Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Deuteronomy Chapter 4
Metaphysically Interpreting Deuteronomy 4:1-40
4:1And now, O Israel, hearken unto the statutes and unto the ordinances, which I teach you, to do them; that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which Jehovah, the God of your fathers, giveth you. 4:2Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of Jehovah your God which I command you. 4:3Your eyes have seen what Jehovah did because of Baal-peor; for all the men that followed Baal-peor, Jehovah thy God hath destroyed them from the midst of thee. 4:4But ye that did cleave unto Jehovah your God are alive every one of you this day.
4:5Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as Jehovah my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the midst of the land whither ye go in to possess it. 4:6Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, that shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. 4:7For what great nation is there, that hath a god so nigh unto them, as Jehovah our God is whensoever we call upon him? 4:8And what great nation is there, that hath statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
4:9Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but make them known unto thy children and thy children's children; 4:10the day that thou stoodest before Jehovah thy God in Horeb, when Jehovah said unto me, Assemble me the people, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. 4:11And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the heart of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. 4:12And Jehovah spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of words, but ye saw no form; only ye heard a voice. 4:13And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even the ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. 4:14And Jehovah commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.
4:15Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of form on the day that Jehovah spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire. 4:16Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 4:17the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flieth in the heavens, 4:18the likeness of anything that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth; 4:19and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, thou be drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Jehovah thy God hath allotted unto all the peoples under the whole heaven. 4:20But Jehovah hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as at this day.
4:21Furthermore Jehovah was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over the Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance: 4:22but I must die in this land, I must not go over the Jordan; but ye shall go over, and possess that good land. 4:23Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of Jehovah your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image in the form of anything which Jehovah thy God hath forbidden thee. 4:24For Jehovah thy God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.
4:25When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have been long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image in the form of anything, and shall do that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah thy God, to provoke him to anger; 4:26I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over the Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. 4:27And Jehovah will scatter you among the peoples, and ye shall be left few in number among the nations, whither Jehovah shall lead you away. 4:28And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 4:29But from thence ye shall seek Jehovah thy God, and thou shalt find him, when thou searchest after him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 4:30When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, in the latter days thou shalt return to Jehovah thy God, and hearken unto his voice: 4:31for Jehovah thy God is a merciful God; he will not fail thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
4:32For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? 4:33Did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? 4:34Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Jehovah your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 4:35Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest know that Jehovah he is God; there is none else besides him. 4:36Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he made thee to see his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire. 4:37And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out with his presence, with his great power, out of Egypt; 4:38to drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as at this day. 4:39Know therefore this day, and lay it to thy heart, that Jehovah he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else. 4:40And thou shalt keep his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days in the land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, for ever.
February 3, 1924: Deuteronomy 4:32-40
Applied to the individual, how does the voice of God speak out of the midst of the fire? When man is lifted up in silent meditation (Sinai) he has a conscious realization of spiritual life quickening certain of his brain and nerve centers. This life force carries a current of thought which man, by practice, interprets, and thus he hears the voice of God or he receives thought vibrations from universal intelligence.
When we accept the guidance of Divine Mind, how are our thoughts (nations) clarified, that is, how are spiritual thoughts (Israel) separated from the material thoughts (Egypt)? This question is answered in verse 34. It is the power of God that separates nations from nations (thoughts from thoughts) "by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm."
What is the object of the discipline herein set forth? Man must establish his consciousness in the I AM of Divine Mind, Jehovah, and have the assurance that there is no other power, or intelligence.
What is the meaning of verse 36: "Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he made thee to see his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire”? Heaven is the omnipresent realm in which the absolute exists and out of which all ideas of Truth proceed. This is symbolically stated as the voice of God, by which man receives instructions. The “earth” is the manifest realm where the “fire” is made visible to the conscious mind. In the realm of intuition man hears the words or the vibrations of thought in the midst of the fire.
What is meant by verse 37: “And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out with his presence, with his great power, out of Egypt”? The “fathers” represent the original ideas in Divine Mind. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The seed of the fathers symbolize differentiated ideas working together as faculties that are represented in the life of Jesus Christ by his disciples. Divine Mind loves its ideas, and because it loves its ideas it also loves the expression of these ideas, the human family.
What is the meaning of verse 39: “Know therefore this day, and lay it to thy heart, that Jehovah he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else”? This verse means that man must enter into the realization in his heart or the center of his being that I AM (Jehovah) is ruler both in the realms invisible and in the realms visible and that there is no other source of existence.
What is it to keep the statutes and commandments of Jehovah God? To keep the statutes arid commandments of Jehovah God, man must awaken his spiritual understanding; he must comprehend Spirit Mind and its attributes, and, above all, seek to know and to keep the law of Spirit, instead of the law of the flesh.
February 17, 1946: Deuteronomy 4:1
Why should we keep the divine law? Because it is the law of life, and in keeping it we insure our well-being. “Hearken unto the statutes and unto the ordinances ... to do them; that ye may live." As we observe the law of life, we live well and truly.
February 17, 1946: Deuteronomy 4:32-40
How does anyone hear the voice of God speaking? God speaks to man's mind and man hears His voice as clear, wise thoughts in his own mind.
How do we give conclusive proof that we appreciate our gifts? By making the best possible use of them.
What profit accrues to us from using our spiritual gifts to the best advantage? We enter into self-dominion (possess the land) and are transformed into the Christ likeness.
What is essential to our receiving the inspiration of the Spirit? An exalted state of mind and a lively expectation of the possibility of understanding spiritual truth.
When do we use spiritual power well? When we use it in correlating our faculties. Using the will to understand, combined with the effort to understand, results in the dawning of understanding. Will and understanding are correlated, as are faith and love.
By what sign can we tell that we are worthy to wield power? When our impulses are to use our power toward spiritual ends, we may count ourselves worthy.
What supreme good does the power of loving-kindness and forgiveness insure to us? The oneness of all life. When used destructively, power destroys that oneness, and confusion follows.
With respect to spiritual power what is our chief responsibility? To establish the unity of all men in universal brotherhood.
Metaphysically Interpreting Deuteronomy 4:41-43
4:41Then Moses set apart three cities beyond the Jordan toward the sunrising; 4:42that the manslayer might flee thither, that slayeth his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in time past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live: 4:43namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, for the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.
Metaphysically Interpreting Deuteronomy 4:44-49
4:44And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel: 4:45these are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, when they came forth out of Egypt, 4:46beyond the Jordan, in the valley over against Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, when they came forth out of Egypt. 4:47And they took his land in possession, and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan toward the sunrising; 4:48from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, even unto mount Sion (the same is Hermon), 4:49and all the Arabah beyond the Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 01-31-2014
