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Mysteries of Genesis
Chapter 9
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[Mysteries of Genesis]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
Chapter IX
Lesson Nine
Man Develops Spiritual Faculties
Genesis 29, 30, and 31
AN ALLEGORY is a description of one thing under the image
of another. It suggests but does not specifically state a
meaning. A key to its interpretation is necessary, and this
is usually given in the proper names that are used. By the
employment of such symbols the Bible describes man in his
wholeness, spirit, soul, and body. The names of men,
places, tents, temples in every case have a meaning
relative to the character of man. Mental states are thus
described, and it is important that the individual who
seeks spiritual wisdom for his regeneration shall be able
to understand the allegory by use of the key hidden in the
names.
An example of this is the name Jacob, which means
"supplanter," one who gradually supplants and takes the
place of the natural man in the consciousness of the
individual and of the race. To accomplish this great work
it is necessary that the individualized I AM shall have
certain experiences and develop certain faculties essential
to the higher-type man that is to follow.
Mystics tell us that man passes through twelve stages in
his spiritual development. Each of these is a particular
state of consciousness developed by a presiding ego or
faculty. The last and highest state of consciousness is
that complete, twelve-sided spiritual character attained by
Jesus. This final attainment of the
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twelvefold man reveals the spiritual man, the image and
likeness created in the beginning. These states may all be
active in the individual consciousness at the same time,
but the dominant one will indicate the point the person has
reached in his development.
Jacob was overdeveloped intellectually and robbed his body
(Esau) of its rightful heritage of life. This wrong was
atoned for when he divided his accumulated wealth with
Esau. In the meantime he had developed the spiritual side
of his life and had brought forth a number of faculties
(sons).
Gen. 29:1-15. Then Jacob went on his journey; and came to
the land of the children of the east. And he looked, and,
behold, a well in the field, and, lo, three flocks of sheep
lying there by it; for out of that well they watered the
flocks: and the stone upon the well's mouth was great. And
thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the
stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put
the stone again upon the well's mouth in its place. And
Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence are ye? And they
said, Of Haran are we. And he said unto them, Know ye Laban
the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. And he said
unto them, Is it well with him? And they said, It is well:
and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. And
he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that
the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep,
and go and feed them. And they said, We cannot, until all
the flocks be gathered together, and they roll the stone
from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep. While he
was yet speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's
sheep; for she kept them. And it came to pass, when Jacob
saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and
the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went
near, and rolled the stone from the
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well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's
brother. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice,
and wept. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's
brother, and that he was Rebekah's son: and she ran and
told her father.
And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob
his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced
him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he
told Laban all these things. And Laban said to him, Surely
thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the
space of a month. And Laban said unto Jacob, because thou
art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for
nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?
Metaphysically interpreted, Jacob's journeying toward the
east is a way of saying that the illumined intellect is
penetrating deeper into the inner spiritual consciousness.
The well of water symbolizes an innate spiritual life
capacity in the body consciousness. The three flocks of
sheep represent three states of physical existence, each on
its own plane expressing the innocent, obedient activity of
life. The people Jacob visits are living in Haran, the name
of which means "strong," "exalted," "mountaineer"; the
people being not necessarily spiritual but having high
ideals. Their concepts are limited in expression ("they put
the stone again upon the well's mouth in its place"). Laban
represents the unsophisticated natural man whose pure high
ideals are expressed by Rachel and Leah (they shepherd his
sheep or thoughts). Jacob (related through his mother to
this divine-natural plane of consciousness) now makes a
closer contact that brings about prosperity for all
concerned.
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Gen. 29:16-30. And Laban had two daughters: the name of the
elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. And
Leah's eyes were tender; but Rachel was beautiful and
well-favored. And Jacob loved Rachel; and he said, I will
serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. And
Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that
I should give her to another man: abide with me. And Jacob
served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but
a few days, for the love he had to her.
And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are
fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. And Laban gathered
together all the men of the place, and made a feast. And it
came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his
daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.
