Entries by

Don’t Be a Slave to Public Opinion + You’ve Got An Intercessor

2022-02-11 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 32:1-14.  Let’s go!

Exodus 32:1-4 (NIV)
1  When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
2  Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.”
3  So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.
4  He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

On verses 1-4:  The Israelites were probably eager to get going and were tired of waiting for Moses to come down from his 40 day meeting with God on Mount Sinai.  So the Israelites ask Aaron to make them new gods.  Aaron responds by collecting gold earrings from the Israelites and fashions them into a calf-shaped idol, saying that these are the gods who brought them out of Egypt.

敵人的恐嚇

2022-02-10 in , /by

〈尼希米記〉6:9b 神啊，求祢堅固我的手！

閱讀經文：〈尼希米記〉6 章

眼看耶路撒冷的城牆都快修好了，雖然尚未安裝門扇，但是城牆本身都沒有破裂之處。在修建以前，敵人嗤笑他們所修造的石牆，就是狐狸上去也必跐倒。現在看來未必啊，不僅狐狸上去不會跐倒，就是敵人想要把它撞倒也不容易。猶大人的成功使他們的仇敵更為嫉恨，於是他們想出了別的招數，邀請尼希米去阿挪平原相會。

阿挪平原在耶路撒冷和撒瑪利亞中間，耶城西北約31公里之處，由波斯政府直接管理的一個地方。那時尼希米尚未為耶路撒冷的城牆安上門扇，一旦安上門扇，那麼仇敵要出入耶路撒冷就更加困難。因此他們想來個調虎離山，把尼希米帶離開耶路撒冷。之後呢？只要尼希米不在，其他人就會被嚇跑，不敢繼續再做下去。那他們就可以繼續欺負壓榨猶大人。尼希米一旦離開耶路撒冷，進入他們的掌握之中，會發生何事呢？一是軟禁，二是謀害。在路上隨便找個匪徒把他做掉，簡單得很。

尼希米心知肚明，他和仇敵之間有何事需要商議？仇敵的唯一想法就是要害他，他豈能不知？敵人四次邀請，他四次回絕。不給敵人留地步。有時候我們會因為面子問題不好意思拒絕，即使知道別人不安好心，或是有引誘之意，也半推半就，因此往往被牽連或拖累。例如做生意時，對方要你去酒色場所談生意，你可以拒絕，不一定會失去生意，因為正直的商人很可能會因而更覺得你這人可靠，有原則；你若是半推半就地去了，一來喝酒傷肝，二來情色傷人，讓妻子生氣，三來喜好杯中物的生意對象往往要你做某方面的妥協，不公道或不守規則的妥協，賺這種錢讓你天天難以入睡，怕被人發現其中的不軌之處。

Chosen for God’s Work + 5 Reasons God Wants You to Rest

2022-02-10 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 31:1-18.  Let’s go!

Exodus 31:1-11 (NIV)
1  Then the LORD said to Moses,
2  “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
3  and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts–
4  to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze,
5  to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship……..

On verses 1-11:  Could God have created the artistic designs and done all the work himself for the tabernacle?  Of course He could have.  God could have spoken these things into existence in an instant.  Yet He chose to involve Moses, Bezalel, Oholiab and a bunch of unnamed craftsmen in the designing and making of the items that would form the tabernacle.  Why?  It’s because God delights in involving His children in His work in the world.  God didn’t make us only to be spectators to God’s work but participants too.

尼希米聞民怨而怒

2022-02-09 in , /by

〈尼希米記〉5:10我和我的弟兄與僕人也將銀錢、糧食借給百姓，我們大家都當免去利息。

閱讀經文：〈尼希米記〉5 章

為了要建城牆，可能百姓的民生工作都荒廢了，也沒有時間去耕種，有的人典了田地、葡萄園、房屋，要得糧食充飢，還要向波斯王納稅，生活艱難，甚至要賣兒女為僕為婢；但是有錢的貴冑不工作，卻吸乾百姓的血汗，利用他們的貧窮去謀利。這個問題不是從外敵來的侵犯，而是內部的腐敗。魔鬼的工作永遠不會只停留在一方面，一定從四面八方找人的軟弱去偷襲。我們若不警覺，就很容易被打倒。

