The Words of Joong Hyun Pak
|
|
The Words of Joong Hyun Pak |
Rev.
Pak speaking at the National Headquarters Chapel
I have studied Joshua and Caleb and am deeply inspired by both. As the successor of Moses, who was the symbol of Jesus, the first Messiah, Joshua became the forerunner of the second Messiah.
Though Moses was unable to fulfill his mission of bringing the Israelites into Canaan, Joshua did. This indicates that when the Second Messiah comes, we will successfully transform this satanic world into Canaan or the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. That's our fervent faith and goal.
To accomplish his task, Joshua needed an excellent staff. One such champion was Caleb. We first see Caleb's faithfulness to God when God asked Moses to send 12 spies into Canaan to check the geographical area -- its civilization, military preparation, soldier settlements and compounds, etc. After 40 days, they were to return and report to Moses so he could prepare the Israelites to enter their new land.
The spies entered Canaan at Hebron in the southern part of Israel. When they returned, 10 spies reported that Canaan was rich and powerful, the people were fat and strong from eating good food. Every soldier had good weapons. The walls of the city were so strong that if the Israelites, disorganized and untrained as soldiers, were to attack, they would be defeated and killed. Foremost in their minds was how to escape and be safe.
"Let us go back to Egypt! Being slaves is better." But Caleb said, "They are not strong. They are fat because they eat too much which makes them very slow.
They have a strong castle, but the soldiers are always dozing. They have strong bows, knives, swords, but they don't know how to use them. Most important is that they don't have God.
They are so immoral, so disunited and so unfaithful that God doesn't walk with them. God is with us and supporting us. God brought us out of slavery by working ten miracles. God separated the Red Sea so that we could cross safely. In the wilderness, He gave us so much help. If we attack in the name of God, we will bring victory. Let us go!"
However, 600,000 people believed the 10 spies; it's logical to follow the majority. When Caleb insisted that the Israelites should go, the people threw stones at him hitting Moses and Aaron as well. God was very disappointed by their lack of faith. He even wanted to kill them but Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb interceded with God: "If you kill them, Satan is happy because you are defeated." God then gave them the punishment of wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.
After 40 years, the Israelites arrived once again at the River Jordan and the shores of Canaan. Moses died and Joshua inherited his mission. Joshua was a new leader taking care of nearly one million Israelites -- not an easy task! The people were unfaithful, disorganized, uneducated, often selfish and usually most difficult to manage. Joshua was often mistrusted by them.
Caleb was an exemplary supporter of Joshua. Caleb would tell him: "My lord, don't worry. You are right. I know your heart, your motivation and I'll support you even though all of them are against you." If some people went to Caleb to complain about Joshua, Caleb took the blame for it. He became a protective wall around Joshua. If Caleb gained a victory, he never took the credit. Instead, he said: "Joshua did it." He always tried to give everything back to Joshua. How grateful Joshua must have been for his supportive friendship and for his courageous leadership during battle.
Centering on Joshua, the Israelites crossed the Jordan River and destroyed Jericho. Then the tribes separated to settle the new land.
Even though he was now 85 years old, Caleb asked permission from Joshua to attack Hebron. Joshua answered: "Yes my dear brother; please go and be victorious. The land will be your tribe's territory."
Hebron was the area where Moses had sent 12 spies 40 years before. By volunteering to attack that same area again, Caleb was saying to God: "I believed You. Forty years ago, Your plan was right. But people didn't trust You, so we didn't succeed in it. But now, I'll give You Your victory and show You were right." With repentance for the first failure, and with steadfast determination, Caleb had prayerfully kept his original battle plans in his mind, never forgetting the map of Hebron or his mission.
Abraham and Jacob's graves were in Hebron. Caleb, who loved his ancestors and rich religious tradition, attacked Hebron. He won the biggest and widest area for God and his tribe. Into this southern, more fruitful part of Israel, God sent the great kings: David and Solomon, who made a united kingdom. The first capitol city was Hebron and the second was Jerusalem. Caleb came from Judah's tribe. Judah was the fourth and most trusted of Jacob's 12 sons. Since Judah prevented his brothers from killing Joseph, in essence his family inherited a savior-like spirit and background. Othniel the first judge in history and Caleb's son-in-law, Kings David and Solomon and Jesus Christ are all descendants of the faithful tribe of Judah. Also, the Lord of the Second Advent, as predicted in Revelations 5:5, comes from a similar faithful lineage of God.
The Lord of the Second Advent, the second Joshua, will need a lot of Caleb's many supporting men and women -- to successfully enter Canaan. The horizontal meaning of Canaan is Korea, the birthplace of True Parents. The vertical meaning of Canaan is the whole world. You and I must change ourselves -- eventually the whole world -- into people of truth and love. If New Yorkers were changing every day to follow God's will and reach God's ideal, then New York would become Canaan, then America would become Canaan, and finally the whole world would become Canaan. That's the vertical meaning of entering Canaan.
True Father has always taught us to pray to God and to work not for our own sake, but for the sake of the world. Living for others, not just for my own family or my own self, must be our attitude.
In conclusion, we learn from Caleb: (1) that his unchanging faith in God brought victory; (2) he maintained a single-minded desire to follow God and return to Canaan victoriously; (3) he really supported Joshua as the chosen man of God; (4) he worked very diligently to establish God's kingdom; (5) because he educated his next generation very well, successful leadership came from Caleb's family. Everyone can have the same courageous, heartistic, strong and unchangeable faith as Caleb, and receive great blessings from God.
Now is a very important time. Father declared in Korea that 1989 is the year to enter Canaan. This means the 43 years wilderness course was victorious. Father has made all blessed members tribal messiahs and arranged them in a way that parallels Joshua's organization of the Israelite tribes when they entered Canaan to establish the Kingdom of God. In order to fulfill our new responsibility, we need to inherit the successful model of Caleb's faith and leadership. Please become second Caleb's at your home, your business, your school, your community. Through your dedication, witnessing and teaching, your community will change from Satan's side to God's side: to Canaan. That's our responsibility, that's our job.
Let's completely inherit Caleb's true faith, spirit, attitude, strength and courage. Let us pray.