BIBLE CHARACTERS IN THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BIBLE LESSON*
December 17, 2006
For CSDirectory.com
Compiled by C. Norman Wood, 5440 Mt Corcoran Place, Burke, VA 22015
703-898-8818, woodcn@aol.com
SUBJECT: Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?
SECTION II: Gibeon and Three Other Cities Attacked (Joshua 3:7; 10: 6-13)
TIME LINE: @1250 BC
"Gibeon [6mi NW of Jerusalem] and three other towns (9:17) were
attacked by a coalition of five cities. Israel came to the rescue, with God giving
the victory (v.10)." (MacArthur Commentary)
Israel pursued the five kings from Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish
[16mi E of Gaza], and Eglon and defeated them in a battle so memorable, not
only because of its results but also because of the direct intervention of God with
His miraculous hand. In fact, more died from the hailstones from heaven than
from the swords of Israel (10:11). The sun and the moon were (literally in
Hebrew) "dumb," as Joshua and the troops chased the enemy some thirty miles
after coming on a forced march all night up from the camp in Gilgal [5mi N of
Jericho] near Jericho, some 25 miles away from where the battle began.
Joshua
[Josh’ū uh] (“Jehovah is salvation”)
His name appears in the various forms of Hoshea, Oshea, Jehoshua,
Jeshua, and Jesus.
Joseph
Asenath
Menasseh
Ephraim

Nun (father)
Joshua
Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim. He is first mentioned in the
narratives of the
events following the Exodus, where he appears as “Moses’ assistant.” Facts
about his life flow
through the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua.
12.17.06
He was born in Egypt during the period of slavery and traveled with Moses
from Egypt. “He first appears in Ex. 17:8-13, where Moses appoints him to lead
the battle against Amalek, which he does successfully.” (HarperCollins
Dictionary) His most famous battle as a military leader was at the liberation of
Jericho [East-central West Bank], and that without a bow and arrow being
launched. He was one of the twelve who surveyed the Promised Land (Canaan
[Israel]). “Of the spies sent by Moses, only he and Caleb had reported favorably
on the land and, of the Exodus generation, only they entered the land.”
(Complete Bible Handbook)
The Book of Joshua reflects the periods of his life:
The preparation for conquest (chapters 1-5:12)
The conquest of Canaan (chapters 5:13-12)
The settlement of Canaan (chapters 13-22)
His farewell address (chapters 23, 24)
“At Moses’ death Joshua was chosen as his successor (Josh 1:1,2). He
led the Israelites to conquer the land (Joshua 1-2) supervised the division of the
territory among the 12 tribes, and led the people to renew their covenant with
God (Joshua 13-22).” (Who Was Who in the Bible) “The miraculous crossing of
the Jordan (3:7-4:24) has many reminiscences of the crossing of the Red Sea.”
(Interpreters Dictionary)
“Timnath-serah in Mount Ephraim was assigned as Joshua’s peculiar
inheritance.” (Dummelow Commentary) “Joshua…was buried at Timnathserah,…in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim to which he belonged.” (Who’s
Who in the Old Testament) His characteristics were faithfulness, consecration,
single-mindedness, reverence, courage, obedience, and decision. "Like the era
in which he lived, he has been magnified and idealized by the Deuteronomic
historians in their presentation of the history of Israel in the land." (Oxford Guide
to People & Places)
Amorites
[Am'uh rits] (“highlanders” or “hillmen”)
Amorites was the name given to the descendants of one of the sons of
Canaan (Gen 14:7), called Amurra or Amurri in the Assyrian and Egyptian
inscriptions. They were "among the original inhabitants of Canaan before the
Israelite conquest, along with Hittites, Canaanites, Jebusites, and others."
