饑荒真正的元凶

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以賽亞書1:18b   你們的罪雖像朱紅，必變成雪白；雖紅如丹顏，必白如羊毛。

閱讀經文：以賽亞書1:18-31

18耶和華說：「你們來，我們彼此辯論。你們的罪雖像朱紅，必變成雪白；雖紅如丹顏，必白如羊毛。19你們若甘心聽從，必吃地上的美物；20若不聽從，反倒悖逆，必被刀劍吞滅。」這是耶和華親口說的。

21可嘆忠信的城變為妓女！從前充滿了公平，公義居在其中，現今卻有凶手居住！22你的銀子變為渣滓，你的酒用水摻兌。23你的官長居心悖逆，與盜賊做伴，各都喜愛賄賂，追求贓私。他們不為孤兒申冤，寡婦的案件也不得呈到他們面前。

有一次大衛鮑森接受澳洲廣播電台ABC的採訪，主持人對大衛鮑森充滿敵意，他說：「我剛剛從衣索匹亞回來，在那裡看見許許多多人挨餓，如果神是良善的神，怎麼會容許這種事情發生？」大衛鮑森回答說：「你知不知道全世界有足夠的糧食可以餵飽所有的人。」

根據聯合國糧食組織的報告，全球每一年有足夠的糧食，可以餵飽所有的人。人之所以會挨餓並不是神的錯，有些國家的胖子太多，因為他們吃得太多，有些國家的糧食卻不夠，這不是神的錯，因為神每年都供應足夠的食物給全世界的人，問題在於我們不肯分享。西方社會丟掉很多食物，但是第三世界會很樂意吃那些食物，所以不要把饑荒歸咎到神身上，這不是神的錯，神應許盡到祂的責任，讓春夏秋冬四季持續運轉，祂守住了承諾，問題出在我們身上，我們讓祂失望，霸佔了太多食物不肯分享給別人。（好消息電視台：饑荒真正的元凶）

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Welcome to the Mountain of God

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 2:1-5.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 2:1-2 (NIV)
1  This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2  In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
 
On verses 1-2:  Isaiah foresees the day when the worship of the LORD will be the most prominent movement in the world (“chief among the mountains” – v2), when the church grows from a small, miniscule, inconspicuous mustard seed of a faith to the largest force in the world that no one can ignore, and people from all nations will be a part of it.

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Sin Can Transform You, but So Can God

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 1:21-31.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 1:21-23 (NIV)
21  See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her– but now murderers!
22  Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water.
23  Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.

On verses 21-23:  These verses describe two transformations that the people of Judah would go through.  The first is a negative transformation as a result of sin (v21-23):  Jerusalem was once “the faithful city (v21) but has become a whore.  Her riches are now depleted and diluted (v22).  Once they had the almighty, just and compassionate God as their best friend, ruler and protector, but now, having forsaken Him, they have heartless rebels for rulers and evil thieves for companions (v23).

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再一次機會

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以賽亞書1:17   學習行善，尋求公平，解救受欺壓的，給孤兒申冤，為寡婦辨屈。

閱讀經文：以賽亞書1:9-17

10你們這所多瑪的官長啊，要聽耶和華的話！你們這蛾摩拉的百姓啊，要側耳聽我們神的訓誨！11耶和華說：「你們所獻的許多祭物與我何益呢？公綿羊的燔祭和肥畜的脂油，我已經夠了；公牛的血、羊羔的血、公山羊的血，我都不喜悅。12你們來朝見我，誰向你們討這些，使你們踐踏我的院宇呢？13你們不要再獻虛浮的供物！香品是我所憎惡的，月朔和安息日並宣召的大會也是我所憎惡的，做罪孽又守嚴肅會我也不能容忍。14你們的月朔和節期，我心裡恨惡，我都以為麻煩，我擔當便不耐煩。15你們舉手禱告，我必遮眼不看，就是你們多多地祈禱我也不聽，你們的手都滿了殺人的血。

所多瑪和蛾摩拉不是已經滅亡了嗎？怎麼會有所多瑪的官長和蛾摩拉的百姓在這裡出現呢？先知在這裡是以這兩個城巿在比喻哪些人？當年的所多瑪和蛾摩拉為何會滅亡呢？在〈創世記〉十三章，作者描述當年羅得看見約旦河的全平原，直到瑣珥，都是滋潤的。那地在耶和華未滅所多瑪、蛾摩拉以先如同耶和華的園子，也像埃及地。當年的所多瑪和蛾摩拉何等蒙福，如同耶和華的園子，也就是伊甸園。神祝福那地，使其水草豐盛，所以羅得選擇了約旦河的全平原。

