Entries by

犹大王玛拿西

2021-12-16 in , /by

〈历代志〉下 33:13他祈祷耶和华，耶和华就允准他的祈求，垂听他的祷告，使他归回耶路撒冷，仍坐国位。玛拿西这才知道唯独耶和华是神。

阅读经文：〈列王纪〉下 21:1-18
〈历代志〉下 33

玛拿西是旧约圣经里出名的浪子。就像耶稣所说的浪子比喻，玛拿西用尽了神借着希西家留给他的美好产业，最后被亚述掳去。敌人用铙钩钩住他，用铜链锁住他，他失去一切，成为阶下囚，连尊严也失去。在急难时，他和浪子一样，想起了他的父亲。但玛拿西想起的是天上的父亲，神。当他自卑，悔改时，神就饶恕他。奇蹟似地，让他能够回到耶路撒冷，仍旧做王。这时玛拿西才知道唯独耶和华是真神。这是很多拜偶像、信假神的人，成为基督徒时所做的类似的见证。

可能有很多人不觉得拜偶像是罪，拜假神是可咒诅的。放眼社会上，那么多人都在拜偶像，亲近邪灵，要是说他们都在行恶，很可能会被套上一顶蔑视他人的大帽子，甚至还可能琅珰入狱。最近有一些拒绝为同性恋服务的例子，都遭到了麻烦。用这样的尺度来看玛拿西，你实在不会觉得他有多坏。不过就是不信耶和华神罢了，他岂没有选择宗教信仰的自由？这也是一些父母的想法，不要在孩子年幼时带他们去教堂，让他们长大成人时，自己去做选择。他们觉得从小教孩子学《圣经》是剥夺了他们的人权。

问题是，我看到很多父母亲因为爱小孩，在孩子尚未出生之前，已经很注意母亲的饮食和生活习惯；在孩子出生后，更是要孩子吃最天然的食品，准备最好的环境，甚至在孩子出生后就开始选最好的幼稚园，以便上最好的小学，最好的中学，最好的大学。但是谁知道今年“最好的”，明年或后年是否还是“最好的”？在世界上的选择，父母都要选最好的给孩子，为何独独漏掉孩子灵魂之所依？为何要孩子认识他们的父母、父母、外祖父母，甚至姑姑、伯伯、叔叔、舅舅，却单单不要他们认识赐予他们生命的主？

God and Sex

2021-12-16 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 8:1-15.  Let’s go!

Exodus 8:1-6 (NIV)
1  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.
2  If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.
3  The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs.
4  The frogs will go up on you and your people and all your officials.'”
5  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.'”
6  So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land.

On verses 1-6:  The ancient Egyptians worshiped Heket, who was known as the goddess of fertility and was represented by the frog.  Sculptures and paintings of Heket depict her with the face of a frog.  Apparently the worship of Heket informed the way Egyptians viewed sex and having babies.  By causing frogs to appear everywhere in Egypt – in people’s bedrooms and homes – and later causing the frogs to die in verse 13, the Lord was communicating that the Lord is far greater than Heket and that it is the Lord, not Heket, who reigns over the issues of sex and fertility.

God is Gentle with You

2021-12-15 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 7:14-25.  Let’s go!

Exodus 7:14-21 (NIV)
14  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.
15  Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.
16  Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert. But until now you have not listened.
17  This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.

On verses 14-21:  The Egyptians worshiped the god Hapy as the god who had power over the Nile. By turning the Nile River into blood, God was communicating that He had power over the Nile, that He alone was the one true God, and that life ultimately comes from Him, not the Nile.

Also, I find it interesting that the first miracle God enables Moses to perform in the sight of all the Egyptians (and not just in Pharaoh’s court) is turning water into blood.  It was a message of warning and judgment that God was sending to Pharaoh and all of Egypt.   Fast forward to the New Testament and you’ll find that the first miracle Jesus performs is turning water into wine.  It’s a message of joy, life and restoration, where God is not taking away the water supply but enhancing it.  Why the difference?  Didn’t the same God send both Moses and Jesus?  