(Oxford Guide to People & Places) On the early Babylonian monuments all
Syria, including Palestine, is known as "the land of the Amorites." The southern
slopes of the mountains of Judea are called the "mount of the Amorites" (Deut
1:7,19,20). They seem to have originally occupied the land stretching from the
heights west of the Dead Sea (Gen 14:7) to Hebron (Deut 3:8; 4:46-48),
embracing "all Gilead and all Bashan" (Deut 3:10), with the Jordan valley on the
east of the river (4:49), the land of the "two kings of the Amorites," Sihon and Og
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(Deut 31:4; Josh 2:10; 9:10). The five kings of the Amorites were defeated
with great slaughter by Joshua (10:10). They were again defeated at the
waters of Merom by Joshua, who smote them till there were none remaining
(Josh 11:8).
It is mentioned as a surprising circumstance that in the days of Samuel
there was peace between the Amorites and the Israelites (I Sam 4:17). The
discrepancy supposed to exist between Deut 1:44 and Num 14:45 is explained
by the circumstance that the terms "Amorites" and "Amalekites" are used
synonymously for the "Canaanites." In the same way we explain the fact that
the "Hivites" of Gen 34:2 are the "Amorites" of 48:22. Compare Josh 10:6;
11:19 with II Samuel 21:2; also Numbers 14:45 with Deut 1:44. The Amorites
were warlike mountaineers. They are represented on the Egyptian monuments
with fair skins, light hair, blue eyes, aquiline noses, and pointed beards. They
are supposed to have been men of great stature; their king, Og, is described by
Moses as the last "of the remnant of the giants" (Deut 3:11). Both Sihon and Og
were independent kings. Only one word of the Amorite language survives,
"Shenir," the name they gave to Mount Hermon (Deut 3:9).
Jasher
[Jay'shuhr] ("upright")
"The Book of Jasher," rendered in the LXX. "the Book of the Upright One,"
by the Vulgate "the Book of Just Ones," was probably a kind of national sacred
song-book, a collection of songs in praise of the heroes of Israel, a "book of
golden deeds," a national anthology. We have only two specimens from the
book, (1) the words of Joshua which he spake to the Lord at the crisis of the
battle of Beth-horon (Joshua 10:12,13); and (2) "the Song of the Bow," that
beautiful and touching mournful elegy which David composed on the occasion of
the death of Saul and Jonathan (II Sam 1:18-27).
Berry, G. Hamilton, "The Symbol of the Sun," Christian Science Sentinel (27
September 1920), p. 65.
--On page 575 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy tells
us, "Spiritual teaching must always be by symbols," and in this connection it is
helpful to review the wealth of instruction contained in the symbol or idea of the
sun.
• To the unillumined human mind, before the advent of the light of Christian
Science, the sun typifies the source of energy and wellspring of material
existence.
---Anciently, sun worship was a common religion, and while the
twentieth century mortal prides himself on being superior to a benighted heath, it
is found on examination that belief in the reality of matter and material existence
is tantamount to worshipping the sun.
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--The claim of animal magnetism in all its varied forms can be summed up as the
hopeless attempt to focus darkness, and when once the futility of such an
attempt is recognized, all fear of any possible ill effects from such a claim
vanishes also.
Cornell, David A. (Professor Emeritus of Physics, Principia), “What is the
universe made of?,” Christian Science Journal (May 2003), p. 38.
--…many spiritually minded thinkers today…speculate that the natural sciences
are reaching the conclusion that matter may amount to nothing at all.
--…spiritual reality, experienced more and more, bring one to the conclusion that
Spirit is real.
• Spirit’s opposite, matter, appears less and less substantial in proportion
as one discerns the substantiality of Spirit.
--The majority of contemporary physicists still conceive of matter as having
physical properties, including mass, electrical charge, energy, and angular
momentum.
--As long as matter is the medium through which scientists perceive things—in
other words, as long as they rely mainly on the physical senses and human
intellect to tell them what is real and substantial—the universe will remain
essentially material to them.
Leishman, Thomas L., “Joshua and the Appointment of Canaan,” THE
CONTINUITY OF THE BIBLE, Christian Science Journal (May 1966), p. 258.
