The Lost Scriptures.

The Manual of Discipline

Anyone who refuses to enter the (ideal) society of God and persists in walking in the stubbornness of his heart shall not be admitted to this community of God’s truth. For inasmuch as his soul has revolted at the discipline entailed in a knowledge of God’s righteous judgments, he has shown no real strength in amending his way of life, and therefore cannot be reckoned with the upright. The mental, physical and material resources of such a man are not to be introduced into the stock of the community, for such a man ‘plows in the slime of wickedness’ and ‘there are stains on his repentance’. He is not honest in resolving the stubbornness of his heart. On paths of light he sees but darkness. Such a man cannot be reckoned as among those essentially blameless. He cannot be cleared by mere ceremonies of atonement, nor cleansed by any waters of ablution, nor sanctioned by immersion in lakes or rivers, nor purified by any bath. Unclean, unclean he remains so long as he rejects the government of God and refuses the discipline of communion with Him. For it is only through the spiritual apprehension of God’s truth that man’s ways can be properly directed. Only thus can all his iniquities be shriven so that he can gaze upon the true light of life. Only through the holy spirit can he achieve union with God’s truth and be purged of all his iniquities. Only by a spirit of uprightness and humility can his sin be atoned. Only by the submission of his soul to all the ordinances of God can his flesh be made clean. Only thus can it really be sprinkled with waters of ablution. Only thus can it really be sanctified by waters of purification. And only thus can he really direct his steps to walk blamelessly through all the vicissitudes of his destiny in all the ways of God in the manner which He has commanded, without turning either to the right or to the left and without overstepping any of God’s words. Then indeed will he be acceptable before God like an atonement-offering which meets with His pleasure, and then indeed will he be admitted to the covenant of the community for ever.

As the name implies, this book is a manual on discipline – a rulebook, a handbook of law for the community in Qumran. It lays out correct behavior in a strict community. The Qumran community is a society established by the Dead Sea – also identified as the Essenes. This is one of the most important documents produced by the Essenes. The Essenes, as discussed before, were Jews who settled at Qumran in the early 2nd century CE. They did so to remove themselves from what they considered a corrupt religion symbolized by the religio-political high priests of the Hasmonean dynasty centred in Jerusalem. Modern scholars have suggested that when the Qumran sect was forced to abandon its community life because of the great Jewish revolt against Rome in AD 66–70, its members hid their library in nearby caves. The large number of preserved manuscripts indicate the importance of the Manual to the Essene community. This scroll was probably intended for the leaders of this sect, including priests who supervised the sacrificial, liturgical, and possibly exegetical religious functions, and also guardians who controlled the admission and instruction of new members into the community.

The tenor of this document is one of love – but also hatred for those outside the community. The members of the community are “the sons of light”, while those outside the community are “the sons of darkness”. The harshest penalty for anyone in the community is to be banished.

As we know, there still are communities around us who attempt to live in closed communities, to keep outsiders outside, and to threaten banishment for those who reject their teachings – such as the Amish. As Christians we need to be leery of such teachings – for we all are part of G-d’s family, and all are not worthy of G-d’s love, mercy and grace. This is what connects us – it should not be what divides us. It should not be birthrights that make us a part of the community, but baptism, which identifies us as people born into G-d’s parentage.

Pastor Dave