulates the
intellect (Jacob) first, which then
supplants or takes precedence over the
physical. This is the reason why
intellectual people apparently get
ahead; but "the last shall be first,
and the first shall be
last."
The body is entitled to
an equal blessing, as given by Isaac to
Esau.
"And it shall come to
pass, when thou shalt break
loose,
That thou shalt shake
his yoke from off thy neck." In other
words, when the body begins to realize
its innate capacity the yoke of the
mind is broken. This phase of man's
evolution may be said to be in evidence
in the struggle between capital and
labor, or mind and body. Also there is
a recognition by the scientific world
of a principle in the body that directs
it in the matter of food, healing, and
in a general instinctive knowing of all
matters pertaining to its
welfare.
Gen. 27:41-46. And
Esau hated Jacob because of the
blessing wherewith his father
blessed him: and Esau said in his
heart, The days of mourning for my
father are at hand; then will I
slay my brother Jacob. And the
words of Esau her elder son were
told to Rebekah; and she sent and
called Jacob her younger son, and
said unto him, Behold, thy brother
Esau as touching thee, doth comfort
himself, purposing to kill thee.
Now therefore, my son obey my
voice; and arise, flee thou to
Laban my brother to Haran; and
tarry with him a few days, until
thy brother's fury turn away; until
thy brother's anger turn away from
thee, and he forget that which thou
hast done to him: then I will send,
and fetch thee from thence: why
should I be bereaved of you both in
one day?
And Rebekah said
to Isaac, I am weary of my life
because of the daughters of Heth:
if Jacob take a wife of the
daughters of Heth, such as these,
of the daughters of the land, what
good shall my life do
me?
When cheated of its due
the body rebels, as Esau did, and the
outraged cells react in a disorderly
way on the mind. Insane asylums bear
witness to the fact that a neglected
body will destroy the channels through
which the mind is meant to function
perfectly in man. The threat of Esau
against the life of Jacob represents
the inward rebellion that we feel when
we change our modes of thought. The
physical cannot be ignored. It must
have its place in the all-round, fully
developed man. This truth is
illustrated by Esau. He became rich. He
had many possessions, and he was the
head of a race.
To avoid an open
conflict Rebekah (the soul) ordered
Jacob to flee to her brother Laban at
Haran. The name Laban means "white,"
"shining," and the name Haran
"exalted," "mountaineer." This clearly
indicates that the attention must be
centered on exalted states of mind and
united with spiritual wisdom and
understanding.
Gen. 28:1-9. And
Isaac called Jacob, and blessed
him, and charged him, and said unto
him, Thou shalt not take a wife of
the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go
to Paddan-aram, to the house of
Bethuel thy mother's father; and
take thee a wife from thence of the
daughters of Laban thy mother's
brother. And God Almighty bless
thee, and make thee fruitful, and
multiply thee, that thou mayest be
a company of peoples; and give thee
the blessing of Abraham, to thee,
and to thy seed with thee; that
thou mayest inherit the land of thy
sojournings, which God gave unto
Abraham. And Isaac sent away Jacob:
and he went to Paddam-aram unto
Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian,
the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and
Esau's mother.
Now Esau saw that
Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent
him away to Paddan-aram, to take
him a wife from thence; and that as
he blessed him he gave him a
charge, saying, Thou shalt not take
a wife of the daughters of Canaan;
and that Jacob obey his father and
his mother, and was gone to
Paddan-aram: and Esau saw that the
daughters of Canaan pleased not
Isaac his father, and Esau went
unto Ishmael, and took, besides the
wives that he had, Mahalath the
daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son,
the sister of Nebaioth, to be his
wife.
A man's marrying a wife
symbolizes the union of the ego with
certain ideals. If these ideals are
spiritual, then spiritual character is
developed with all its qualities. If
the union is with inferior ideals, like
that of Esau, the fruit may be large in
quantity, but it will be of inferior
quality. Jacob was admonished to go to
Paddan-Aram ("tableland"), to the house
of Bethuel ("dweller in God"), and to
take a wife from among the daughters of
Laban ("shining," "pure"). Paddan-aram
represents levelheadedness, poise in
Spirit; and Laban, with whom Jacob (the
unfolding ego) seeks association,
represents a clear state of mind in
which higher understanding is dominant.
Thus the way is pointed to a
unification with the love principle in
its higher aspects. Jacob had exalted
ideals, divine aspirations, and now it
was necessary that love should become
one of his attributes. High ideals,
spiritual aspirations, and pure motives
are necessary to the union that the I
AM makes with the soul.
Esau took Mahalath,
daughter of Ishmael and sister of
Nebaioth, to be his wife. The
Ishmaelites represent the offspring of
the natural, unillumined races (states
of mind). Nebaioth denotes the outer,
sensate, or material consciousness.
Mahalath symbolizes a peaceful,
harmonious, tuneful attitude of the
soul, found in expression on the carnal
and also on a higher plane.
