创世记17章1-2节 亚伯兰年九十九岁的时候，耶和华向他显现，对他说：「我是全能的神，你当在我面前做完全人。 我就与你立约，使你的后裔极其繁多。」
夏甲生下以实玛利时，亚伯兰86岁。当亚伯兰99岁时，神再度向亚伯兰显现，这当中有多少年神保持沉默？有的人说13年，因为以实玛利那年13岁；有的人说14年，因为从亚伯兰和夏甲同床后，神就静默了。
神为何对亚伯兰保持了13年的沉默呢？你能想像神气到不想跟亚伯兰讲话的样子吗？祂曾经想过，亚伯兰会用自己的方法去生孩子吗？祂知道亚伯兰心里等待的煎熬吗？日子一天天过去，他和撒莱一天天变老，生理上也不再年轻，相信有许多人都感受过亚伯兰在等待中的绝望。
但是神期望亚伯兰对祂是完全的相信，一百分之一百的相信，没有一点点的怀疑。在神再次对亚伯兰说的话里，我们可以感受到神的失望和期待。祂说：「我是全能的神，你当在我面前做完全人。我就与你立约，使你的后裔极其繁多。」意思是，不管你怎样想，要知道世界上没有我做不到的事，因此你要全然信靠我。我不是己经和你立约，我也必使你的后裔极其繁多(所以你不应该自作主张)。
Can a holy God overlook our mistakes? Should a kind God punish our mistakes? From our perspective there are only two equally unappealing solutions. But from God’s perspective there’s a third. It’s called “the Cross of Christ.”
The cross is where God forgave his children without lowering his standards. How could he do this? In a sentence: God put our sin on his Son and punished it there. “God put on him the wrong who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God” (2 Corinthians 5:21 MSG).
Why did he do it? Because “God so loved the world that he gave his only son” (John 3:16 NLT). Aren’t you glad the verse doesn’t read “For God so loved the rich”? Or “For God so loved the famous”? No. We simply (and happily) read: “For God so loved the world!” And you my friend, are included in that love!
创世记16章13节 夏甲就称那对她说话的耶和华为「看顾人的神」，因而说：「在这里我也看见那看顾我的吗？」
今天我们要来看一个有点伤感的故事，因为亚伯兰听从妻子撒莱的话，接受使女夏甲为妾。夏甲是个埃及女人，看见自己怀孕了，就看不起撒莱。撒莱很觉委屈，上诉于亚伯兰，亚伯兰跟撒莱说，夏甲是撒莱的使女，所以撒莱可以随意待她。
这下子不得了，为了反击这个无知傲慢的埃及女人，撒莱全力反攻，苦待夏甲，全然忘了她是找夏甲来帮忙生小孩的。现在夏甲有孕在身了，她却失去理智地苦待一个孕妇，全然忘了母子的安全。可见当一个女人失去理智时是很疯狂的，最好不要让女人失去理智。
为了保护自己，夏甲逃走了。有句话说：「人在做，天在看」，你还别不信。因为就在夏甲跑不动了，坐在一个水泉旁喘气时，耶和华神的使者就出现了，
Garments can symbolize character, and like his garment, Jesus’ character was seamless. He was like his robe: uninterrupted perfection. A seamless fabric woven from heaven to earth…from God’s thoughts to Jesus’ actions. From God’s tears to Jesus’ compassion. From God’s word to Jesus’ response. All one piece. All a picture of the character of Jesus.
But when Christ was nailed to the cross, he took off his robe of seamless perfection and assumed a different wardrobe– the wardrobe of indignity. Shamed before his family. The indignity of nakedness. The indignity of failure. Shamed before his accusers. Worst of all he bore the indignity of sin. The scripture says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24 NIV). The clothing of Christ on the cross? Sin. It was yours and mine.
