Divine Principle - 2) Moses and Jesus in the Providence of Restoration - 1

[대태양/김현수]

Chapter 2. Moses and Jesus in the Providence of Restoration

The Bible contains many secrets concerning God’s work of salvation. It is written, “Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). However, without knowing the principle behind God’s providence, people have been unable to discern the mysteries concealed in the Bible. The biblical account of a prophet’s life is not merely a record of history. Rather, through the life course of a prophet, the Bible discloses the way for fallen people to walk. In particular, we shall examine how God set up the providential courses of Jacob and Moses as models for Jesus’ course to save humankind.

Section 1. The Model Courses for Bringing Satan to Submission

We learned that in the providence of restoration in Isaac’s family, Jacob was the central figure who laid the foundation of substance. He secured the position of Abel and labored to bring Satan to submission and fulfill the indemnity condition to remove the fallen nature. Jacob’s entire course became the model course for Moses and Jesus. Jesus came to bring Satan to submission in substantial terms. Before Jesus, Moses walked a course for the subjugation of Satan that was the image of the course Jesus would walk. Still earlier, God had Jacob walk a course that was a symbolic representation of Jesus’ course. Moreover, Jacob’s course is the model for the course which the Israelites and all of humanity must walk to bring Satan to submission and attain the goal of the providence of restoration.

1.1 Why Jacob’s Course and Moses’ Course Were Set Up as the Models for Jesus’ Course

The goal of the providence of restoration is attained when human beings bring Satan to voluntary submission and become his master. They must do this by fulfilling their given portion of responsibility. Jesus, as the Messiah and the true human ancestor, came to help all people of faith bring Satan to voluntary submission. By himself, he pioneered the course to bring Satan to complete submission and has since guided people of faith to follow his example.

Satan, who does not meekly surrender even before God, would by no means readily surrender to Jesus, much less to ordinary believers. Therefore, God, who takes responsibility for human beings, whom He created, called upon Jacob and worked through him to show us, in symbolic form, the course for bringing Satan to submission.

Moses was able to subjugate Satan by following the pattern of the model course which was revealed symbolically in Jacob’s course. In his course, Moses developed this to the level of image. Similarly, by building on the pattern of Moses’ course, Jesus came to substantially bring Satan to submission. By walking in Jesus’ footsteps, people of faith can also bring Satan to submission and master him.

When Moses said, “The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet from your brethren as he raised me up. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you” (Acts 3:22), he was referring to Jesus. Jesus would stand in a position comparable to Moses and follow Moses’ course as the model in order to walk the worldwide providence to restore Canaan – the Kingdom of God. Jesus said, “The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever he does, that the Son does likewise” (John 5:19). By this he meant that he was following the model course which God had revealed to him through Moses. Moses thus prefigured Jesus.

1.2 Jacob’s Course as the Model for Moses’ and Jesus’ Courses

Jacob pioneered the course to bring Satan to submission. This course takes the path opposite to the way by which Satan corrupted humanity. Moses and Jesus went through courses after the pattern of Jacob’s course. Let us study these courses together in this section.

(1) The first human beings should have been absolutely determined to keep God’s commandment not to eat of the fruit, yet they fell at the risk of their lives when the Archangel tempted them. Accordingly, for Jacob to complete the restoration of Canaan at the family level – that is, return to Canaan with his family and wealth and there restore the foundation to receive the Messiah – he had to triumph in a fight at the risk of his life with an angel, representing Satan. Jacob was desperate to overcome this trial as he wrestled with the angel at the ford of Jabbok. He triumphed and received the name “Israel” (Gen. 32:25-28).

In this trial, it was God who tested Jacob by putting the angel in the position of Satan. God’s purpose in doing this was not to make Jacob miserable, but to help him secure the position of Abel and complete the restoration of his family by winning the qualification to rule the angel. Furthermore, through the angel playing the leading role in the trial, the way was opened for the angelic world to be restored.

In the case of Moses, before he could guide the Israelites into Canaan and thus complete the national restoration of Canaan, he first had to overcome a life-threatening trial in which the Lord tried to kill him (Exod. 4:24). We must understand that God gives such tests to people because He loves them. If Satan rather than God gave such tests and people were to fail, they would become Satan’s prey.

Similarly, Jesus had to overcome a trial before he could embark upon the worldwide restoration of Canaan – that is, to guide humanity into the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. He battled with Satan at the risk of his life and triumphed over him when he fasted for forty days and was tempted in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11).

