Don’t Play the Blame Game

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 18:1-20. Let’s go!

Ezekiel 18:1-3 (NIV)
1 The word of the LORD came to me:
2 “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: “‘The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
3 “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel.

On verses 1-3: In Ezekiel’s day, this was a popular saying among the Israelites: “The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (v2). What did that saying mean and why would the Israelites say it? The Israelites would say this phrase as a way of blaming their ancestors for their current difficulties. When people would ask the Israelites, “Why are you going through such difficulties and suffering right now?” many Israelites would respond by saying, “It’s not my fault. It’s my father’s fault.” Here in chapter 18, God responds to this tendency of many Israelites to blame their problems on their parents.

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大卫的人生下半场

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历代志上 29章20节 大卫对全会众说：「你们应当称颂耶和华—你们的　神。」

很多人奋斗了大半生，有很好的成果，但是到了人生的下半场，因为舒坦了，一个不慎就再回头己百年身。所以有的人把男人的中年阶段起了个名字，就是中年危机。

大卫人生的前半场，虽然有点辛苦，但是他活得十分精采，也充满了神同在的恩典。但是经过了与拔示巴这一段，神恕他死罪，却难逃活罪。这活罪就是罪带来的苦果，神的咒诅：1.刀剑必永不离开大卫的家，2.神要从大卫家中兴起灾祸攻击大卫；神必在大卫眼前把他的妃嫔赐给他身边的人，他要在光天化日下与大卫的妃嫔同寝。3. 大卫和拔示巴生的第一个孩子必定要死。

原本和谐安兴旺的家，在一夕之间因为大卫的罪而变得危机四伏，杀机重重。第一个应验的，便是大卫和拔示巴生的第一个孩子死了。接着大卫的长子暗嫰用计奸了同父异母的妹妹她玛，她玛的哥哥押沙龙存心报复，杀了暗嫰；后来更蓄意纂位，使大卫不得不逃离耶路撒冷。

大卫逃离耶路撒冷后，在光天化日下与大卫的妃嫔同寝的，便是大卫的儿子押沙龙。当押沙龙去追杀大卫时，因为他的头发太多太长，在森林里被树枝绕住，就悬挂起来，所骑的骡子便离他而去。约押收到报告，立刻赶去，拿三杆短枪刺透押沙龙的心，把他杀死。这才解了大卫的危机。

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God Alone Is Sovereign

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 17:11-24. Let’s go!

Ezekiel 17:11-14 (NIV)
11 Then the word of the LORD came to me:
12 “Say to this rebellious house, ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Say to them: ‘The king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and carried off her king and her nobles, bringing them back with him to Babylon.
13 Then he took a member of the royal family and made a treaty with him, putting him under oath. He also carried away the leading men of the land,
14 so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to rise again, surviving only by keeping his treaty.

On verses 11-14: After capturing King Jehoichin of Judah and taking him to Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon would appoint Zedekiah, Jehoichin’s uncle (“a member of the royal family” – v13), to stay in Jerusalem and to take Jehoichin’s place as ruler in Judah. Nebuchadnezzar would place Zedekiah under oath and make him sign a treaty promising that he would cooperate with Nebuchadnezzar’s policies.

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基督徒该守安息日吗？

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一、我们首先来看圣经中第一次出现安息日的原因和意义：

创世记第一章记载神用六天创造了天地万物，最后造了有神形像的人，神把人摆在祂所造的万物当中，神看着非常满意，说，「甚好。」（创1:31）。于是，「到第七日，神造作的工已经完毕，就在第七日歇了祂一切造作的工，安息了。神赐福给第七日，将其分别为圣，因为在这日神歇了祂一切创造和造作的工，就安息了。」（创2:2~3）

神为何在第七日歇了一切的工，安息了呢？

因为人有了神的形像，将会使祂的荣耀得着彰显；神的权柄也将要施行，以征服祂的仇敌撒但。只要人彰显神并对付神的仇敌，神就得着满足而能安息。后来神在制定十诫时，就为以色列人制定了他们要在第七日记念为安息日。（出20:8∼11。）

