十災的分析

出埃及記七章3-5節  我要使法老的心剛硬,也要在埃及地多行神蹟奇事。 但法老必不聽你們,我要伸手重重地刑罰埃及,將我的軍隊以色列民從埃及地領出來。 我伸手攻擊埃及,將以色列人從他們中間領出來的時候,埃及人就要知道我是耶和華。

經文段落:出埃及記 6:2–9:35

十災的結構是一堂給法老必修的「上帝存在論證」的哲學課。

十災的發生與啟動,乃因耶和華欲回應法老在兩件事上的「強烈否認」與「強硬拒絕」:

第一、耶和華是神。
第二、以色列作為父神耶和華「長子」的身分。(出埃及記4:22-23)

所以,耶和華要給法老,上一門非常「實際而具體」的哲學課,一堂關於「上帝存在論證」的必修課。

猶太人讀十災,發現到十災有一個「精心設計」、「別具匠心」的工整結構。

首先、原則上,十災以一種災難等級「不斷升高」、傷亡規模「漸次擴大」的型態來開展,由此,耶和華神得以向法老「強力證明」,誰才是那真正統管宇宙、掌管自然、運作人類歷史的神。

Rise Above Complacency

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 3:1-6.  Let’s go!

Revelation 3:1-3 (NIV) 
1  “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
2  Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.
3  Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

On verses 1-3:  Jesus’ next message is for the church in Sardis.  Sardis was a wealthy city that was strategically located on an important trade route.  Sardis was also a centre for religious activity, being the home of the temple of Artemis and also a Jewish synagogue.  Sardis was quite possibly the wealthiest and most famous of all the cities that Jesus addresses in Revelation 2 and 3.

加爾文的禱告

唐崇榮國際佈道團網站近日上載一段視頻「加爾文的禱告」,以此勉勵信徒在新冠肺炎日子仍然確信上帝是牧者,帶領信徒走過這場戰疫。

宗教改革重要人物之一約翰·加爾文(John Calvin)強調,禱告佔基督信仰一個很重要的席位。他提出禱告包含四方面的意義:

信徒禱告並不是要告知上帝一些祂不曉得的事情,催促上帝做一些祂不願意做的事情。反之禱告能夠提醒信徒去尋求神,透過默想神的應許實踐信心,並且能夠幫助信徒從焦慮中得到舒緩。

其次是禱告信徒藉此領受父神給我們存留在天上的豐盛。第三,禱告也是神所預定的,但並非為祂而是為了信徒的好處。第四,在禱告中我們將神所應得的榮耀歸給祂,並向祂獻上敬拜,但同時也使我們獲益。

在唐崇榮國際佈道團「加爾文的禱告」(Prayer of John Calvin)視頻中,主持人呼籲信徒每天抽時間禱告,為自己也為身邊的弟兄姊妹代求,在這場瘟疫之中,讓我們仍然能夠看到上帝的慈愛超越一切的困難,盼望信徒一起學習全然信靠良善的上帝。

Jesus Your Perfect Judge

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 2:18-29.  Let’s go!

Revelation 2:18 (NIV) 
18  “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

On verse 18:  Jesus’ next message is for the church in Thyatira, a small city known for its agriculture and purple dye (see Acts 16:14).  To the church in Thyatira, Jesus describes Himself as the Son of God, “whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze” (v18).  According to some scholars, eyes like blazing fire and feet like burnished bronze are pictures of judgment.  That’s because Jesus has some tough words to speak to the church in Thyatira.

He’s Everything You Need

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 2:8-17.   Let’s go!

Revelation 2:8 (NIV) 
8  “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.

On verse 8:  Smyrna was a wealthy port city, located about 35 miles north of Ephesus.  Jesus describes Himself once again as “the First and the Last”, meaning Jesus existed before anything else in creation came into being, and He is the only One who will remain when everything else is gone.  It all begins and ends with Jesus. 

Jesus is also the one “who died and came to life again” – more on that below.

