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A Father’s Love Like No Other

2024-01-03 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Hosea 11:1-12.  Let’s go!
 
Hosea 11:1-12 (NIV)
1  “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
2  But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.
3  It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them.
4  I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.
5  “Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent?

On verses 1-12:  Earlier in Hosea the dominant picture to describe the relationship between God and Israel was that of husband and wife.  Here the view shifts to describing our relationship with God as that between a child and his father.  These are just different angles by which we can see and appreciate God’s love.  In fact, today’s passage, Hosea 11:1-12, contains one of the most tender descriptions of the fatherly heart of God that you will find in the Bible.

耶和华是我的力量

2024-01-03 in , /by

哈巴谷书 3:19  主耶和华是我的力量，祂使我的脚快如母鹿的蹄，又使我稳行在高处。

读经文: 哈巴谷书 3:1-19

1先知哈巴谷的祷告，调用流离歌。

2 耶和华啊，我听见祢的名声就惧怕。耶和华啊，求祢在这些年间复兴祢的作为，在这些年间显明出来，在发怒的时候以怜悯为念。 3 神从提幔而来，圣者从巴兰山临到。（细拉）祂的荣光遮蔽诸天，颂赞充满大地。

哈巴谷从充满疑问不解到豁然开朗，这是一段等待，且充满曲折的心路历程。他也为我们立了一个典范，人生在世难免看到苦难和各样的不平，但是这些都不能使我们与神的爱隔绝。因为神愿意为我们解答，只要我们“抓住”祂，神愿意让我们的心得到满足。

所以哈巴谷写下了脍炙人口的一首短诗：“虽然无花果树不发旺，葡萄树不结果，橄榄树也不效力，田地不出粮食，圈中绝了羊，棚内也没有牛， 然而我要因耶和华欢欣，因救我的神喜乐。 主耶和华是我的力量，祂使我的脚快如母鹿的蹄，又使我稳行在高处。”

当在神面前肃敬静默

2024-01-02 in , /by

哈巴谷书 2:20  唯耶和华在祂的圣殿中，全地的人都当在祂面前肃敬静默。

读经文: 哈巴谷书 2:15-20

15 「给人酒喝，又加上毒物使他喝醉，好看见他下体的有祸了！ 16 你满受羞辱，不得荣耀。你也喝吧！显出是未受割礼的。耶和华右手的杯必传到你那里，你的荣耀就变为大大的羞辱。 17 你向黎巴嫩行强暴与残害惊吓野兽的事，必遮盖你，因你杀人流血，向国内的城并城中一切居民施行强暴。

在哈巴谷的第二章里指出迦勒底人的五个大罪，其中的两个大罪是：第四祸使邻舍醉酒，并行淫乱(2:15)：给人酒喝，又加上毒物使他喝醉，好看见他下体（2:15）。第五祸是雕刻铸造偶像（2:18-19）：对木偶说『醒起！』，对哑巴石像说『起来！』，那人有祸了！

给人酒喝，又加上毒物使他喝醉，以致露对方的下体，指出迦勒底人的淫乱之举。他们以为战胜诸国必大得荣耀，谁知却因他们的强暴淫乱杀人，以及残害惊吓野兽的事，神要使他们的荣耀变为羞辱。这里先知指出一个人未曾看重的事情，就是残害惊吓野兽。坊间有时会传出有人虐待动物的新闻，小至使牠们饿死渴死，大至玩弄伤害牠们。

Sow Righteousness, Reap Unfailing Love

2024-01-02 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Hosea 10:1-15.  Let’s go!
 
Hosea 10:1-15 (NIV)
1  Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones.
2  Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones.
3  Then they will say, “We have no king because we did not revere the LORD. But even if we had a king, what could he do for us?”
4  They make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements; therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.

On verses 1-15:  Here are four lessons I learned from Hosea 10.

1.  Hosea 10 describes Israel’s situation as well as our own.  God made us to live righteously and to obey His commands (“sow righteousness” – v12).  In return, God would give us His unfailing love (“reap unfailing love” – v12) and “shower righteousness” on us (v12).  But we did not live up to our end of the relationship.  Instead of living righteously, we “planted wickedness” (v13), depending on our own strength and worshiping other people, places and things.  We have deceitful motives (v2).  We have made promises we couldn’t keep (“false oaths”) and hurt people in the process (v4), ending up in all kinds of disputes and fighting.

认识耶和华的荣耀

2024-01-01 in , /by

哈巴谷书 2:14   认识耶和华荣耀的知识要充满遍地，好像水充满洋海一般。

读经文: 哈巴谷书 2:9-14

9 为本家积蓄不义之财，在高处搭窝，指望免灾的有祸了！ 10 你图谋剪除多国的民，犯了罪，使你的家蒙羞，自害己命。 11 墙里的石头必呼叫，房内的栋梁必应声。12 以人血建城，以罪孽立邑的有祸了！

哈巴谷向神发出两个问题：第一个问题： 为什么神不惩罚恶人 （1:1-4）？神说，要派迦勒底人来惩罚犹大。哈巴谷对神的回答不满意，又问了第二个问题，想到迦勒底人的凶残和暴虐，他反过来要捍卫犹大子民，反对神透过迦勒底人将带来的严酷审判。但是神回答哈巴谷，不管神的审判是用怎样的方法，全世界的人只有一种保存自己性命的方法，那就是义人因信得生。

哈巴谷从异象中指出了迦勒底人也在神的审判之中，并指出其中的五祸，也可以算是五罪。第一祸是给醉酒的和掠夺的 (2:5)：迦勒底人因酒诡诈、狂傲，不住在家中，扩充心欲好像阴间。他如死不能知足，聚集万国，堆积万民，都归自己。

7 Results of Rebelling Against God

2024-01-01 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Hosea 9:1-17.  Let’s go!
 
