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Lessons from Harder to Understand Verses

2022-07-17 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 22:1-12.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 22:1-4 (NIV)
1  If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to him.
2  If the brother does not live near you or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you and keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back to him.
3  Do the same if you find your brother’s donkey or his cloak or anything he loses. Do not ignore it.
4  If you see your brother’s donkey or his ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help him get it to its feet.
 
On verses 1-4:   Here Moses tells the current generation of Israelites to be good neighbours to each other, using illustrations about one Israelite losing something valuable to them.  Likewise, when you come across something that your neighbour has lost, “do not ignore it” (v1, 3).  Rather do for your neighbour what you would have them do for you.   

迎接另一回合的超越

2022-07-17 in , /by

〈箴言〉19:11    人有見識就不輕易發怒，寬恕人的過失便是自己的榮耀。

閱讀經文：箴言19:8-11

8 得著智慧的愛惜生命，保守聰明的必得好處。 9 作假見證的不免受罰，吐出謊言的也必滅亡。 10 愚昧人宴樂度日是不合宜的，何況僕人管轄王子呢？ 11 人有見識就不輕易發怒，寬恕人的過失便是自己的榮耀。
第8節：得著智慧的愛惜生命，保守聰明的必得好處。Grow a wise heart—you’ll do yourself a favor; keep a clear head—you’ll find a good life.《The Message》

Grow a wise heart，誰不想有一顆智慧的心？問題是怎樣才能得著智慧的心？智慧的心和愛惜生命之間又有什麼關係？有的人以為得智慧是為了邁向成功之道，可以賺更多錢。假如不能賺錢的點子，即使是智慧，有誰要呢？keep a clear head，中文譯為保守聰明，也可以說保持頭腦清楚，意思就是不要讓自己變笨。當然，變笨了對誰都沒有好處，除了你的敵人。

“高舉智慧，他就使你得高陞。懷抱智慧，他就使你得尊榮” (箴4:8)，所以有智慧真是好。有智慧就能高陞，得著智慧也就是愛惜生命，因為知道人生的取捨，所以才有尊榮。一個妄取妄求的人，怎能有尊榮？一個不知分辨輕重的人，何來機會高陞？沒有聰明，連到手的好處也會失去。在利益面前，在慾望挑戰時，智慧便是一種來自神的，分辨和懂得取捨的能力。也只有聖靈的保守，使我們在黑暗的社會裡，依然有清楚的頭腦，去看清楚自己的道路，那便是聰明了。

財物使朋友增多

2022-07-15 in , /by

〈箴言〉19:4    財物使朋友增多，但窮人，朋友遠離。

閱讀經文：箴言19:4-7

4 財物使朋友增多，但窮人，朋友遠離。 5 作假見證的必不免受罰，吐出謊言的終不能逃脫。 6 好施散的，有多人求他的恩情；愛送禮的，人都為他的朋友。 7 貧窮人，弟兄都恨他，何況他的朋友，更遠離他。他用言語追隨，他們卻走了。

第4節：財物使朋友增多，但窮人，朋友遠離。Wealth attracts friends as honey draws flies,     but poor people are avoided like a plague. 《The Message》

我們常想等有錢的時候，就可以幫助人；有高學歷的時候，就可以教導人；有名的時候，就可以扶持人。其實，幫助人是從上帝得來的機會，扶持人是任何時刻都可能發生的事。即使是在野地，我們可以將石頭當講台，對蜥蜴、螞蟻、仙人掌分享。

「財物使朋友增多，但窮人朋友遠離。」(箴言19:4) 有錢可使需要財物支持的人，在富人的身邊增多，但是真正有需要的人，卻遠離。後者，擠不進富人的周 邊，也不想與談錢的擠在一起。淺度需求的人，經常排走真正有需要的人。歌頌讚美的音大，經常遮掩憂傷的低泣。高知名度的講員會吸引多人來，但是自卑自悔之 人會遠離。後者，才是上帝要我們去幫助、看顧、扶持的人。許多上帝的重要僕人，是在我們想像不到的場合得救。

即使在痛苦、低調的時候，仍有可以幫助人的機會，不要放棄。世上成功的時候，反而失去機會。上帝給老鷹展趐上騰的熱氣團，讓牠們遠離地面一些。上帝，親自看顧饑餓小烏鴉。（張文亮教授）

Marriage, Family and Jesus

2022-07-15 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 21:10-23.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 21:10-13 (NIV)
10  When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives,
11  if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife.
12  Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails
13  and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife.

