Category: Eight Great Textbooks

Since God Has Shown You All This, I Have Set You Over All the Land of Egypt

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2085

I have proclaimed the era of tribal messiahship. Do you know why I had to do this? It is because Korea betrayed me. Therefore, it must be restored through indemnity. I have restored America’s betrayal through indemnity, but I must do it again here. Isn’t that right? (188-59, 1989.2.16)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 998

Because I knew that God was such a lonely and isolated being, I have gone forth knowing that my mission until the day I die was to fulfill even a por-tion of God’s will and desire; to expand a foundation in at least one field and gather together those who can live for the sake of God. It is because I was born as God’s son and because I felt myself responsible for establishing His will that I have persevered until now with love. Even though I was persecuted, and even though I was beaten, I endured all this without taking revenge. Even as I fought my way forward, staggering or crawling on my belly, I always thought about how to set up this tradition and bequeath it to the world. (82-47, 1975.12.30)

Richard: We can all benefit by adopting the spirit exemplified by Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

Joseph

1. Joseph the Dreamer

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Joseph once told his parents about a dream in which the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. Years later, this dream came true.
    You also have dreams, don’t you? If you have a vivid, unusual dream that you cannot forget even after three years, I want you to know that it is a revelation from Heaven. Any of you who ever had that kind of dream, raise your hands.
    Long before you met the Unification Church, some of you had dreams of meeting an Oriental man and following him. Later, after you joined the church, you recognized him as Reverend Moon.
    These phenomena occur when the spirit world descends and tries to teach you. It may employ one of several distinct types of messages: God or Jesus may appear, an angel may convey a message, or one of your ancestors may appear and speak to you. It is not always easy to understand the meaning and significance of such dreams. (91:274, February 27, 1977)
 
2. Joseph’s Path from Prison to a Great Destiny
 
When Joseph attained his full manhood, We gave him power and knowledge; thus do We reward those who do right. But the woman in whose house he lived sought to seduce him from his true self: she bolted the doors and said, “Now come, dear!” He said, “God forbid! Truly your husband is my lord! He made my sojourn agreeable! Truly to no good come those who do wrong!” And with passion did she desire him, and he would have desired her, but that he saw the evidence of his Lord: thus did We order that We might turn away from him all evil and shameful deeds, for he was one of Our servants, sincere and purified. So they both raced each other to the door, and she tore his shirt from the back; and they met her husband near the door.
    She said, “What is the penalty for one who formed an evil design against your wife but prison or a grievous chastisement?” He said, “It was she that sought to seduce me—from my true self.” And one of her household saw and bore witness, “If it be that his shirt is rent from the front, then is her tale true, and he is a liar! But if it be that his shirt is torn from the back, then is she the liar, and he is telling the truth!” So when he saw his shirt, that it was torn at the back, her husband said, “Behold, it is a snare of you women! Truly, mighty is your snare! O Joseph, pass this over! O wife, ask forgiveness for your sin, for truly you have been at fault.”
    Ladies said in the city, “The wife of the ‘Aziz is seeking to seduce her slave from his true self; truly he has inspired her with violent love; we see she is evidently going astray.” When she heard of their malicious talk, she sent for them and prepared a banquet for them; she gave each of them a knife and said [to Joseph], “Come out before them.” When they saw him, they did extol him and cut their hands; they said, “God preserve us! No mortal is this! This is none other than a noble angel!” She said, “There before you is the man about whom you blamed me! I did seek to seduce him from his true self, but he did firmly save himself guiltless… And now, if he does not do my bidding, he shall certainly be cast into prison and be of the company of the vilest!”
    Qur’an 12.22-32
 
The chief butler said to Pharaoh, “I remember my faults today. When Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own meaning. A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard; and when we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. And as he interpreted to us, so it came to pass; I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.”
    Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; and I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”… Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh is one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dream is one. The seven lean and gaunt cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. It is as I told Pharaoh, God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; the famine will consume the land, and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of that famine which will follow, for it will be very grievous. And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Now therefore let Pharaoh select a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land, and take the fifth part of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and lay up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine which are to befall the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.” 
    This proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants… Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discreet and wise as you are; you shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command… Behold, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”
    Genesis 41.9-41
 
 

I Saw Them Making Obeisance to Me

1 Kings 13

23 After the meal the old prophet got a donkey ready, 24 and the prophet from Judah left. Along the way, a lion attacked and killed him, and the donkey and the lion stood there beside his dead body.

