Bible Lens—January 11–17, 2016
Subject: Life
© Lordn/iStock/Thinkstock
Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it.
Exploring Bible Verses
from the Responsive Reading
Sing unto the Lord, bless his name.
In ancient Near Eastern culture, names were significant not only as identification but as identity—as a person’s fundamental character and essence. To bless God’s name is equivalent to celebrating His very nature and being.
Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.
Although the Temple in Jerusalem, including the courtyards in the Temple compound, is described as God’s house (see I Kings 9:1 and Nehemiah 8:16), the words here are metaphorical. They describe the prosperity of the righteous in the kingdom of heaven.
The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.
Several scholars note that this verse recalls God’s words to Aaron explaining that the children of Levi—designated as the priests of Israel—were to rely directly on God, without any material inheritance: “I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel” (Numbers 18:20). One way in which God provided for them was to direct the Israelites to support the Levites through tithing (see Numbers 18:24).
The term cup often refers in Scripture to one’s condition in life; lines, to a measured portion or lot.
from Section 1
That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him.
To “cleave”is to cling or be united closely. One scholar has, “never to forsake him in affection or practice” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible).
from Section 2
6 | II Kings 4:1
The creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.
Debt was a major concern in Bible times. If people were unable to pay their creditors, they could lose their possessions, or they—and sometimes their whole families—could be taken as slaves. If that happened, they were often unable to work off the debt, leaving them and their descendants enslaved for life.
6 | II Kings 4:4
Thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
The same phrase, “shut the door upon them,” appears in the account of Elisha’s raising the Shunammite woman’s son to life (see II Kings 4:33). Centuries later, shutting the door is Jesus’ image for what is necessary in prayer: “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret” (Matthew 6:6).
from Section 3
9 | John 2:6, 7
There were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
Stone jars were believed to keep water cool and pure. Each of the jars described here had a capacity of about 20–30 gallons, so the total amount of water changed into wine amounted to roughly 120–180 gallons. (A firkin was about a quarter of a barrel of liquid.)
from Section 4
14 | Romans 12:2
Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.
The word translated as “mind” (Greek, nous) can be seen as perception and understanding, but here it signifies more than mere intellect. The transforming activity applies to motives, affections, and behavior—to one’s entire being.
from Section 5
21 | II Corinthians 5:17
If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
The Greek word for “creature,” ktisis, denotes the thing made, the act of creating, or all of creation. One researcher notes that the transformation in Christ is so complete that it is equivalent to an act of creation. Another observes, “The renewed man acts upon new principles, by new rules, with new ends, and in new company.… his heart is not merely set right, but a new heart is given him” (Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible).
Word Study
the sons of the prophets (citation 6; II Kings 4:1) The word “son” here is not meant literally. Instead it signifies follower or student. The “sons of the prophets” refers to guilds or societies of prophets, not unlike associations of the trades. The phrase is used most often in accounts about Elisha, who is portrayed as leader of a large prophetic community.
Related Healing Ideas
Shutting and opening thought
By Evelyn M. S. Duckett
From the March 1, 1969, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel
In any context shutting and opening are very decisive actions. When applied to the door of spiritual understanding, they signify a prayerful mental attitude that is definite and positive, not tentative or uncommitted. This demands not only clear discrimination between what we should admit and what we should refuse but also a firm implementation of this selection.
Christ Jesus once said to his disciples, “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:6).
Mary Baker Eddy writes of this passage: “The closet typifies the sanctuary of Spirit, the door of which shuts out sinful sense but lets in Truth, Life, and Love. Closed to error, it is open to Truth, and vice versa.” In the same paragraph she continues: “To enter into the heart of prayer, the door of the erring senses must be closed. Lips must be mute and materialism silent, that man may have audience with Spirit, the divine Principle, Love, which destroys all error” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 15).
Christian Science shows man to be the idea, or expression, of Spirit, inseparable from his divine source, conscious only of what is infinite and good. In this absolute sense, the real man never leaves the sanctuary of Spirit, God, and he has perpetual audience with his divine Principle.
To human sense, spiritualization of consciousness seems to be attained only intermittently. But through daily scientific prayer this attainment can become progressively more consistent.
We read in the Bible that the prophet Elisha once helped a widow practice this prayerful process of shutting and opening thought effectively. Finding her destitute except for a single pot of oil, Elisha advised her: “Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full” (II Kings 4:3, 4).
In the light of Christian Science one could conclude that up to this point the widow’s thought had been wide open to sorrow, poverty, loss, and pity from others. When she resolutely closed thought to these errors and opened it instead to hope, usefulness, and the possibility of new opportunities, she found that she could pour out the oil she already had and see it multiply instead of dwindle.
By the simple process of shutting and opening, rejecting and accepting, denying and affirming, each one can make his own individual thought a sanctuary. Such mental selectivity keeps our consciousness full of fresh, spiritual qualities but emptied of whatever is harmful, wasteful, negative, or simply surplus to requirements.
Mrs. Eddy gives this advice to her students: “Beloved Christian Scientists, keep your minds so filled with Truth and Love, that sin, disease, and death cannot enter them. It is plain that nothing can be added to the mind already full. There is no door through which evil can enter, and no space for evil to fill in a mind filled with goodness” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 210).
This article has been shortened to fit this page. To read the complete article, go to
jsh.christianscience.com/shutting-and-opening-thought.
For Further Study: Resources used in this issue
© 2015 The Christian Science Publishing Society. The Cross and Crown seal is a trademark of the Christian Science Board of Directors, registered in the US, the EU, and other countries, and is used by permission. Bible Lens is a trademark of The Christian Science Publishing Society.