--Next to Moses himself, the outstanding leader of the Israelites during the long
years of trial and wandering in the wilderness was Joshua, alternately described
as Oshea and as Jehoshua (see Num 13:8,16)
• Like Moses, Joshua, "the son of Nun," was doubtless born in Egypt
before the commencement of the Exodus, and he nobly upheld the tradition of
the tribe of Ephraim—named for Joseph's second son—a tribe especially blessed
by Jacob in preference to that headed by the elder son, Manasseh (see Gen
48:1,11-14).
--We are first introduced to Joshua in Exodus (17:9-14), when Israel was faced
by an attack headed by the Amalekites, and Joshua was called upon to rally the
Hebrew forces and lead a counterattack against their foes.
W., J.H., "Sun and Sin," Christian Science Journal (November 1887), p. 394.
About the globe, in never-ending round,
Circles the Sun. Men talk of night and dark;
He sees them not; where'er he comes 'tis day.
The densest jungle, if a ray but pierce
Its tortuous gloom, reflects an angel's spear.
The dusky nadir, far remote from light,
A very zenith glows to th' approaching King.
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So, in the glow of God's resplendent Life,
No sin can lift its venomous crest in air.
To Him, all pure with Soul's perfected lights
All things are pure; nor into thought divine
Can enter knowledge of the foul and false.
Before His face, the face of Truth's decree,
Melts evil, like the dew before the Sun.
No night is there no lie, nor poisonous thought;
But lambent Love, laving the man ideal.
Weeks, Harold Taylor, "Exercising Divine Authority," Christian Science
Journal (March 1958), p. 145.
--In this age Christian Science is teaching mankind how to exercise God-given
authority over evil.
• It explains that God is divine Mind and that man is His idea or reflection.
---An arousing exhortation in "Science and Health with Key to the
Scriptures" by our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, reads (p.393): "Mind is the master
of the corporeal senses, and can conquer sickness, sin, and death. Exercise this
God-given authority. Take possession of your body, and govern its feeling and
action. Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike
good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and
power divinely bestowed on man."
--Dominion over error as demonstrated in Christian Science requires humility, a
knowledge of how error claims to operate, and a consciousness that one reflects
spiritual power.
• True humility is spontaneous; it requires no labored effort.
---Our demonstrations are manifestations of divine authority rather
than of personal achievement.
SECTION III: Cain Is Born to Adam and Eve (Gen 4: 1)
In verse 1, the phrase Adam knew Eve his wife indicates “the act of sexual
intercourse was considered the only means by which God Himself gave children.
He was acknowledged as the sovereign giver of all life.” (MacArthur
Commentary) "This euphemism reveals both the Hebrew attitude toward
knowledge and the OT ideal of marriage." (Interpreter's One-volume
Commentary)
Adam
[Ăd’ăm] (“ruddy,” “earth,” or “one made or produced”)
“ADAM. Error; a falsity; the belief in ‘original sin,’ sickness, and death; evil; the
opposite of good, — of God and His creation; a curse; a belief in intelligent matter,
finiteness, and mortality; "dust to dust;" red sandstone; nothingness; the first god of
mythology; not God's man, who represents the one God and is His own image and
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likeness; the opposite of Spirit and His creations; that which is not the image and
likeness of good, but a material belief, opposed to the one Mind, or Spirit; a so-called
finite mind, producing other minds, thus making ‘gods many and lords many’ (I
Corinthians viii. 5); a product of nothing as the mimicry of something; an unreality as
opposed to the great reality of spiritual existence and creation; a so-called man, whose
origin, substance, and mind are found to be the antipode of God, or Spirit; an inverted
image of Spirit; the image and likeness of what God has not created, namely, matter,
sin, sickness, and death; the opposer of Truth, termed error; Life's counterfeit, which
ultimates in death; the opposite of Love, called hate; the usurper of Spirit's creation,
called self-creative matter; immortality's opposite, mortality; that of which wisdom saith,
‘Thou shalt surely die.’
