Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Exodus Chapter 12
Metaphysically Interpreting Exodus 12:1-28
12:1And Jehovah spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 12:2This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 12:3Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household: 12:4and if the household be too little for a lamb, then shall he and his neighbor next unto his house take one according to the number of the souls; according to every man's eating ye shall make your count for the lamb. 12:5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old: ye shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats: 12:6and ye shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at even. 12:7And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side-posts and on the lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat it. 12:8And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 12:9Eat not of it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roast with fire; its head with its legs and with the inwards thereof. 12:10And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; but that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 12:11And thus shall ye eat it: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is Jehovah's passover. 12:12For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am Jehovah. 12:13And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and there shall no plague be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
12:14And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to Jehovah: throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. 12:15Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. 12:16And in the first day there shall be to you a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you. 12:17And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance for ever. 12:18In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. 12:19Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a sojourner, or one that is born in the land. 12:20Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.
12:21Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out, and take you lambs according to your families, and kill the passover. 12:22And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side-posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 12:23For Jehovah will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side-posts, Jehovah will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. 12:24And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. 12:25And it shall come to pass, when ye are come to the land which Jehovah will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. 12:26And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 12:27that ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of Jehovah's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
12:28And the children of Israel went and did so; as Jehovah had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
December 15, 1901: Exodus 12:1-17
We may mentally have made our truest statements, and seemingly complied with all the law, yet Pharaoh does not let our people go; there is no realization of freedom in the body consciousness. Another step is necessary, which is typified in the feast of the Passover.
In every change of consciousness on the physical plane there is a breaking down of cells and a building up of other cells to take their place. Mentally this is denial and affirmation, and this process in your body is the result of these two movements in the mind which have been taken at some previous period. We let go of the animal life and take hold of the spiritual by giving up consciously to this “passing over” process, which takes place when the old cells are replaced by the new. The lamb which is killed and eaten in the night represents this giving up of the animal life in the obscurity of the mortal body. The command is that the lamb shall be without spot or blemish, and be wholly eaten after being roasted with fire. This refers to the complete surrender of the human life after it has been purified by the fires of regeneration. Fire represents the positive, affirmative state of mind, as opposed to the negative or watery state. The children of Israel were commanded not to let the lamb be sodden, which is the Old English present tense of seethe. We are not to allow the life in our organism to simmer and stew with the worries and negative words of mortality, but we must set it afire with strong words of Truth. This is to show us that there must be a physical sacrifice as well as mental, and that “all the congregation of Israel” shall join in it; that is, the whole consciousness of spiritual desire shall acquiesce.
Many metaphysicians think that it is not necessary to change the habits of the sense man, that one has only to keep his thoughts right, and the flesh will thereby be wholly regulated, but the Scripture teaches that there must be a conscious physical change before the complete demonstration in mind and body is manifest. Thoughts work themselves out in things, and we get full result of their work only when we follow them consciously every step of the way and help them along. So we say to you, watch your thoughts as they step by step work their way through your organism, and, if you find that some pure thought of spiritual life is striving to free the life in the appetites and passions of your physical Egypt, help it by consciously elevating that life to the open door of your mind. This is typified by putting the blood of the lamb on the two side-posts and the lintel of the door of the house. Do not be afraid to express your inner life to the sight of the Lord, for only in perfect candor and childlike innocence can man come under the protection of the Divine Law. So long as there is a hidden, secret use of God's life in our habits and ways that we are not willing that all should know, just that long will the bondage of Egypt's Pharaoh hold us in its clutches. The whole man must be pure, and his inner life made so open and free that he is not afraid to blazon it upon the very doors of his house where all who pass may read. Then the Lord will execute His judgment, and those who have purified the life of the lamb of the body will escape the messenger or thought of death.
– UNITY magazine.
July 25, 1926: Exodus 12:1-2
“And Jehovah spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt.” Explain. In individual consciousness Moses represents the lawgiver, and Aaron, brother of Moses (who was Moses’ mouthpiece), represents the power of the word. Jehovah's speaking to Moses and Aaron symbolizes setting the law into activity in thought and word.
In this lesson what does the first month of the year symbolize? The first month of the year, as referred to in this lesson, represents the beginning of a new dispensation or state of consciousness.
July 25, 1926: Exodus 12:21-28
What does the Passover symbolize? The Passover symbolizes passing over or out of one state of consciousness into another. In every change of consciousness where we are thinking under divine law, we mentally let go of error thoughts and lay hold of the spiritual. Our denials and our affirmations react upon our body cells, the old cells passing away and new cells taking their places. This is the Passover.
In the chapter in which we find today's lesson Jehovah made known to Moses and Aaron that he would pass through the land of Egypt and slay the first-born of each family of the Egyptians. What is the metaphysical meaning of this movement of Divine Mind? Egypt means darkness. The first-born of the Egyptians symbolizes the oldest and most powerful thoughts in the subconscious mind. Unless these thoughts have their faces turned toward the light, they must be dissolved, destroyed, cast out of consciousness.
Each household of the children of Israel was commanded to kill and eat a lamb in the night. Explain. The lamb represents the natural body. This command refers to the complete surrender of the human life and the natural body. After this body has been purified by the fires of regeneration the essential parts of it are eaten (appropriated) by spiritual man.
According to this lesson, to what degree must the redemptive work of Spirit be carried in order to redeem the whole man? In order to redeem the whole man Spirit must do its mighty work in both the physical body and in the mentality. “The whole assembly of the congregation of Israel” must join in the redemptive process. There must be a complete physical change as well as a mental change before soul and body can be lifted to the spiritual plane of consciousness.
