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若不是

2023-01-29 in , /by

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》）

What True Worship Looks Like

2023-01-29 in /by

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?

愛情如死之堅強

2023-01-27 in , /by

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》）

The One Who Beat the Bully

2023-01-27 in /by

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.

Your Story is Part of a Much Greater Story

2023-01-26 in /by

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.

良人屬我，我也屬祂

2023-01-26 in , /by

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。

The Purpose of Marriage

2023-01-25 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

today’s passage: Ruth 4:1-12.  Let’s go!

Ruth 4:1 (NIV)
1 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.

On verses 1-9:  I’m intrigued by the interaction between Boaz and his relative and how different these two men are.

On one hand there’s Boaz.  Boaz was thoughtful, considerate, and intentional in his dealings with people and in business.  Before making a decision, he would do his research, count the cost, and plan ahead.  I get the sense that Boaz would try to think two steps ahead of everyone else.  Boaz was also respectful in the way he communicated with those he dealt with.  Thoughtful decision making and good EQ – these are part of what made Boaz an effective leader and a successful businessman.  You see these traits of Boaz in play often in the book of Ruth, but especially here in Ruth 4:1-12.  Boaz thoughtfully speaks to his relative (v1), wisely invites the elders of the town to be witnesses to a transaction (v2), skillfully leads his relative to relinquish his right as kinsman redeemer (v3) and eloquently announces to all the people that he will step in as Ruth’s kinsman redeemer (v9-10).

親蜜之旅的延續

2023-01-25 in , /by

雅歌4:10  我妹子，我新婦，你的愛情何其美！你的愛情比酒更美，你膏油的香氣勝過一切香品。

閱讀經文：雅歌3:6-5:1

3:6那從曠野上來，形狀如煙柱，以沒藥和乳香並商人各樣香粉薰的，是誰呢？7看哪，是所羅門的轎，四圍有六十個勇士，都是以色列中的勇士，8手都持刀，善於爭戰，腰間佩刀，防備夜間有驚慌。9所羅門王用黎巴嫩木為自己製造一乘華轎。10轎柱是用銀做的，轎底是用金做的，坐墊是紫色的，其中所鋪的乃耶路撒冷眾女子的愛情。11錫安的眾女子啊，你們出去觀看所羅門王，頭戴冠冕，就是在他婚筵的日子，心中喜樂的時候，他母親給他戴上的。

第三幕：幕中透露所羅門的身份，原來他不是普通的牧人，而是高貴的國王；現在他回復原來身份，到書拉密女家中把她迎娶回去；幕裡的情景（可能是繼上幕所羅門在她家裡過夜時的情語）轉到所羅門向書拉密女吐露愛慕，也表露婚娶之意。(錄自馬有藻博士《舊約概論》)

1988年派拉蒙出了一部喜劇電影，是由艾迪.墨菲Eddie Murphy主演的《來到美國Coming To America》。內容是杜撰的一個非洲國家Zamunda桑孟達的王子，為了不滿家裡為他訂親，因此離家出走，帶著僕人，假扮成窮學生在美國紐約市的皇后區租了一間破舊的公寓，希望能找到一個真正愛他，而不是看上他王位的女人。

親蜜之旅的開始

2023-01-24 in , /by

雅歌3:5   耶路撒冷的眾女子啊，我指著羚羊或田野的母鹿囑咐你們：不要驚動，不要叫醒我所親愛的，等她自己情願。

閱讀經文：雅歌 2:8-3:5

2-8聽啊，是我良人的聲音！看哪，他躥山越嶺而來。9我的良人好像羚羊，或像小鹿。他站在我們牆壁後，從窗戶往裡觀看，從窗櫺往裡窺探。10我良人對我說：「我的佳偶，我的美人，起來，與我同去！11因為冬天已往，雨水止住過去了。12地上百花開放，百鳥鳴叫的時候已經來到，斑鳩的聲音在我們境內也聽見了。13無花果樹的果子漸漸成熟，葡萄樹開花放香。我的佳偶，我的美人，起來，與我同去！14我的鴿子啊，你在磐石穴中，在陡巖的隱密處，求你容我得見你的面貌，得聽你的聲音，因為你的聲音柔和，你的面貌秀美。」

本書開啟第一幕先介引所羅門與書拉密女在追求間時的愛情，女子在耶路撒冷眾女子面前辯白其相貌雖粗黑，然有其天然的秀美；此後其景轉到所羅門與書拉密女在密室中（隱密處）互向對方表露愛慕。

二、第二幕（ 2:8-3:5）論所羅門到訪書拉密女時之光景。書拉密女見他跨山越嶺而來，心內竊竊高興；所羅門來到，甜言細語邀她到外面遊玩，因那是盛春白花開放百鳥齊鳴的時候，但書拉密女因工作纏身，婉言拒絕，求他夜間工餘時（天起涼風，日影飛去）再回來。所羅門遭拒，失望之餘便離去了。書拉密女等到深夜，至上床休息時也不見其愛人回來，心中焦急慮，於是出外尋找他的下落，結果給她尋著，當天晚上所羅門在她家留宿。(節錄自馬有藻博士《舊約概論》)