Masonic Symbols – Gavel, Scepter, Kabbalah and the Master of a Freemasons Lodge

WHY IS THE TEACHER ALWAYS IN THE EAST?

“And yet you are a man and not a god,

however you believe yourself

Like a god.”

Eze. 28:2

God rules the world by authority and not by force. If it were not so, there would be no freedom and no rule of law. One is free to be a believer or an unbeliever. Nothing and no one can force any of us to have faith. No scientific discovery, no argument from logic, and no torture of body or mind can force us to believe anything, not even to accept the authority of the Supreme Architect of the Universe. However, once that authority is recognized and embraced, the powerless become powerful reminding us of the parable Jesus spoke about the mustard seed: a grain of faith is enough to move mountains.

The Master of a Freemason lodge represents that authority. During a segment of the ritual in a Masonic degree, the candidate is instructed that the Master is always stationed in the east, while the Greater and Lesser Wardens are always stationed in the west and south, respectively. The ritual does not explain why this is so, and most veterans of the Masonic degrees are quick to suggest that it is simply because it has always been so. While that explanation is true to a point, it is incomplete and totally ignorant.

Being something, knowing something and being capable of something is what empowers a person with authority, such as the Master of a lodge. After all, it is the authority that is the true and only power. Compulsion or force is simply a resource that can be used to remedy a lack of authority. Where authority exists in its purest form, one can feel and feel the breath of holy magic filled with the fire of mysticism, the essence of what is divine.

At his installation, the master of a lodge is issued a gavel and is told by his installing officer that it is an emblem of his authority which he can exercise in the name of acts of great good or greater evil. The point symbolized here is that the true masonic authority is exercised by the scepter and not by a weapon. The first Most Excellent Grand Master of Freemasonry, Solomon, King of Israel, is reported in Masonic ritual to have wielded the scepter over Israel, not another weapon, and thus stands as the foremost example of how it is wielded o Masonic authority must be exercised.

Kabbalah teaches that all authority has its source in the ineffable name of the deity -YHVH- and that all law derives from that name. The clear implication here, as in all Masonic lodges, is that the human authority bearer does not supersede divine authority. Rather, he renounces his own will and allows himself to behave as a conduit of divine authority. Always stationed in the East, the Master renounces action in favor of obedience, comfort in favor of duty, and movement in favor of the permanent sentinel. In other words, the Master is a guardian of his post and essentially guards the scepter.

The scepter is symbolized by the mallet, which is also a symbol of the restraint that a Master must exercise if his authority is ever to be effective. The Master who shouts opposition to him, shouts to make his point, cunningly politicizes his lodge, or gleefully issues orders without logic or reason, has not exercised that restraint. Instead, he has taken measures designed to deprive the brothers of the freedom of the deity’s loving guidance. A Master who is aware that the mallet represents the scepter retains his naturally impulsive nature from stepping in and replacing God as head of the lodge.

The lesson of such a restriction is not new since it applies to the Master, it simply applies equally to the brother in authority, as well as to the brothers forced to follow. Therefore, he is not the individual that predominates when considering Masonic authority: he is the Supreme Architect of the Universe. Candidates are instructed throughout their Masonic journey that the compass is a valuable instrument for teaching that in dealing with other men, particularly other Masons, you must circumscribe their desires and keep their passions within proper bounds. This form of restriction redounds to the direct benefit of the brother or individual who comes into direct contact with a Mason. The form of restriction applied to the Master is intended to benefit the entire lodge, the entire body of brothers and, in turn, all those outside the lodge with whom each brother has contact.

When he obeys the responsible duty to always remain at his post in the east, the Master means that he has made a place within himself for the divine name, YVHV, which is the source of true authority. He also means that he has not only given up the freedom of physical movement, but also the freedom of intellectual movement. Within each Freemasonry lodge it is intended that the resulting void be filled by the divine, that is, physical and intellectual movement should only occur after prayerful consultation with the Supreme Architect.

By remaining in his post, the Master also signifies that he has given up any personal mission or effort to promote his own esteem. He has become literally anonymous. His name has given way to the ineffable name of the divine, and thus he has become the embodiment of enduring law and order.

A Captain’s obligation to exercise such restraint may best be supplemented by the following mandates:

(1) be humble and you will remain whole;

(2) wear yourself out and you’ll stay new;

(3) are empty so that they can receive much from God;

(4) don’t chase rewards lest you be ashamed;

(5) avoid approving yourself and getting noticed;

(6) give glory to those around you so that you can excel; Y

(7) do not compete with your brothers, because there is no one who can compete with you – you have authority.

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