The name Adam represents the false supposition that Life is not eternal, but has
beginning and end; that the infinite enters the finite, that intelligence passes into nonintelligence, and that Soul dwells in material sense; that immortal Mind results in
matter, and matter in mortal mind; that the one God and creator entered what He
created, and then disappeared in the atheism of matter.” (S&H 579: 15-27 next page)
Adam
Cain
=
Eve
Enoch
Abel
Seth
Enosh
(other sons?)
(other daughters?)
"Adam (possibly meaning 'ruddy' or 'earth') is the common noun in Hebrew
for 'human(-kind)'; only in Genesis 1-5 (when used without the article) and I
Chronicles 1:1 is it the proper name for the first man." (Oxford Guide to People &
Places) Adam is “a proper noun rarely appearing outside of Genesis 1-5.”
(HarperCollins Dictionary)
“In the second chapter of Genesis there is a different account of the
Creation, more vivid and detailed.” (Who’s Who in the Bible) Adam was the
name of the first mortal man, and of mankind collectively; he was placed in the
Garden of Eden [Iraq]. The second chapter of Genesis says that he was created
of the dust of the earth. The man Adam was placed in a garden, which the Lord
God had planted “eastward in Eden,” for the purpose of dressing it and keeping
it. “Yahweh forms Eve from the rib of the sleeping man. They live together
unconscious of their nakedness until the woman is tempted by the serpent into
eating from the tree.” (Interpreter’s Dictionary)
They were permitted to eat of the fruit of every tree in the garden but one,
which was called “the tree of knowledge of good and evil,” because it was the
test of their obedience. By it they would believe in both good and evil. “Judaism
does not see in the Genesis story the ‘Fall of man.’” (Complete Bible Handbook)
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“The Tree of Life, or the Cosmic Tree, is a symbol common in many ancient
religions” (Ibid). By the subtlety of the serpent the woman who was given to be
with Adam was beguiled into a violation of the one command which had been
imposed upon them. She took of the fruit of the forbidden tree and gave it to her
husband. The propriety of its name was immediately shown in the results which
followed: self-consciousness was the first result of sin; their eyes were opened
and they knew that they were naked. Lest they eat also of the tree of life, as the
story goes, and become immortal, Adam and Eve were driven forth from Eden
and their return was barred by cherubim and a flaming sword. “Without ever
using the words ‘sin,’ ‘fall,’ ‘disobedience,’ ‘freedom,’ or ‘punishment,’ this
fascinating narrative sketched the boundaries of human existence.” (Mysteries of
the Bible)
The Bible states that the Garden was “in Eden in the east” and the river
that flowed from it parted into four: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. This
would place Eden somewhere in Mesopotamia—the ancient Babylonia and the
modern Iraq. “Paradeisos” is a Persian word meaning “park,” hence the English
“Paradise.
After the expulsion, Adam and Eve had three sons—Cain and Abel,
and much later, after Abel’s murder, Seth; "it is implied, however, that he had
others." (Peloubet Dictionary) In the New Testament, Adam is used as a proper
name, clearly referring to material man’s ancestral parents and the introduction of
sin into human experience.
Adam is stated to have lived 930 years.
Eve
[Ēv] (Heb. “life’)
“EVE. A beginning; mortality; that which does not last forever; a finite belief
concerning life,
substance, and intelligence in matter; error; the belief that the human race
originated materially
instead of spiritually, — that man started first from dust, second from a rib, and
third from an egg.”
(S&H 585: 23)
Eve was the name given by Adam to the first human woman “because she
was the mother of all living,” both because Eve is, through her sons, the female
ancestor of the entire human race and because the name sounds similar to the
Hebrew word for “living being.” The wordplay is probably etymologically
incorrect, and later rabbinical tradition proposed a connection with the Aramaic
word for “serpent.” The actual linguistic derivation of the name remains
uncertain. She was created to be a help meet for him. Scholars speculate
whether mythological images such as Earth Mother or Mother Goddess lie
behind the figure.
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"Because God felt it was not good for Adam to be alone, woman was then
created from one of his ribs; she was later named Eve (Hebrew chavvah
resembles the word for living) because she is the mother of all living beings."
