Bling Bling for the King

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 39:1-21.  Let’s go!

Exodus 39:1-21 (NIV)   
1  From the blue, purple and scarlet yarn they made woven garments for ministering in the sanctuary. They also made sacred garments for Aaron, as the LORD commanded Moses.
2  They made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen.
3  They hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut strands to be worked into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen–the work of a skilled craftsman.
4  They made shoulder pieces for the ephod, which were attached to two of its corners, so it could be fastened.
5  Its skillfully woven waistband was like it–of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen, as the LORD commanded Moses……

On verses 1-21:  After describing the building of the tabernacle and all its furniture (Exodus 36-38), Moses goes on to describe in Exodus 39 the making of the clothes for Aaron the high priest and his sons who will all serve as priests.  Exodus 39 is basically the fulfillment of Exodus 28, when the LORD first tells Moses the kind of clothes that the high priest and priests should wear.

Here’s what I notice: notice how blingy the high priest’s clothes are.  Whether it’s the ephod (v2), the waistband (v5), the onyx stones in gold filigree settings (v6), or the breastpiece (v15-21), all of it is decorated with gold.  You only put gold on someone you think is worthy of it.  The fact that God put so much gold on His high priest and saw to it that his clothes were decorated in gold speaks of how valuable the priest was to God.  Likewise, as believers in Jesus Christ, we are priests in God’s kingdom (1 Peter 2:9) and you are precious to God.  God has covered us in something even more precious and, from heaven’s perspective, even blingier than gold; it’s the blood of Jesus.

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比勒達言神公義無私

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〈約伯記〉8:11 蒲草沒有泥，豈能發長？蘆荻沒有水，豈能生發？

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉8 章

世上許多有錢的人，
在世的時候，總喜歡出版自己的傳記，
講述自己如何成功、賺大錢，
如何當個富爸爸。
約伯是一個富人，
他年輕的時候很有錢，
年老的時候更有錢，
但是約伯的傳記──約伯記，
初始的有錢只在第一頁，
末時的富有只在最後一頁，
中間所有的內容，都是他一無所有的時候，
他與三個朋友的爭論，
與上帝給他的回應，
反而成為他一生最值得撰寫、
最能幫助人的部分。
這是世界上最獨特的富人傳記，
你猜，是誰教他這樣寫的？

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約伯向神傾訴

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〈約伯記〉7:7 求祢想念我的生命不過是一口氣！我的眼睛必不再見福樂。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉7 章

與其說約伯在回答朋友們，倒不如說，他傾訴的對象其實是神，他一向仰望的神。這是人的本性，有不幸的事發生，總是先叫：“天啊！”有壞人遭報應，也會說：“老天有眼！”沒有人教我們，我們就會呼天喚地了。那是不是一種心靈的感應呢？最近有個朋友癌症漫延全身，被送到安寧病房。當她被發現患了癌症時，她非常努力地按著各種自然療法去幫助自己，吃的全是有機食品，每天按時走路運動、休息。現在她說，什麼人為的方法她都不相信了，她只相信只有神能醫治她。若神許可，她才能得醫治。在人的盡頭，人才能明白只有神才有掌管生死的權柄。所以在人的盡頭，很多話都只能跟神說了。

約伯的言語其實是一連串詩句組成的，我試著把1-5節譯得白話一點：“人生在世豈不是勞勞碌碌，終日煩累？他的日子都像雇工，不斷地被催逼作息。就好像一個僕人渴望得到遮蔭，又像雇工盼望得到工價，我也是活在無盡的指望裡，每晚卻疲倦地掙扎。當我躺下時，我就自問：何時才到天亮？黑夜何時結束？因為我輾轉反覆，直到黎明。我的肉體爬滿蟲子，且被塵土所覆蓋，我的皮膚一收口就又破裂。”約伯雖然只是坐在爐灰之中，心裡卻很疲累。白天要刮膿，還要忍受難吃的食物和別人的歧視嘲笑，巴不得夜晚來臨可以休息；夜晚來臨了，他也睡不著，因為肉體承受著各樣的折磨，想睡睡不了，夜晚比白天更難挨，只能期待黎明來臨。日復一日，夜復一夜，都是無止盡的痛苦。