And Laban gave Zilpah his handmaid unto his daughter Leah
for a handmaid. And it came to pass in the morning that,
behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this
thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for
Rachel? wherefore then has thou beguiled me? And Laban
said, It is not so done in our place, to give the younger
before the first-born. Fulfil the week of this one, and we
will give thee the other also for the service which thou
shalt serve with me yet seven other years. And Jacob did
so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his
daughter to wife. And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter
Bilhah his handmaid to be her handmaid. And he went in also
unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and
served with him yet seven other years.
When unselfish love touches the heart, self drops out of
the mind. Love in the heart lifts us out of the time
limitations of sense consciousness into the joy of the
eternal present. When we forget ourselves in the service of
love, the selflessness of God takes possession
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of our being. Yet the selfless man is ever the
self-possessed man, such is the paradox of spiritual law.
The higher self in man loves the pure natural soul (Rachel)
and works joyously to possess it. The higher self also
loves the human part of the soul (Leah) with an objective
love and feeds it with the enduring substance of true
thought. Jacob was true to Leah. We can sustain the whole
consciousness in health and unfailing strength by
recognizing it as the essence of invisible substance.
The love story of Jacob and Rachel is one of the most
beautiful in all literature. Jacob served her father seven
years for her hand and was then disappointed because he had
to marry her elder sister Leah. He then served seven more
years for Rachel, which because of his great love for her
seemed but a few days.
The name Bilhah means "bashfulness," "timidity,"
"tenderness." Bilhah represents a tendency of the soul
toward self-abasement.
The name Zilpah means "distilling," "leaking." Zilpah
symbolizes the unfolding soul of man in which as yet too
much of the human is in evidence.
Gen. 29:31-35. And Jehovah saw that Leah was hated, and he
opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived,
and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she
said, Because Jehovah hath looked upon my affliction; for
now my husband will love me. And she conceived again, and
bare a son: and said, Because Jehovah hath heard that I am
hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she
called his name Simeon. And he conceived again, and bare a
son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto
me, because I have borne him three sons: therefore was his
name called
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Levi. And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she
said, This time will I praise Jehovah: therefore she called
his name Judah; and she left off bearing.
The first child born to Leah was Reuben. At his birth she
cried, "Jehovah hath looked upon my affliction." The
emphasis is on the word looked, and we find that the name
Reuben means "a son seen," "vision of the son." Thus the
mother revealed the character of the faculty represented by
the child, and this is likewise true in the case of each of
the sons.
The first faculty brought forth in man's spiritual
development is vision, the ability to discern the reality
of Spirit that lies back of every form or symbol in the
material world. Like Jacob all Truth seekers are anxious to
develop faith (Benjamin) to remove mountains and
imagination (Joseph) to mold substance to their desires,
but also like Jacob they must bring forth the faculties of
seeing, hearing, feeling, praise, judgment, strength,
power, understanding, zeal, and order on the spiritual
plane.
Simeon, the second son of Leah, represents hearing or, in a
broader sense, receptivity. When man is receptive to the
inflow of Spirit nothing can keep his good from him, and he
is in a position to make rapid strides in his development.
When Levi, the third son, was born, Leah exclaimed, "Now
this time will my husband be joined unto me." The emphasis
is on the word joined. Levi means "uniting," which in the
body is feeling, in the soul compassion, and in the spirit
love. The faculty of love is the unifying principle in
consciousness. It connects our forces with that on which we
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center our attention. When our attention is focused on
Spirit, these faculties become spiritualized. When we
elevate love (Levi) to the plane of Spirit (John), it draws
to us all that the soul requires. When it is kept on the
lower plane as feeling or emotion it often leads to
selfishness, to indulgence, even to violence.
The fourth son of Jacob and Leah was Judah. In the Hebrew
this name means "praise Jehovah." In Spirit this is prayer
and the faculty of accumulating spiritual substance. In
sense consciousness this faculty becomes acquisitiveness,
the desire to accumulate material things, and if the self
is dominant the faculty "hath a devil" (Judas).