Why is it necessary for man always to be candid and open with his indwelling Lord in regard to the movements of the inner life forces? The overcomer soon finds out that his only hope for gaining freedom from sensuality is through the help of Spirit; that to come under the protection of the divine law, he must not only be perfectly candid and open with the indwelling Lord, but that he must strive in all his ways to gain an understanding of how to use the energy wisely, so that he will no longer be in bondage to the Egyptians (powers of darkness, sensuality).
July 17, 1932: Exodus 12:21-28
What does the Passover symbolize? The Passover is a symbol of the transition of the mind from the slavery of the natural to the freedom of the spiritual.
What do the Egyptians represent? The Egyptians signify sense thoughts, or those who are material-minded.
What does Pharaoh represent? The ruling ego in the body of flesh is represented by Pharaoh.
What is the meaning of the feast of the Passover? Metaphysically, a feast represents the appropriation of substance and life. At the feast of the Passover, lambs were slain and roasted.
What does the lamb represent? animal, or sense, life of man is thus typified. This is to be offered up to make room for the descent of the spiritual life into man’s body consciousness.
What is meant by the striking of the lintel of the doors with the blood of the lamb? A door is that through which the occupants of the house go and come. The door represents the going out of the old, material life and the coming in of spiritual life. The marking of the door with the blood is a sign that spiritual life is an active principle in that house.
What is the meaning of the promise that when Jehovah slays the first born of the Egyptians He will pass over those who have the sign of the blood on their doorposts? The first-born of the Egyptians symbolizes those whose first thought is of the material, physical man. Such “persons” [thoughts] perish, because they cannot assimilate the high vibrations of the new, spiritual dispensation. But those who have established the new life in consciousness rejoice, and are lifted to higher planes, when the Christ life is poured out upon them.
What did Jesus say of the new life that comes with high spiritual understanding? “I {Spirit} came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.”
July 25, 1937: Exodus 12:21-28
Of what is the Passover a symbol? It symbolizes the passing out of material consciousness into spiritual consciousness. Moses, representing the law, prepares the mind for this change in order that it may be made more readily.
What does the lamb killed for the Passover symbolize? The lamb is a symbol of the lower nature or animal-like consciousness that we are to give up, when we forsake the physical view of life for the spiritual or Christ mind.
Why was the blood of the lamb placed on the lintel and the side posts of the door of every Hebrew house? The door leads to what is within the house. When the blood appears on the outside of the door as a token that the animal-life consciousness has already been sacrificed, the “destroyer” or mortal consciousness, is preserved and protected.
The Children of Israel were commanded to keep the Passover not once only but as a regular custom. What does this signify? Because of the hold that the race mind has on man, he must surrender the animal-life consciousness again and again, for as often as he relaxes his vigilance, he is prone to relapse into it. He needs to keep himself keyed to remembrance by regular observance of the rite.
How do we pass out of race consciousness into God consciousness? The power of the Christ, which we claim and declare to be expressing itself in us, purifies the inner life of thought, feeling, and being, as well as the outer life of action. This power effects the change of consciousness in us.
What was the spiritual status of the Children of Israel at the time Moses reappeared in Egypt? With the loss of freedom they had lost their initiative and were like small children, doing as they were told, “The children of Israel went and did so; as Jehovah commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.” To be able to take reasoned independent action is the mark of freedom and a mature outlook.
In the realm of mind what does Egypt represent? It represents the subconsciousness functioning below the level of the conscious mind. This phase of mind acts through feeling instead of thought. The activity of the conscious mind is thought; of the superconscious mind, pure knowing or divine wisdom.
Metaphysically Interpreting Exodus 12:29-32
12:29And it came to pass at midnight, that Jehovah smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the first-born of cattle. 12:30And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. 12:31And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve Jehovah, as ye have said. 12:32Take both your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.
November 11, 1951: Exodus 12:30-31
What do Moses and Pharaoh symbolize with respect to our consciousness? They symbolize two forces at work in the consciousness. Moses symbolizes the evolutionary force of new ideals that have grown in the subconsciousness and are trying to rise into a higher life expression. Pharaoh symbolizes the force that rules the body on the sense plane.
Do these two forces work in harmony? No, they are at variance. Material force recognizes no authority higher than itself, and seeks to rid itself of all evidence of higher forces at work in the consciousness. “Rise up, get you forth from among my people, both ye and the Children of Israel.”
Metaphysically Interpreting Exodus 12:33-42
12:33And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, to send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We are all dead men. 12:34And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading-troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. 12:35And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment. 12:36And Jehovah gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. And they despoiled the Egyptians.
12:37And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, besides children. 12:38And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle. 12:39And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victuals.
12:40Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. 12:41And it came to pass at the end of four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of Jehovah went out from the land of Egypt. 12:42It is a night to be much observed unto Jehovah for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of Jehovah, to be much observed of all the children of Israel throughout their generations.
Metaphysically Interpreting Exodus 12:43-51
12:43And Jehovah said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: there shall no foreigner eat thereof; 12:44but every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. 12:45A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat thereof. 12:46In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth aught of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof. 12:47All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 12:48And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to Jehovah, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: but no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. 12:49One law shall be to him that is home-born, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.
12:50Thus did all the children of Israel; as Jehovah commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. 12:51And it came to pass the selfsame day, that Jehovah did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 02-03-2014
