Tamar Was Indeed Virtuous

Cheon Seong Gyeong 487

Love embraces all four directions. At the same time, there has to be relations of front and back, and left and right. Because love is like this, the husband stands next to his wife in a relationship of left and right, and realizes a love that embraces the four directions. When such a wife loses her husband and falls from the position of being supported by the universe into a position of having no support, she feels the pain of his loss, as well as the pressure from the universal power. (Blessed Family – 901)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1272

In order to enter God’s realm of heart, your lineage has to be the same. You can only join that realm of heart after changing your lineage, which originated from a different root. The stems are different. The roots, stems and sprouts need to be identical. For that to be so, the great work of the conversion of lineage is absolutely necessary. This cannot be carried out alone. You need True Parents for this task. (172-55, 1988.1.7)

Richard: Everyone needs to receive the Blessing.

Women of the Bible

4. Tamar

Judah took a wife for Er his first-born, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s first-born, was wicked in the sight of the lord; and the Lord slew him. Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the off-spring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother’s wife he spilled the semen on the ground, lest he should give offspring to his brother.30 And what he did was displeasing in the sight of the lord, and he slew him also. Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.
    In course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died; and when Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” she put off her widow’s garments, and put on a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage. When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot, for she had covered her face. He went over to her at the roadside, and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” He answered, “I will send you a kid from the flock.” And she said, “Will you give me a pledge, till you send it?” He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood…
    About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; and moreover she is with child by harlotry.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child.” And she said, “Mark, I pray you, whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.” Then Judah acknowledged them and said, “She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not lie with her again.
    When the time of her delivery came, there were twins in her womb. And when she was in labor, one put out a hand; and the midwife took and bound on his hand a scarlet thread, saying, “This came out first.” But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out; and she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez. Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread upon his hand; and his name was called Zerah.
    Genesis 38.6-30

Tamar was the daughter of a priest, and it can hardly be imagined that she set out with the intention of committing incest with her father-in-law, since she was by nature chaste and modest. She was indeed virtuous and did not prostitute herself, and it was out of her deeper knowledge and wisdom that she approached Judah, and a desire to act kindly and faithfully (towards the dead). And it was because her act was based on a deeper knowledge that God aided her and she straightaway conceived…
    There were two women from whom the seed of Judah was to be built up, from were to descend King David, King Solomon and the Messiah, viz. Tamar and Ruth. These two women had much in common. Both lost their first husbands, and both took similar steps to replace them. Tamar enticed Judah because he was next-of-kin to her sons who had died… Ruth similarly enticed Boaz, as it says, “she uncovered his feet and laid her down,” (Ruth 3:7)… From these two women, then the seed of Judah was built up and brought to completion, and both of them acted piously, and had for their aim to do kindness toward the dead, for the proper establishment of the world subsequently
    Zohar 1.188a-b (Judaism)

It Was a Replica of the Situation in Adam’s Family

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Revelation 6

7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come out!” 8 Then I saw a pale green horse. Its rider was named Death, and Death’s Kingdom followed behind. They were given power over one fourth of the earth, and they could kill its people with swords, famines, diseases, and wild animals.

Nehemiah 8

8 1-2 On the first day of the seventh month,[a]the people came together in the open area in front of the Water Gate. Then they asked Ezra, who was a teacher of the Law of Moses, to read to them from this Law that the Lord had given his people. Ezra the priest came with the Law and stood before the crowd of men, women, and the children who were old enough to understand. 3 From early morning till noon, he read the Law of Moses to them, and they listened carefully. 4 Ezra stood on a high wooden platform that had been built for this occasion. 