On verse 9-11:   The church in Smyrna was going through a difficult time, as they were being persecuted for their faith by a certain group who claimed to be the true Jews but whom Jesus calls “a synagogue of Satan” (v9).  Based on Jesus’ words, things were going to get harder before they got easier.  More persecution was still to come.  As Jesus says, “the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days” (v10).

容我的百姓去

創世記五章4節       我與他們堅定所立的約,要把他們寄居的迦南地賜給他們。

假如神呼召你去傳福音,然後跟你說,你傳福音不會有人相信。你還會去嗎?摩西就是碰到了這樣的處境,神叫他去見法老,而且神還要用大能的手幫忙,但是埃及王法老也還是不會聽摩西的,也不會讓以色列人離開。假如你是摩西,你會接這樣的差事嗎?

當神呼召摩西時,祂就說了: 「我知道雖用大能的手,埃及王也不容你們去。我必伸手在埃及中間施行我一切的奇事,攻擊那地,然後他才容你們去。我必叫你們在埃及人眼前蒙恩,你們去的時候就不至於空手而去。(出3:19-21)」事情不容易,但是神有應許。

馬禮遜宣教士到中國時才22歲,他抱著這樣的信念:「求上帝將我置於困難最多,和從人類眼光中看來最難成功之佈道區域中」來到中國。果然,他做了十年,才有一個人相信耶穌。但是他並不是在等人信耶穌,在十年中,他己著手翻譯聖經。要回應神呼召的人就必須有這樣的心志,正如主耶穌說的,要背起十字架跟隨祂。這條路之難走是必然,但是神的應許都會應驗,神的應許都是真實的。神不會讓祂僕人的工作成為虛空。

因此雖然摩西要面對法老加諸的重擔,以色列人的不滿和怨言,他好像三明治中間的肉片,被兩邊夾得很辛苦,他卻能在夾縫中仰望神的應許而不氣餒,一而再,再而三去見法老;也不停地鼓勵以色列人要仰望神的應許。因為神要開始做事了。我們有時也像摩西一樣,處在人際關係的夾縫裡,兩邉不討好,怎麼做都不對,這樣的難處,神都知道。只要我們仰望神,就能經歷神的作為。

燃燒的荊棘

出埃及記三章14節  神對摩西說:「我是自有永有的。」又說:「你要對以色列人這樣說:『那自有的打發我到你們這裡來。』」

假如你還記得那場澳洲大火,從2019年年底燒到2020年年初,一共燒了約210天;還有B.C.省和加州去年前年夏季裡的森林大火,燒到太陽看起來是紅色的,空氣裡都是煙的味道,那真是一段令人談到森林大火就心驚膽跳的回憶。森林大火一般都是因為過於乾燥,有時也因為人為的疏忽,一點小小的火星就可以燎原。因此在山上看到有荊棘在燃燒時,摩西真是吃驚不小。

有天摩西帶著岳父的羊上山找草吃,卻忽然看到一棵在燃燒的荊棘,但是雖然有火,荊棘卻沒有被燒毀。摩西可能覺得自己眼睛有問題,便想上前觀看。不料,荊棘裡竟有聲音叫他的名字:「摩西!摩西!」我覺得他的反應很可愛,他竟然回答:「我在這裡。」我以為他會先問:「你是誰?」

神要摩西脫下腳上穿的鞋,並且告訴他所站之處是聖地。摩西在埃及也看過很多偶像,可是這是第一個跟他講話的「神」。神自我介紹:「我是你父親的神,是亞伯拉罕的神、以撒的神、雅各的神。」摩西一聽,趕快把臉蒙上,不敢再看燃燒的荊棘,不敢看神。

神把祂的計劃對摩西說了,摩西卻不感興趣。他曾經滿腔熱血,以為做埃及王子可以拯救以色列人,卻沒有想到才殺了一個埃及人,就付出了沉重的代價。現在他萬念俱灰,再也沒有雄情大志,以為要做牧羊人終老了。所以神叫他去見法老時,他說:「我是什麼人?竟能去見法老,將以色列人從埃及領出來呢?」 

The Angel of the Church

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 2:1-7.  There are so many powerful lessons we can learn from this passage.  Let’s go!

