以利亚遁至何烈山

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〈列王纪〉上 19:18 但我在以色列人中为自己留下七千人，是未曾向巴力屈膝的，未曾与巴力亲嘴的。

阅读经文：〈列王纪〉上19:1-21

想到在风雨中奔跑在亚哈马车前的以利亚，和狂奔到别是巴的以利亚，两者之间的心境实在有天壤之别。奔跑在亚哈马车前的以利亚，刚刚完成了极大的使命，在迦密山上胜过450个巴力的先知，让以色列众民晓得耶和华是神，并且神按著所应许的下雨了。神的灵与他同在，使他的生命充满了能力。这时的以利亚仿佛站在信心之颠。但是耶洗别送来了一句话：“明日约在这时候，我若不使你的性命像那些人的性命一样，愿神明重重地降罚于我！”

以利亚顿时好像被刺破了一个洞的气球，咻的一下子就变扁了。他所有的勇气和信心在一刹那之间消失殆尽，他又开始跑了。但是这次的跑法跟上次不同，上次跑得意气风发，非常豪迈；这次跑起来有点像被猎人追的野狗，抱头鼠窜。从以色列北国的撒马利亚，跑到南国犹大的最南边别是巴才停下来。还感到不够安全，又在旷野走了一天，坐到一棵罗腾树下，在那里向神求死：“耶和华啊，罢了！求祢取我的性命，因为我不胜于我的列祖”。说完就累得睡着了。

伟大如以利亚都曾经绝望得想自杀，从信心的最高峰跌下去，一直掉到绝望的深渊里，爬不出来，只想一死了之。有很多神的仆人都有类似的经历。跟随神的旅程，不会永远站在信心的颠峰，有时环境会把我们逼上绝路。以利亚怕死了，恶妇耶洗别要他的命。他显然不怕亚哈，可是却怕耶洗别怕到这样的程度。可能因为耶洗别太恶名昭彰了。所以我们永远不要说自己倚靠神就不会跌倒，魔鬼知道我们心中最软弱的那个部份，只要一按下去，我们就变成一个纸娃娃了。这也就是主所说的：“离了我，你们就不能做什么”（约15:5）。主对我们的理解何等深切。

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The Dangers of an Attitude of Entitlement

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Leviticus 18:19-30.  Let’s go!

Leviticus 18:19-30 (NIV)
19  “‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.
20  “‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.
21  “‘Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
22  “‘Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
23  “‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion…….

On verses 19-30:  Here we learn one of the reasons why God was ousting out the nations that occupied Canaan and bringing the Israelites to occupy Canaan in their place, which is that these other nations had, in God’s eyes, become defiled by their idol worship (which included sacrificing their children to the god Molech) (v21) and sexual practices which displeased God (v19-20, 22-23).  Rather than seeing themselves as subject to God’s commands, these other nations carried on life with an attitude of entitlement, thinking, “It’s my life and my body and I can do whatever I want with it.”  In carrying on these practices, verses 24b and 27 say that these other nations defiled themselves, defiled the land that they lived in, and thus were cut off and vomited out of the land.  The Israelites are told not to make the same mistakes as these other nations as they get ready to occupy that same land.

What can we learn from this?  When we live with an attitude of entitlement, thinking, “It’s my life and my body and I can do whatever I want with it”, we make ourselves the centre of our own universe and push God to the wayside.  We think that living this way is the key to our happiness, when in fact living with an attitude of entitlement eventually brings us misery, causing us eventually to be cut off from God’s presence and God’s blessings. 

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You Need to Belong to a Local Church

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Leviticus 17:1-16.  Let’s go!

Leviticus 17:1-9 (NIV)
1  The LORD said to Moses,
2  “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘This is what the LORD has commanded:
3  Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox, a lamb or a goat in the camp or outside of it
4  instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD in front of the tabernacle of the LORD–that man shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; he has shed blood and must be cut off from his people.
5  This is so the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the LORD, at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings…….

On verses 1-9:  In Leviticus 17, some of the Israelites were no longer going to worship with their Israelite brothers and sisters at the Tent of Meeting.  Instead of bringing their worship sacrifices to the Tent of Meeting where they could worship together with other believers and priests, some Israelites may have thought, “Well, isn’t God everywhere?  Let’s just do all of our sacrifices here in the open fields from now on (See Leviticus 17:1-4).  Who needs to go to the Tent of Meeting to worship?  Aren’t we all God’s people?”