Women of the Bible

Rachel and Leah

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

For the first seven years, Jacob worked hard to gain the hand of Rachel, but Laban gave him Leah instead. We see that the intent of God was to have Jacob fulfill Adam’s mission for restoration. To reverse the process of the Fall, he should first go through Leah (on Satan’s side), and then he could embrace Rachel.
In the world there are two types of women. One type is fallen woman, and the other is a woman in the restored position. Leah plundered, as it were, her younger sister’s position. Laban, who represented Satan in this, blocked Rachel’s way in the providence of salvation by favoring Leah. Jacob tried to work it out, but the problem was that these two women were fighting each other over Jacob’s love.
It was a replica of the situation in Adam’s family, where Cain and Abel fought each other over God’s love. Rachel, like Abel, was trying to follow the purpose of God. At the same time, Satan interfered through Leah to promote his Cain-like self-centered love. Satan tried to seize the leading role in love, and in so doing tried to destroy God’s ideal…
She did not know at that time, but Rebecca, as the mother, was supposed to work with Jacob’s wives. She was to persuade Leah to submit to Rachel, so the wives could unite with Jacob’s heart. We can now see how difficult it was for her at that time; this was in addition to her mission to lift up Jacob in the position of Abel and enable him to appease Esau in the position of Cain, as well as to win over Isaac.
It was Rachel’s position, not Leah’s, which had to be upheld, and in that way Jacob, Rachel and Leah could be united as one. The elder sister should naturally submit to the younger. It is completely analogous to the relationship between the brothers Esau and Jacob, where the elder should surrender to the younger one hundred percent and honor the younger as though he were the elder. Likewise, for restoration to occur, the positions of Leah and Rachel as elder and younger sisters should be reversed. (244:239-40, February 14, 1993)

Among American women, are there any who are truly happy? Many are entangled in a relationship of Leah (the legal wife) and Rachel (the mistress). Some even go beyond that, to the point of practicing a life of free sex under the pretext of equality. Yet their actions are often rooted in jealousy…

During their struggle over love, Leah and her maids gave birth to ten sons, while Rachel had two. This became the division between the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah—between ten tribes and two tribes—in the position of Cain and Abel. Thus, the struggle for love within Jacob’s family ultimately led to a divided nation and the wars between them. (244:248-49, February 14, 1993)

God hearkened to Leah


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Cheon Seong Gyeong 387

I would say that marriage is a ceremony to open and enter the gate of the palace of happiness. It is for this reason that marriage is a great event of human affairs. Love is the greatest thing in human affairs, for it transcends time and space, and marriage is a ceremony to reveal and confirm such love. (Blessed Family – 356)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1342

The 36, 72, and 120 Couples are a team; they cannot be separated. The 36 Couples refer to the successive generations of ancestors. The 72 Couples represent their children. The 120 Couples signify the high priests of nations in the world and represent the twelve tribes. They are the branches of these tribes that have spread out into the world. The matter at hand is to unite the ancestors Cain and Abel and the twelve tribes. That is the great work of restoration. (82-237, 1976.1.31)

Women of the Bible

3. Rachel and Leah

Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful and lovely. Jacob loved Rachel… more than Leah…
    When the lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “Because the lord has looked upon my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also”; and she called his name Simeon. Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons”; therefore his name was called Levi. And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the lord “; therefore she called his name Judah; then she ceased bearing.
    When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” Then she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, that she may bear upon my knees, and even I may have children through her.” So she gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife; and Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son”; therefore she called his name Dan. Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed.”…
    In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Give me, I pray, some of your son’s mandrakes.” But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.” When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him, and said, “You must come in to me; for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. And God hearkened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, “God has given me my hire because I gave my maid to my husband”; so she called his name Issachar. And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good dowry; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons”; so she called his name Zebulun. Afterwards she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah. Then God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her and opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach”; and she called his name Joseph, saying, “May the lord add to me another son!”
    Genesis 29.30-35; 30.1-24

A Woman, Eve, Fell by Uniting with the Archangel

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James 5

5 You rich people should cry and weep! Terrible things are going to happen to you. 2 Your treasures have already rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your money has rusted, and the rust will be evidence against you, as it burns your body like fire. Yet you keep on storing up wealth in these last days. 4 You refused to pay the people who worked in your fields, and now their unpaid wages are shouting out against you. The Lord All-Powerful has surely heard the cries of the workers who harvested your crops.