Gen. 30:1-8. And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no
children, Rachel envied her sister; and she said unto
Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob's anger
was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's
stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
And she said, Behold, my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; that
she may bear upon my knees, and I also may obtain children
by her. And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and
Jacob went in unto her. And Bilhah conceived, and bare
Jacob a son. And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath
also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore
called she his name Dan. And Bilhah Rachel's handmaid
conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. And Rachel
said, With mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with my
sister, and have prevailed: and she called his name
Naphtali.
Rachel and Bilhah represent soul attitudes. The name Rachel
means "journeying," "migrating," which indicates a
transitory state. In this instance Rachel was finding fault
with Jacob (I AM). Such an attitude
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thwarts the inflow of Spirit. This is why Rachel had not
conceived.
Bilhah was modest and teachable, consequently receptive to
Spirit. This receptivity opens the door to spiritual
inspiration, whose fruit is good judgment (Dan) and
strength of character (Naphtali). That there is a close
relation between the physical, mental, and spiritual
aspects of strength is shown by the fact that the back
becomes tired when thoughts of the burdens of materiality
are held. The realization that all strength is primarily
spiritual relieves this condition, and strength is
restored. ("Lo now, his strength is in his loins," says
Job.) Man retards his spiritual growth by his material
thinking and his mental clinging to the things of the
world. The faculties of judgment and strength find
expression in the physical or more outer consciousness of
man, but their true origin is Spirit, and their spiritual
nature and spiritual activity are in due time established.
The higher expression of this faculty is symbolized by
Jesus' apostle Andrew.
Jacob and his sons lived several hundred years before the
time of Jesus, hence represent the eariler stages of man's
development. They were natural men living by sense and
emotion, yet possessing great spiritual possibilities. In
the same way our faculties in the first stages of their
unfoldment express themselves on the lower planes of sense.
Like everything else with which we have to deal, they have
a physical, a mental, and a spiritual side to bring into
manifestation.
The faculties evolve on three planes. Jacob being a type of
the illumined mental, his sons especially portray ideals.
By developing our ideals we may attain to a high degree of
human perfection. But before we can
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become anything more than human or mortal our faculties
must be spiritualized and put to work on the heavenly
plane. Just as the sense man has reached his present stage
by the development of the senses, so the divine man must
evolve by the development of his spiritual powers. The
faculties involved are essentially the same, differing only
as regards the plane on which they are expressed, since
body, soul, and spirit are really one, and are separated
only in consciousness.
Gen. 30:9-13. When Leah saw that she had left off bearing,
she took Zilpah her handmaid, and gave her to Jacob to
wife. And Zilpah Leah's handmaid bare Jacob a son. And Leah
said, Fortunate! and she called his name Gad. And Zilpah
Leah's handmaid bare Jacob a second son. And Leah said,
Happy am I! for the daughters will call me happy: and she
called his name Asher.
Leah's maid Zilpah (whose name means "distilling,"
"extracting an essence") was the mother of the next two
sons, Gad and Asher. Gad symbolizes power, which at this
stage of development is on the personal plane. Divine Mind
gives man power over his thoughts and ideas and the forces
of the soul. In the higher consciousness this power is
exercised over the self and inner conditions rather than
over other persons and the world without. The higher
expression is shown by the apostle Philip.
Asher symbolizes understanding, which corresponds to wisdom
in the realm of Spirit (Thomas). Through his knowing
faculty man acquires a body of knowledge by study and
observation of the world without. Through the same faculty
he acquires wisdom by being
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receptive to the Spirit within. Tennyson brings out this
difference clearly when he says, "Knowledge is earthly, of
the mind; but wisdom is heavenly, of the soul."
Jacob now had eight sons, four by Leah, two by Bilhah, and
two by Zilpah.
Gen. 30:14-21. And Reuben went in the days of wheat
harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them
unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I
pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. And she said unto her,
Is it a small matter that thou hast taken away my husband?
and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And
Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to-night for
thy son's mandrakes. And Jacob came from the field in the
evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must
come in unto me; for I have surely hired thee with my son's
mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. And God
hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob a
fifth son. And Leah said, God hath given me my hire,
because I gave my handmaid to my husband: and she called
his name Issachar. And Leah conceived again, and bare a
sixth son to Jacob. And Leah said, God hath endowed me with
a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I
have borne him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.