希西家的感恩之歌

2021-12-15 in , /by

〈以赛亚书〉 38:17 看哪，我受大苦本为使我得平安，祢因爱我的灵魂，便救我脱离败坏的坑，因为祢将我一切的罪扔在祢的背后。

阅读经文：〈列王纪〉下 20
〈历代志〉下 32:24-31

希西家是一个很有信心的君王，但君王也是凡胎俗体，免不了会生病。希西家病得要死，当以赛亚先知去看他时，也是这样告诉他：“你当留遗命于你的家，因为你必死，不能活了。”倘若是你听到这样的宣告，怎么办呢？死路一条。希西家不敢说什么，转脸朝墙，向神祷告。他希望神因为他对神所存完全的心，又做神所喜悦的事，希望神能够怜悯他。希西家是希望神因为他的“用功和成绩”，或许给他一点额外的恩惠。神不是因为希西家的作为而医治他，因为人做好是应当的，在神面前没有功德这一论。就像主耶稣说的，我们只当说，这是仆人当做的。神医治希西家是因为希西家的祈求，神听见了他的祷告，看见了他的眼泪，因而医治他。

但是这样祈求来的寿命也是有限的。此事让我们明白，神听得见我们的祷告，也看得见我们流下的眼泪。但神要用什么方法帮助或医治，我们不知道，因为在神每个人身上的计划都不一样，但是信徒的祷告必不徒然，眼泪也不会白流。以赛亚离开希西家，还没走到皇宫的中院，都还没出门，神就告诉他，要增加希西家十五年的寿数。有的人得了癌症，却可以不立刻死，又活了好几年，但不管神再给多少年的寿命，都是有限的。神给人最好的礼物是永生，在世上多少年就不用太计较了。

希西家喜出望外，擦干眼泪不哭了，像小孩子一样，向以赛亚求兆头。因为一个病重得快死的人，两天之后就会好起来，第三天就可以上圣殿，简直不可思议。希西家要求一个日影往后退十度的兆头，神就让亚哈斯的日晷向前进的日影往后退了十度。以赛亚叫人拿一块无花果饼贴在希西家的疮上，王便痊愈了。现在我们已经知道食用无花果对人有很多好处，也可以医痔疮，把无花果饼贴在疮上，不知有没有人试过？但是只要神愿意医治，凡物都可作为媒介。

The End of Myself

2021-12-14 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 7:1-13.  For context, we’ll also include Exodus 6:28-30.  Let’s go! 

Exodus 6:28-Exodus 7:1 (NIV)
28  Now when the LORD spoke to Moses in Egypt,
29  he said to him, “I am the LORD. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”
30  But Moses said to the LORD, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”
1  Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.

On Exodus 6:28-Exodus 7:1:  Notice the difference in the way Moses saw himself and the way God saw Moses.  Moses focuses on his inability and weakness, his “faltering lips” (v30).  God says He has made Moses to be like God to Pharaoh and Aaron to be Moses’ prophet (v1). It goes to show that God sees us differently than the way we naturally see ourselves.  If like Moses you have a tendency to focus on your weaknesses and limitations, know that God sees you in a completely different light: He sees you as forgiven, strong, an overcomer (see 1 John 2:12-14).  Part of becoming more godly is learning to see yourself the way God sees you.

Exodus 7:2-7 (NIV)
2  You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country.
3  But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt,
4  he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites.
5  And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”
6  Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD commanded them.

亚述王西拿基立被杀

2021-12-14 in , /by

〈列王记下〉下 19:30犹大家所逃脱余剩的，仍要往下扎根，向上结果。

阅读经文：〈列王纪〉下19:1-37

这真是每个遇到霸凌的人最高兴的结局，霸凌被解决掉了，从此可以高枕无忧了。但是在霸凌被除掉之前，我们要先明白必须有怎样的信心才能度过面对霸凌的日子。希西家尽全心去建筑工事和装备，也勉励百姓要倚靠神。但是当眼前的局势越变越糟时，他的信心还站立得住吗？靠近非利士边境的拉吉被亚述占据了，而亚述正在攻击立拿。这两个地方都是军事重镇，可以阻挡从埃及来的军队。亚述王听到古实王要出来与他争战的话，更希望赶快攻下耶路撒冷，免得两面受敌，因此要先拿下立拿和拉吉，好让埃及军队不能经过。有人说这位古实王其实是古实籍的埃及王，也有人说是埃及尼罗河北部的古实之王。因为埃及离犹大和以色列比较近，所以有时会向他们求援。