On verses 10-13:  Here Moses tells the Israelites that when they conquer another nation and notice a beautiful woman from that nation, one of the Israelites may take her as his wife.  The woman must first do the things that signify her break from whatever faith she ascribed to before — shaving her head, trimming her nails, changing her clothes and mourning her parents.  After that, an Israelite could marry her.

卡森醫生的母親

2022-07-14 in , /by

〈箴言〉19:1    行為純正的貧窮人，勝過乖謬愚妄的富足人。

閱讀經文：箴言19:1-3

1行為純正的貧窮人，勝過乖謬愚妄的富足人。 2 心無知識的乃為不善，腳步急快的難免犯罪。 3 人的愚昧傾敗他的道，他的心也抱怨耶和華。

第1節：行為純正的貧窮人，勝過乖謬愚妄的富足人。  Better to be poor and honest than a rich person no one can trust.《The Message》

這節經文使我想到《恩賜之手》一書裡的班傑明‧卡森醫生。他來自底特律的貧民區，八歲父母離異，由母親獨力撫養兩兄弟長大。他的母親雖然生活艱難又不識字，卻懂得想辦法讓班傑明和他哥哥去圖書館借書，養成他們喜歡閱讀的習慣，使他們從慘不忍睹的成績突飛猛進，成為班上第一名。又藉著信仰，教他們禱告，使他能治服已心，克制易怒的脾氣。後來他成為世界聞名的約翰霍普金斯大學附屬醫院的小兒神經外科主任。

班傑明的母親，一個十三歲就失學早婚的女人，因遇人不淑而飽受生活的折磨，經常要打三份工維持生活。但是藉著對上帝的信仰，她的孩子成為最傑出的神經外科醫生，救活了許多人。反觀許多乖謬愚妄的富足人，驕傲行事，用錢養大的孩子又如何？到了四、五十歲還需要父母給錢養他們，否則就活不下去，連養活自己的本事都沒有。人若把錢看得比上帝還重要，那麼他總有一天會看到錢的真面目，不僅讓他失去自我，不能相信他人，又讓他的兒女失去做人之本事的真面目。

When You Face Tragedies You Can’t Explain

2022-07-14 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 21:1-9.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 21:1-9 (NIV)
1  If a man is found slain, lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,
2  your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns.
3  Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke
4  and lead her down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer’s neck.
5  The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault.
6  Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley,
7  and they shall declare: “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done.
8  Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, O LORD, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent man.” And the bloodshed will be atoned for.
9  So you will purge from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the LORD.

On verses 1-9:  Here Moses describes what to do when a slain human body is found and no one knows who caused his or her death. The town nearest to the dead body had to sacrifice an unworked heifer to atone for the bloodshed (v3-4). The elders of the town also had to wash their hands to symbolize how their town was not guilty of the bloodshed (v6-7).

至好朋友是耶穌

2022-07-13 in , /by

〈箴言〉18:24    濫交朋友的自取敗壞，但有一朋友比弟兄更親密。。

閱讀經文：箴言18:22-24

22得著賢妻的，是得著好處，也是蒙了耶和華的恩惠。23貧窮人說哀求的話，富足人用威嚇的話回答。24濫交朋友的自取敗壞，但有一朋友比弟兄更親密。

第22節：得著賢妻的，是得著好處，也是蒙了耶和華的恩惠。Find a good spouse, you find a good life— and even more: the favor of God! 《The Message》