有失眠經驗的人大約都能體會約伯躺下去後，翻來覆去的無奈。睡不著是一種很難受的經驗，所以巿面上有很多種幫助睡眠的藥物和方法。有不少人在見證時提到原本失眠很厲害，信耶穌時求主讓他一夜好睡，神就應允，讓他（她）能得安眠。但是像約伯這樣虔誠的人也睡不著，那怎麼辦？難道神不愛他了嗎？信耶穌而睡不著的人也不少，一是覺得問題太小，不用向神求，所以不得醫治；二是自己習慣不好，沒有調整自己的作息；三是到了某個年齡，身體的內分泌失去平衡；四是心裡有事，擔心的事太多，沒有交託；五呢，身體的疼痛，疾病的影響。當然還有其他原因。不過，假如我們把它當回事，不斷在神面前祈求，神總會幫助我們。

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Lay Down Your Mirror

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 38:1-31.  Let’s go! 

Exodus 38:1-7 (NIV)
1  They built the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits high; it was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.
2  They made a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar were of one piece, and they overlaid the altar with bronze.
3  They made all its utensils of bronze–its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans.
4  They made a grating for the altar, a bronze network, to be under its ledge, halfway up the altar.
5  They cast bronze rings to hold the poles for the four corners of the bronze grating.
6  They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze.
7  They inserted the poles into the rings so they would be on the sides of the altar for carrying it. They made it hollow, out of boards.
 
On verses 1-7:  The altar of burnt offering, which was used to sacrifice animals, was made of bronze, as were the utensils (v3), the grating (v4), the poles for carrying the altar (v6) as well as the rings that the poles went through (v5).  Why bronze?  A pretty good argument can be made that in the Law of Moses (contained the first five books of the Bible) bronze symbolizes God’s judgment.  See for example Deuteronomy 28:23 where God says that if the Israelites do not obey the LORD, the Israelites will be under God’s curse and as part of that “The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron.”  Similarly, in Leviticus 26:18-19, the LORD’s message to the Israelites is that if they do not listen to Him, He will punish them and, as part of this, the LORD says, “If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over.  I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.” 
 

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約伯自述苦況

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〈約伯記〉6:14 那將要灰心，離棄全能者，不敬畏神的人，他的朋友當以慈愛待他。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉6 章

有一部〈失孤〉的影片，形容一個兒子被拐走的農民父親，除了春播秋收的時間之外，用了十五年的時間在中國大陸各地尋找他的兒子。其中還包括另外兩個例子，一個被拐走的女兒後來獲救，但她的母親卻因為傷心到絕望而在找到女兒之前自殺了；另一個小時候被拐走後，被轉賣兩次的小伙子十分幸運，在農民父親和一位志工的幫助下，終於找回親生父母，回到自己的家。這個農民父親說他很怕一個人回家，因為家人都在期待他把兒子帶回來。劉德華飾演那位農民父親，把失去兒子的傷痛表達得很感人。

約伯說：“我一切的災害放在天平裡！現今都比海沙更重”。假如失去一個兒子都可以讓人花十五年或更多的時間去尋找，失去一個女兒的悲哀會逼人走上自殺的絕路，那麼約伯失去七個兒子三個女兒，那種痛苦又豈是我們可以想像的？我有時覺得神允許約伯有這個經歷，是為了幫助我們面對人生的苦難。當我們看到約伯的失去，再比較自己的苦難，感覺上就好多了。至少上帝沒有允許撒旦像對待約伯那樣對待我們。

我們也因可明白：“各樣美善的恩賜和各樣全備的賞賜都是從上頭來的，從眾光之父那裡降下來的，在祂並沒有改變，也沒有轉動的影兒。（雅1:17）”而各種災難若不是出於人本身的罪惡所遭致，便是撒旦在使壞。但是神依然在掌權。神允許我們落在百般的試煉中，但提醒我們要倚靠祂，因為神可以使萬事互相效力，叫愛神的人得益處。

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The Furniture That Looks Like You

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 37:1-29.  When you begin to understand God’s calling on your life, you’ll find that you actually resemble the furniture that Bezalel and his team made for the tabernacle.  How so?  Let’s find out.