Gen. 28:10-17. And
Jacob went out from Beersheba, and
went toward Haran. And he lighted
upon a certain place, and tarried
there all night, because the sun
was set; and he took one of the
stones of the place, and put it
under his head, and lay down in
that place to sleep. And he
dreamed; and, behold, a ladder set
up on the earth, and the top of it
reached to heaven; and, behold, the
angels of God ascending and
descending on it. And, behold,
Jehovah stood above it, and said, I
am Jehovah, the God of Abraham thy
father, and the God of Isaac: the
land whereon thou liest, to thee
will I give it, and to thy seed;
and thy seed shall be as the dust
of the earth, and thou shalt spread
abroad to the west, and to the
east, and to the north, and to the
south: and in thee and in thy seed
shall all the families of the earth
be blessed. And, behold, I am with
thee, and will keep thee
whithersoever thou goest, and will
bring thee again into this land;
for I will not leave thee, until I
have done that which I have spoken
to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of
his sleep, and he said, Surely
Jehovah is in this place; and I
knew it not. And he was afraid, and
said, How dreadful is this place!
this is none other than the house
of God, and this is the gate of
heaven.
On his journey to
Haran--which had a double purpose: to
escape the wrath of the disappointed
Esau, and "to take him a wife"--Jacob
came to a certain place where he
tarried all night, "because the sun was
set." He took one of the stones that
abounded in the place for use as a
pillow and lay down to sleep. This
incident illustrates the fact that when
we are going through an emotional
experience that is leading us upward to
a higher spiritual consciousness we may
not understand what is happening, may
have no light on it ("the sun was
set"), but if like Jacob we tarry there
in the darkness in meditation, the
messengers of God--ideas of Truth--will
come to us in the subconsciousness
(dreams).
Jacob's act of placing a
stone under his head symbolizes the
effort of the understanding to put
itself in a position to unravel the
meaning of matter and material
conditions. In the very midst of
seeming materiality and darkened
understanding the visions of the night
reveal the ladder reaching from earth
to heaven and the angels of God
(spiritual thoughts) ascending it and
descending it. The ladder represents
the step-by-step realization by means
of which man assimilates the divine
ideas of Truth that come to him from
Jehovah. Jehovah promised the land to
Jacob and his seed and assured Jacob of
His continued presence and power:
"Behold, I am with thee, and will keep
thee whithersoever thou goest, and will
bring thee again into this land; for I
will not leave thee . . . And Jacob
awaked out of his sleep, and he said,
Surely Jehovah is in this place; and I
knew it not."
God is right here in our
midst. Understanding, when turned
toward the omnipresent light of Spirit,
opens its eyes to the astonishing fact
that the seemingly material bodies and
temporal surroundings conceal the
immanent God. Jacob said, "How dreadful
is this place! this is none other than
the house of God, and this is the gate
of heaven." When divine wisdom reveals
to us that our seemingly physical body
is "none other than the house of God,"
we are at first afraid. It seems
"dreadful" that we have made the
Father's house a "den of
robbers."
Gen. 28:18-22. And
Jacob rose up early in the morning,
and took the stone that he had put
under his head, and set it up for a
pillar, and poured oil upon the top
of it. And he called the name of
that place Bethe-el: but the name
of the city was Luz at the first.
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If
God will be with me, and will keep
me in this way that I go, and will
keep me in this way that I go, and
will give me bread to eat, and
raiment to put on, so that I come
again to my father's house in
peace, and Jehovah will be my God,
then this stone, which I have set
up for a pillar, shall be God's
house: and of all that thou shalt
give me I will surely give the
tenth unto thee.
In the morning of this
new understanding even the temporal
surroundings become holy in our sight.
Like Jacob we set up the common things,
the stones upon which we slept in
ignorance, and pour the oil of joy and
gladness upon them. Then we name the
place (our body temple and its affairs)
Bethel, the "house of God." Jacob took
the stone that he had used for a pillow
and made a pillar of it. Instead of
whining over the hardness of his
experience he blessed it and made it a
sustaining point in his
mind.
Jacob was awestruck by
the tremendous thought of omnipresence:
what seems so commonplace may be the
very house of God, and thinking some
true thought or doing some loving act
may be the gate of heaven. Jacob's vow
to be more faithful to God and to give
Him one tenth of all he received is a
recognition of God as the source of all
that man requires and also of the need
of a constant reminder of this fact;
hence the agreement to give back the
tithe. Those who practice tithing
testify that it leads them into an
understanding of the relation of God to
material affairs that they can get in
no other way. When a person feels that
he has God for a partner in all his
financial affairs, he is never afraid
of failure or lack.
In his inner
consciousness man can make an agreement
of this kind with the Mind of Spirit
and can keep it in his everyday
affairs. Many metaphysicians write out
such contracts and put them away in the
full assurance that the terms will be
carried out by both contracting
parties, God and man. It is found by
nearly everyone who tries this plan
that the agreement is fulfilled. If you
would have your material affairs
prosper, agree with Jehovah to give one
tenth of your income to some work
dedicated to God. If you keep your part
of the agreement, you may rest assured
that the Lord will keep His and
abundantly prosper you, that your
financial affairs will be taken care of
without worry or strain on your part,
and that you will come into a land
where peace and plenty go hand in
hand.
When there is
recognition in fact by the mental
(Jacob) of the true nature of the
body's essence and of the spiritual
nature of all life, then we begin the
ascent from self to selflessness. We
are then willing to give of our thought
substance to God, and the house of God
(the body) bears witness to the
sincerity of our vow.
The natural seeks to
hold onto all that it can gain by fair
or unfair means, but the heart self, as
soon as it has had a vision of the
infinite, seeks in its turn to give. In
this dream Jacob heard the voice of God
saying, "To thee will I give . . ."
When he awoke and came to himself, his
quickened heart echoed in thankful
responsiveness, "I will surely give . .
. unto thee."
Chapter
9 * * * * *
Mysteries of
Genesis
Table of
Contents
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