Wandering the Desert (1/2)
In this two-part series, Rev. Jean-Marie will explore the desert stories that inspired the tradition of Lent leading up to Holy Week and Easter.
What can we learn from the challenges those wandering the desert went through? How do these stories apply to our Lenten practice and our spiritual fulfillment?
These are only some of the questions to which we might seek an answer as we prepare ourselves for the resurrection of our renewed Divinity.
Join us for an unforgettable Sunday service at Unity Fort Worth, accompanied by inspiring music and followed by meaningful fellowship.
Listen & Watch
Sermon Notes
Scriptures
Main Scripture
“Now go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” —Exodus 3:10
Supporting Scriptures
“But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He said, “I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” —Exodus 3:10
Metaphysical Interpretations
*Revealing Word
**Metaphysical Bible Dictionary
Places
desert place*—A desert place in the consciousness of man is a seeming lack of substance and life. In Truth desert places do not really exist. From the viewpoint of Spirit there is no lack. Where God is, there are His inexhaustible resources; God is everywhere present.
Horeb**—A state of high spiritual realization that we may attain by affirming the power and presence of the one inner, divine sustenance and nourishment. It is a high place in consciousness where we come into conscious union with the divine. (See REPHIDIM, also Exodus 17.) Solitude, as a meaning of Horeb, signifies that we have to go into the solitude of the inner mind and lead our flock of thoughts to the back of the wilderness, where dwells the Exalted One, the divine I AM, whose kingdom is good judgment. (See Exodus 3, and JETHRO.)
Egypt**—The realm of substance and life in the depths of the body consciousness. To the unregenerate soul it is the land of darkness and mystery, yet it is essential to the perpetuation of the body. Egypt signifies the darkness of ignorance, obscurity; it has a special significance in the body consciousness, and we often think of it as referring to the subjective or subconscious mind. We also refer to Egypt as the flesh consciousness, sense consciousness, or material consciousness.
Sinai**—The Children of Israel went from Rephidim to Sinai, or Horeb, the mount where God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush when the first impulse was given Moses to lead his people out of Egypt, and where God later met and talked to Moses, and gave him the Ten Commandments. This mount symbolizes, in us, a high place in consciousness where we come into conscious communion with the Divine.
Canaan (the Promised Land)**—Canaan means lowland, that is, the body consciousness. The redeemed body is the Promised Land, and when man rediscovers this lost domain all the promises of the Scriptures will be fulfilled. It is not a dream that man is to possess an immortal body; it is a solid fact. In order to redeem the body man must enter with his spiritual thoughts into his organism and teach it the saving Truth. This is the symbolic teaching of Joshua 1.
We also think of Canaan (lowland) as referring to the subconsciousness. Metaphysically it represents humbleness and receptivity. The land of Canaan, too, represents the unlimited elemental forces of Being in which man is placed and to which he gives character through faith in God as omnipresent Spirit. To mystics it is the name of the invisible substance that surrounds and interpenetrates all forms, of which it is the mother.
Characters
Moses**—means drawing out, extracting, i. e., from the water. The birth of Moses represents man's development in consciousness of the law of his being, from the negative side. Water represents universal negation; but water also represents the great possibility. Out of seemingly negative conditions comes the new growth.
Israelites**—The illumined thoughts in consciousness, which are undergoing spiritual discipline. They are the total of our religious thoughts. In the beginning of our journey from sense consciousness to spiritual consciousness, from Egypt to the Promised Land, not all these religious thoughts are awake to spiritual Truth, but among them are the highly illumined ideas and faculties that the many inspired leaders, judges, prophets, and kings of Israel represent.
Pharaoh**—Moses and Pharaoh represent two forces at work in the consciousness--especially that part pertaining to the body. Moses represents the evolutionary force of new ideas that have grown in the subconscious mind, that are tugging at the old states of limitation and material ignorance and trying to rise into a higher life expression. Pharaoh represents the force that rules the body under the material régime. The Lord (Jehovah, as given in the American Standard Version) is here the universal law, the impulse of which is always upward and onward, yet seeking always to preserve equilibrium.
Joshua**—means Jah is savior, Jehovah is deliverer. In the Hebrew the name is identical with the name Jesus. Both of these names are derived from the word Jehovah, meaning "I AM THAT I AM." The only difference between Joshua and Jesus is the extent of conscious realization of identity with the I AM. Under certain states of mind the I AM in man acquires greatly increased power. This power has its foundation in spiritual understanding. Joshua took the Children of Israel into the Promised Land. So it is through the power of our I AM or indwelling Christ that we lay hold of and attain the redemption of our life forces.
Items
manna*—The bread of life; the Word of God. Represents the realization that the divine substance is everywhere present, in every part of the consciousness.
Tabernacle**—The setting up of the tabernacle means the establishing of a new state of consciousness. Man builds his own mind, his character, and his body--God furnishes the design. The tabernacle was built after the pattern that was shown to Moses in the mount.
Ark of the Covenant**—Represents the original spark of divinity in man's being, which is a sacred and holy thing. On its development depends man's immortality. The original spark (Ark of the Covenant) occupies the most holy place in the body temple and must be cared for with great devotion; otherwise, the spiritual forces are scattered. No human hand is allowed to touch this ark of the covenant. No human thought can enter the sacred precincts, which are kept veiled from all eyes.