(Complete Bible Handbook) Their relationship is set forth in an allegory in which
they were placed in the Garden of Eden [Iraq], and to test their obedience, they
were forbidden to touch or taste the fruit of one particular tree. “Before her
creation, Satan, who like Eve had been created a holy being, led a rebellion
against the Creator and was cast from his high estate.” (All the Women of the
Bible) “The woman is approached in Gen. 3:1 by the snake and, as she says, is
‘tricked’ into eating the forbidden fruit.” (Eerdmans Dictionary) The serpent led
Eve to question the goodness of God and then to eat the forbidden fruit. She
afterward persuaded Adam to eat, who thus shared her guilt. The result was the
fall of mortal man and the origin of the mortal sin. “The story of mankind’s
struggle in the world now began.” (Mysteries of the Bible)
“Although Eve is linked with the beginnings of sin in the earliest mentions
of her outside the Hebrew Bible—in the Jewish noncanonical Book of Sirach, as
well as in the New Testament and in other early Jewish and Christian works—
she is not called a sinner in the Genesis 2-3 account.” (Women in Scripture)
She is not called by the name "Eve" until Gen 3:20, and only once again in
the OT in Gen 4:1.
Eve was the mother of Cain, Abel, and Seth, and possibly other sons
and daughters.
“Jewish and Christian traditions postdating the Hebrew Bible and a long
history of Western scholarship have viewed woman’s creation in Genesis 2 as
secondary and derivative—evidence of her lower status.” (Women’s
Commentary)
“The apostle Paul referred to Eve twice. By saying “the serpent deceived
Eve by his craftiness,” Paul gave an example of how easily a person can be led
into temptation and sin, with disastrous consequences.” (Who Was Who in the
Bible)
Cain
[Kane] (Heb. “smith” or “metalworker”)
Cain was the eldest son of Adam and Eve, and the brother of Abel (Gen
4:1-25). He was a farmer, "a tiller of the ground," whose offering God rejected in
favor of the firstlings brought by his brother, Abel, "a keeper of the sheep." In
anger, Cain killed Abel and subsequently denied knowledge of his whereabouts.
As punishment, Cain’s land was denied fertility and Cain was condemned to a life
of wandering in exile. He dwelt in land of Nod, east of Eden, and bore a son,
Enoch.
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“Cain is regarded as the eponymous ancestor of the Kenites, who are often
considered to have originated as a tribe of wandering metalworkers.”
(HarperCollins Dictionary)
“…the cause of Cain’s evil nature is frequently explored, with a tendency to
identify Cain as the son of either Satan, the wicked angel Sammael (Targum
Pseudo-Jonathan), or the serpent in Eden.” (Oxford Guide to People & Places of
the Bible)
del Castillo, Patricia, “You are not Eve’s descendant,” Christian Science
Sentinel (13 March 2000), p. 19.
--the story of Adam and Eve….speaks of disobedience and condemnation, of
materiality and hate, of suffering and death.
• In no place do you read about love, about getting along, about the
spiritual qualities that make relationships loving, strong, and enduring.
--the world’s general belief that women are descendants of Eve, who was
condemned by the Lord God to suffer, would condemn all women to suffer.
• Many women are subjected to ill treatment, abuse, and harassment, and
believe that they deserve to be punished for Eve’s sin.
--Believing in a reality and power opposed to God, Love, sets the stage for
doubts and fears about our health, our safety, or our happiness.
Dresser, Elizabeth Tucker, "Rise Up from the City of Cain!," POEM, Christian
Science Journal (June 1956), p. 290.
….
Oh, rise up from the frail bonds of matter,
The tenuous chains of hate and despair,
Of lust and of grief, of self-justification,
Whose claims seem unending.
Rise up now, for the night has no substance,
No chains to bind, no shackles to hold;
Pure is the light that dissolves that night,
All pain transcending.
The gentle light of the holy city—
Faultless, radiant—is yours, if you will,
In an instant, and the shadowy journey is nothing,
And the light all-pervading.