羅得住在平原，漸漸挪移帳篷，直到所多瑪。《聖經》記載：“所多瑪人在耶和華面前罪大惡極”。接著，因為所多瑪王、蛾摩拉王和其他三王背約，所以來自東方兩河流域的四王聯合來攻打在約旦河平原的五王。四王顯然十分強悍，驍勇善戰，把五王打得落花流水。羅得因為住在他們當中，所以他和家人及一切所有的都被擄去了。亞伯拉罕當年真是神勇，帶著318個精練家丁，不但打敗四王，還把羅得和其他人及財物通通救回來。

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若不是

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以賽亞書1:9    若不是萬軍之耶和華給我們稍留餘種，我們早已像所多瑪、蛾摩拉的樣子了。

閱讀經文：以賽亞書1:1-9

1當烏西雅、約坦、亞哈斯、希西家做猶大王的時候，亞摩斯的兒子以賽亞得默示，論到猶大和耶路撒冷。2天哪，要聽！地啊，側耳而聽！因為耶和華說：「我養育兒女，將他們養大，他們竟悖逆我。3牛認識主人，驢認識主人的槽，以色列卻不認識，我的民卻不留意。」

在1947年的春天，有兩個牧羊少年人在死海旁康隆的一個山崖腳下牧羊，因為羊走失，去找羊的時候，年輕人無聊便隨意丟了一個石子到崖上的一個小洞裡。原本他以為會聽到石子打到岩洞裡石塊的響聲，沒想到聽到嘩啦的物體破碎聲，他便嚇得跑回家。後來他開始想或許那個洞不是什麼野狼狐狸洞，而是黃金財寶洞。於是他與他的伙伴回去，便發現那的洞裡有很多細長的瓶子。其中還有一個裡頭有很多皮革。這些腐蝕的皮革就是有名的「死海卷軸」。

在這之前，有很多人認為當時所用的《聖經》和3500年以前的原著有很大的出入，所以攻擊《聖經》是最靠不住、最敗壞、最不可信的一本書。但是死海卷軸出現之後，證明我們今天所用的《聖經》和原始《聖經》的內容完全相同，內中並沒有攙雜一點錯誤（翻譯或印刷排版之錯不算在內），這便堵住了那些不信者的攻擊。在這一切古卷中，〈以賽亞書〉全卷最為完整，它被抄錄在一塊寬一尺，長二十四尺的羊皮卷上，藏在瓦質的瓶中，並用麻布包裹，外面還澆上瀝青。現在被保存在耶路撒冷的希伯來大學圖書館裡。（摘自《聖經與死海古卷》）

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What True Worship Looks Like

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 1:10-20.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 1:10 (NIV)
10  Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah!

On verse 10:  Why is God now addressing the people of Sodom and Gomorrah?  He’s not.  Rather God is calling the people of Judah “you rulers of Sodom…you people of Gomorrah”.  It’s because Sodom and Gomorrah were two cities that were destroyed for their wickedness and God is now equating the level of Judah’s sin to that of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Isaiah 1:11-17 (NIV)
11  “The multitude of your sacrifices– what are they to me?” says the LORD. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12  When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts?

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愛情如死之堅強

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雅歌8:7a   愛情，眾水不能熄滅，大水也不能淹沒。

閱讀經文：雅歌6:4-8:14

6:4我的佳偶啊，你美麗如得撒，秀美如耶路撒冷，威武如展開旌旗的軍隊。5求你掉轉眼目不看我，因你的眼目使我驚亂。你的頭髮如同山羊群臥在基列山旁。6你的牙齒如一群母羊洗淨上來，個個都有雙生，沒有一隻喪掉子的。7你的兩太陽在帕子內，如同一塊石榴。8有六十王后八十妃嬪，並有無數的童女——9我的鴿子，我的完全人，只有這一個是她母親獨生的，是生養她者所寶愛的。眾女子見了就稱她有福，王后妃嬪見了也讚美她。

最後一幕記所羅門也極思念其愛人，極渴念其愛人回來他的懷抱（ 6:4-13）。此時幕景轉到婚娶之夜，在洞房之夜，他們二人互吐相思與愛戀之話（7:1-8:3）。到晨早起來書拉密女還在享受愛的安眠。本書（或本幕）以補記書拉密女之身世（8:8-14）為劇終。(摘自馬有藻博士《舊約概論》)

曾是麻醉科醫師改行當作家的侯文詠，有一次在經歷寫不出東西來的腸枯思竭的時候，他問了易智言導演一件事：“每個人的愛情故事不是大同小異嗎？一切無非只是同樣的結構，一再的重複罷了。能寫出什麼新的東西來呢？”易導演說：“僅管從外在看起來，故事和故事差別不大。可是你不覺得對每一個人的內心世界來說，初戀那種感覺卻是唯一的嗎？”他又說： “所以在大同小異的劇情裡，把那種唯一的感覺寫出來，讓其他沒有經歷過，或者是已經忘記了的人也感受到那種唯一，就是創作者的使命。”（節錄自《我就是忍不住笑了》）

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The One Who Beat the Bully

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Hi GAMErs!

