Article July 21, 1951 Issue

THE UNREALITY OF ERROR

KATHRYN PAULSON

The fourth chapter of Exodus relates the following incident, in which Moses' rod was changed into a serpent (verses 2-4): "And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand." To human sense, the bidding to handle the serpent by the tail would seem unwise, for herpetology teaches that a snake should be picked up by the base of the neck, not by the tail, whence it could lash around with the head and inflict injury; yet Moses was instructed to handle it from what would seem to have been the most dangerous point. How shall we reconcile such instruction with wisdom?

In order to make Biblical narratives practical in our modern everyday experience, we must reach beyond the material aspect and grasp the spiritual import. Mary Baker Eddy entitled her textbook "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," and it is indeed a precious key, which opens that chest of spiritual treasures, the Bible. In this book the true meaning of Moses and the serpent is unlocked in the following words (p. 321): "When, led by wisdom to cast down his rod, he saw it become a serpent, Moses fled before it; but wisdom bade him come back and handle the serpent, and then Moses' fear departed." Farther on in the same paragraph we read, "The illusion of Moses lost its power to alarm him, when he discovered that what he apparently saw was really but a phase of mortal belief."

Moses' thought and conduct were controlled by fear only so long as he believed in the reality of the serpent. When he obediently and courageously took it up by the tail, he clearly perceived its illusory nature, and the causeless fear evaporated. We see, then, that the most dangerous aspect of the situation, the handling of the serpent by the tail, was really Moses' belief in the reality of evil, and the handling of this basic error brought release.

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