….
Oh, rise up from the city of Cain,
Enter now the city of God!
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McClure, Annie Dinsmore, "Conception vs. Misconception," Christian
Science Journal (February 1909), p. 664.
--Is it any wonder that thinkers who would themselves scorn to do slovenly work,
refuse to worship…a creator as is presented by current theology?
• They look on high and see the heavenly bodies, for undreamed ages of
mortal existence true to their orbits; the tides obedient to the moon; the waters to
their level, and they say: "There is a power which works truly and with unvarying
precision and method. Therefore this power, called variously nature, evolution,
force, this is our deity. Of blundering, exaggerated personality we will have
nothing."
---Men seem to themselves to be thus between a necessity for
honest, intelligent agnosticism and blind allegiance to a conventional
inconsistency.
--Unlike all human theories and beliefs, Christian Science solves the riddle of the
ages so that child or sage may understand it. It shows that the secret of the
failure in human adjustments is not that the "hand of the potter" shook, but that
we have been looking at the false, inverted image instead of at God's idea; at
mortal man's misconception instead of at God's conception.
Price, Mrs. Naomi (CSB, Lecturer, Associate Editor, and President), "Improving
the Human Race," EDITORIAL, Christian Science Journal (July 1970), p. 373.
--Many people would agree that the human race should be improved, and many
are engaged in devoted effort to bring about this result through scientific,
theological, social, and political means.
--Christian Science and physical science…take opposite views of the origin and
substance of man.
• Physical science holds man to be mortal, material, formed through the
development of genes—microscopic chemical units believed capable of holding
within themselves the characteristics and traits of the representative of a species
transmitting them and of determining the characteristics of the individual who will
emerge from their development.
--Christian Science on the other hand, recognizes man as spiritual, the likeness
of God, formed by the Father, divine Mind, through the development of spiritual
qualities and ideas.
Wright, Robert Dennison, “Adam’s genes versus man’s inheritance,”
Christian Science Journal (January 1997), p. 11.
--Since God is the source of man's inheritance—of his very being—man must
image forth the nature of his creator in dominion, completeness, and fruitfulness.
--Modern genetic research…claims that person’s traits, including the proclivity to
have specific diseases, are controlled by genes.
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• Although it’s obvious that modern genetic theory was not the basis of the
Biblical story of Adam’s creation, the assumptions in that allegory are not far from
those of genetics.
--In the allegorical story of Adam, man is depicted as mortal, made from the dust
of the ground and far from perfect or Godlike.
• This materialistic inheritance, including its failure to reflect God, is
supposedly passed along to succeeding generations.
The Sign of Immanuel (Isa 7: 14)
TIME LINE: @700 BC
“The Greek translation of the Bible, the LXX, chose the Greek word for
virgin (parthenos) to translate the Hebrew and so provided an opportunity for
Matthew’s interpretation.” (Eerdmans Commentary) Peake’s Commentary says
“a young woman is correct; ‘virgin’ derives from LXX. An ‘almāh’ is a young
woman of marriageable age, whether virgin or not.”
With respect to Isaiah v.14, "Since Ahaz refused to choose a sign
(vv.11,12), the Lord chose His own sign, whose implementation would occur far
beyond Ahaz's lifetime." (MacArthur Commentary)
"a virgin"/Mary
"All sexual behavior that did not produce legitimate Israelite offspring to
the holy commonwealth was, in varying degrees, censured or controlled, and
there was a concomitant double standard with regard to sexual behavior.
Premarital virginity, for example, was incumbent only upon females; there is no
indication that males were expected to be virgins at marriage, and there is no
provision in the Hebrew Bible for lifelong virginity. If a husband accused his wife
of not having been a virgin at the time of her marriage, and if his charges were
substantiated, the woman was stoned. If, on the other hand, the man's charges
were refuted, he was merely flogged and fined." (Oxford Guide to Ideas & Issues)
Cook, Barbara, "'Immanuel' and the practicality of God's allness," Christian
Science Journal (May 1994), p. 6.
