Because the path which God walked was miserable, the path of the people who followed Moses was also miserable. The path of the Israelites was miserable. The path of Moses was also miserable. Moses after 40 years of life in the Pharaoh's palace was driven out from the palace because he took the side of the Israelites. Moreover, he was in the situation where he could not even appear in front of the Israelites and had to live in the Midian wilderness as a shepherd. (64-210)

What was one thing which he kept in his mind as he lived the life of a shepherd in the Midian wilderness after leaving the palace? He did not feel despair in the fact that his situation was caused by his siding with the Israelites. He did not think that because of the Israelite people he became so. The reason why Moses could win the trust of God was this very point. He thought that even if the fault lay with the Israelites, the reason for his being in this situation was for God. The loneliness he felt was to take responsibility for God's loneliness, and the sacrifice he made was to be a shield to prevent God's suffering.

Don't you think that there would have been attacks from wolves and snakes when he took care of the sheep? However, no matter how much danger, loneliness, and despair seemingly surmounted him, he thought the reason why he came to be in such a situation was not because of the Israelites but because of God. Moses who came to that great inner awakening thought that, "I will be loyal to God until the day God's Will is fulfilled."

Through that, the Israelites who were to inherit God's Will came to relate with him. He stood in the front-line of his people with the autonomous authority and with the thought that, "The reason for me to stand for Israel was ultimately for God's Will." Although there were numerous Israelites, Moses was the most worthy person to stand in front of them-with the inner and external heartistic attitude.

As ten years passed by, as twenty, thirty, forty years passed by, Moses recollected his forty years of meaningless life in the Pharaoh's affluent palace and said to himself, "I must not be a person who admires the Pharaoh's palace."

It is certain that he admired the nation which God and he longed for, that one palace where he would live far better than the life of Pharaoh's palace, and would rule. He longed for that one day when the Israelites would be liberated.

You should know that God ordered Moses to be the representative of Israel because everyone, including the descendants of the 12 tribes of Israel, all those who inherited the tradition and the sincere investment of their ancestors, and those who had the authority of special privileges, should have followed the ideology and the tradition of Moses. (64-213)

Then, what was the forty years of life as a shepherd for? Since it was the preparatory period for leading the chosen Israelites, God thought of it as a platform and a period of hardship upon which to grow Moses' strength. He could then overcome, even if more than 40 years of suffering might confront him. Because Moses overcame that period, God raised him again and sent him in front of the Israelites.

If he had thought of his past even a little, then he would have dreamed on about the luxurious life of the Pharaoh's palace. He would have longed for such an environment, would have compared his situation, and would have fallen into despair as the differences became magnified.

Externally, Moses became a person who had completely lost all opportunity. He lost the opportunity in the Pharaoh's palace, and he lived in the Midian wilderness for 40 years as a person who could not have any opportunity in front of God. However, Moses was able to unify the Israelites and save the Israelite people because he longed for the opportunity, the day which God promised, because he had the mind to save the Israelite people, because he held onto the integrity of loyalty which enabled him to overcome the lost opportunities and his environment.

In order to accomplish his task, how close to God do you think his inner heart, which nobody understood, had to be? Behind his heart, numerous heartistic inner situations with which God could not help but to sympathize were tied together. To such a person, it was certainly God's responsibility to give him that one heavenly opportunity, and also it was God's Will to do so. (57-301)