In the Christian Science Bible Lesson February 10, 2014 Issue

A forever promise

For the Lesson titled “Soul” from February 10–16, 2014

Mary Trammell

This week’s Bible Lesson, titled “Soul,” explores the covenants—agreements between God and humankind—in the Bible. In one of the earliest covenants, God announces to the patriarch Abram, “I am the Almighty God” (Genesis 17:1, Golden Text ). Then God astonishes the 99-year-old Abram by promising to change his name to Abraham and make him the “father of many nations” (Genesis 17:4), giving him and his aged wife Sarai a son. He’ll be the God of Abraham’s descendants, the children of Israel, forever, giving them the land of Canaan. In exchange for this particular covenant, the Almighty God, or “God all-knowing,” expects nothing (Interpreter’s One-Volume Commentary). It’s unconditional.

The Responsive Reading shows how God follows through on this covenant, giving the Israelites rain and productivity, and delivering them from slavery in Egypt (see Leviticus, chap. 26). Section 1 goes on to review the ways God has stood by the children of Israel “to a thousand generations” (Psalms 105:8, citation 3), even during periods of Exile, when they suffered for their disobedience to God. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy then explains that they’ve overcome their shortcomings because they’re actually “the representatives of Soul, not corporeal sense; the offspring of Spirit, who, having wrestled with error, sin, and sense, are governed by divine Science; some of the ideas of God beheld as men, casting out error and healing the sick; Christ’s offspring” (p. 583, cit. 3).