25 Some people walked by and saw the body with the lion standing there. They ran into Bethel, telling everyone what they had seen.

26 When the old prophet heard the news, he said, “That must be the prophet from Judah. The Lord warned him, but he disobeyed. So the Lord sent a lion to kill him.”

Richard: Clearly, it is important to obey what God has said, centered on your conscience.

Matthew 7

2 Treat others as you want them to treat you. This is what the Law and the Prophets are all about.

Joseph

Joseph, the dreamer, was hated by his brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt; yet years later when he rose to a high position and his brothers came to Egypt to buy food, he had the opportunity to help them in their distress. Joseph’s troubles with his older brothers, and their eventual reconciliation, mirrored Jacob’s life-long struggle with his older brother Esau. but Joseph is also a story of a godly man rising to a position of great power. Unlike Jacob, Joseph had the power to get revenge on his brothers, and indeed he used it to discomfit them and make them admit their former crime. Yet in the end he forgave them and helped them, because he saw some goodness in them—that they truly cared for their father Jacob.
Father Moon identifies with Joseph’s life of misfortunes and supposedly chance encounters that turned out to be part of a larger divine plan. He is particularly interested in Joseph’s motives for forgiveness, and he applies it to his own situation, as a leader who has endured persecution from his Christian “brothers.”

1. Joseph the Dreamer

When Joseph said to his father, “O my father, I saw eleven stars and the sun and the moon—I saw them making obeisance to me.” He said, “O my son, do not tell this dream to your brothers, lest they devise a plan against you. The devil is indeed an open enemy to man. And thus will your Lord choose you, and teach you the interpretation of sayings, and make His favor complete to you and to the children of Jacob, as He made it complete before to your fathers, Abraham and Isaac. Surely your Lord is Knowing, Wise.”
    Verily in Joseph and his brothers there are signs for the inquiring.
    When they said, “Certainly Joseph and his brother (Benjamin) are dearer to our father than we, though we are a company. Surely our father is in plain error.” (One said), “Slay Joseph or banish him to some other land, so that your father’s regard may be exclusively for you, and that after that you may be accounted a righteous people.” Another said, “Slay not Joseph, but if you must do something, cast him into the bottom of the well. Some travelers may pick him up.
    ”They said, “O our father, why won’t you trust us with Joseph, when we are good friends to him? Send him with us tomorrow that he may enjoy himself and play, and we will take good care of him.” He said, “In truth it saddens me that you should take him with you, and I fear lest the wolf devour him while you are heedless of him.” They said, “If the would should devour him while we are so strong a band, then surely we should have already perished.”
    Then when they led him off, and were of one mind that they should place him at the bottom of the well, We inspired in him (Joseph): You will tell them of this deed of theirs when they do not know you.
    And they came to their father at nightfall, weeping and saying, “O father! We went off racing with one another and left Joseph by our goods, and a wolf devoured him. You won’t believe us, though we are truthful.” And they came with false blood on his shirt. He said, “No. Your minds have beguiled you into some matter. My course is comely patience. And God it is whose help is to be sought about that which you describe.”
    And there came travelers, and they sent their water-drawer. He let down his bucket into the well. He said, “Good news! Here is a youth.”  And they concealed him as an article of merchandise, and God was Cognizant of what they did. Then they sold him for a low price, a few pieces of silver, for they attached little value to him.
    Qur’an 12.4-20

Jacob Knew His Brother Essau Was Ready to Kill Him

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2045

Is it a difficult thing or an easy thing to digest this centering on the leaders of the tong and ban? If you form a structure, will it be easy or difficult? This is why I am telling you to have confidence. This is something anyone, even a mere child, would not have a problem with. In fact, it’s not a problem. If you can just properly set up the leaders of tong and ban, then it will not take long. (165-323, 1987.5.27)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1458

Adam and Eve lost the standard through which they could practice absolute faith, absolute love, and absolute obedience. They entered unprincipled marriage, thereby defiling the lineage, completely overturning the right of ownership, and bringing into ruin their whole tribe. Therefore, the absolute restoration of the lineage must take place.
    In other words, you need to protect the pure lineage of True Parents so that it can be passed down to your descendants eternally. Adam and Eve failed to do so and entered a fallen relationship. Therefore, you need to maintain purity and be blessed in marriage. You can then restore the absolute lineage, the absolute right of ownership, and the absolute realm of heart. This should be our motto, in fact three mottos. (269-94, 1995.4.8)

