至于我和我家

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〈约书亚记〉 24:15 b   至于我和我家，我们必定侍奉耶和华。

阅读经文：〈约书亚记〉 24:1-33

我以前不大明白，为何神的仆人从旧约的摩西到新约的司提反，等等，都要一再地提到神呼召亚伯兰，以及带领色列人出埃及的过程。直到有一次我跟一些年轻人相处时，才发现原来追本溯源十分重要。那些年轻人的父母大多白手起家，年轻时创业维艰，又要照顾家庭，很不容易。但是他们的儿女长大之后，只会拚命享用父母的钱，觉得那是天经地意的事情。他们以为白白得来是他们的权利，丝毫不感激父母的付出和辛劳，反而动不动就埋怨，跟父母顶嘴，根本没有动力去工作和建立自己的人生。

但是当我想到犹太人在过年过节时，在享用盛宴之先，总有一位长者把他们跟神的关系，也就是神呼召亚伯兰，以及神带领以色列人出埃及入迦南的事蹟述说一遍，感谢神之后再享用晚餐。这样的习俗不仅使犹太人永远记得他们是神的子民，也使他们不管落在怎样的光景中都有盼望，相信神必拯救他们。因此他们也可以把殷勤工作的习惯和祖业一代代地传下去。年轻人需要知道父母和祖辈的历史，好让他们知道一切都是经过前人的努力和神的恩典，才有他们今天的享福；也帮助他们能竖立自己的目标和展望，好好地去奔走前面的道路，为他们的下一代努力。

我想，这就是家庭祭坛的意义。不要只给孩子金钱和物质，更要给他们传承，让他们能够感受到生命的意义。因此约书亚对以色列人宣告，不管别人的选择如何，约书亚则已经决定：「至于我和我家，我们必定侍奉耶和华」。约书亚有这样的看见，他是他们家族的领袖，他已经决定，侍奉耶和华便是他和他家的目标，定命之所在。这样的决定也激励了其他以色列人，相继回应也要侍奉耶和华，认耶和华是他们的神。

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The Ones Who Come After

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 10:1-32.  Let’s go!

Genesis 10:1-5 (NIV)
1  This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.
2  The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras.
3  The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.
4  The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanim.
5  (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)

On verses 1-5:  Here the author of Genesis lists the descendants of Noah, starting with the descendants of Noah’s second son Japheth (v2-5).  There is a reason why the author of Genesis starts with the second son.  It’s because the descendants of Noah’s oldest son Shem would be highlighted last to lead into the story of Shem’s most famous descendants: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and of course Jesus Christ.  The fact that the various peoples that emerged from Japheth’s line each had their own language (v5) suggests that God loves a variety of languages and cultures.  God is a God who enjoys ethnic and cultural diversity.  We will see this all the more in chapter 11.  That is why in Revelation heaven is described as a kingdom of people from every nation.  This also sets us up for a tragedy we will read about in Genesis 11.

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Cover Him Up!

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 9:18-29.  Let’s go!

Genesis 9:18-21 (NIV)
18  The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)
19  These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the earth.
20  Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard.
21  When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.

On verse 21:  Noah gets drunk and passes out naked inside his tent, apparently in a way that others could see him from the outside.  Keep in mind that during Noah’s time nakedness was associated with shame.  This was an embarrassing moment for Noah.  It’s also proof that while Noah may have been found righteous in his generation compared to the people of his time (Genesis 6:9 and Genesis 7:1), Noah wasn’t perfect and needed the covering and protection of God and others.  In fact, the covering that Noah’s sons Shem and Japheth give Noah foreshadows the covering that Jesus would humbly give us by dying on the cross for our sins.  Jesus covers our shame with the garment of His righteousness and love.

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约书亚之遗命

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〈约书亚记〉 23:10 你们一人必追赶千人，因耶和华你们的神照他所应许的，为你们争战。

阅读经文：〈约书亚记〉 23:1-16 

人的肉体总有一老和一死，但是像摩西和约书亚这样，可以做完神托咐的工作，安然去见主，是何等有福啊！人老了，身体逐渐衰落，便知道神给自己在世上的时间已经快要结束了。人生有限，神给每个人在世上的日子都是可以数算的，因此我们当求神给我们智慧的心去过世上的岁月。

当约书亚年纪老迈，便召集众人做最后的交代时，他讲了一件很重要的事：「那为你们争战的是耶和华你们的神」，这位神不只是要带领约书亚，也将带领以色列人面对将来的战事，只要他们愿意好好跟随祂。约书亚不是说他自己很厉害，而是说这位神才是带领争战的，所以不要因为他的离开而难过；因为每一个人都可以被取代，唯有神不能被取代。

假如以色列人记得为他们争战的是耶和华，他们就不会因为约书亚的离去而丧志，因为神仍然与他们同在。在家父被主接去的那年，我觉得自己的力气也仿佛消失了。但是圣灵让我回想家父得救的见证，以及他引导我们一家归向主的过程，我发现自己的心力又慢慢回来，我的灵也再次被唤醒，那引导我父亲的，也必继续引领我们前面的道路。我们是有限的，但耶和华神是无限的。

约书亚完成的功业，一是剪除在迦南地的外邦大族，二是使以色列各支派得到分地，可以进驻迦南。但是有一些地方上的异族人还是不肯离开。因此约书亚提醒他们：「耶和华你们的神必将他们从你们面前赶出去，使他们离开你们」，这是一个应许。

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