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聖靈澆灌的啟示

2023-03-21 in , /by

以賽亞書32:17   公義的果效必是平安，公義的效驗必是平穩，直到永遠。

閱讀經文：以賽亞書 32:1-20

1看哪，必有一王憑公義行政，必有首領藉公平掌權。 2 必有一人像避風所和避暴雨的隱密處，又像河流在乾旱之地，像大磐石的影子在疲乏之地。 3 那能看的人，眼不再昏迷；能聽的人，耳必得聽聞。 4 冒失人的心必明白知識，結巴人的舌必說話通快。 5 愚頑人不再稱為高明，吝嗇人不再稱為大方。 6 因為愚頑人必說愚頑話，心裡想做罪孽，慣行褻瀆的事，說錯謬的話攻擊耶和華，使飢餓的人無食可吃，使口渴的人無水可喝。 7 吝嗇人所用的法子是惡的，他圖謀惡計，用謊言毀滅謙卑人，窮乏人講公理的時候，他也是這樣行。 8 高明人卻謀高明事，在高明事上也必永存。

本段為第五個「禍哉」的第二部份，主要經文為第卅二章，本章主要論到神必興起一王（可能指的是22:20-22的以利亞敬，他也是彌賽亞的預表），他要憑公義治理猶大。從更遠一點的焦距觀察，先知透過此王的統治，透視到彌賽亞對普世列國的掌權。先知說「必有一人」（原文為『每個人』）像避風所和避暴雨的隱密處，意指在彌賽亞的統治之下，每一個屬於祂的領袖，都能反映出祂的公平與公義，因著此一理想統治群的治理，使得每一位百姓都如沐春風，安居樂業。先知形容這群領袖要成為百姓的避風所，百姓在他們的統治之下，好像「河流在乾旱之地，像大磐石的影子在疲乏之地」，不但能夠滋潤百姓乾旱的心田，更使在戰亂中身心疲憊的百姓，好似獲得處可以憩息的陰涼處所。

The Incomparable God Who Renews Our Strength

2023-03-21 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 40:15-31.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 40:15-17 (NIV)
15  Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
16  Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
17  Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.
 
On verses 15-17:  The biggest theme coming out of verses 15-28 is that God is the incomparable one.  Nothing can compare to Him.  The nations can’t compare to Him (v15-17).  Even Lebanon, which is a fertile, wooded area of Judah, lacks the wood or animals needed to bring the size of offering that God deserves (v16).

倚靠神得拯救

2023-03-20 in , /by

以賽亞書31:6   以色列人哪，你們深深地悖逆耶和華，現今要歸向祂。 

閱讀經文：以賽亞書31:1-9

1禍哉，那些下埃及求幫助的！是因仗賴馬匹，倚靠甚多的車輛，並倚靠強壯的馬兵，卻不仰望以色列的聖者，也不求問耶和華。 2 其實耶和華有智慧，他必降災禍，並不反悔自己的話，卻要興起攻擊那作惡之家，又攻擊那作孽幫助人的。 3 埃及人不過是人，並不是神；他們的馬不過是血肉，並不是靈。耶和華一伸手，那幫助人的必絆跌，那受幫助的也必跌倒，都一同滅亡。

本段為第五個「禍哉」（包含31至32兩章），旨在闡述倚靠埃及的不智。因為「埃及人不過是人，並不是神」（31:3），那真正能拯救猶大脫離亞述手的，唯有那「有火在錫安，有爐在耶路撒冷的耶和華」（George Arthur Buttrick  認為火與爐乃是象徵錫安祭壇的神聖與毀滅性）。

第卅一章主要論到倚靠埃及不如倚靠萬軍的耶和華，亞述終必傾倒，不是出於埃及的幫助，而是因耶和華手中的刀。

Let the King of Glory Come In

2023-03-20 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 40:1-14.  Let’s go!

Here in chapter 40 we come to one of the most beloved chapters in all of Isaiah.  Some early church fathers (like Eusebius of Caesarea, Ephrem of Syria and Cyril of Alexandria) seem to have interpreted Isaiah 40 as an immediate response to Isaiah 39 where Hezekiah unwittingly reveals his nation’s top secrets to the Babylonians.  This would have happened before 701 B.C. However, in the more recent centuries, Christian commentators have interpreted Isaiah 40-55 to be Isaiah talking about a much later event in the future, namely, the time from about 580 to 540 B.C. when the Jewish people were exiles in Babylon and how one day God was going to bring them back to their homeland of Judah.  I will approach Isaiah 40 with this Babylonian exile in mind as the historical background for these verses.  With this approach, I think you’ll find that, like a flower blooming, Isaiah 40 opens up in some beautiful and powerful ways.

The Hero of Your Story

2023-03-19 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 39.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 39:1 (NIV)
1  At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of his illness and recovery.
 
On verse 1:  “At that time” refers to the time when Hezekiah miraculously recovered from his life-threatening sickness.  According to the New American Commentary, Merodach-Baladon II was ruler of Babylon until 703 B.C. when Assyria’s King Sennacherib ousted him from power.  This, together with Isaiah 38:6, tells us that the events described in Isaiah 38 and here in Isaiah 39 happened before God delivered Jerusalem from Assyria in 701 B.C.  But why would Isaiah order these events this way?  Why talk about God delivering Jerusalem from Assyria first in Isaiah 36-37 and then flashback to the earlier events of Hezekiah’s recovery from illness and the Babylonians’ visit to Hezekiah in Isaiah 38 and 39?  Scholars have posited many different theories, but the most important reason I believe is that Isaiah is trying to show that this Messiah that Isaiah 1-35 have been talking about is not Hezekiah but someone else.  So rather than end on a note of tremendous victory for Hezekiah, Isaiah ends his account of Hezekiah’s life by talking about his weakness in Isaiah 38 as well as a major mistake that Hezekiah makes here in Isaiah 39.  Let’s see what that mistake was.

