尼希米为故土禁食祈祷

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〈尼希米记〉1:5 耶和华天上的神，大而可畏的神啊，你向爱你守你诫命的人守约施慈爱。

阅读经文：〈尼希米记〉1 章

根据犹大史学家约瑟夫和其他早期作者的记载，〈以斯拉记〉和〈尼希米记〉在早期希伯来文圣经是合成一卷的，并称〈以斯拉记〉。最早把两卷书分开是1448年的希伯来文抄本，现代希伯来文圣经则分别称它们为〈以斯拉记〉及〈尼希米记〉。在旧约的希腊文译本（七十士译本）中，这两卷书也是合成一卷。在三世纪初，神学家俄利根是第一个人见证这两卷书是分开的。〈尼希米记〉中，大部分是尼希米的个人回忆录，学者们多认为是真实可靠的。

有的人认为被掳到巴比伦的犹大人因为失去圣殿，同时也失去了信仰；尤其是在〈以斯帖记〉里一点都没有提到他们与神的关系，所以他们都是离开神，不敬虔的。事实上并非如此，当我们看到末底改不畏权势，怎样也不跪拜哈曼；以斯帖叫大家和她一起禁食，为进宫做准备时，我们就知道他们可能无法像在耶路撒冷时去敬拜和献祭，但是在他们的生命中依然流淌著对神的敬畏和倚靠。

从尼希米听到耶路撒冷的消息而痛哭祈祷时，我们也知道他心系故土，并且深深敬畏神。尼希米其父为哈迦利亚，也是被掳之民。在波斯国王亚达薛西(一世)统治犹大时，尼希米在宫中给亚达薛西王做进酒的工作。当亚达薛西王20年基斯流月(约主前446年的11月中旬到12月中旬)，他从一位来自犹大的弟兄得知被掳归回及留在犹大的居民受辱，耶路撒冷的城墙拆毁，城门被火焚烧，就大为悲伤并为此禁食祈祷 (1∶1-4)。

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Believe It Or Not, This Is About You

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 29:1-14.  Let’s go!

Exodus 29:1-14 (NIV)
1  “This is what you are to do to consecrate them, so they may serve me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without defect.
2  And from fine wheat flour, without yeast, make bread, and cakes mixed with oil, and wafers spread with oil.
3  Put them in a basket and present them in it–along with the bull and the two rams.
4  Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.
5  Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breast piece. Fasten the ephod on him by its skillfully woven waistband……

Today we turn our attention to the consecration of the High Priest. Here God ordered Moses how to consecrate Aaron and his sons in detail. The word “to consecrate” in verse 9 means to sanctify, to prepare, to dedicate, to honor, or to treat as sacred. In other words, being consecrated means being sanctified by and dedicated to God. Therefore, “being consecrated as the High Priest” means “being set apart to be given the authority and duties of the High Priest.” God gave Aaron and his sons the right of the High Priest and the priesthood, which enabled them to render his people the remission of sins.

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以斯拉劝民认罪出其异族之妻

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〈以斯拉记〉10:11现在当向耶和华你们列祖的神认罪，遵行他的旨意，离绝这些国的民和外邦的女子。

阅读经文：〈以斯拉记〉十章

当以斯拉在祈祷认罪哭泣，俯伏在神殿之前时，以色列人包括孩童慢慢地也聚集到他那里。以斯拉对罪的反应，也引起了他们众人心里皂痛悔，我相信，圣灵在他们中间动工，使他们的心同感一灵，一同在神面前认罪。

当他们一起痛哭时，有一位以拦的子孙、耶歇的儿子示迦尼对以斯拉说：「我们在此地娶了外邦女子为妻，干犯了我们的　神，然而以色列人还有指望。」假如这位示迦尼的父亲耶歇就是 10:26 的耶歇，示迦尼就是为了其父亲娶了外邦女子而认罪。以拦的家族中有六个与异族通婚的人 (10:26) 。示迦尼建议：「现在当与我们的神立约，休这一切的妻，离绝她们所生的，照着我主和那因　神命令战兢之人所议定的，按律法而行。你起来，这是你当办的事，我们必帮助你，你当奋勉而行。」很有可能示迦尼的父亲是在示迦尼的母亲之外又娶的外邦女子，因此他可以如此理智地提出这个建议。

「娶外邦女子为妻」：这里的「娶」，意思是「给予住处」，在神面前并不构成合法婚姻。 「休妻」：「把妻子送走」。既然不是合法婚姻，就不必离婚，而是用合理人道的条件把她们跟子女送走。当时在巴比伦、波斯统治之下奉行的是汉摩拉比法典的法律。根据汉摩拉比法典，巴比伦离婚的妇女要负责抚养儿女。因此宣告离婚也将造成与自己的骨肉分离。

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Don’t Take God’s Presence for Granted

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 28:31-43.  Let’s go!

Exodus 28:31-35 (NIV)
31  “Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth,
32  with an opening for the head in its center. There shall be a woven edge like a collar around this opening, so that it will not tear.
33  Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them.
34  The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe.
35  Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the LORD and when he comes out, so that he will not die.

On verses 31-35:  Here the LORD describes the robe that the priest would wear underneath the two pieces of clothing we looked at in verses 6-30: breastpiece and the ephod.  Unlike the breastpiece and ephod which were both multicoloured, the robe was to be a solid blue (v31).  The hem of the robe was to have yarn pomegranates (apparently a symbol of abundance in Moses’ time) with gold bells between each pomegranate.  