Jacob

4. Jacob’s Reconciliation with Esau

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

The struggle over the birthright continued even after Jacob received the blessing from his father. When he returned after twenty-one years of hardships in the land of Haran he encountered Esau, who still nursed the desire to kill him. However, in the end Esau welcomed him and embraced him. Through this victory, the people of Israel could be established, graced with the birthright as the elder son nation of God. (102:177, December 24, 1978)

Jacob knew his brother Esau was ready to kill him. So he resolved to offer his wealth and servants to his elder brother. He wanted to give them all to Esau, all the things that he had earned during his entire life. Jacob prayed to God not to punish Esau, but asked God to bless Esau as He had blessed him. Because of that heart, Esau was moved to relinquish his desire to kill Jacob; and he too received God’s blessing. (52:64-65, December 22, 1971)
 
When Jacob returned home and wanted to claim the position of the elder son that he had been blessed with years before, who should publicly acknowledge him? Who should sign the certificate? It is Esau, in the position of Cain, who should signify his approval. Without Esau’s approval, Jacob could not receive the blessing from God.
    During his twenty-one years in a foreign land, Jacob had prospered and gathered his own clan. He knew he had to make a superior foundation in every aspect in order to overcome Esau… That is why Jacob worked hard to gain cattle, servants and property; he needed to have more wealth than his brother. Then he could send gifts of servants and possessions to his brother, and to his elderly parents as well.
    Through these gifts, Jacob wanted to make his elder brother think: “My brother is a fearful man. Indeed, God blessed him. It was my mistake that I sold my birthright so cheaply; hence I deserve to be less successful than my younger brother. So, when my brother comes, I should not reject him. I should rather welcome him.” In this way, Jacob could move Esau to recognize that God was with him, and to acknowledge that he was in the position of Abel.
    This is the path we should walk; this is the tradition we should follow. It is a formula, applicable in any situation and in every age. (106:183-84, December 30, 1979)
 
The Bible records that God hated Esau from the womb (Romans 9:11-13), but this was only because he had been given the role of Cain, who was on Satan’s side, for the purpose of setting up an indemnity condition in the providence of restoration. When he fulfilled his portion of responsibility by submitting to Jacob, he restored Cain’s position and thus at last was able to receive God’s love. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Foundation 3.2)
 
Only after the reunion with his brother Esau could Jacob meet his parents whom he had missed for so many years and enjoy the peace he had longed for. We, too, can enter God’s kingdom and meet God and True Parents only after we have gone through the course of Jacob and made oneness with the Esaus in our life, for such is the restoration of Cain and Abel. (67:135, May 27, 1973)
 
 
 

It May Appease Him and Perhaps He Will Accept Me

Genesis 17

17 Abram was ninety-nine years old when the Lord appeared to him again and said, “I am God All-Powerful. If you obey me and always do right, 2 I will keep my solemn promise to you and give you more descendants than can be counted.” 3 Abram bowed with his face to the ground, and God said:

4-5 I promise that you will be the father of many nations. That’s why I now change your name from Abram to Abraham.[a] 6 I will give you a lot of descendants, and in the future they will become great nations. Some of them will even be kings.

7 I will always keep the promise I have made to you and your descendants, because I am your God and their God. 8 I will give you and them the land in which you are now a foreigner. I will give the whole land of Canaan to your family forever, and I will be their God.

Psalm 31

17 I pray only to you.
    Don’t disappoint me.
Disappoint my cruel enemies
    until they lie silent
    in their graves.
18 Silence those proud liars!
    Make them stop bragging
    and insulting your people.

Jacob

4. Jacob’s Reconciliation with Esau

Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom, instructing them, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau, ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, “I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now; and I have oxen, asses, flocks, menservants, and maidservants; and I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.”’”
    And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men with him.” Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies, thinking, “If Esau comes to the one company and destroys it, then the company which is left will escape.”
    And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your own country and to your kindred, and I will do you good,’ I am not worthy of the least of all the steadfast love and all the faithfulness which you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan; and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he come and slay us all, the mothers with the children. But you said, ‘I will do you good, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”
    So he lodged there that night, and took from what he had with him a present for his brother Esau, two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milch camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten he-asses. These he delivered into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on before me, and put a space between drove and drove.” He instructed the foremost, “When Esau my brother meets you, and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these before you?’ then you shall say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob; they are a present sent to my lord Esau; and moreover he is behind us.’” He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you meet him, and you shall say, ‘Moreover your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he thought, “I may appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterwards I shall see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” So the present passed on before him; and he himself lodged that night in the camp…
    And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided his children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids. He put the maids with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
    But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. And when Esau raised his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” Then the maids drew near, they and their children, and bowed down; Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down; and last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company which I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.” But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother, keep what you have for yourself.” Jacob said, “No, I pray you, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand; for truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God, with such favor have you received me.”
    Genesis 32.3-33.10
 