--The idea of the allness of good and the nothingness of evil that Christ Jesus
demonstrated and that Christian Science explains, seems quite remote to many
people—sometimes even to lifelong students of Christian Science.
--I was thinking about this one day when the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah came
distinctly to thought: "The Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (7:14)
• Suddenly I saw its meaning in a whole new light as foretelling the
appearance in the flesh—the practical appearing—of the idea of God's allness.
--Immanuel means "God with us."
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• It means that everything divine Love is, and everything divine Love gives,
is with us—every one of us—all the time.
---This message of divine omnipresence, progressively dissolving
the mortal beliefs of time and space, demonstrates both infinity and eternity—Life
and its goodness filling all space every moment.
__________, “Virgin Birth: beyond history, a living spiritual idea,” Christian
Science Journal (December 1988), p. 13.
--There is scarcely a more precious, sacred event in Christian history than the
virgin birth of Christ Jesus.
• Nothing can deprive this event of its uniqueness, its foundational position
in Christian theology, or its special significance to the Christian.
--But the theology of Christian Science shows the timeless import of this historic
event and explains that the virgin birth was not a miracle, not a departure from
natural law, but a proof of the Science of real creation, in which God, Spirit, is the
sole origin and continuity of man and the universe.
• "Those instructed in Christian Science," explains its Discoverer, Mrs.
Eddy, "have reached the glorious perception that God is the only author of man.
The Virgin-mother conceived this idea of God, and gave to her ideal the name of
Jesus—that is, Joshua, or Saviour." (S&H 29)
Virgin birth and individual salvation
--The virgin birth gives definitive evidence that the doctrine of original sin is false,
when this birth is understood as an illustration of the sinless, original being of all
creation.
The Song of the Angels (Luke 2: 14)
"The song of the angels recalls that of Isaiah in the temple (Isa 63) though
now it is Jesus rather than the temple that realizes God's glory and enables it to
be reflected on earth. As people on earth receive his 'good pleasure,' they share
in a 'peace' which much more than an absence of strife, is a wholeness of person
and unity with others." (Oxford Commentary)
Sinclair, Duncan (CSB, Associate Editor; President, Normal Class Teacher, and
Editor), "'Glory to God in the highest,'" EDITORIAL, Christian Science Journal
(December 1924), p. 507.
--It was a wonderful experience the shepherds had while "keeping watch over
their flock by night" on the plains of Bethlehem,-"the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round
about them," and the angel announced to them the birth of the Saviour, Christ
Jesus, whom they would find in the city of David.
• Then, with the angel they became suddenly aware of "a multitude of the
heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace, good will toward men."
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---It was impossible to separate the advent of the Bethlehem babe
from the coming of peace and good-will to men on earth; it was impossible for
"the heavenly host" to refrain from giving the glory to God for an event which was
unique in human history.
--The Christian Scientist….rejoices…because he himself is beginning to
understand, as Christ Jesus so well understood and demonstrated, that, as Mrs.
Eddy says on page 288 of Science and Health, "the spiritual real man has no
birth, no material life, and no death."
• "Glory to God in the highest"!
Belcher, Mary E., "'On earth peace, good will toward men,'" Christian Science
Journal (December 1925), p. 465.
--When we look around the world to-day and see mankind torn by discord, fear,
suspicion, when we read of the utter disregard in many places of the common
laws of decency and humanity, we are tempted to quail at the task before us, or
to yield to the insidious suggestion that we can do so little to help.
• Then is our opportunity to turn to the record of Jesus' life and gain
strength and comfort from his heroic and faithful example.
---As the peace of the world can be made manifest only through the
spiritual understanding of God and His law, so reforms can come only through
the faithfulness of the individual to his highest understanding of good.
• It is purification of thought and the endeavor to rise above the separating
beliefs of nationality, race, and creed, through the practice of the Golden Rule in
daily life, which will bring about most rapidly the fulfillment of the angelic
message of "On earth peace, good will toward men."