(2) Since our fallen nature was acquired when Satan defiled our flesh and spirit, Jacob had to fulfill a comparable condition to remove it. For this reason, to restore the position of Abel for the fulfillment of the indemnity condition to remove the fallen nature, Jacob purchased the birthright from Esau with bread and lentils (Gen. 25:34), which symbolized flesh and spirit. To repeat this course in Moses’ day, God fed the people with manna and quail (Exod. 16:13), also symbolizing flesh and spirit, and thereby strengthened their gratitude toward Him and heightened their awareness of being the chosen people. Through this provision, God wanted the people to obey Moses and fulfill the indemnity condition to remove the fallen nature on the national level.

Jesus said: “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. . . . I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:49-53). Besides confirm‎‎‎ing that he walked the model course set by Moses, Jesus meant by these verses that all fallen humanity should become one with him in flesh and spirit. By faithfully following and uniting with Jesus, who at that time stood in the position of John the Baptist (cf. Moses and Jesus 3.2.1), they would have fulfilled the worldwide indemnity condition to remove the fallen nature. By then devotedly attending Jesus as the Messiah, they were to restore their original nature.

(3) Due to the Fall, Satan defiled even the human corpse. Jacob’s body was sanctified with the blessing which he had received in life. In death, the disposition of his corpse also fulfilled a condition of purification; thus the embalming took forty days (Gen. 50:3). In the case of Moses, the archangel Michael contended with the Devil over the proper disposition of his body (Jude 9). We know that Jesus’ body disappeared, to the bewilderment of the authorities, leaving an empty tomb (Matt. 27:62-28:15).

(4) At the Fall, Satan corrupted the first human ancestors during their growing period. To restore through indemnity this defilement, God has been working to set up conditions based on certain numbers, such as the number three, which signify the growing period (cf. Periods 2.4).

When Jacob began his journey from Haran to Canaan, there was a three-day period for the separation of Satan before Laban was notified of his absence (Gen. 31:22). When Moses guided his people out of Egypt into Canaan, there was an initial period of three days (Exod. 5:3). Joshua lodged at the Jordan River for three days before he crossed it (Josh. 3:2). When Jesus was about to begin the worldwide spiritual course to restore Canaan, he spent three days in the tomb (Luke 18:33).

Jacob had twelve sons (Gen. 35:22) in order to restore through indemnity in his generation (horizontally) the indemnity conditions accumulated (vertically) through the twelve generations from Noah to Jacob, which had been lost to Satan. In Moses’ day, there were the twelve tribes (Exod. 24:4) and Jesus had twelve disciples (Matt. 10:1) for similar reasons.

To fulfill an indemnity condition to separate Satan from the seven days of God’s creation which he had defiled, there were seventy members of Jacob’s family (Gen. 46:27), seventy elders in Moses’ time (Exod. 24:1), and Jesus’ seventy followers (Luke 10:1), all of whom played central, providential roles in their respective eras.

(5) A staff, which smites evil, leads the way and provides support when one leans on it, is a symbol of the Messiah (cf. Moses and Jesus 2.2.2.2). Jacob crossed the Jordan River and entered the land of Canaan while leaning on a staff (Gen. 32:10). This foreshadowed that one day fallen humanity will cross the waters of this sinful world and arrive on the shore of the ideal world by following the Messiah: smiting injustice, following his guidance and example, and depending on him. Moses guided the Israelites across the Red Sea with a staff (Exod. 14:16). Jesus at his Second Coming will guide humanity across the turbulent waters of this fallen world to reach the shore of God’s ideal with the rod of iron, symbolizing himself (Rev. 2:27); (Rev. 12:5).

(6) Eve’s sin implanted the root of sin in the lineage of humankind, which bore fruit when Cain killed Abel. Since it was a mother and son who allowed Satan to enter and bear the fruit of sin, according to the principle of restoration through indemnity, a mother and son must separate from Satan through their joint efforts. Jacob could not have received the blessing and separated from Satan without his mother’s devoted support and wise advice (Gen. 27:5-17, 42-45). Moses could not have escaped death and been in the position to serve God’s Will if not for his mother’s help (Exod. 2:2). Finally, Mary saved Jesus’ life by fleeing with him to Egypt, escaping from King Herod who sought to kill him (Matt. 2:13).

(7) The central figure entrusted with God’s Will in the providence must return from Satan’s world to God’s world. This is why Jacob journeyed from Haran, the satanic world, to Canaan, (Gen. 31-33) and Moses journeyed from Egypt to the promised land of Canaan (Exod. 3:8). After Jesus had taken refuge in Egypt shortly after his birth, (Matt. 2:14-15) he returned to Galilee.

(8) The ultimate purpose of the providence of restoration is to eradicate Satan. Signifying this, Jacob buried the idols under an oak tree (Gen. 35:4). Moses tore down the golden calf, burned it with fire, ground it to a powder, scattered the powder upon the water, and made the Israelites drink it (Exod. 32:20). Jesus came to destroy this evil world by bringing Satan to submission with his words and power (cf. Eschatology 3.2.2).