 
 

Jacob Did Not Give Up

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2034

If you ask what kind of church Home Churches should be in the future, the answer would be that your Home Churches should become tribal churches. Our goal is not the Home Church, but is to develop toward the tribal church. If you combine the tribal churches, then all the Kim and Park tribes will naturally form a race. If the Kims, Parks, and Moons all make a good foundation to restore the tribe, it will naturally develop into a nation. That will happen. From the church of a tribe to a church of one people, to a national church, to a global church, to a universal church: this is how things are connected. (141-221, 1986.2.22

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1257

If Adam and Eve had not fallen and become mature, they would have achieved perfection not just on the individual but the universal level. Moreover, an original family centered on the love of God would have been initiated. If a clan, tribe, a people, nation and world had stemmed from this family, the world would have become a great community of one extended family attending God.

Jacob

3. Jacob Wrestles with an Angel

And Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” “Jacob.” “Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Tell me, I pray, your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his thigh.
    Genesis 32.24-31

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

When the angel appeared, Jacob knew he was a messenger from God. He asked the angel, “Do you come to hinder me or to bless me?” The angel answered, “I have come to bless you.” Jacob then asked, “If you came to bless me, then why don’t you simply give me the blessing?” The angel answered, “I cannot give it to you freely, because your portion of responsibility still remains.”
    In other words, the angel would not bless Jacob unless he fought with desperate effort. When the angel presented that condition, Jacob wrestled with determination, “Alright, it is fine with me. Even if you break my arm I will not let you defeat me. Even if you strike me with a sword or cut my head off, I will not let go of you.” How long do you think Jacob wrestled? It was all through the night.
    Both God and Satan were watching that scene. Jacob was desperate, knowing that this was the final showdown. Hence, even when the angel struck him in his hip and his thigh, he did not release the angel from his grasp. He thought, “If I die, I die. Even if we both die, I will not let go of you.” It was nerve-wracking for God to watch Jacob in that battle. Since the angel was fighting on behalf of Satan, God did not want Jacob to give up, but He could not say anything to Jacob. Imagine how anxious God must have been to watch each moment ticking during the battle between the two?
    Jacob did not give up even to the last moment. He would not let go of the angel no matter how desperately the angel tried to shake him off. At that point, God publicly acknowledged Jacob’s victory, and the angel, as Satan’s representative, had to acknowledge it as well. Hence, he blessed Jacob with the name “Israel.” At that moment, all the hosts of heaven shouted for joy. They deeply exhaled, now that anxiety over the outcome was relieved.
    Jacob’s love for God, that enabled him to hold onto God’s neck, shedding tears for Him for twenty years, far surpassed God’s relationship with Adam and Eve before the Fall. Therefore, he could receive the name “Israel.” (20:229-30, June 9, 1968)

If Jacob had not been so well trained in Haran under the servitude of Laban, he would not have been able to defeat the angel at the ford of Jabbok. Jacob knew that those 21 years of bitter struggle were all for this moment. He knew that what happened this night would determine victory or defeat. That is what enabled him to persevere until the end and win. The strength cultivated during his 21-year course also enabled him to subjugate Esau. Then, he could be reunited with his parents. (67:126, May 27, 1973)

The Human Fall occurred when an angel, Lucifer, subjugated human beings; therefore, in restoration humans must subjugate an angel. For this reason God sent the angel and let him attack Jacob. Once Jacob defeated the angel, it would open the door to defeating Esau, the substantial being of the archangel who was under the control of the spiritual Satan…
    What was the meaning of Jacob’s victory over the angel? It was a spiritual victory over the entire angelic world. From that time on Jacob was assisted not only by God but also by the angelic world wherever he went. Most importantly, Satan could no longer spiritually control Esau, so when Esau confronted Jacob the next day, he was bound to submit to his younger brother. (92:285, April 18, 1977)

Why did the angel strike the hollow of Jacob’s thigh? The human fall was caused by the misuse of the lower parts; therefore, the blow to the sinful part of the body was an act of restitution by the principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” Once that restitution was complete, the angel was free to bless Jacob. (55:113, April 1, 1972)