箴言19章 14說 :“房屋錢財是祖宗所遺留的，唯有賢惠的妻是耶和華所賜的。”這兩節經文都強調得著賢妻的，是蒙了耶和華的恩惠。換句話說，想娶個好太太，必須向神祈求，而不是靠自己的眼光去選擇。因為起初是神把夏娃帶到亞當面前，所以當人尋求妻子時，也要如此祈求，求神把對象帶到他面前。

“智慧婦人，建立家室；愚妄婦人，親手拆毀” （箴14:1）。選妻子不是挑肥撿瘦，而是要看是不是神所配合的。因為只有神才知道我們真正的需要。人的選擇往往以外表為主觀，很難從短暫的相處去真正認識一個人，加上自己也不是完全人，所以寧可求神替你選。因為在聖經裡是由智慧的女人去建立家室，所以若選了一個缺乏智慧的女人做妻子，會建立起怎樣的家室就很難講了。

這智慧不是指世上的學問或才華，因為“敬畏耶和華是智慧的開端”，所以選擇一個敬畏神的女人，而不是一個風情萬種的女人，你就蒙了耶和華的恩惠了。

Fear Can Be Contagious, But So Can Courage

2022-07-13 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

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

Deuteronomy 20:1-4 (NIV)
1  When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you.
2  When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army.
3  He shall say: “Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them.
4  For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

On verses 1-4:  In Deuteronomy 20:1-9, Moses prepares the Israelites for war against their enemies. His big message to the Israelite army: do not be afraid, for God is with you (v1-4).

Praise God that, similarly, we have every reason to live life with courage. That’s because God is with us. As Moses says, “do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you” (v1).

Respect People’s Boundaries

2022-07-12 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 19:11-21.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 19:11-21 (NIV)
11  But if a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him, assaults and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities,
12  the elders of his town shall send for him, bring him back from the city, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die.
13  Show him no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you.
14  Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
15  One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
16  If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse a man of a crime,
17  the two men involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time.

On verses 11-21:  Deuteronomy 19:11-13 says that if a person has stood trial and been convicted of murder, that person cannot continue to hide in the city of refuge.  Rather, the convicted murderer must be handed over to the avenger of blood to die (v12).

生死在舌頭的權下

2022-07-12 in , /by

〈箴言〉18:21 生死在舌頭的權下，喜愛它的必吃它所結的果子。

閱讀經文：箴言18:19-21

19弟兄結怨，勸他和好比取堅固城還難，這樣的爭競如同堅寨的門閂。 20人口中所結的果子必充滿肚腹，他嘴所出的必使他飽足。 21生死在舌頭的權下，喜愛它的必吃它所結的果子。

第19節：弟兄結怨，勸他和好比取堅固城還難，這樣的爭競如同堅寨的門閂。Do a favor and win a friend forever; nothing can untie that bond. 《The Message》

你可能已經發現中譯和英譯有點不一樣，中譯的比較負面，英譯的比較正面。中譯的講到兄弟結怨，要和好幾乎不可能；《The Message》給了我們一個比較有鼓勵性的翻譯，看在弟兄的份上幫他一個忙，可以贏得一份長遠的友誼，沒有什麼事能破壞這份情誼。

不管從正面或負面去理解，我們都能體會到要建立一份深厚的情誼，就必須付出代價；一旦有了誤會或嫌隙，就很難恢復從前推心置腹的情況了。保羅說，愛是不做害羞的事。這句話我有很深的感受。因為有一兩次我感覺到朋友忽然之間和我生疏了。過了一段時期，才間接得知，原來對方做了一些不好的事，以為我知道，所以就不敢來找我了。

背後說閒話或是做對不起人的事，反而會怕別人對自己不利，即使對方毫無所覺，自己卻先害怕了，所以也無法再做朋友了。感謝神，我有許多可敬愛的朋友，因為大家都敬畏神，所以彼此信任，互相幫助。這是非常難得的福份。所以想要擁有長遠相交的朋友，自己就要先敬畏神，做一個忠實的朋友。