Psalm 37

38 But not a trace will be left
    of the wicked
    or their families.

Women of the Bible

2. Rebecca

Now Rebecca was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Rebecca said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game, and prepare for me savory food, that I may eat it, and bless you before the lord before I die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my word as I command you. Go to the flock, and fetch me two good kids, that I may prepare from them savory food for your father, such as he loves; and you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” But Jacob said to Rebecca his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him, and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” His mother said to him, “Upon me be your curse, my son; only obey my word, and go, fetch them to me.”
Genesis 27.5-13

Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebecca; so she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself by planning to kill you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran, and stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury turns away; until your brother’s anger turns away, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send, and fetch you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?”
    Then Rebecca said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women such as these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
    Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, “You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women. Arise, go to Paddanaram to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take as wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. Genesis 27.41-28.2

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

From time to time in human history, a woman appears who initiates a great revolution to find the path of God’s love. She leads her people to offer their lives, possessions, attachments to cultural traditions and such, for God’s sake.
    Rebecca, Jacob’s mother, was one such woman. Due to her efforts, Jacob could be victorious and receive the name “Israel.” It was Rebecca who inspired him to claim the birthright of the elder son, and then guided him to receive the blessing from his father Isaac.
    What Rebecca did was to unite with her younger son Jacob. On his behalf, she deceived her husband and her eldest son, thus enabling him to fulfill the will of God. In doing this, she was an exceptional woman.
    Have you ever heard of someone trying to steal the birthright from his elder brother? From a conventional viewpoint, Jacob’s mother was a liar and Jacob was a swindler. The Bible records these things clearly, as well as the fact that God approved of them. This has been a puzzle for Bible students.
    This world belongs to Satan, therefore for God to bless His sons and daughters with the birthright of the elder son requires that they make a condition to restore the world from Satan’s realm. Do you think anyone can persuade Satan to surrender his rights by reasoned arguments? No. Satan originally stole this world through deceit… In restoration, God’s central figures can do to Satan exactly what he did to them; that is how God can take back all that Satan had stolen.
    A woman who unites with God should be the one to take the initiative. The Fall happened when a woman (Eve) united with Satan. Then together they took the man (Adam). Therefore, a woman should unite with God and bring the man back. Rebecca took on that role. First she should pull Jacob to God’s side; then together they should pull her husband and [eldest] son. From this perspective we can recognize the rightness of their actions. (105:118-20, October 4, 1979)
 
In Jacob’s family, as long as Esau continued to hold resentment against Jacob [for taking his father’s blessing], the family could not be united and stand before God. Therefore, Esau and his father had to be brought to a voluntary surrender. They should reach the point where they would genuinely praise Rebecca; until that day the family could not return to a position acceptable to God.
    Rebecca served them devotedly and apologized with tears, “I am sorry; it is my fault.” Yet even if Isaac and Esau forgave her, would even thousands of apologies be enough to calm their hearts towards Jacob when he appeared before them? They had to submit to Jacob freely, by their own will. There would be no restoration unless Esau (in the position of Cain) and Isaac (in the position of Satan) yield to Jacob (in the position of Abel), saying, “Jacob, you were right to claim the birthright. I will accept you.” 
    Jacob worked hard for that, of course, but his mother worked even harder—hundreds of times harder. She worked hard to change their attitudes, making sure they pledged repeatedly not to kill Jacob. How much rested upon Rebecca! She fulfilled a vital mission to make the restoration possible. (244:240-41, February 14, 1993)
 
A woman, Eve, fell by uniting with the archangel. She denied her father God and Adam her intended husband. Therefore women, be on your guard! You should expect to take the lead in the course of restoration; you will go first on this path ahead of the men. Woman must rise up who can face down opposition from their fathers and their husbands in the satanic world. Unless you can be steadfast, the men in your life cannot return to the original world.
   Religions have been developing through this formula; they are in the role of the bride. Hence, in general, women are more fervent in religious persuasion while men are more worldly. Whenever faithful women seek for God, they are bound to face opposition from both Satan and the men in their life. (89:208, November 22, 1976)
 
 

Abraham’s Wife Sarah Obeyed Abraham

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Cheon Seong Gyeong 1050

The restoration of the global Kingdom of Heaven cannot come into being unless the foundations for the perfection of Abel on the levels of individual, family, tribe, people, nation, and world can be linked. We who understand this must apply this principle in our daily life, regardless of day or night, and in order to carry on the development of this fundamental principle, we have to be on the run without rest. We can say that this type of person is a person of God. Do you understand? (64-81, 1972.10.24)