What does verse 35 mean when it says that the sound of the bells will be heard when the priest enters and exists the Holy Place “so that he will not die”?  One theory is that you were not to enter or exit the LORD’s presence unannounced, and so the ringing of the bells served as an announcement that the priest was moving, either in or out of the Holy Place. 

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以斯拉认罪祈祷

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〈以斯拉记〉9:5 献晚祭的时候我起来，心中愁苦，穿着撕裂的衣袍，双膝跪下向耶和华我的神举手。

阅读经文：〈以斯拉记〉九章

以斯拉向首领们交帐之后，就碰到了一个很严重的问题。此时距圣殿重建己经六十年，当初回归的心志也在日常生活中慢慢消失了。当人们回复到开门七件事时，就有饱暖思淫欲的问题。他们建殿后过逾越节时，大家在神面前追求圣洁的心也淡去了。

追求圣洁是因为和神有一个紧密的关系，讨神的喜悦，求神的眷佑，以期圣殿顺利完工。圣殿完工后，仇敌也不再来骚扰，在安逸中开始寻求生活的欢乐和刺激，他们当中有些人开始和外邦人联婚。我们可能觉得和外邦人结婚没有什么大不了啊，现在不同国籍种族通婚的事己经视为平常，为什么不可以呢？神是否太古板了？不都是祂造皂的人吗？

假如我们记得所罗门的失败和犹大亡国的原因，就记得那是因为他们离开神去拜偶像之故；为什么他们会离弃神去拜偶像呢？大多数是因为娶了外邦女子，为了讨她们的欢心，因而随从她们去拜偶像，以致得罪神。这就是为何神不要他们和外邦人联婚的原因。在婚姻中，我们会引用保罗的教导：信与不信的不能同负一轭，也是出于这个原因。不是因为别人不好，而是因为神的子民不够成熟，不懂得分辨，也十分软弱，以致随波逐流，因而落入撒旦的陷阱里。

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Bring Your Question To God And Believe He Will Answer

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 28:15-30.  Let’s go!

Exodus 28:15-30 (NIV)
15  “Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions–the work of a skilled craftsman. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen.
16  It is to be square–a span long and a span wide–and folded double.
17  Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz and a beryl;
18  in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald;
19  in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst;……

On verses 15-30:  In these verses the LORD describes the breastpiece that the priest would wear.  Like the ephod, this square breastpiece was also made of expensive and excellent material: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen (v15).  In addition it was bling-ed out with 12 precious stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel (v17-21).  It was also decorated with gold chains and gold rings (v22-28).

Finally, what is “the Urim and the Thummim” which were to be put in the breastpiece over Aaron’s heart?  The Urim and the Thummim was a “means of making decisions” (v30) in God’s presence.

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About The Clothes You Wear

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 28:1-14.  Let’s go!

Exodus 28:1-2 (NIV)
1  “Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests.
2  Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron, to give him dignity and honor.

On verses 1-2:  The LORD wanted Aaron, who was going to be Israel’s high priest, to wear sacred garments that would “give him dignity and honour” (v2).  What can we learn from this?   Whether we want to admit or not, the clothes we wear consciously or subconsciously make us feel a certain way and can also give others a certain feeling about us as well.  If you want to change the way you feel, consider changing the clothes you wear.  For example, I know some very effective business people who, during COVID 19 season, still change into work clothes every morning even though they are working from home.  I have friends who still wear their “Sunday best” just to watch online church at home.  That’s because how we dress does affect how we feel.  That’s also why God, because He loves us, gives us robes of righteousness to wear, so that we would not feel ashamed (Isaiah 61:10), but that we, like Aaron, would feel dignity and honour.   

Exodus 28:3 (NIV)
3  Tell all the skilled men to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest.

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以斯拉的回归之途

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〈以斯拉记〉8:21 那时我在亚哈瓦河边宣告禁食，为要在我们神面前克苦己心，求祂使我们和妇人孩子并一切所有的都得平坦的道路。

阅读经文：〈以斯拉记〉八章

这一章记载了以斯拉为回归而做的准备，以及他为了旅途的平安而向王申请的护卫队。

在1-14节里记载了与以斯拉一同由巴比伦回到耶路撒冷的十三个家族，其中有11个家族出现在2:3-57 第一次归回的名单之中。示迦尼与示罗密家族是第一次回归的名单中没有出现的。

这次归回大约有一千五百个男性。 非尼哈是亚伦的三子以利亚撒的儿子，是以斯拉的祖先。 8:2 下半到 8:3 上半，按著希伯来文圣经的次序，比较合理的译法是「大卫的家系：哈突是示迦尼的子孙，巴录的家系，撒迦利亚」较为合理。 表明这次归回中也有大卫的子孙。

以斯拉在预备归回时，首先请求各家首领帮助他召集人，结果非常成功，总共有1496个男性回应，再加上以斯拉和另外三位领袖革顺、但以理、哈突，正好1500位男性。若再加上妇孺的人数，初步估计大约有三千至六千人。这就是第二批归回之人的总数。第一批回归的人包括仆婢约有五万人，经过大约六十年，这次回归的人数似乎更少了。这次跟以斯拉回归的，似乎都经过挑选，有专才的一些人，例如是为了召集可以在圣殿事奉的人才，都是按名指定的人。

以拉带着几千人要上路时，心里难免忐忑不安，因为他们带了许多金钱和金银器物上路，难免会有人想来打劫，他们当中有许多老少妇孺，万一打起仗来，真的很危险。在这里以斯拉做了一件很勇敢的事情，就是向王请求拨步兵马兵的护卫队。

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