得救在乎歸回安息

2023-03-19 in , /by

以賽亞書30:29   你們必唱歌，像守聖節的夜間一樣；並且心中喜樂，像人吹笛，上耶和華的山，到以色列的磐石那裡。   

閱讀經文：以賽亞書30:15-33

15 主耶和華以色列的聖者曾如此說：「你們得救在乎歸回安息，你們得力在乎平靜安穩。」你們竟自不肯！ 16 你們卻說：「不然，我們要騎馬奔走。」所以你們必然奔走。又說：「我們要騎飛快的牲口。」所以追趕你們的也必飛快。 17 一人叱喝必令千人逃跑，五人叱喝你們都必逃跑，以致剩下的好像山頂的旗杆，岡上的大旗。

先知在譴責猶大密謀與埃及結盟的政客之後，接著就論述到與埃及的結盟是完全沒有用處的。本段為第四個「禍哉」。計分為兩部份，第一部份為30:1-14，第二部份為30:15-33。

在第一部份先知再度重申與埃及結密盟，並不是求問神的結果，也不是出於神的心意（30:1-2），他們倚靠埃及卻不仰望神的舉動，無異於「罪上加罪」。因此耶和華神要讓他們的使臣在埃及人面前蒙羞，因為埃及原本就不利於猶大，猶大卻滿載禮物曲承它（30:3-5）。

Are You Facing A Wall?

2023-03-17 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

There are so many powerful lessons we can learn from today’s passage in Isaiah 38.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 38:1-2 (NIV)
1  In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”
2  Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,
 
On verses 1-2:  After receiving some grim news that he will soon die, Hezekiah turns his face to the wall and prays to the LORD.  You may be facing a wall right now as well, but you can pray to the LORD who is greater than that wall you are facing.

坐而不動的拉哈伯

2023-03-17 in , /by

以賽亞書30:7  埃及的幫助是徒然無益的，所以我稱他為『坐而不動的拉哈伯』。  

閱讀經文：以賽亞書30:1-14

1耶和華說：「禍哉，這悖逆的兒女！他們同謀卻不由於我，結盟卻不由於我的靈，以致罪上加罪。 2 起身下埃及去，並沒有求問我，要靠法老的力量加添自己的力量，並投在埃及的蔭下。 3 所以法老的力量必做你們的羞辱，投在埃及的蔭下要為你們的慚愧。 4 他們的首領已在瑣安，他們的使臣到了哈內斯。 5 他們必因那不利於他們的民蒙羞，那民並非幫助，也非利益，只做羞恥凌辱。」

先知在譴責猶大密謀與埃及結盟的政客之後，接著就論述到與埃及的結盟是完全沒有用處的。本段為第四個「禍哉」。計分為兩部份，第一部份為30:1-14，第二部份為30:15-33。

在第一部份先知再度重申與埃及結密盟，並不是求問神的結果，也不是出於神的心意（30:1-2），他們倚靠埃及卻不仰望神的舉動，無異於「罪上加罪」。因此耶和華神要讓他們的使臣在埃及人面前蒙羞，因為埃及原本就不利於猶大，猶大卻滿載禮物曲承它（30:3-5）。

God Did It All

2023-03-16 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

There are so many lessons we can learn from today’s passage, Isaiah 37:8-38.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 37:8-13 (NIV)
8  When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.
9  Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite king [of Egypt], was marching out to fight against him. When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word:

On verses 8-13:  More trash talking from Assyria, this time from King Sennacherib personally.  Sennacherib’s message is similar to tone to that of his field commander in chapter 36, except that instead of bringing up four points to shake Hezekiah’s confidence, Sennacherib focuses on one point: he tells Hezekiah, “do not let the god you depend on deceive you”.  In other words, Sennacherib goes one step further than the field commander by directly attacking the God that Hezekiah worships.  Sennacherib accuses the LORD of deceiving Hezekiah into thinking that Hezekiah can get out of this alive.  As we will see, God will take issue with Sennacherib’s pride-fueled blasphemy.

夜郎自大的遺憾

2023-03-16 in , /by

以賽亞書29:18    那時，聾子必聽見這書上的話，瞎子的眼必從迷蒙黑暗中得以看見。  

閱讀經文：以賽亞書29:15-24

15 禍哉！那些向耶和華深藏謀略的，又在暗中行事，說：「誰看見我們呢？誰知道我們呢？」 16 你們把事顛倒了！豈可看窯匠如泥嗎？被製作的物豈可論製作物的說「他沒有製作我」？或是被創造的物論造物的說「他沒有聰明」？

本段經文記載第三個「禍哉」的內容，禍源主要是來自一批政客，他們自以為深藏謀略，深思熟慮，行事隱密，甚至連耶和華神都可以瞞過，他們得意的竊竊私語說：「誰看見我們呢？誰聽見我們呢？」（29:15當然這是指他們密謀與埃及結盟的詭計）。卻沒有想到，一山還有一山高，因為真正的計劃掌握在耶和華神的手中，猶大的命運全然繫乎眷顧它的神。先知指出這批政客的愚昧自大，好比「看窯匠如泥」，被造物論斷製造他的主人，被造者批評造物主沒有比自己更聰明一般的夜郎自大（29:16）。因此先知拆穿這批短視的政客的無知，並且接著向他們宣告神將臨到的拯救。