在〈利未記〉25章35-37節，神說：“你的弟兄在你那裡若漸漸貧窮，手中缺乏，你就要幫補他，使他與你同住，像外人和寄居的一樣。不可向他取利，也不可向他多要，只要敬畏你的神，使你的弟兄與你同住。你借錢給他，不可向他取利；借糧給他，也不可向他多要。”不管是新約或舊約，神都讓我們知道，錢財是身外之物，敬畏神的人就要像天父一樣有憐憫人的心腸，不可以貪財。人若看到弟兄漸漸貧窮，又有缺乏，卻不肯幫助他，那就是貪財，因為把財物看得比人還重要。因此主耶穌說：“人若賺得全世界，賠上自己的生命，有什麼益處呢？人還能拿什麼換生命呢？（太16:24）”人若貪財，不僅賠上自己的生命，也墊上其他人的生命，大家都活不了，那些錢又有何益處？

因此尼希米招集大會攻擊這些貴胄和官長，可見那時已經有一股不好的風氣瀰漫在猶大人之間，有錢的更有錢，貧窮的更貧窮。因此貧窮的人感到很痛心：“我們的身體與我們弟兄的身體一樣，我們的兒女與他們的兒女一般，現在我們將要使兒女做人的僕婢，我們的女兒已有為婢的”，我們在神面前都是平等，都是一樣的，憑什麼他們要奴役我們的兒女？把兒女賣為僕婢，哪個父母不心疼？

God Has Washed and Anointed You

2022-02-09 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 30:17-38.  Let’s go!

Exodus 30:17-21 (NIV)
17  Then the LORD said to Moses,
18  “Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it.
19  Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it.
20  Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting an offering made to the LORD by fire,
21  they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.”

On verses 17-21:  Here the LORD instructs Moses to make a bronze basin for washing Aaron’s hands and feet and to place it in the courtyard between the altar and the Tent of Meeting.  The purpose of washing was “so that they will not die” (v20).   That is, on one level, the washing was to protect the physical health of Aaron and his sons as they regularly dealt with the blood of animals.  On another level, the washing with water symbolized the priests’ own need to be cleansed of their sins.

What can we learn from this?  (1) God cares about your physical health and thus we ought to take good care of our own physical health, in part by washing our bodies often; and (2) Jesus has washed away our sins in the water of His Word and His blood, as represented through water baptism.  As 1 Corinthians 6:11 says, “…But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

The Closer You Get

2022-02-08 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 30:1-16.  Let’s go!

Exodus 30:1-10 (NIV)
1  “Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense.
2  It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high–its horns of one piece with it.
3  Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it.
4  Make two gold rings for the altar below the molding–two on opposite sides–to hold the poles used to carry it.
5  Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
6  Put the altar in front of the curtain that is before the ark of the Testimony–before the atonement cover that is over the Testimony–where I will meet with you.
7  “Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps.
8  He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the LORD for the generations to come.
9  Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it.
10  Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the LORD.”

On verses 1-10:  In the tabernacle where the Israelites would worship the LORD, out in the courtyard there would be a bronze altar for offering animal sacrifices.  But in addition to that bronze altar, there would inside the Tent of Meeting itself a smaller golden altar for burning incense.  It is this second, smaller, golden altar that verses 1-10 are describing.  This golden altar would be located (most likely) in the Holy Place, together with the lampstand and the bread.   

參巴拉聞建城垣憤恨譏笑

2022-02-08 in , /by

〈尼希米記〉4:15仇敵聽見我們知道他們的心意，見神也破壞他們的計謀，就不來了。我們都回到城牆那裡，各做各的工。

閱讀經文：〈尼希米記〉4 章

當神的僕人工作時，撒旦一定會用各樣的方法去阻擋。尼希米拒絕了敵人假心假意的合作提議，敵人的真面目就顯露無遺。他們大大惱恨，嗤笑猶大人：「這些軟弱的猶大人做甚麼呢？要保護自己嗎？要獻祭嗎？要一日成功嗎？要從土堆裡拿出火燒的石頭再立牆嗎？」亞捫人多比雅站在旁邊，說：「他們所修造的石牆，就是狐狸上去也必跐倒。」

猶大人本來就心存畏懼，現在河東省長參巴拉帶著撒瑪利亞士兵前來，又嘲笑他們，就是為了破壞他們的士氣。但是他們只敢嘲笑，不敢動手阻擋，因為尼希米是奉了王的詔書而來，任何人不得阻擋他們建城牆的工作。撒旦對基督徒的手段也是如此，先是讓其心感害怕，畏懼，以致不敢做這個不敢做那個。但是我們有神的帶領，就不要害怕撒旦的嘲笑和威嚇。