Likewise, today from time to time you might meet someone who says, “I am a Christian, but I don’t belong to any local congregation.  I am part of God’s universal Church, so there’s no need for me to belong to any particular local church.  I can just worship God in my own home or at a park or by the beach if I want to”.

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《圣经中各种审判》8 — 对埃及的审判 之二

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出埃及记  7-11章

「君权神授」的观念

　　以色列人在患难之日等候上帝的拯救。以色列人原初在埃及所领受的，是非常荣耀的日子，但当不认识约瑟的法老继位，逼迫就来到了，正如世界不认识上帝的旨意与上帝的儿子，不认识上帝的子民原有的荣耀以及对世界的贡献。以色列人在埃及所受的痛苦，是世上的政权抵挡上帝的权柄的一个写照。我在我的《神权、人权、政权》神学讲座一书提到神权高过人权，人权高过政权。政权从哪里来？从过去的历史，我们看见君权神授的金科玉律，古代的政府都认为他们的权柄是上帝特别给的，中国人的皇帝被尊为天子，日本人的皇帝被尊为天皇，无论东西方都有同样的观念：君权神授──人在地上作王的权柄，是天上的上帝所赐与的。罗马也认为凯撒是天神在地上的代表，这些权柄是不可挑战、抵挡，凡是顺从君王权柄的人，就可以看顺利活在世上，凡是不遵守天所赐的王权，一定要被杀害，君王有生杀之权，在地上代表天上的上帝，施行他们的独裁。

划时代的王权约束力──英国的《大宪章》

　　君权神授在历史上的发展，直到1215年时，英国《大宪章》（The Great Charter）的制定，以法律限制君王的权利，人权不应在君王的独裁统治下被侵犯，君王不应当随意生杀百姓。在人类漫长的历史洪流中，人对自身人权的觉悟并不是件容易的事，是历经了几千年才感到应当挑战君王的权柄，君权被挑战的君王对此相当不满，因而产生君权与人权的相抗，人在王位上的把握越来越减少。不到二百年，英国的《大宪章》产生人类第一次最可怕的反应，就是把他们的王杀死。1215年《大宪章》的订定，是对人权尊重的历史转捩点。为什么《大宪章》有这么大的影响力？因为这是上帝的干预，因此上帝许可《大宪章》的订定。大宪章的拉丁文是 Magna Carta，就是伟大的宪章的意思，它告诉我们无论哪一个人统治世界，都有约束他的法律。当法律限制君王的权柄，人民因此得以抬头。

　　英国《大宪章》所表彰的精神，是与当时的政治形势相违背的，也带来英国的崛起。英国在罗马帝国以后大约五百年左右崛起，成为超越罗马帝国的最大政权。罗马帝国在主前27建立，东罗马帝国在主后330迁都到君士坦丁堡，于1453年被回教消灭，当时最大的帝国就此告别历史的舞台。回教徒原先计画消灭东罗马帝国后便向西挺进，控制基督徒的世界，使回教遍满全地。当时教会的大主教，一个个到穆罕默德二世（II. Mehmed, 1432-1481）面前求饶，这是基督教的奇耻大辱，也是历史很可怕的转捩点，从此回教徒按照基督教礼拜堂洋葱式圆顶的格式，作为建造回教堂屋顶的格式。回教在君士坦丁堡得胜后，无法继续向西挺进。回教军队在732年，由西班牙深入欧洲，攻击高卢（今天的法国），遭欧洲联军击退；回教军队在1683年，进逼维也纳，却打不进去。如果那次回教再胜过维也纳，西欧就完了。

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God is Holy and Jesus is Your Scapegoat

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Leviticus 16:1-34.  Let’s go!

Leviticus 16:1-19 (NIV)
1  The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the LORD.
2  The LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.
3  “This is how Aaron is to enter the sanctuary area: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
4  He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on…….

On verses 1-19:  In the tabernacle where the Israelites would gather to worship and give their sacrifices to God, there was, curtained off and closed to the public, a smaller room called the “Most Holy Place”.  In the Most Holy Place would be the ark of the covenant, which was an ornate gold-covered box that contained the stone tablets bearing the 10 commandments.  The Most Holy Place and the ark represented God’s presence among the people of Israel.  For more on the Most Holy Place, the ark and the tabernacle, see Exodus 25 and 26.

In these verses we learn that Aaron the high priest of Israel could not enter the Most Holy Place whenever he wanted (v2).  Rather he could only enter the Most Holy Place once a year and to do so had to offer a number of specific sacrifices to make atonement for the Israelites, for himself, and even for the things like the place where they gather to worship and the equipment they used.  