Exodus 37:1-9 (NIV)
1  Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood–two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.
2  He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it.
3  He cast four gold rings for it and fastened them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other.
4  Then he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
5  And he inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it.
6  He made the atonement cover of pure gold–two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
7  Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover.
8  He made one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; at the two ends he made them of one piece with the cover.
9  The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover.

On verses 1-9:  Here Bezalel makes the ark.  Notice the parallels between the ark and our lives today:
–        Like the ark which was wooden but covered in gold, we’re wooden, fragile and breakable, but we are covered in something extremely precious, in fact more precious than gold; we’re covered with the blood of Jesus.

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Figuring Out Your Purpose and Appreciating Your Value

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 36:8-38.  Let’s go!

Exodus 36:8-38 (NIV)
8  All the skilled men among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman.
9  All the curtains were the same size–twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide.
10  They joined five of the curtains together and did the same with the other five.
11  Then they made loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and the same was done with the end curtain in the other set.
12  They also made fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other……

On verses 8-38:  When I read these verses I’m once again struck by how intricate, intentional and detailed was the work that went into the tabernacle.  God’s original designs for the tabernacle were full of intricate details, and He entrusted those designs into the “expert hands” (v8) of Bezalel, Oholiab and the skilled craftspeople they worked with (v1, 8).

Just as the tabernacle was made up of different parts, each with its own purpose and function, so the church today is made of different parts, each with its own purpose and function.  As 1 Corinthians 12 teaches us:

1 Corinthians 12:12 (NIV)
12  The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.

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人生在世必遇患難

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〈約伯記〉5:7 人生在世必遇患難，如同火星飛騰。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉5 章

以利法，這個覺得自己很有智慧的長者，繼續苦口婆心地訴說下去。在這裡他否定了約伯的信仰：“你且呼求，有誰答應你？諸聖者之中，你轉向那一位呢？”他卻高舉自己：“至於我，我必仰望神，把我的事情託付他。”以利法是想幫助約伯的，我們不要忘記，他是約伯的朋友，不是敵人。但是在他的驕傲之中，他的話語變成很不公平的論斷，他卻以為句句在理。這也是一般人的盲點。當別人受禍，而我們平安時，我們就彷彿比別人高一級。覺得是別人不好，有問題，才會遭遇禍患。所以只要像我一樣，你就沒問題啦！這算不算驕傲？

所以他交託神，仰望神，而約伯的呼求就是隨便向諸聖者發出的，所以無神理會約伯，因為諸聖不是神。以利法對約伯發出了如此的審判，然後用愚妄人、痴迷人、狡猾人、狡詐人、罪孽之輩的下場來比喻約伯所受的災難；以利法自喻為好人，所以他必有指望。而約伯的兒女遠離穩妥、無人搭救，莊稼連荊棘都被搶盡，財寶被吞滅，所謀不得成就，白晝遇見黑暗，午間摸索如在夜間，所以塞口無言。欸啊，他自己回頭聽聽自己如此指責約伯，只因為約伯在患難中嗎？

當時的人沒有錄音機，也不可能有人在一邊記錄，摩西怎能知道這些話，且記載得如此詳盡？讀四福音書時，我也會有這樣的迷惑。耶穌升天後，門徒要回想三年來的事情，而且記下耶穌的言行，談何容易？據說馬太寫福音書時，身邊一直有天使在幫助他，所以古人畫馬太寫書時，身邊常有一位天使相伴。保羅也說《聖經》都是神的默示（提後3:16），若非神的默示，有誰能夠知道創世之事，以及相繼發生的一切事情？誰又能那樣清楚知道約伯和朋友之間的對話？並且記下耶穌的言行？遊筆至此，難免不想到，那麼我們的言行必也在神的記錄之中，豈能不更謹慎？