SECTION IV: Jesus and Zacchaeus, a Wealthy Convert (Luke 19: 1-10)
TIME LINE: The Last Months; March, 30AD in Jericho
“As Jesus passes through Jericho, we learn of a man named Zacchaeus,
a chief tax (or toll) collector, who was rich, information the author gave us only at
the end of the story of the (rich) ruler (18:18-23).” (Eerdmans Commentary)
"'Chief tax-collector' is not found elsewhere in the NT and probably not
outside it." (Oxford Commentary) "Zacchaeus probably oversaw a large tax
district, and had other tax collectors working for him." (MacArthur Commentary)
Zacchaeus
[Zack key’ us] (Greek from Heb “pure”)
Taxes and tax collection systems varied widely by locale and period within
the Hellenistic and Roman Empires. Duties were collected on goods in transit
and in marketplaces by local publicans who paid a flat rate for the right to collect
these taxes.
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Luke alone tells the delightful story of the chief tax-collector, Zacchæus,
who was very rich because the Jericho taxes constituted a fruitful source of
income and he had contracted for the right of collecting the revenues of that
district. Many thought Zacchaeus had "grown rich through overtaxing the
people." (Who Was Who in the Bible) When Jesus came to Jericho, probably
among the crowd of pilgrims on the way up to Jerusalem for the Passover
festival, Zacchæus wanted to meet him. He was, however, a little man, and he
therefore went on ahead and climbed into a tree overlooking the road along
which Jesus was likely to come. As Jesus came level with him, he looked up,
and called him to come down. Jesus said he wanted to stay at his house, and so
he quickly came down and received Jesus joyfully.
When the crowds saw what had happened, they were resentful and
murmured that Jesus had gone to the house of a sinner. Zacchæus denied this
by outlining his generosity to the poor, and pledged to restore anything that was
looked upon as fraud. Jesus acknowledged his redemption and declared that,
although he was “lost,” he was saved. "Zacchaeus' promise to contribute to the
poor and restore fourfold those wrongfully treated stands in sharp contrast to the
response of the rich ruler (Luke 18:18-25)." (HarperCollins Dictionary)
"Luke brings out very clearly Jesus's application of the word 'lost' to the
publicans, as though their livelihood made them inevitable 'sinners.'" (Who's Who
in the New Testament) This story shows Jesus’ familiar intercourse with
publicans and sinners was justified by its results.
Hurn, Douglas, "Zacchaeus," POEM, Christian Science Journal (February
1948), p. 77.
How fine Luke's tale about a small Zaccai,
Who sought to see the Master passing by,
"And could not for the press," so ran before
To climb the branches of a sycamore.
Our Lord looked up and hailed him as a friend;
He bade Zacchaeus speedily descend;
Who, coming, glowed with truly humble pride,
When told, "This day must I with thee abide."
So joy we when, despite the claims of sin,
The Christ-thought to our conscience enters in,
Abiding this and every other day,
If with Zacchaeus' humbleness we pray.
How soaring was the thought that prompted him
To lift himself aloft on leafy limb—
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The thought that led him fairly to assess,
And humbly scale the heights of holiness….
"Heartfelt Love—and Completeness," Christian Science Monitor (8 June
1995), p. 17.
--Christ Jesus was always seeing people as they genuinely are: spiritually whole
in God, Spirit.
• Jesus didn't bypass problems or consider anyone unworthy of healing.
---His ministry brims over with moments of exchange with people
who were socially rejected.
• Luke's Gospel tells us, for example, that when Jesus entered Jericho,
Zacchaeus, a despised tax collector, had climbed a tree so that he could see
better.
---Jesus didn't ignore him; in fact, he looked up into the tree and
invited himself to dinner at Zacchaeus' home! (see 19:1-10)
--Jesus' mission was to bless all mankind, to show us our unbreakable unity with
God.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Bibliography is provided only in the notes of the first Sunday of each
month.
*The weekly Bible Lessons are made up of selections from the King
James Version of the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, Science and
Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian
Science.
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