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Abraham
Abraham is the source of the three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He is the ancestor of the Jewish people; for Christians he is the father of faith (Romans 4.1-3); in Islam he set up the Kaaba in Mecca and is the father of the Arab people through Ishmael. Abraham is renowned as the first monotheist, who came to the truth of the one God despite growing up in an idol-maker’s household. Then he left home at God’s command and obediently followed to an unknown land. He put his life and his future in God’s hands, trusting that He would provide. Though sojourning as a stranger among the peoples of Canaan, he showed remarkable compassion for them, particularly when he interceded for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Father Moon teaches that God entrusted His entire providence to Abraham, and looked to him as a partner to make the conditions on earth needed to advance the work of salvation. Therefore, every act, every offering, every prayer of Abraham was fraught with significance. When Abraham did well, as when he left home at God’s command without hesitation, God’s providence advanced. When Abraham made a mistake, as when he failed to cut the birds in two at the important sacrifice described in Genesis chapter 15, God’s providence was set back and prolonged. When there was a quarrel in Abraham’s family, as between Sarah and Hagar, it created a negative condition for enmity between Jews and Arabs that has persisted to this day. Abraham passed through many trials in his walk of faith. The culmination of these, when God asked him to sacrifice his son, is treated in the next section.
1. Abraham : A Man of Absolute Faith
World Scripture
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions which they had gathered, and the persons that they had gotten in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan.
Genesis 12.1-5
We gave Abraham of old his proper course, for We were aware of him, when he said to his father and his people, “What are these images to which you pay devotion?” They said, “We found our fathers worshippers of them.” He said, “Truly you and your fathers were in plain error.” They said, “Do you bring us the truth, or are you some jester?” He said, “No, but your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, who created them; and I am of those who testify to that. And, by God, I shall circumvent your idols after you have gone away and turned your backs.” Then he reduced them to fragments, all save the chief of them, that perhaps they might have recourse to it. They said, “Who has done this to our gods? Surely it must be some evildoer.” [Others] said, “We heard a youth make mention of them, one called Abraham.” They said, “Bring him here before the people’s eyes that they may testify.” They said, “Are you the one who has done this to our gods, Abraham?” He said, “No, their chief has done it. So question them, if they can speak.” Then they gathered apart and said, “You yourselves are the wrongdoers,” and they were utterly confounded. Then they said [to Abraham], “You know well that they do not speak.” He said, “Do you worship instead of God that which cannot profit you at all, nor harm you? Fie on you and all that you worship instead of God! Have you then no sense?” They said, “Burn him and stand by your gods, if you will!” We said, “O fire, be coolness and peace for Abraham!” They wished to set a snare for him, but We made them the greater losers. And We rescued him and Lot, and brought them to the land that We have blessed for all peoples.
Qur’an 21.51-71
The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what wilt thou give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, thou hast given me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; your own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15.1-6
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Hebrews 11.8-10
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Abraham brought a revolution at the home of his father Terah. As a boy, he would kick the idols and say to his father, “Father, what are these idols?” He must have resolved many tens of times, “Someday, with my own hands, I am going to…”
(151:62, October 7, 1962)
Abraham was the most-loved son of an idol merchant, and he lived well under his parents’ care. However, one day God called him saying, “Abraham, Abraham! You must leave from the house of your father Terah and go to the land I will show you.” God did not give him any advance preparation; the order came to him suddenly, like a bolt out of the blue.
Yet in that circumstance, Abraham was not supposed to hesitate. He had to leave at once, as if he had been waiting for God’s order. He could not say, “Lord, please give me some time to get ready.” He had to depart immediately. Had he not done so, it would have been a grave mistake affecting many generations and even the course of human history. In other words, had Abraham delayed, it would have been a condition that Satan could accuse, nullifying all God’s historical efforts heretofore. Knowing this, those who are to attend God’s command must act right away.
(43:270, May 1, 1971)
Suppose Abraham had gone to his parents and said, “Father, Mother, God has commanded me to leave Ur and travel to an unknown land. I intend to obey Him.” They undoubtedly would have said, “Are you crazy?” Therefore, he could not say a word about it. Moreover, his instructions were not just to visit a nearby village. God instructed him to journey to a strange land, as far away as Egypt.
Abraham could overcome these obstacles and leave home because he had absolute faith in God’s words. His love for God was absolute, greater than his love for his parents, his relatives or his homeland. To Abraham, nothing was more important that God’s command; he cherished it more than his own life. I am sure he stole away in the middle of the night. Suddenly he found himself wandering like a gypsy. He lived in self-denial; he had given up everything.
(69:95, October 21, 1973)
In the land of Canaan, God trained Abraham. As God advanced the dispensation, He put Abraham in circumstances where he would weep, not only for his own people but also for other peoples and even his enemies…
God conducted His work by having Abraham wander about like a gypsy in a foreign land. Though a stranger, he prayed sincerely, in tears, for the people’s salvation. That is why God could establish Abraham as the ancestor of faith and to bless his descendants to prosper greatly like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. (52:53, December 14, 1971)
In the wilderness, Abraham our ancestor, awaited the coming of the day when God’s reign could be established. He left the fertile rivers of his homeland in hope, looking towards the day when the sons and daughters whom God had blessed would multiply and fill the earth like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, and smite the evil world.
Why should we care about Abraham? We, too, are enslaved in the country of the enemy, behind its prison bars. We, too, should feel thoroughly disgusted with our lives in this fallen environment. We should also feel goose bumps at the prospect of freedom. If you cannot feel this, then you are not worthy to be called true believers before Heaven.
For what purpose did God raise Abraham? It was not for just himself and his descendants. It was to create a bridge for God to reach out to distant peoples living in the enemy camp, in Satan’s world.11 Abraham was to make a foundation for God’s providence to expand outward. However, because the connection between Heaven and earth was still fragile, God had to begin by working through Abraham’s direct lineage. Thus, He referred to Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…
God blessed Abraham on the condition, “You must not compromise with Satan’s world. You must not assimilate into Satan’s world. You are My chosen people. Your life should be different; your feelings, desires and ideals should all be different. Your descendants shall live only if they overcome life’s challenges by relying on Me.” This was the nature of the blessing Abraham passed on to Isaac. Isaac kept it and conveyed it to Jacob, and Jacob likewise conveyed it to his descendants.
(7:215-16, September 13, 1959)
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