Revelation 2:1 (NIV) 
1  “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:

On verse 1:  Starting in chapter 2 John records 7 messages from Jesus that he is told to send to 7 churches in the province of Asia.  The first message is for the church of Ephesus.  Notice that the way the message is worded is “To the angel of the church in Ephesus”.  Who is this angel?  The Greek word for angel here is angellos, which is mostly translated in the New Testament as “angel” but is sometimes translated as “messenger”.  Thus, according to some scholars, the two main possibilities for what the “angel” is referring to are: (1) the “angel” refers to an actual angelic being who supernaturally watches over the church; or (2) the “angel” refers to the pastor of the local church, who practically serves as a messenger, the one who delivers messages, to the church and who would likely be the one to receive and read out this particular message from Jesus to the church.

埃及王子

出埃及記二章22節  西坡拉生了一個兒子,摩西給他起名叫革舜,意思說:「因我在外邦做了寄居的。」

和所有以色列人不一樣,當以色列人在做苦工,在烈日下流汗挨打被罵時,摩西在埃及宮庭裡過著王子的生活。他是法老女兒收養的義子,名正言順地得到王子的待遇。根據〈埃及王子Prince of Egypt〉這部電影的形容,法老當時還準備把王位傳給他。可見他在埃及王宮裡也得到各方面的教導,可以說是文武雙全。

舊約聖經最前面五本書:創世記—出埃及記—利未記—民數記—申命記,都是摩西寫的,所以稱為摩西五經。這也讓我們明白,為何神要讓他在王宮裡成長,因為他在王宮裡才有可能受到最完備的教育,才有能力寫下這五本十分重要的妥拉Torah (這是猶太人對摩西五經的稱謂)。

但是他的骨子裡流的還是希伯來人的血,以色列人也可稱為希伯來人。就好像很多華人移民到了海外,心裡總還覺得自己是家鄉的人。意氣飛揚的摩西王子有一天走出皇宮,走到被奴役的希伯來人中間,意外看到有一個埃及人在打一個希伯來人。那時奴隸是不敢還手的,即使有力氣也不敢還手,只能挨打。摩西王子非常生氣,但是他也很謹慎,先左右觀看,才出手打死埃及人。不打死不行,打得半死,他回去會告狀。摩西王子就慘了,他怎麼可以幫希伯來人呢?他是埃及王子啊! 打死了還不行,還得找個地方快快把死人埋在沙裡。埃及有很多沙漠地,要埋人很方便。摩西王子做完此事,心裡十分得意,覺得幫族人爭了一口氣。

但是他萬萬沒想到,這件事還是被人知道了。因為那個被欺負的希伯來人肯定回去跟大家說了,這可是一件很稀奇的事啊! 埃及王子竟然幫助一個希伯來人,除了摩西的原生家庭,可能也沒有人知道他是希伯來人。這事一傳十,十傳百,在第二天他想調節兩個希伯來人的糾紛時,那人就把這事抖出來,質問他是否又要殺人了。

Loving You With His Presence and His Words

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 1:9-20.  Let’s go!

Revelation 1:9-18 (NIV) 
9  I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
10  On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
11  which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”……

On verses 9-18:  John is in exile on the island of Patmos for preaching the Gospel (v9 – “because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus”).  On Sunday (“the Lord’s Day”) he is praying deeply and sensing the presence of God (“in the Spirit” – v10) when he hears from behind him a voice like a trumpet telling him to write down on a scroll what he sees.  The voice behind John tells him to send what he writes down to the seven churches in the province of Asia (v11).  When John turns around to see who is speaking to him, he sees Jesus Christ (“someone ‘like a son of man’” – v13) standing among seven golden lampstands.  Jesus’ physical presence is awesome: fully white head and hair, eyes like blazing fire, feet like bronze in a furnace, voice like rushing waters, his face like the sun in its brilliance.