Cheong Seong Gyeong 1043

Which side is the subject partner and which is the object partner? Who is in the position to follow and who is in the position to lead? God accurately knows the answer; it is the one on God’s side. When God looks down on this world, He sees two sides in constant struggle. He already knows the answer to the question, “Which side is God’s?” and laughs, saying: “The people on my side are those who stand in a position of constant sacrifice, commitment, and service. Those on this side are those who fight for justice and I will choose such people.” Those at the center always sacrifice and serve. (147-98, 1986.8.31)

Women of the Bible

Women of great faith and devotion have played central roles in the advancement of God’s providence. From the Mothers of Israel to the significant women in Jesus’ life, the bible records the lives of women who made great efforts for God’s will, often at considerable personal cost. A woman’s life in olden times was not easy, and these women all struggled through particularly trying circumstances while maintaining strong faith in God.
To support her husband Abraham, Sarah endured great hardships and even risked being taken into pharaoh’s harem. Bathsheba was actually taken by King David, who also killed her husband, yet she swallowed her pain with the attitude that she should honor her dead husband by being loyal to her king. Rebecca, on the other hand, went against her husband to support her son Jacob, because she knew he was chosen to carry on the divine will. Rachel and Leah struggled with a female sibling rivalry that paralleled that between Jacob and Esau. Tamer and Mary each risked their lives to bear out of wedlock the children God desired. Mary Magdalene showed exemplary devotion to Jesus, superior even to that of the twelve apostles. Father Moon hints of her intimacy with Jesus and her destiny—were it not for the crucifixion—to become Jesus’ bride.
Father Moon sees a thread running through the lives of all these outstanding women: they were chosen in God’s providence to prepare God’s true lineage. Therefore, he had them develop great faith, and then placed them in circumstances which challenged them to restore the mistakes of the first woman, Eve

1.Sarah

Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful to behold; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared on your account.” When Abram entered Egypt the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, he-asses, menservants, maidser-vants, she-asses, and camels.
    But the lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. So Pharaoh called Abram, and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her, and be gone.” And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him; and they set him on the way, with his wife and all that he had.
    Genesis 12.10-20

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

What did Sarah think when Abraham suggested that when they went before Pharaoh they should be introduced as brother and sister? Not long before, she had hurriedly fled their homeland at her husband’s urging. She could have thought, “What a husband! He dragged me away from a comfortable home to this foreign land, and he now does not even want me to call him my husband, but my brother!”
    They had been journeying for months, and she rarely had the occasion to bathe. Living like gypsies, she could not always count on a meal. They had been wandering here today and there tomorrow. Thinking of her difficult life, Sarah could have felt, “What a lousy husband! He has only brought me misfortune morning, day and night. And now he asks me to call him my elder brother, not my husband…”Despite such ordeals, Sarah maintained a hopeful heart and united with her husband. They did not fight during their long journeying. Beside every great man there must be a great woman. Since she was such a great wife to Abraham, if he were ever to take her for granted and try to strike her, God would have been angry with him. (49:144, October 9, 1971)

What about Abraham was better than Noah? Abraham’s wife Sarah obeyed Abraham when he asked her to pose as his sister. Noah’s wife, on the other hand, opposed Noah when he asked her to support him in doing something beyond common sense. From this perspective, Abraham’s wife was better than Noah’s wife. Noah’s family members opposed Noah. His son Ham treated his father with contempt because his mother who raised him was filled with complaints against her husband. Isaac, on the other hand, was raised in the bosom of his mother Sarah who was united with her husband Abraham; hence he willingly obeyed his father even in a situation where he was to be killed. Sarah is the reason why Abraham’s family was better than Noah’s family. (46:322, August 17, 1971)

Without knowing it, Abraham walked this providential course to restore the positions in Adam’s family. When the Archangel took Eve—capturing under his dominion all of Eve’s descendants and the natural world—Adam and Eve were still brother and sister. For Abraham to make the indemnity condition to restore this, he was deprived of Sarah, who was playing the role of his sister, by Pharaoh, who represented Satan. He then had to take her back from Pharaoh as his wife, together with Lot as the representative of all humanity, and wealth symbolizing the natural world. This course which Abraham walked was a model course for Jesus to walk in his day. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Foundation 3.1.2.1)