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迦密山上见真神

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列王纪上 18:38 于是，耶和华降下火来，烧尽燔祭、木柴、石头、尘土，又烧干沟里的水。

阅读经文：〈列王纪〉上18:25-46

迦密山在希伯来文的意思是「上帝的葡萄园」，在古时候山上也是种满了葡萄。看图便知道它的山脊十分平坦广濶，正适合许多人聚集。以利亚要求亚哈召集450个巴力的先知和400个亚舍拉的先知到迦密山上比赛，看看谁敬拜的是真神。亚哈立刻就答应了。可见在亚哈心中，他也觉得巴力真的是神。所以他敢让巴力的先知和以利亚摆阵。以前非利士人抢走约柜，把约柜放在基抹的庙里，结果他们拜的基抹断手断脚断头，并且俯伏在约柜面前，看了这样的基抹，非利士人从此就不拜基抹了。但是即使巴力的神不灵验，亚哈的心会回转吗？

比赛的内容是双方各自准备一只献祭的牛犊，切成块子，放在木柴上面，但是不可点火。若是真神，让祂亲自来引火，收取祭牲。以利亚先让巴力的先知求火，他们在坛旁踊跳、狂呼乱叫，从早上到献晚祭时，又用刀枪自割自刺，直到身体流血。但是牛犊依然躺在那里，没有丝毫动静。巴力没有出现，巴力不来，或是去远游了，赶不回来？这些人，真的相信巴力是一个活的神吗？还是以巴力为他们利用的公仔？

以利亚叫以色列人到他那边，他就重修已经毁坏的耶和华的坛，又按以色列支派取了十二块石头，筑一座坛，在坛旁挖沟，这个沟可以放进二细亚的谷种，也就是约14.6公升或3.7加仑的水。以利亚叫人摆好柴，再用四个桶的水，倒在潘祭和柴上。一共倒了三次，直到水流在坛的四围，沟里也满了水。对巴力先知来说，巴不得干柴烈水就自己点着了，哪里还敢加水？岂不是难上加难？但是以利亚胸有成竹，他不是为了要表演魔术，让人觉得自己很厉害，有能力。他的目的只有一个，就是要让以色列人知道耶和华是真神，希望以色列人的心回转；而他以利亚是神的仆人。

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迦密山上试真神

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列王纪上 18: 21   以利亚前来对众民说：「你们心持两意要到几时呢？若耶和华是神，就当顺从耶和华；若巴力是神，就当顺从巴力。」

阅读经文：〈列王纪〉上18:1-46

温哥华三个月不下雨，大家都已经开始着急，何况三年不下雨。有些地方碰到这种情形，就会开始求雨，好像澳洲土著、俄罗斯的先民、北美的印第安人都有求雨舞；在中国古代有的君王，例如明太祖朱元璋就曾经为了祈雨跪了三天。可见一旦没有雨，人就懂得要向上天求雨，因为雨是从天上降下来的，不向上天求，向谁求呢？可见人的心里有“天”，人相信这“天”能懂得人的祈求。这“天”是有意识的，是活的，是有能力的，换句话说就是人相信天上有“神”。人平时很骄傲，说没有神；但是只要几个月不下雨，他都会开始求神了。那时就知道人是何等有限，神是何等恩慈。

亚哈很骄傲，他不要神，不要创造宇宙、带领以色列先祖出埃及的真神。但是三年没有雨，他就顶不住了，再不下雨，他连王都做不成了。百姓都饿死了渴死了，没有百姓，他怎么做王呢？他拜的金牛犊、巴力、亚舍拉通通不能帮他，他急得到处找以利亚。因为只有以利亚的神可以解决这个问题，耶和华神若说不下雨，连魔鬼都没办法。

亚哈和他的家宰俄巴底去找青草，因为他的牲畜再没草吃就都会死了。家宰是指管理王的家之事务的高官；俄巴底的名字之意是「耶和华的仆人」。果然，这个俄巴底没有辜负为他取名字的人，他虽然在亚哈的家里做事，却暗中保护耶和华的先知。在最黑暗的地方，仍然有神的仆人在那里做光做盐。这也是为何主教导我们不要论断或批评别人，因为有许多事是我们不知道的，只有神知道，所以只有神才有资格审判每一个人。

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Made Clean With A Touch

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Leviticus 15:16-33.  Let’s go!