And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name
Dinah.
There is an interesting story in connection with the birth
of the next son. In the Oriental household where there were
several wives there were sure to be petty jealousies and
naive intrigues. Jacob spent most of his time with Rachel
since she was his favorite. To get his attention Leah
bargained with Rachel to keep out of the way for a while,
and as a reward gave her some mandrakes or "love apples"
that her son Reuben had
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brought in to her. Leah had great zeal and was never
discouraged by her failure of her attempts to win Jacob's
favor. When the child was born she called him Issachar, a
name meaning "there is reward." Metaphysically he
represents the faculty of zeal, active in substance and in
the body consciousness.
Zeal is a strong force, the urge behind all things and the
impulse to every achievement. It sets in motion all the
machinery of the universe to attain the object of its
desire. It should be tempered with understanding and love,
else it becomes a destructive force. Even a criminal may be
zealous in his work.
The spiritual side of the zeal faculty is represented by
the apostle Simon the Canaanite.
It is worthy of note that Leah--metaphysically the human
soul as distinguished from the more advanced soul
(Rachel)--was the mother of six or one half of Jacob's
sons. The last one she brought forth was Bebulun (whose
name means "habitation," "neighbor") and who symbolizes the
faculty of order. Order is the first law of the universe.
Indeed there could be no universe unless its various parts
were kept in perfect harmony. In the sense mind there is
disorder, manifest in confusion of thought and action,
while in Divine Mind everything is perfect order. Therefore
it is most important, if we are to survive at all, that our
thoughts be put in order and kept in harmony with divine
intelligence.
Even in the small details of life, such as dress,
conversation, eating, sleeping, and working, system and
order enables one to live a richer and fuller life. But
only in divine order can be found the life abundant and
eternal. This order is established in our body and
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affairs when we live up to the higher convictions of our
being under the guidance of spiritual understanding. No
man-made law can be strong, true, or exact enough to insure
perfect order. Only when man becomes conscious of who and
what he is can he exercise his God-given dominion and bring
his life into line with the principle of divine order,
which is mind, idea, and manifestation. The apostle James,
son of Alphaeus, symbolizes order on the spiritual plane.
The name Dinah, the daughter of Leah and Jacob, means
"judged," "justified," "acquitted," "avenged." Dinah
represents the soul side or feminine aspect of the judgment
faculty in man; it might be called intuition, the intuition
of the natural man.
Gen. 30:22-25. And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened
to her, and opened her womb. And she conceived, and bare a
son: and said, God hath taken away my reproach: and she
called his name Joseph, saying, Jehovah add to me another
Son.
And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that
Jacob said to Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine
own place, and to my country.
During all this time Jacob had been serving his
father-in-law Laban in the country of Haran. This was a
high or mountainous place and metaphysically denotes the
high state of consciousness in which the individual is
strengthened and given the determination to go forward to
spiritual enlightenment and full development. Eleven of
Jacob's sons were born in Haran, the last of whom was
Joseph, the child of Rachel, the beloved. In the high state
of spiritual consciousness man develops the faculties from
the simple one of seeing
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to that of imagination, the faculty represented by Joseph.
Gen. 30:26-43. Give me my wives and my children for whom I
have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my
service wherewith I have served thee. And Laban said unto
him, If now I have found favor in thine eyes, tarry: for I
have divined that Jehovah hath blessed me for thy sake. And
he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it. And he
said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how
thy cattle have fared with me. For it was little which thou
hadst before I came, and it hath increased unto a
multitude; and Jehovah hath blessed thee whithersoever I
turned: and now when shall I provide for mine own house
also? And he said, What shall I give thee? and Jacob said,
Thou shalt not give me aught: if thou wilt do this thing
for me, I will again feed thy flock and keep it. I will
pass through all thy flock to-day, removing from thence
every speckled and spotted one, and every black one among
the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats:
and of such shall be my hire. So shall my righteousness
answer for me hereafter, when thou shalt come concerning my
hire that is before thee: every one that is not speckled
and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep,
that, if found with me, shall be counted stolen. And Laban
said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.