因此，安息日不是休息日，而是神在创造时得着人，神满足了；也在救赎了以色列人作神的子民，要他们记念神为他们所成功的救赎。

二、安息与休息完全不同

人做事会疲累的，累了就需要休息。人以为神作了六天的创造工作，一定也很累了，所以第七天神就需要休息。但是神会累吗？

诗篇121:4 说，「看哪，保护以色列的，也不打盹，也不睡觉。」

希伯来书1:3说，「用祂大能的话维持、载着并推动万有。」万有的运作、维持是不能停顿一时一刻的。神的大能是人想像不到的，完全不需要休息。

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Shortcuts Can Be Deceiving

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 17:1-10.  Let’s go!

Ezekiel 17:1-2 (NIV) 
1  The word of the LORD came to me:
2  “Son of man, set forth an allegory and tell the house of Israel a parable.

On verses 1-2:  Here the Lord gives Ezekiel another picture (also called an allegory or a parable – v2) to tell the house of Israel.  Both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, we see that God loves to use pictures and stories to communicate spiritual truths to His people.  For some reason God made us to be drawn to stories.  Keep this in mind the next time you want to communicate a spiritual truth to others.

Ezekiel 17:3a (NIV)
3  Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: A great eagle with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of varied colors came to Lebanon…

On verses 3a:  Who is this great eagle?  Most scholars agree that the great eagle here symbolizes King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon who would come to Israel (that is, Lebanon).

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大卫和拔示巴

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诗篇51篇10节    神啊，求祢为我造清洁的心，使我里面重新有正直的灵。

皮尤研究中心最近（Pew Research Center）进行一项全球调查发现，在欧洲过半数受访者认为「没有上帝都可以成为好人」，在较富裕和人民教育程度较高的国家更认为如此。但是在亚洲及印非国家的调查结果，更同意「上帝使人有良好的道德」。

当诸王还在出战时，大卫派约押率领臣仆和以色列众人出去，约押又打了胜仗，大卫高枕无忧，因此夜夜笙歌，睡到太阳平西才起床。太阳平西就是黄昏，有没有人像大卫王一样，夜里不睡，白天睡？这在养生学里是大大不好的习惯。

大卫在还没有做全以色列王之前，他有很多问题要解决，有目标要前进，他非常倚靠神，做每件事都要求问神。现在他有了以色列最高的权力，内忧外患都有人管，他开始尽情享受人生，放纵自己。

我觉得大多数人都很像大卫，当我们有努力的目标时，生活里会比较有节制；一旦拥有了渴望的一切之后，精神就涣散了。在物质享受的领域里，很快就感到无聊和厌倦，因此欲望就向诱惑打开大门，只求能满足想要的无底洞。所以「没有上帝也可以成为好人」，这里「好人」的标准是什么？

大卫实在是个「好人」，他有很高的道德标准；在他看到拔示巴之前，所做的每件事都是众人的模范。但是当「欲望」取代了「上帝」时，他就没有标准和道德底线了。在社会新闻里，我们看到很多「好人」做「坏事」。好像最近台湾有个巿长候选人，被人起底她当年的硕士论文有96%是抄袭的。她当然看起来是「好人」，才会去选巿长，可是一选就露底了。这就是人的本相，看起来都像「好人」，其实底子里一大堆不可告人事。所以富裕和教育程度，不能使人成为神眼中的「好人」。大卫也是在富裕时，成了不好的人。

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Jesus Bore Our Disgrace

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 16:49-63.  Let’s go!

On verses 49-59:  Jerusalem had looked down on Sodom and Samaria as places of great wickedness (v56).  Yet here God says that Jerusalem’s sins have exceeded those of Sodom and Samaria, making those places which were known for their wickedness look righteous compared to Jerusalem.  God tells Jerusalem repeatedly to “bear your disgrace” (v52, 54) because not only did she pridefully judge others, but she proved herself to be a hypocrite and an even worse sinner than the people she judged.  God also tells Jerusalem later to “bear the consequences of your lewdness and detestable practices” (v58).