Leviticus 15:16-24 (NIV)
16  “‘When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
17  Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean till evening.
18  When a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
19  “‘When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening.
20  “‘Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean…….

On verses 16-24:  Why is it that a man’s emission of semen (v16-18) would cause a man and the woman he lay with to be ceremonially unclean?  Why is it that a woman’s period (v19-24) or a woman bleeding outside of her regular period (v25-27) would cause the woman and anything the woman sits on to be ceremonially unclean?  Are these bodily discharges sinful in God’s eyes?  No.  Remember that “sinful” and “unclean” are not the same thing.  To be ceremonially unclean meant that you could not enter the sanctuary where the Israelites worshipped for the period of the uncleanness.

Why would God impose such a rule on the Israelites?  Many scholars say that the main purpose of these regulations was to set the Israelites apart from other nations who regularly practiced cult prostitution and engaged in fertility rituals within the temples where they would worship their gods.  

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Washing the Most Private Areas of Our Lives

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Leviticus 15:1-15. Let’s go!

Leviticus 15:1-15 (NIV)
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean.
3 Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean. This is how his discharge will bring about uncleanness:
4 “‘Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, and anything he sits on will be unclean.
5 Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
6 Whoever sits on anything that the man with a discharge sat on must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening…….

On verses 1-15: What discharge is Leviticus 15:1-15 talking about? Many scholars believe that the discharge is probably gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted disease. The fact that God’s Word would touch on such an issue shows that God is concerned about the private areas of our lives, those parts of our lives which no one else would know about unless we told them. When we experience hurt or discomfort in a secret area of our lives, God does not turn a blind eye; rather, His heart is for you to experience healing, cleansing, and restoration.

Speaking of cleansing, it was not until the 1800s with the revolutionary work of Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis that Western medicine realized the importance of washing with water when treating patients. Yet notice how much these verses emphasize washing with water. (The idea of washing or bathing with water comes up no less than 9 times in these verses.) In this respect the Bible was thousands of years ahead of the medical industry — just one more example of how God’s Word is ahead of its time.

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以利亚预言旱荒

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列王纪上 17:24   妇人对以利亚说：「现在我知道你是神人，耶和华藉你口所说的话是真的。」

阅读经文：

〈列王纪〉上17:1-24

这是一个让人津津乐道的故事。从主日学到现在，我听这故事不下百遍了，可是到现在还是喜欢它。以前喜欢的是以利亚行的神蹟，现在可以从这些神蹟里去认识神，越读越有意思。以前读的时候觉得不降露不下雨与我无关，不痒不痛。有一年回台湾省亲时，正好碰上台湾缺雨少水，水库的水位一直下降，人心惶惶，政府一直呼吁大家节约用水。回到温哥华，也碰上了难得的几个月都天晴，没想到从一级禁水令一直升到三级禁水令。水库的水一点一点地减少，天上一滴水也没掉下来。草地已经枯黄，树叶也垂头丧气，泳池不可注水，家里不可洗车。正在这紧要关头，下雨了。每个人都欢欣鼓舞。

至于不降露有何严重性呢？几年前我去过非洲的野生动物园，那里的地也干旱得很。但是导游说，因为清早一些枝叶上有甘露，所以动物们只要吃了露水，就够一天的水份了。所以没下雨动物还能存活。所以若是没有露水，不仅动物活不了，连植物都活不了。神为何要用干旱来处罚以色列人呢？说实在的，在等待下雨的日子里，我有时候会想到，是不是最近有人做了一些事情得罪神，以致神惩罚我们？甘露时雨都是上天所赐，当上天不再赐下甘露恩雨时，人就要好好地反省了。

所以当以利亚对亚哈王说：“我指著所侍奉永生耶和华以色列的神起誓：这几年我若不祷告，必不降露不下雨”。是神借着以利亚来使亚哈思想，并不是以利亚本身有能力做此事。神总是喜欢让人与祂同工，使人自觉有价值。以利亚对亚哈王预言之后，神就叫以利亚住到基立溪旁，喝溪里的水，等待乌鸦的供养。乌鸦早晚给他叼饼和肉来，这些和饼从哪里来呢？没人知道。会不会有的大户人家每天都觉得少了一点肉和几片饼，但是查来查去都察不出是谁偷吃的？过了些日子，溪水就干了，是不是被以利亚喝干了？当然不是，因为没有下雨，太阳天天晒，把这条溪都晒到见底了。于是神叫以利亚去西顿的撒勒法。去那里做什么？去找一个寡妇。

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