And he removed that day the he-goats that were ringstreaked
and spotted, and all the she-goats that were speckled and
spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the black
ones among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his
sons; and he set three days' journey betwixt himself and
Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
And Jacob took him rods of fresh poplar, ??? of the almond
and of the plane-tree; and peeled white streaks in them,
and made the white appear
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which was in the rods. And he set the rods which he had
peeled over against the flocks in the gutters in the
watering-troughs where the flocks came to drink; and they
conceived when they came to drink. And the flocks conceived
before the rods, and the flocks brought forth ringstreaked,
speckled, and spotted. And Jacob separated the lambs, and
set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstreaked and all
the black in the flock of Laban: and he put his own droves
apart, and put them not unto Laban's flock. And it came to
pass, whensoever the stronger of the flock did conceive,
that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the flock in
the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods; but
when the flock were feeble, he put them not in: so the
feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. And the man
increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, and
maidservants and men-servants, and camels and asses.
This Scripture is quite symbolical of conditions within
ourselves.
One of the forces operative in the illumined intellect
(Jacob) is the image-making faculty of the mind. In this
Scripture the activity of this faculty is freely
exemplified. The imagination has the ability and power to
throw onto the screen of visibility in substance and life
any idea that the mind conceives. This accounts for the
rapid increase in Jacob's possessions.
Jacob served Laban seven years thinking he would get Rachel
(the spiritual soul) to wife only to find that Leah (the
human soul) had been substituted. This would indicate that
Laban in one aspect of his nature was something of a
trickster. Jacob then had to work another seven years to
pay for Rachel. However, there is only one presence, one
power, one intelligence, and
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one's own must come to him. When the soul looks steadily to
Omnipresence, it finds that the law of equilibrium adjusts
all conditions. For his hire Jacob was to take from Laban's
flock all the ring-streaked and speckled and spotted
cattle, all the black sheep, and all the speckled and
spotted goats; which he removed some little distance. In
addition to this he was to receive from the increase of
Laban's flocks, which were free from these markings, all
those animals which bore the same markings as Jacob's
flocks.
When the strong, healthy herds were ready to conceive,
Jacob placed in the gutters around the watering troughs
where they came to drink rods of fresh poplar, and of
almond, and of the plane tree, in which he had peeled white
streaks; the flocks conceived before these rods, and they
brought forth young that were ring-streaked, speckled, and
spotted. When the weak flocks were ready to conceive and
came to drink, he took away the rods in which he had peeled
the white streaks. In the end Jacob had large, strong,
healthy herds and Laban had small and weak herds.
Taking it all in all, the illumined intellect (Jacob)
receives all that it deserves.
These passages in Genesis show the urge toward higher
things on the part of those who received the quickening of
the Spirit. Jacob, Laban, and Laban's family were of the
same stock, but Jacob was more spiritually awakened, and
because of his superior understanding all those with whom
he was associated enjoyed increase of understanding and
substance. Laban said to Jacob, "I have divined that
Jehovah hath blessed me for thy sake." Separating the
animals owned jointly by Laban and Jacob implies that the
vital forces have
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expanded to the point where finer types are possible. These
types are represented as "ringstreaked, speckled, and
spotted," and they fell to Jacob. Jacob also discovered
that he could increase his "flocks" by using his
image-making faculty, focusing the mind on a certain image
when he was in creative consciousness. The sculptor makes a
mental image of the thing he is carving and it appears
under the impact of his hand.
Gen. 31:1-16. And he heard the words of Laban's sons,
saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's;
and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this
glory. And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and,
behold, it was not toward him as beforetime. And Jehovah
said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and
to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.
And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto
his flock, and said unto them, I see your father's
countenance, that it is not toward me as beforetime; but
the God of my father hath been with me. And ye know that
with all my power I have served your father. And your
father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times;
but God suffered him not to hurt me. If he said thus, The
speckled shall be thy wages; then all the flock bare
speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstreaked shall be
thy wages; then bare all the flock ringstreaked. Thus God
hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them
to me. And it came to pass at the time that the flock
conceive, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream,
and, behold, the he-goats which leaped upon the flock were
ringstreaked, speckled, and grizzled. And the angel of God
said unto me in the dream, Jacob: and I said, Here am I.