If you want to get to know God, Jesus or the Bible better, Isaiah is an excellent and important book to study.

Today’s passage is Isaiah 1:1-9.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 1:1 (NIV)
1  The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

On verse 1:  Isaiah’s ministry as a prophet spanned the reign of 4 kings of Judah: Uzziah (790-739 BC), Jotham (750-732 BC), Ahaz (735-715 BC) and Hezekiah (715-686 BC).  If King Uzziah died in 739 B.C. and Isaiah lived to report the defeat and death of Assyria’s king Sennacherib in 681 B.C., that means Isaiah’s ministry lasted at least 58 years.

Isaiah’s light didn’t burn bright for a moment only to flame out after a few years.  Isaiah served God with great longevity.  I pray that, like Isaiah, you and I would serve God with longevity as well.  May we not burn bright for God for a season, only to flame out and disappear.  Rather, for as many as years God gives us on this earth, may we live out our calling to worship Jesus, to grow more like Him, to serve Him, to lead out others to Him, and to love the church family He gave us.

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Your Story is Part of a Much Greater Story

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Hi GAMErs!

Today we finish the book of Ruth with Ruth 4:13-22.  Let’s go!

Ruth 4:13-16 (NIV)
13  So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
14  The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel!
15  He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”
16  Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him.

On verses 13-16:  The book of Ruth began with Naomi as a weeping, empty, bitter widow, having lost both her husband and her two sons.  It ends with Naomi as a busy and a grateful grandmother.  As much pain as Naomi had endured, I believe Naomi was able to say “He made all things beautiful in His time.”

Consider this:  Naomi left God’s chosen people the Israelites because she and her husband thought they could find a better life in a place that didn’t worship God.  There she lost almost everything, including her husband and sons.  Like the “prodigal daughter of the Old Testament” (as Pastor Jon Courson describes her), Naomi returns home to Israel and God restores her, renews her, and fills her life again.

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良人屬我，我也屬祂

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雅歌6:3   我屬我的良人，我的良人也屬我；他在百合花中牧放群羊。

閱讀經文：雅歌5:2-6:3

5:2我身睡臥，我心卻醒。這是我良人的聲音！他敲門說：「我的妹子，我的佳偶，我的鴿子，我的完全人，求你給我開門，因我的頭滿了露水，我的頭髮被夜露滴濕。」3我回答說：「我脫了衣裳，怎能再穿上呢？我洗了腳，怎能再玷汙呢？」4我的良人從門孔裡伸進手來，我便因他動了心。5我起來要給我良人開門，我的兩手滴下沒藥，我的指頭有沒藥汁滴在門閂上。6我給我的良人開了門，我的良人卻已轉身走了。他說話的時候，我神不守舍。我尋找他，竟尋不見；我呼叫他，他卻不回答。7城中巡邏看守的人遇見我，打了我，傷了我，看守城牆的人奪去我的披肩。8耶路撒冷的眾女子啊，我囑咐你們，若遇見我的良人，要告訴他，我因思愛成病。

此幕記有一次所羅門晚間突訪書拉密女，但因夜已太深，她已換了衣服休息，故不肯開門，所羅門從門孔伸手進來求她，她一時心軟，便下床開門；待她開後所羅門已等不及走了，於是她立即到外面尋他回來，卻尋不著，還給人誤會打傷。此後她因過分思念成病，鎮日胡思亂想他的可愛；她的朋友來安慰她，願與她同找。(摘自馬有藻博士《舊約概論》)

假如按著這幕劇的發展來看，所羅門和書拉密女婚後並沒有住在一起，像普通夫妻一樣。是否因為所羅門的後宮太多，所以書拉密女也有自己的院，而所羅門也不是天天和她在一起。當所羅門來找她時，她已經換好衣服在休息。書拉密女在休息時，手塗了沒藥。希伯來人將沒藥樹枝製作成各種芳香劑、防腐劑和止痛劑。舊約時期，常被做成油膏。書拉密女和所羅門結婚了，不必再去做粗重的工作，開始會保養了。

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