當尼希米看到這個情形時，第一個反應便是禱告：「我們的神啊，求祢垂聽，因為我們被藐視。求祢使他們的毀謗歸於他們的頭上，使他們在擄到之地作為掠物。不要遮掩他們的罪孽，不要使他們的罪惡從你面前塗抹，因為他們在修造的人眼前惹動祢的怒氣。」(4-5節)

尼希米一面禱告，一面鼓勵猶大人作工，因此大家都能專心工作，很快就修造連絡城牆，高至一半，成績裴然。敵人一看到城牆破裂之處都被修好了，以後不能隨時去騷擾猶大人，搶劫欺負他們，不禁更加惱怒。

Eat that Ram

2022-02-07 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage, Exodus 29:29-46, is filled with good lessons for us.  Let’s go!

Exodus 29:29-30 (NIV)
29  “Aaron’s sacred garments will belong to his descendants so that they can be anointed and ordained in them.
30  The son who succeeds him as priest and comes to the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place is to wear them seven days.

On verses 29-30:   I learn two lessons from these verses.  First, notice that when God was commissioning Aaron as high priest, He already had Aaron’s successor in mind.  God plans for the long-term.  His focus is not only on what is happening now in this generation, but the generations after that.  We would be wise to plan the way God plans: don’t think only about what is urgent and immediate, but also think long-term and about the next generation when planning for the future.

Second, Aaron’s successor was supposed to wear Aaron’s clothes for 7 days straight.  This was so that Aaron’s successor could get used to his new role as high priest, and also the people could get used to seeing Aaron’s successor in this new role.  What’s the lesson?  People need time to adjust to change, so be patient with others and patient with yourself when you’re facing new circumstances.

始建邑垣依次修築

2022-02-07 in , /by

〈尼希米記〉3:1那時，大祭司以利亞實和他的弟兄眾祭司起來建立羊門，分別為聖，安立門扇，又築城牆到哈米亞樓，直到哈楠業樓，分別為聖。

閱讀經文：〈尼希米記〉3 章

古代最著名的護城牆便是中國的萬里長城了，為了抵禦外族侵犯，從西周到戰國，許多諸候國都開始投入修建自己屬地的城牆，直到秦始皇統一六國後，才將各國的城牆連接起來，也因而被命名為萬里長城。

我們今天看的〈尼希米記〉第三章也有類似的概念，先是大家對著自己的房屋修建城牆，也是修建隣近自己房屋的城牆，然後再把城牆連起來，有的城門兩側還有石頭門樓，似是防禦之用。這些石頭門樓各有名字，例如：哈米亞樓，哈楠業樓，角樓，爐樓，等等。耶路撒冷是重要的交通樞紐，所以需要許多城門。通常厚重的大門兩側的城牆會較高較厚，以便守門的衛兵站崗。

回想一下，古時候住在中國邊境的老百姓經常會受到外族的騷擾或搶劫，性命和財產都沒有保障，萬一外族長驅而入，就引起社會動盪不安，甚至有關國家存亡。耶路撒冷原是一個易守難攻的城巿，但是她的城牆被毀了，回歸的百姓住在城裡是不是也會長期受到外邦人的欺負和騷擾？因此她的敵人不希望看到她重建城牆，而尼希米則迫切地要重建耶路撒冷的城牆。也因而當尼希米發出呼籲時，就立刻得到大家的響應。

Jesus, Your Three-in-One Sacrifice

2022-02-06 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is  Exodus 29:15-28.  Let’s go!

Exodus 29:15-21 (NIV)
15  “Take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head.
16  Slaughter it and take the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides.
17  Cut the ram into pieces and wash the inner parts and the legs, putting them with the head and the other pieces.
18  Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the LORD by fire.
19  “Take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head.
20  Slaughter it, take some of its blood and put it on the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Then sprinkle blood against the altar on all sides.
21  And take some of the blood on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Then he and his sons and their garments will be consecrated.

On verses 15-21:  Exodus 29:10-21 talk about three sacrifices that God tells Moses to make on behalf of Aaron, his sons and the altar they’ll be serving at.  Let’s look at these 3 sacrifices now.

The first sacrifice is a sin offering (v10-14) where Moses slaughters a bull (v11), puts the blood of the bull on the horns (the tops) of the altar and pours out the rest of the bull’s blood at the base of the altar (v12).  He then burns the fat around the bull’s inner parts on the altar (v13) and takes the rest and burns it outside the camp (v14). The purpose of this first sacrifice was to pay for the sins of Aaron and his sons.  Thus it was called a “sin offering”.