And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see: all the
he-goats which leap upon the flock are ringstreaked,
speckled, and grizzled: for I have seen all that Laban
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doeth unto thee. I am the God of Beth-el, where thou
anointedst a pillar, where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now
arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the
land of thy nativity. And Rachel and Leah answered and said
unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in
our father's house? Are we not accounted by him as
foreigners? for he hath sold us, and hath also quite
devoured our money. For all the riches which God hath taken
away from our father, that is ours and our children's: now
then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.
Laban and his family represent the pure natural in man, to
which Jacob (spiritual illumination) brings expansion.
Laban acknowledged that Jacob had brought him prosperity.
But the spiritually illumined intellect (Jacob) reaps a
share of the increase, and to this the natural man objects
when his sons or "afterthoughts" call his attention to it.
In his dream Jehovah showed Jacob (illumined intellect)
that he had finished his work in Haran (a high exalted
state of consciousness on the natural plane) and now must
function in a more fertile, productive soil. He must return
with his possessions to the land of his nativity.
The wives for whom Jacob had labored also had their
substance share and inherited part of the increase. When
the mind is spiritually quickened all the faculties
respond, especially the imagination, as indicated by the
"ringstreaked, speckled, and grizzled" progeny.
Gen. 31:17, 18. Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and
his wives upon the camels; and he carried away all his
cattle, and all his substance which he had gathered, the
cattle of his getting, which he had gathered in
Paddan-aram, to go to Isaac his father unto the land of
Canaan.
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Jacob was moving from Haran all the possessions he had
acquired in Paddan-aram (the place of substance in the
organism) to Canaan (the state of consciousness that to the
individual is the kingdom of heaven). He took away with him
a great wealth of substance, including camels, cattle,
sheep, gold, and silver, and even the teraphim (highest
thoughts) of that land.
"I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst a pillar,
where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out
from this land, and return unto the land of thy nativity."
We recall that Bethel, "the house of God," symbolizes the
consciousness in which Jacob dwelt when he beheld the
ladder reaching to heaven and exclaimed, "Surely Jehovah is
in this place; and I knew it not."
Gen. 31:19-21. Now Laban was gone to shear his sheep: and
Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father's. And Jacob
stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told
him not that he fled. So he fled with all that he had; and
he rose up, and passed over the River, and set his face
toward the mountain of Gilead.
Gilead represents a high state of consciousness, where
Spirit reveals its discerning, judging power. In this state
of consciousness man refuses to allow his high ideals to
become subject to error reasonings. Thus his spiritual
discernment is not clouded by mortal thinking.
Gen. 31:22-32. And it was told Laban on the third day that
Jacob was fled. And he took his brethren with him, and
pursued after him seven days' journey; and he overtook him
in the mountain of Gilead. And God came to Laban the Syrian
in a
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dream of the night, and said unto him, Take heed to thyself
that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. And Laban
came up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the
mountain: and Laban with his brethren encamped in the
mountain of Gilead. And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou
done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and
carried away my daughters as captives of the sword?
Wherefore didst thou flee secretly, and steal away from me,
and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away
with mirth and with songs, with tabret and with harp; and
didst not suffer me to kiss my sons and my daughters? now
hast thou done foolishly. It is in the power of my hand to
do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me
yesternight, saying, Take heed to thyself that thou speak
not to Jacob either good or bad. And now, though thou
wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after
thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid:
for I said, Lest thou shouldest take thy daughters from me
by force. With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, he shall
not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine
with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that
Rachel had stolen them.
The teraphim were household gods of the Eastern peoples.
They were images, apparently human in form, that were used
for purposes of worship in the homes of the people. They
were supposed to bring prosperity and health and general
domestic good. Even the Israelites used these images much
of the time, though the practice was of heathen origin.
