Bible Lens—May 23–29, 2016
Subject: Ancient and Modern Necromancy, alias Mesmerism and Hypnotism, Denounced
Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.
Exploring Bible Verses
An exploration of Bible citations from the Christian Science Quarterly® Bible Lessons
“. . . a lesson on which the prosperity of Christian Science largely depends."—Mary Baker Eddy
from the Responsive Reading
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
At the time of James’ epistle, strife was common between Jews and Romans. More disturbing, however, were the factions among the Jews themselves—dissension rooted in moral depravity, often leading to violence. James’ plea contrasts starkly with the closing statement in his previous chapter: “The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace” (3:18).
Lusts (Greek, hédoné) signifies pleasure or strong desire, much like the related English word hedonism. The apostle calls attention to taking pleasure in material possessions and power as the source of “wars and fightings.”
from Section 1
2 | Isaiah 5:18
Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope.
A cart rope was stronger and thicker than a cord. The image describes deep-seated and intentional wrongdoing, the result of accumulated slighter sins “woven” together.
5 | Deuteronomy 6:4
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.
This line has been called “a ringing declaration of monotheism,” in sharp distinction to the worship of many gods in the surrounding cultures. One commentator sees an even deeper meaning—an unequivocal statement of the supreme nature of the God of Israel without reference to any other power.
5 | Deuteronomy 6:5
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
The first books of the Bible, sometimes called the Five Books of Moses, focused on having reverence for the one God and obeying His commandments. With this passage in the fifth book, an emphasis on love emerges. Obedience is now viewed, not merely as a duty, but as an outcome of the people’s love for God.
5 | Deuteronomy 6:8
Thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
While the spirit of Moses’ charge was to keep God’s Word always before thought, Jews also took it literally. Few copies of the entire Torah existed at this time, so selected statements were written on their walls and gates—and inscribed on parchment to be worn on their heads or arms with bands called frontlets. The words of Deuteronomy 6:4, 5—key language of the Jewish confession of faith known as the Shema—were primary among these writings.
from Section 2
11 | Proverbs 16:3
Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.
This proverb reverses the normally expected sequence—thoughts, then works. One scholar clarifies it this way: “The only way to have our ‘thoughts established’ is to ‘commit our works to the Lord.’ ”
The word commit (Hebrew, galal) means roll or roll away. In this verse, it alludes to transferring a burden or weight to a stronger person or power. Casting every care on God brings fulfillment of our hopes and desires.
from Section 3
13 | Nehemiah 2:20
Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
At this time, it was considered a great privilege to be a citizen of Jerusalem, and only those belonging to the tribes of Israel could live there. In this declaration, Nehemiah specifically denies his opponents any civil, legal, or religious rights in the city.
Memorial may relate to the remembrance of earlier Samaritan efforts to join in building the Temple, rejected as interference by the Israelites (see Ezra 4:3).
Resources quoted in this issue
Cit. 5, Deuteronomy 6:4: Alter, Robert. The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary. New York: W. W. Norton, 2004.
Cit. 11: Henry, Matthew. Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible. London, 1706. Also available at biblestudytools.com/commentaries.
Related Healing Ideas
Nehemiah rebuilds the wall of Jerusalem
By Maike Byrd
From the December 28, 1998, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel
Imagine this: Your hometown has been destroyed by war. Most of the people are gone. This was the situation in Jerusalem. Its wall had been torn down by the Babylonians, and many of the Hebrew people were living in captivity.
Nehemiah was one of them. He had a high position in the royal court as cupbearer for the Persian King Artaxerxes. Nehemiah knew that the wall of the city needed to be repaired so that Jerusalem and its people could become strong again. But how could he help? And would the king ever let him go?
Before Nehemiah took any steps to help his people in Jerusalem, he prayed. Later when King Artaxerxes noticed that Nehemiah looked sad, he wanted to know why. Nehemiah told him about Jerusalem. Then, after he had prayed to God, he asked the king for permission to go to Jerusalem and build up its walls. The king kindly permitted him to go and even appointed him governor of Judah.
After arriving in Jerusalem Nehemiah didn’t tell anyone what he was up to. He wanted to find out where the weak spots were so that he could figure out how best to rebuild them. Later when Nehemiah told his people of his plan, they were eager to help.
But not everyone was happy to see the wall built up again. Among this group were Sanballat, a Samaritan leader, Tobiah from the land of Ammon, and Geshem from Arabia. These men were afraid they would lose some of their power and influence over the Hebrews if Jerusalem became strong again. So Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem tried everything they could to prevent the Hebrew people from rebuilding the wall.
At first they made fun of Nehemiah and his efforts. But that didn’t faze Nehemiah. In fact, he said, “The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build” (Nehemiah 2:20). And that’s exactly what they did. They worked so hard that soon almost all the gaps in the wall were closed.
When the enemies heard this, they got very angry. They even planned an attack on Jerusalem. But Nehemiah did not get discouraged. He gave the workers weapons. He also held what one might call prayer watches, with groups of people praying to God for help and protection.
Then Sanballat came up with a new idea. He told Nehemiah that he wanted to meet with him to discuss the situation, but Nehemiah did not trust him. Instead, he had his messengers tell Sanballat and Geshem, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down” (Nehemiah 6:3). Four times they tried to get him away from his “great work,” but every time Nehemiah refused to go. He knew he was doing what God wanted him to do, so he never let himself get distracted from his job.
Next, the enemies started spreading rumors about Nehemiah. They said that he was building the wall because he wanted to be king himself. But Nehemiah refused to let these lies get to him.
Soon the wall was completely rebuilt. It took only 52 days. All the people living around the land of Judah recognized that it had been the work of God.
Nehemiah can be an example for all of us. He didn’t let anything or anyone keep him from doing what he knew was right. You can be alert, just as Nehemiah was. You, too, can trust God to help you do what’s right.
This article has been shortened to fit this page. To read the entire article, go to
jsh.christianscience.com/nehemiah-rebuilds-the-wall-of-jerusalem.
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