创世记15章13-16节
耶和华对亚伯兰说：「你要的确知道，你的后裔必寄居别人的地，又服侍那地的人，那地的人要苦待他们四百年。并且他们所要服侍的那国，我要惩罚，后来他们必带着许多财物从那里出来。但你要享大寿数，平平安安地归到你列祖那里，被人埋葬。到了第四代，他们必回到此地，因为亚摩利人的罪孽还没有满盈。」
当亚伯兰勇敢地击败米索波大米的四王，救回罗得之后，神再次向亚伯兰显现，重述祂的应许。这次亚伯兰不再沉默，他说：「主耶和华啊，我既无子，祢还赐我什么呢？并且要承受我家业的是大马士革人以利以谢。」这是当时的风俗，因为以利以谢是他家最老的仆人。说完，又说：「你没有给我儿子，那生在我家中的人就是我的后嗣。」他的意思是，这不是我的错，错在祢不给我儿子。
神没有为自己辩护，只说：「这人必不成为你的后嗣，你本身所生的才成为你的后嗣。」然后领他到帐棚外看天上的星星，应许他的后裔要如天上的众星之多，又应许将迦南地赐给他。从吾珥出来到迦南，经过那么多年，亚伯兰依然无子无地，他相信神，但是不知道事情要怎样成就，只好问：「主耶和华啊，我怎能知道必得这地为业呢？」
创世记15章1节 这事以后，耶和华在异象中有话对亚伯兰说：「亚伯兰，你不要惧怕！我是你的盾牌，必大大地赏赐你。」
当你看到亚伯兰因为怕死，而叫他的妻子说谎，以致于撒莱被带到法老宫里，差点成了法老的妃嫔；因为不想和罗得相争，所以放弃了迦南的美地，任罗得选择，以致于上好的地段都成了罗得的；你是否会觉得他是一个不折不扣的懦夫？今天要看的故事可能会让你对他的印象改观。
这事要从亚伯兰那时的13年前说起，在示拿地有个四王联盟，来自米所波大米区的下游，且同为闪族的后裔。老大是以拦王(伊朗)基大老玛，其他三王是示拿王暗拉非、以拉撒王亚略、戈印王提达。他们结盟的目的是为了扩张领土，巩固霸权。他们东征西讨，行弱肉强食的生存之道。
Think about the thief on the cross who repented! We know little about him, but we know this: He made some bad mistakes in his life. But is he spending eternity reaping the fruit of all the bad choices he made? No, just the opposite. He is enjoying the fruit of the one good choice he made.
You may look back over your life and say, “If only. . .if only I could make up for those bad choices.” You can! One good choice for eternity offsets a thousand bad ones on earth.
How could two thieves see the same Jesus and one choose to mock him and the other choose to pray to him? When one prayed, Jesus loved him enough to save him. When the other mocked, Jesus loved him enough to let him. He allowed him the choice. And He does the same for you.
创世记 13:11-13
于是罗得选择约旦河的全平原，往东迁移。他们就彼此分离了。亚伯兰住在迦南地，罗得住在平原的城邑，渐渐挪移帐篷，直到所多玛。 所多玛人在耶和华面前罪大恶极。
你搬过家吗？可能很多人都有搬家的经验。最近有个朋友分享他搬到一个土城的经历。故名思义，土城就是比较乡下的地方，旧城之意。他年记大了，不喜欢巿中心，他喜欢去与古蹟为伍，天天可以去那里散步，缅怀先贤。他很喜欢那里的环境，可是有些事情是要住下来才会发现的。
他喜欢古蹟，有不少人也喜欢古蹟，游客更是来往不绝。人多没关系，问题是垃圾桶跟不上大家丢垃圾的速度，因此附近的马路经常到处是垃圾，让他没有想到的头痛，有时自家门口也被人当成垃圾场。真是烦不胜烦。因此他在网上诉苦，没想到竟有网友笑他选错地方住。
In so many areas of life we have no choice. “It’s not fair,” we say. But the scales of life were forever tipped on the side of fairness when God planted a tree in the Garden of Eden. All complaints were silenced when Adam and his descendants were given free will, the freedom to make whatever eternal choice we desire. Any injustice in this life is offset by the honor of choosing our destiny in the next. Wouldn’t you agree?
It would have been nice if God had let us order life like we order a meal. Would’ve been nice. But it didn’t happen. When it came to many details of your life on earth, you weren’t given a choice, a voice or a vote. But when it comes to life after death, you were! In my book that seems like a good deal. Wouldn’t you agree?
Much has been said about the prayer of the penitent thief on the cross next to Jesus. But dare we forget the one who didn’t pray? He offered no request. He, too, could have requested mercy. He, too, could have asked Jesus to remember him in the new kingdom. But he didn’t. He offered no prayer of repentance. And Jesus didn’t demand one.
Jesus gave both criminals the same choice. One said, “Remember me.” The other said nothing. There are times when God sends thunder to stir us. There are times when God sends blessings to lure us. But then there are times when God sends nothing but silence as he honors us with the freedom to choose where we spend eternity.
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