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以利法之言

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〈約伯記〉4:6 你的倚靠不是在你敬畏神嗎？你的盼望不是在你行事純正嗎？

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉4 章

假如這個以利法是以掃的妻子亞太所生的兒子（創36:4），他有一妻一妾和七個兒子，其中包括亞瑪力。這七個兒子都各成為一族的族長（創36:15-16）。可見他當時的年記也不小了，七個兒子做族長，可見他的地位和聲望也相當高。就像以前的華人，最老的擁有最高的權威。所以他才會第一個發言。在〈耶利米書〉的第49章7節，神論以東（以掃的後裔）。“萬軍之耶和華如此說：‘提幔中再沒有智慧嗎？明哲人不再有謀略嗎？他們的智慧盡歸無有嗎？’”提幔是以東的一個城巿，素來以智慧著稱，以利法應是住在提幔，因此被稱為提幔人。可以想見，以利法也相當以自己的智慧為傲。

他問約伯：“人若想與你說話，你就厭煩嗎？” 厭煩的英文是weary,有幾種解釋，也可說是疲倦、累、厭倦，等等。真的病得很辛苦時，有時真的不想跟人說話。不是討厭朋友，而是需要精力去支撐自己。數年前我動了個手術，拿掉腹中的一個大水瘤。很多弟兄姐妹和牧者都想來探望，但我一概謝絕。因為我要睡覺，我覺得非常需要睡覺。我沒辦法分出精力去應酬。我想約伯也有那樣的感覺，他病了，病得很苦很累。別人沒辦法體會他的感受。探病的人都想著自己的好心好意應該被人很樂意地接受，卻不想對方是處在一個怎樣的心境之下。所以這句話的本身已經在指責，已經不能設身處地為約伯著想，而是為他自己著想：我要講話，你不聽嗎？

我們要記得，以利法是善意的，他是約伯的好友之一，而且不是普通的好友，是可以陪約伯一聲不出，坐七天七夜的好友。他的出發點是希望約伯能脫離苦楚，得到神的醫治。因此他提醒約伯：你以前也會用言語幫助將要跌倒的人，又使軟弱的堅固，怎麼你現在有禍患，就不知道怎樣幫助自己了？就好像有人笑醫生，整天醫別人，輪到自己生病時卻醫不好自己。當然這句話不很公平，因為醫生也是人，而且是有限的人；即使像宋尚節博士那麼有醫病恩賜的人，他患肝癌時，神也沒有醫治他。所以我們要明白，我們可能在有能力時幫助過別人，但是當災禍來臨時，自己卻幫不了自己。神要我們明白，我們是有限的。所以我們也不要這樣去安慰人，因為聽在受苦的人耳中，真像是嘲笑。雖然以利法的本意是想鼓勵約伯。所以只有在自己身受過苦難後，才會明白哪些話該講不該講。不然反而使人受傷害更深。

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What A Person Needs to Succeed

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 36:1-7.  Let’s go!

Exodus 36:1-3a (NIV)
1  So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the LORD has commanded.”
2  Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work.
3  They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary…

On verses 1-3a:  Bezalel, Oholiab and their team had all they needed to flourish in their ministry of designing the artwork for the tabernacle.  They had clear instructions and commands from the LORD (v1).  They had the encouragement and support of their leaders (v2 – “Moses summoned” Bezalel, Oholiab and every willing skilled person).  They had the financial resources to do the work from the offerings that the Israelites had brought (v3) and which Moses fully entrusted to them.

What’s the lesson here?  For any person to succeed in an important project (or in their career, business or work), what they need are: (1) a clear mandate and a sense of God’s call; (2) the encouragement and support of their leaders; and (3) the financial resources necessary to get the work done.  You need all three.

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