希西家派家宰和书记披上麻布去见先知以赛亚，说：「今日是急难、责罚、凌辱的日子，就如妇人将要生产婴孩，却没有力量生产。或者耶和华你的神听见拉伯沙基的一切话，就是他主人亚述王打发他来辱骂永生神的话，耶和华你的神听见这话就发斥责。故此，求你为余剩的民扬声祷告」。在等待的时候，在危难中看不见希望之际，希西家没有离弃神，他派人去找神的仆人，请他代祷。在急难、责罚、凌辱的日子里，希西家依然仰望神。有的人看到情势不对，就去算命、抽签，希望从别处得到指引。但是希西家认定了唯有耶和华是真神，他就不像其他的王转向假神，反而去找神的仆人。

这样的信心得到神的肯定，因此神借着先知回应希西家：「你听见亚述王的仆人亵渎我的话，不要惧怕。我必惊动他的心，他要听见风声，就归回本地，我必使他在那里倒在刀下」。哇，多么令人得安慰的话，神终于应允要出手了。但是亚述王给希西家的信却令他伤痛不已。不是为了国势的危险，而是他所敬畏的神被亚述王眨得一文不值，被亚述王拿来与其他国家的假神相比。希西家把信件拿到圣殿，在神的面前展开，求神救犹大脱离亚述的手，使天下万国都知道，唯独耶和华是神。希西家的祷告蒙神垂听了，因为神必不让自己和其他的假神做比较。我们若要为霸凌事件祷告，也要这样祷告，让耶和华神彰显祂自己的荣耀，使世上的人都知道，我们倚靠的是真神。

Bigger Than Our Brokenness

2021-12-13 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 6:14-30.  For context, we’ll start at Exodus 6:13.  Let’s go!

Exodus 6:13-27 (NIV)
13  Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.
14  These were the heads of their families: The sons of Reuben the firstborn son of Israel were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans of Reuben.
15  The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.

On verses 13-27:  Just before we get into the big action scenes of Exodus, we are first given a genealogy (i.e. a summary of the family line) for Moses and Aaron.  The purpose of this genealogy was to show future generations of Israelites where exactly Moses and Aaron fit under the family tree of their nation’s patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (also known as Israel).  It is an abbreviated, selective genealogy that does not show every name and every generation in Moses and Aaron’s family tree, but just enough to show that Moses and Aaron were descendants of Israel’s third son Levi, and the origins of some of Aaron’s descendants like Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Phinehas, who would play prominent roles in Israel later on.

亚述王进攻犹大

2021-12-13 in , /by

〈历代志〉下32:8 与他们同在的是肉臂，与我们同在的是耶和华我们的神，他必帮助我们，为我们争战。

阅读经文：〈列王纪〉下18:5-37

在信徒的人生中难免也会碰到不讲理的人，想要罢占他产业的人，或是其他方式的霸凌。最近不止在学校中有霸凌，网路上也有霸凌，有的人因为气不过就自杀了。被欺负当然很可怜，但是自杀就太不值得了，只要你不死，你就有争口气的机会，一死就冤死了，白白吃了那么多年的饭。希西家倚靠神，在他前后的犹大列王中，没有一个及他的，他办事都很顺利，甚至还有能力可以去攻打非利士人。

在以色列亡国之际，亚述王撒珥根过世，趁著亚述内部动乱不安，无暇顾及迦南地时，希西家趁机向西扩展领土，直到非利士人的领土迦萨（Gaza），并囚禁原本忠于亚述的非利士人的以革伦王帕第（Padi）。这件事记载在撒珥根二世儿子西拿基立的年鉴上：“因着Padi对亚述神的忠心，他的贵冑、臣仆和官员们把他交在犹太人手中。希西家王就非法地，把他当作敌人，囚禁起来。” 他的父亲亚哈斯被非利士人攻击，现在轮到他去攻击非利士人。但是他也遇到了当时的国际霸凌，亚述。

