Neville Goddard on Deuteronomy 5:14-15 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Deuteronomy 5 in context

Scripture Focus

14But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

15And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

Deuteronomy 5:14-15

Biblical Context

The Sabbath is a commanded rest for all, inviting cessation from labor. Remember you were formerly enslaved in Egypt and delivered by the Lord's mighty hand.

Neville's Inner Vision

On the level of consciousness, the seventh day is not a calendar but a state—the rest of the I AM. When you read 'the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,' hear it as a command to grant your own mind a sacred cessation from constant doing. The 'work' you are asked to lay down is the restless thinking of self-importance and fear. Your son, your daughter, your servant, your cattle—these are inner impulses and attitudes that keep you in bondage; in the sabbath they too rest because you rest in the awareness that you are not the doer who must constantly strive. The reminder of Egypt is your memory of bondage to limitation; you are invited to remember that you have been delivered by a mighty hand and a stretched out arm—the power of I AM. Hence keep the sabbath day by living from the inner sanctuary, not from force. Let the day be a symbol that your life is a declaration of freedom within the I AM, a holiness that sets you apart and unites you with God.

Practice This Now

Imaginative act: Sit quietly, close your eyes, and assume the feeling of the I AM at rest. Say softly, 'I am at rest in God,' and let the body sink into quiet, as the inner slaves and cattle settle in your awareness.