Hosea 9:1-17 (NIV)
1  Do not rejoice, O Israel; do not be jubilant like the other nations. For you have been unfaithful to your God; you love the wages of a prostitute at every threshing floor.
2  Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people; the new wine will fail them.
3  They will not remain in the LORD’s land; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria.
4  They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD, nor will their sacrifices please him. Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners; all who eat them will be unclean. This food will be for themselves; it will not come into the temple of the LORD.

However, as we hear about over and over in the book of Hosea, the Israelites lived in persistent rebellion against God and repeatedly broke God’s heart.

God’s broken heart is not the only result of the Israelites’ rebellion.  As Pastor Jon Courson wisely notes, Hosea 9 shows us a number of problems that the Israelites would experience as a result of continually rebelling against God.  These are the same problems we experience when we keep ignoring or forgetting about God. 

唯义人因信得生

2023-12-31 in , /by

哈巴谷书 2:4   迦勒底人自高自大，心不正直，唯义人因信得生。

读经文: 哈巴谷书 2:1-8

1我要站在守望所，立在望楼上观看，看耶和华对我说什么话，我可用什么话向他诉冤。 2 他对我说：「将这默示明明地写在版上，使读的人容易读。 3 因为这默示有一定的日期，快要应验，并不虚谎。虽然迟延，还要等候，因为必然临到，不再迟延。

〈哈巴谷书〉虽然只有三章，但是它里面有一些经文都是经常被引用，被人看重的，所以我们要分别来看它们的重要性，好好地理解它们。在今天这段短短的经文里，你猜得到哪一节是中心经节吗？我想你一定猜到了，因为它就是今天的标题：唯义人因信得生。

使徒保罗用这节经文写信给罗马的教会，也写给加拉太的教会；〈希伯来书〉的作者也引用这节经文。〈罗马书〉1:17“因为神的义正在这福音上显明出来，这义是本于信以至于信，如经上所记：‘义人必因信得生’。” 〈加拉太书〉3:11“没有一个人靠着律法在神面前称义，这是明显的，因为经上说：‘义人必因信得生’。” 〈希伯来书〉10:38“只是义人必因信得生；他若退后，我心里就不喜欢他。”

Are You Sowing the Wind?

2023-12-31 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Hosea 8:1-14.  Let’s go!
 
Hosea 8:1-14 (NIV)
1  “Put the trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the LORD because the people have broken my covenant and rebelled against my law.
2  Israel cries out to me, ‘O our God, we acknowledge you!’
3  But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue him.
4  They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction.
On verses 1-14:  In these verses, Hosea gives his people a word of warning for breaking their covenant with God and rebelling against His law (v1).  The images in verse 1 of sounding a trumpet and an eagle hovering over the house of the Lord are meant to communicate a sense of urgency and warning.

What does it mean when verse 7 says, “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind”?  In this case “the wind” represents vain pursuits, anything that doesn’t have any eternal value.  When I sow the wind, it means I’m chasing after vain things that don’t last.  Are you sowing the wind?

Two Crowds You Should Not Let Influence You Too Much

2023-12-29 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Hosea 7:1-16.  Let’s go!

Hosea 7:1-2 (NIV)
1  “Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people, whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria revealed. They practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob in the streets;
2  but they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them; they are always before me.
 
On verses 1-2: These verses describe how every time God would restore and heal Israel, Israel (also known as Ephraim) would take God’s mercy for granted and go back to its same old sins again.  Examples of those sins include deceit, thievery, robbery (v1), lying (v3), adultery (v4), and one more sin we will describe below.   

公理颠倒的世界

2023-12-29 in , /by

哈巴谷书 1:3a  祢为何使我看见罪孽？祢为何看着奸恶而不理呢？

读经文: 哈巴谷书 1:1-17

1先知哈巴谷所得的默示。

2 他说：耶和华啊，我呼求你，你不应允，要到几时呢？我因强暴哀求你，你还不拯救。 3 你为何使我看见罪孽？你为何看着奸恶而不理呢？毁灭和强暴在我面前，又起了争端和相斗的事。 4 因此律法放松，公理也不显明。恶人围困义人，所以公理显然颠倒。

〈哈巴谷书〉列在〈那鸿书〉之后，这两卷小先知书的性质很相似，都说到神对祂子民的仇敌之审判。〈那鸿书〉预言亚述的结局，〈哈巴谷书〉预言迦勒底（巴比伦）的结局。本书中对作者的交代甚少，但是从本书的最后一节说：“这歌交于伶长，用丝弦的乐器”，可以猜测他可能是个祭司或利未人，在圣殿里以音乐服侍，并且住在犹大，因为圣殿在耶路撒冷。从本章第一节可以知道，他本身也有先知的职份。

哈巴谷此名含有“拥抱”的意义，“拥抱”同时也包含“抓住”，像雅各一样，紧紧地抓住神的使者，不给祝福就不让离开；哈巴谷则是紧紧地抓住神，要神解答他的疑问。人很有限，很多问题得不到解答，有的答案还引人入歧途，迷失方向。所以能抓住神问问题的人最有福，因为神的答案才能满足人心的饥渴，使人寻到人生的方向。