What can we learn from this?  Have you ever judged someone for doing something wrong, and then you ended up doing the same thing or worse?  That is called pride and hypocrisy.  In response to our pride and hypocrisy, God had every right to make us bear our disgrace and treat us as our sins deserve, just as God would do to Jerusalem.  However, in God’s mercy and love, God would send His Son Jesus to bear our disgrace instead, and to bear the consequences of our sin by dying on a cross.  What an amazing Saviour we have in Jesus, that He would bear our disgrace for us and suffer the consequences in our place.

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大卫制服亚扪人和亚兰人

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撒母耳记下 10章5节    有人告诉大卫，他就派人去迎接他们，因为这些人觉得很羞耻。王说：「可以住在耶利哥，等到胡须长出来再回来。」

你有没有被人无缘无故恶待的经历呢？张文亮老师最近发表了一篇文章，是他当教授以前的经历。有一个土耳其人到他的学校上班，与他共用一个办公室。一来就强占了他的位子，然后又叫他帮忙做统计与绘图，做完后又意见多多。这土耳其人不是整天发脾气，把座位弄得咖啦咖啦响，就是绷著一张像死鱼的脸，好像大家都得罪他。张老师当时跟负责的比尔教授抱怨了几次，比尔教授只叫他忍耐再忍耐。

后来张老师觉得跟人说不管用，便向主祷告，求主解套。没想到有一天，土耳其人拿着两支乒乓球拍，问他会不会打乒乓球。张老师常常故意输土耳其人一两球，让对方非常高兴。后来两人经常一起去打球，对方还在打球前帮他预备午餐、饮料、水果等。后来张老师在研究时预到一些瓶颈，土耳其人还教他如何思索，改善操作，两人成为非常好的朋友。

这是一个敌人变成朋友的经历。但是今天要读的是，朋友变成敌人的故事。

亚扪人是亚伯拉罕侄儿罗得的后裔，神把地给了亚扪人，曾嘱咐以色列人不可去干扰他们。在大卫做王之前，亚扪人的老王和大卫有交情，因此当大卫听到老王过世，便派人去安慰新上任的小王哈嫩。没想到亚扪人的领袖竟向哈嫩进恶言，把大卫的善意变恶意，更把大卫的臣仆的胡须剃去一半，又割断他们下半截的袍子，露出下体，然后放了他们。

这对大卫而言是奇耻大辱。但是大卫第一个采取的行动是保护那些受害被辱的臣仆，他派人去接他们，把他们安置在耶利哥，直等到胡须长出来。

大卫虽然恨恶此事，没想到亚扪人却想先发兵制大卫。他们联合亚兰人，玛迦人，陀伯人要攻打大卫。

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When Jesus Bore Our Stress and Shame

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 16:35-48.  Let’s go!

Ezekiel 16:35-42 (NIV) 
35  “‘Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the LORD!
36  This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you poured out your wealth and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children’s blood,
37  therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip you in front of them, and they will see all your nakedness………

On verses 35-42:  Here God continues to paint the picture of Jerusalem as God’s unfaithful wife, this time focusing on the suffering and punishment Jerusalem would go through for her adulterous ways.  Here God speaks of gathering all of Jerusalem’s lovers and stripping Jerusalem in front of them (v37), of bringing blood vengeance upon Jerusalem (v38), of Jerusalem’s lovers tearing down her mounds and lofty shrines (v39), of bringing a mob against Jerusalem (v40) and burning down their houses (v41).  In talking this way, God is not speaking figuratively or poetically only.  Rather, much of this would actually happen within just a few short years when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon would invade and conquer Jerusalem in 58 B.C., fulfilling many of these prophetic images.  Thus these words in verses 35-42 are what would actually happen to Jerusalem as a result of their persistent idolatry.

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