Genesis 38
2 Some years later Judah’s wife died, and he mourned for her. He then went with his friend Hirah to the town of Timnah, where his sheep were being sheared. 13 Tamar found out that her father-in-law Judah was going to Timnah to shear his sheep. 14 She also realized that Shelah was now a grown man, but she had not been allowed to marry him. So she decided to dress in something other than her widow’s clothes and to cover her face with a veil. After this, she sat outside the town of Enaim on the road to Timnah.
15 When Judah came along, he did not recognize her because of the veil. He thought she was a prostitute 16 and asked her to sleep with him. She asked, “What will you give me if I do?”
17 “One of my young goats,” he answered.
“What will you give me to keep until you send the goat?” she asked.
18 “What do you want?” he asked in return.
“The ring on that cord around your neck,” was her reply. “I also want the special walking stick[c] you have with you.” He gave them to her, they slept together, and she became pregnant.
19 After returning home, Tamar took off the veil and dressed in her widow’s clothes again.
20 Judah had his friend Hirah take a goat to the woman, so he could get back the ring and walking stick, but she wasn’t there. 21 Hirah asked the people of Enaim, “Where is the prostitute who sat along the road outside your town?”
“There’s never been one here,” they answered.
22 Hirah went back and told Judah, “I couldn’t find the woman, and the people of Enaim said no prostitute had ever been there.”
23 “If you couldn’t find her, we’ll just let her keep the things I gave her,” Judah answered. “And we’d better forget about the goat, or else we’ll look like fools.”
24 About three months later someone told Judah, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has behaved like a prostitute, and now she’s pregnant!”
“Drag her out of town and burn her to death!” Judah shouted.
25 As Tamar was being dragged off, she sent someone to tell her father-in-law, “The man who gave me this ring, this cord, and this walking stick is the one who got me pregnant.”
26 “Those are mine!” Judah admitted. “She’s a better person than I am, because I broke my promise to let her marry my son Shelah.” After this, Judah never slept with her again.
Isaiah 31
The Egyptians are mere humans.
They aren’t God.
Their horses are made of flesh;
they can’t live forever.
When the Lord shows his power,
he will destroy the Egyptians
and all who depend on them.
Together they will fall.
Rev. Sun Myung Moon
January 4, 1959
In the 6,000 year work of restoration, God has been able to be the God of hope and the God of faith, but never the God of love. What then must we do?
Based on the God of hope and the God of faith, we should create an environment in which we can serve the God of love. Now is an important time when such circumstances must be attained. So far, a life of faith has been a matter of finding one’s individual self; that is, to restore a sinless original individual in the position of the lost Adam and Eve.
Now what is it that God wants in the end? First, He wants to find a family where individuals are united centering on God’s love. Centering on the family He can love, God then wants to find the tribe, nation and world which unfold from it. This is the whole Will of God.
Thus, before the times of hope and faith pass by, we should attain all hope and faith. Our individual selves should amalgamate the fruits of the entire 6,000 years of God’s providence: that is, they should take the shape of perfect Adam and Eve. We should then form a new family centered on God’s love. You should know this.
Jesus came to the earth with the promise of the heavenly kingdom, but he left without fulfilling it. Saints and sages of the past witnessed to Heaven, but left without realizing their intentions. Thus, we must reclaim the heavenly kingdom, which has been sought after by all historical hopes and faiths, the garden of victory.
What then must we do today? We must find an individual who will please God, and then a family that will please God. To find the family, you must find true parents, a true couple, and true brothers and sisters.
The history of God’s providence was for the sake of regaining this. Thus, the Old Testament Age symbolized hope, and the New Testament Age symbolized faith. In the future, there will come the age that symbolizes love. That can be called the “Completed Testament Age.” That connection is being extended from Heaven to the earth.
Hence, before Jesus came, the people of the Old Testament Age were individuals of hope for God. The New Testament people at the time of Jesus were objects who could establish faith for God. In the Completed Testament Age, however, God will try to find an individual who can love beyond those who represent hope and faith. You must know that this is the entire Will for which God has been leading the providence for 6,000 years.
In the last days, if you want to stand before God as a sacrifice of love or a substantial being who possesses love, you should be able to represent God’s wish, hope and faith. Along with meeting this qualification, you should resolve the sorrow of God’s inner Shim Jung, with which He grieved, suffered and was mistreated for 6,000 years. Only then can you receive God’s love.
Because of this love, God’s sorrow, pain and battle came into being. Therefore, in order for you to receive God’s love, you should first resolve His sorrow and pain and take over His battle. You then should receive God’s blessing as He says, “You are proud sons and daughters who fought in My place and won.” Only then can you receive God’s love.