Metaphysically the teraphim represent thoughts tending to
the outer only for supply, protection, and all good (givers
of prosperity, guardians of comforts,
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nourishers, domestic idols); thoughts that imply trust in
the many outer channels through which one's good comes to
one instead of faith in God as one's sustenance and power
of development; also the many thoughts and desires that man
entertains and gives expression to in outer ways and that
should first of all be centered in the one Presence within
him.
Gen. 31:33-53. And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into
Leah's tent, and into the tent of the two maid-servants;
but he found them not. And he went out of Leah's tent, and
entered into Rachel's tent. Now Rachel had taken the
teraphim, and put them in the camel's saddle, and sat upon
them. And Laban felt all about the tent, but found them
not. And she said to her father, Let not my lord be angry
that I cannot rise up before thee; for the manner of women
is upon me. And he searched, but found not the teraphim.
And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob
answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my
sin, that thou hast hotly pursued after me? Whereas thou
hast felt about all my stuff, what hast thou found of all
thy household stuff? Set it here before my brethren and thy
brethren, that they may judge betwixt us two. These twenty
years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she-goats
have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flocks have
I not eaten. That which was torn of beasts I brought not
unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou
require it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. Thus
I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by
night; and my sleep fled from mine eyes. These twenty years
have I been in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for
thy two daughters, and six years for thy flock: and thou
hast changed my wages ten times. Except the God of my
father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear
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of Isaac, had been with me, surely now hadst thou sent me
away empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labor of
my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, The daughters are
my daughters, and the children are my children, and the
flocks are my flocks, and all that thou seest is mine: and
what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto
their children whom they have borne? And now come, let us
make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness
between me and thee. And Jacob took a stone, and set it up
for a pillar. And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather
stones; and they took stones, and made a heap: and they did
eat there by the heap. And Laban called it Jegar-saha
dutha: but Jacob called it Galeed. And Laban said, This
heap is witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was
the name of it called Galeed: and Mispah, for he said,
Jehovah watch between me and thee, when we are absent one
from another. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, and if
thou shalt take wives besides my daughters, no man is with
us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee. And Laban said
to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold the pillar, which I
have set betwixt me and thee. This heap be witness, and the
pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to
thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this
pillar unto me, for harm. The God of Abraham, and the God
of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And
Jacob sware by the Fear of his father Isaac.
Man should remember always that he does not live by bread
alone, by outer ways and means, but by every word that
proceeds out of the mouth of God: by the inner creative,
sustaining, energizing life, love, power, strength, and
intelligence of Spirit.
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Laban symbolizes that which is pure and gentle. He was told
in a dream what had happened, but God also revealed to him
that he was not to speak good or bad to Jacob. However, he
searched the tents for the teraphim without discovering
them, as Rachel had placed them on the camel's back under
the saddle on which she was riding. A covenant was made
between Jacob and Laban. They gathered stones in a heap and
they ate there. Laban called the heap Jegar-sahadutha, the
Aramaic name for Galeed. Galeed means "massive witness,"
"heap of witnesses," "rock of time," "great endurance." It
was the heap of stones that Jacob and Laban gathered for a
witness between them when Jacob with his wives, children,
and possessions left Laban to return to Esau and to Jacob's
own country. It was also called Mizpah, "watchtower," and
thus signifies the watchtower of prayer, while Galeed
signifies the witness that Spirit with man bears to Truth.
By following the true Jehovah Spirit in ourselves we shall
always deal justly with every phase of our consciousness
and of our entire organism, as well as with persons. "This
heap be witness, and the pillar be witness, that I will not
pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass
over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm."
Gen. 31:54, 55. And Jacob offered a sacrifice in the
mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they
did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mountain. And
early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and
his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and
returned unto his place.
Jacob offered a sacrifice, and he and his brethren ate
bread together. The sacrifice consisted of an animal
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slaughtered as an offering to the deity in man, symbolizing
the surrender to Spirit of the animal forces that they may
be transmuted into higher states of consciousness. Eating
bread means joining in communion, partaking of spiritual
substance. Early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his
sons and his daughters in token of affection. Then he
invoked divine favor upon them and returned to his place.
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