by Benedicto Ismael Camargo Dutra
The Semites were attracted by the extremely fertile region around the Nile where there was abundant water, generous soil, and friendly sunshine. It was everything they needed so that they could successfully keep the "ghost of hunger" away. However, as the people of Israel were intelligent and dedicated workers, the Pharaoh became concerned with this and made what he thought to be a “wise” decision. He began to use oppression in order to prevent the Israelite population from becoming overcrowded. Thus, brutal and inhuman slavery was instated along with the diabolical plan of putting all newly born male babies to death.
One day, the Pharaoh's daughter, who was attracted by the pleasant freshness of the Nile River, ordered to be carried over to its waters for a bath. As she bathed, she found a floating basket in the water. Inside was a gorgeous little baby boy. The princess felt deeply touched with such a sight and her heart expressed a strong desire to protect that harmless little creature.
The Israelites suffered endlessly for they were being forced to an unworthy kind of life. In their suffering, the Hebrews sought for support and solace. Soon, they found themselves in search of a different type of belief, one that was different from the one found in decadent Egypt where the obscure religious and malicious beliefs had nothing to do with the Divine Laws.
Consequently, the yearning to meet and access the Truth was born inside the hearts of the Israeli people.
The Israelites were to have become a model-people for all other nations; this was one of the plans of the "Light". And, one of the first steps that were taken was the sending of Moses. Moses was the precursor, the great leader, whose mission was to free his people from all physical and spiritual ties that had been enslaving the falling human species. Moses had to deliver his people from the Egyptian oppression and also teach the Hebrews about spiritual values and spiritual progress. This was also for the good of humanity as a whole because, with rare exceptions, human beings were already involved in indolence and had taken wrong paths rather than striving to reach progressive spiritual evolution.
But how exactly was the life of this chosen precursor?
“What about Moses' Childhood? How did he acquire the values and ethics that would later explain his unpaired titles as Servant of the Lord and Master of All Prophets?” This inquiry is made in the book “Moses, the Prince, and the Prophet.”
(Published by Madras Editora)
How was he prepared for his great mission? Everything is a mystery because the Bible is evasive regarding this issue and leaves an enormous gap between the "finding of the basket by the princess upon the banks of the Nile River and Moses' adulthood when he leads the Israelites to their freedom.
Moses was confident, serene, and just. He faced everything in order to fulfill his service to the Almighty Creator, thus freeing the Israeli people from the slavery imposed by the Egyptians.
Moses was chosen as the shepherd the Israelites needed for their enlightenment, and soon the Hebrews began to develop their will toward righteousness. Moses would address himself to them with all the love in his heart and taught them about justice and spiritually uplifting matters. His teachings caused the people to look at themselves from within. This inner awareness helped them change and evolve, allowing them to become a better and more spiritualized people.
“…The Israelites and their leader, Moses, who had a better and clearer understanding of spiritual subjects, found the Egyptian world of belief and religious practices extremely suffocating and unbearably mean and evil. Leaving Egypt behind meant, not only breaking away from physical slavery, but also becoming free from a spiritual prison filled with stagnated air: The lungs of the Israelites in Egypt craved for a breeze that brought healthy and fresher oxygen that would bring them the truth of life and a dignified way of living with freedom and more responsibility. The Egyptian civilization was very old and immature, and the strong desire of the Israelis to leave Egypt was triggered by a search for maturity.”
(Paul Johnson, in “The History of the Jews”).
"With hands guided by the Light, Moses engraved the Words of the Divine Commandments upon two flagstones. The Ten Commandments bring from within the salvation of humanity, for the perfection they withhold allows an easy existence for humankind…"
Furthermore, when Moses received God's Commandments, which, in their perfection, can make human existence bearable and bring salvation to the human soul, he delivered them to the Israeli people to be used as a basis for their spiritual growth. This would only possible in a natural way through the activity of each and everyone's spirit moved by the conviction of spiritual freedom.
First of all, the Ten Commandments are very well intended as good advice and mean to show the right way through the World of Matter. The very knowledge behind the Ten Commandments was but the result of a true yearning on the part of the human spirits. “From the Light it was indeed perceived how far human beings were going astray. So, like a teacher, God faithfully showed them the way that leads them to Eternal Life in the Luminous Realm of the Spirit, thus, to their happiness”. (Passage copied from the Third Commandment, which can be found in the book "The Ten Commandments," explained by Abdruschin)
But even such beautiful thoughts no longer instill any effect upon humankind. People have literally chained themselves down to their own ideas for too long, and this is why nothing else matters. They do not care to hear or see anything that is not in agreement with their concepts. But people do not realize that they have created their ideas and beliefs based on their limited earthly knowledge.