The Ten Commandments by Emmet Fox, Chapter One, What Moses means today

The Ten Commandments by Emmet Fox, Chapter One, What Moses Means Today

Emmet Fox’s interpretation of the Ten Commandments is a cornerstone of New Thought metaphysics. In Chapter 1, "What Moses Means Today," Fox sets the stage by stripping away the historical "dust" to reveal the Commandments not as ancient rules from a distant God, but as scientific laws of the human mind.

Here is a deep dive into the core themes of Chapter 1:

---

1. Moses as a State of Mind

In Fox's metaphysical shorthand, every character in the Bible represents a part of you. Moses represents the "Leader of Consciousness."

• He is the aspect of your mind that becomes aware of Spiritual Law.

• Before Moses (spiritual awareness) appears, we are "slaves in Egypt"—bondage to circumstances, health issues, or financial lack.

• Moses is the "Law-Giver" within you that realizes: “I don’t have to stay in this limitation; there is a way out through the right use of my thought.”

2. The Significance of Egypt and the Wilderness

Fox emphasizes that Moses was "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." To Fox, this has deep meaning for the modern seeker:

• Egypt (The Material Intellect): Represents the highest point of human intellectual and psychological knowledge. It’s useful, but it cannot set you free.

• The Wilderness (The Spiritual Shift): Moses had to flee Egypt to the wilderness to encounter the "Burning Bush." This represents the moment where intellectual knowledge is set aside for direct spiritual experience.

• The Lesson: You cannot think your way into freedom with the same logic that got you into trouble. You must move from "Egyptian" (material) logic to "Mosaic" (spiritual) realization.

3. "Thou Shalt Not" vs. "Thou Canst Not"

One of Fox’s most famous "deep dive" points is the linguistic shift of the Commandments. He argues that a more accurate spiritual translation isn't a command, but a statement of Law.

• Instead of "Thou shalt not steal," Fox suggests we read it as "Thou canst not steal" (and still be happy).

• The Logic: You cannot violate the laws of harmony and expect to live in a harmonious world. It’s like saying, "Thou shalt not put thy hand in the fire." It isn’t a threat of punishment; it’s a warning of the natural consequence (getting burned).

4. The Exodus as "Getting Out"

The word Exodus literally means "a way out." Fox posits that Chapter 1 is about the "Exit" from any form of limitation.

• The Law of Life: Fox argues that life is 100% "as within, so without."

• To "Moses" (to lead) yourself out of a problem today, you must first change the "inner state" (your thoughts) so that the "outer state" (your conditions) has no choice but to follow.

---

Summary Table: The Metaphysical Shift

Symbol	Historical/Literal Meaning	Fox's Metaphysical Meaning
Moses	A historical prophet	The enlightened intellect/spiritual will.
Egypt	A geographic nation	A state of mind focused on materiality.
Pharaoh	An ancient king	The ego or the belief that "things" have power over you.
The Red Sea	A body of water	The "impossible" obstacle that clears when thought is corrected.

Practical Takeaway for Chapter 1

Fox concludes that Moses "means" the same thing today as he did then: Individual Responsibility. You are not a victim of fate; you are a user of Law. To start your "Exodus," you must stop looking at the "Egypt" of your current problems and start identifying with the "Moses" of your spiritual potential.

----------------------------

Source

Google Gemini