和平之子以撒

创世记 26章22节    以撒离开那里,又挖了一口井,他们不为这井争竞了,他就给那井起名叫利河伯。他说:「耶和华现在给我们宽阔之地,我们必在这地昌盛。」

亚伯拉罕在迦南地第一次遇到饥荒时,他立刻就去了埃及。以撒这时也碰到饥荒,神很及时地向以撒显现,叫他不要下埃及。神说:「你不要下埃及去,要住在我所指示你的地。」换句话说,神要以撒留在神要他住的地方,是哪里呢?是迦南。环境虽然有问题,但是神没有问题,神要以撒学习在困难中倚靠神。

以撒对神的信心是从亚伯拉罕而来的,他曾经被作为祭物献给耶和华,他也曾为利百加祷告求子。这些都是他对神的经历,但是他和神的距离还是很远,神是高高在上的神,他父亲的神。直到神向他显现,耶和华才成了以撒的神。所以张文亮老师说:「真实的信仰,不是灵验,而是个人与主的关系。」

神对以撒强调三点:1.基拉耳是他的寄居之地,不是应许之地。虽然如此,他那里寄居时,神也要赐福给他,与他同在。这是何等的安慰,以撒和亚伯拉罕不同,他是一个和平之子,他不像亚伯拉罕有那样的勇气,一听到罗得被抓,立刻带领家丁去救人。他一直生活在父亲的荫庇之下,现在却不能不应对周围超强悍的异族人。

2.神要坚定向亚伯拉罕所起的誓,要加增他的后裔,也要把迦南地赐给他的后裔。这表示神的恩典不止与亚伯拉罕同在,也要继续与以撒同在,借此坚定以撒对神的信心。

3.地上万国必因以撒的后裔得福。这是指因信称义的子民,也就是凡是凭著信心相信神所差来的耶稣基督,并且接受祂赎罪的救恩之人,都必为亚伯拉罕和以撒的后裔。

The Price of Peace

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 12:49-59.  Let’s go!

Luke 12:49 (NIV) 
49  “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

On verse 49:  What fire did Jesus come to bring?  Some scholars think the “fire” here refers to Jesus judging the world one day.  Others think that this fire refers to the Holy Spirit whom God the Father would send upon the church later in Acts 2.  Perhaps it’s both.  In any event, in order for that “fire” to happen, Jesus would first have to go through a “baptism”, described in the next verse.

Luke 12:50 (NIV) 
50  But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!

On verse 50:  Jesus was baptized in Luke 3, so what other “baptism” would Jesus still need to undergo?  The baptism Jesus is referring to here is his coming suffering and death on the cross.  Here we see the humanity of Jesus and “how distressed” he is as he awaits the time of his betrayal, crucifixion and death.  I appreciate how real and transparent Jesus is as a leader about his feelings and his struggles.