在希西家当王的前几年，不断有消息传来，亚述怎样围攻以色列北国的新闻，听着都让人害怕。因为亚述人的行径实在太残酷了。亚述攻了三年，终于攻下撒玛利亚，希西家看到以色列人流离失所，被亚述掳去，心里也发毛。犹大南国在亚哈斯王执政期间，亚哈斯不停地用钱去喂饱亚述人的胃口，但是亚述人后来不但不帮他，还欺负他，只拿钱，不帮忙打仗了。亚哈斯死的时候，犹大人己经民不聊生，十分穷困，犹大沦为亚述的藩属，但是在希西家的经营下，终于有了复兴的迹象。希西家再也不肯像他父亲那样，一味地拿钱去讨好亚述了，他要倚靠神来脱离亚述的霸权。这话说来容易，做起来不容易。

希西家定献祭之例

2021-12-12 in , /by

〈历代志〉下31:21 凡他所行的，无论是办神殿的事，是遵律法守诫命，是寻求他的神，都是尽心去行，无不亨通。

阅读经文：〈历代志〉下31:1-21
〈列王纪〉下18:1-4

在希西家带领以色列人和犹大人过完逾越节之后，以色列众人就到犹大的城邑打碎柱像，砍断木偶，甚至到以色列北国去拆毁丘坛和祭坛，这是犹大地和以色列地的信仰大复兴。希西家还打碎摩西所造的铜蛇，这是一件非常勇敢的创举。摩西是谁？他带领以色列人出埃及后，近迦南时所造的铜蛇，竟然有百姓还在拜它。希西家称那铜蛇为铜块，因为他知道那是一堆铜所塑造出来的东西，并不是耶和华神。这也帮助我们明白为何神要隐藏摩西的尸体，因为若有人找到摩西的尸体，或被魔鬼拿去，那么后果必然十分可怕。连个铜蛇过了几百年都还有人在膜拜，何况是以摩西形像出现的“人”，必然使人十分困惑，甚至远离真神。

以色列人和犹大人在耶路撒冷过了极为喜乐的双倍除酵节之后，这个喜乐和敬拜并没有因为节日的过去而停止，他们回家拆除偶像，并且遵行律法，按时献祭，供应利未人和祭司。所以和神建立关系之后，我们的喜乐并不是停留在教会或特会里，真正的敬虔是让圣灵继续带领之后的每天的生活，让神居首位。聚会时的“high”是情绪一时的兴奋，但是每天的生活才是真正与神同行。所以我们不要一直停留在对聚会时之高潮的怀念，也不要一直倚靠聚会或特会来使我们感觉神的同在，因为神是以马内利，永远与我们同在的神。我们若遵行神的话语，就是时时刻刻在“充电”了。

当人们不敬畏神时，祭司和利未人就少吃少穿，甚至无法生活下去，只好去兼差，好像〈士师记〉里有个利未人去米迦的家里做祭司一样，米迦的祭司后来还被但族人抢走。因此希西家下了谕旨，分咐百姓供应祭司和利未人应得的份。当百姓都乐意献上十分之一时，祭司和利未人就吃不完兜著走了（正面的意思）。当神的仆人不用再为生活而奔波时，自然可以专心侍奉。希西家继续吩咐，教导利未人和祭司管理所收到的奉献，并且公平地分给亚伦的子孙和一切载入家谱的利未人。

Because I Am, I Will

2021-12-12 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 6:1-13.  Let’s go!

Exodus 6:1 (NIV)
1  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”

On verse 1:  Moses and Aaron had approached Pharaoh about letting the Israelite slaves go, but Pharaoh rejected their request and even increased the Israelite slaves’ workload as a result.  Moses could not understand why, especially when God had promised that Pharaoh would let the Israelites go (see Exodus 5:22-23).  God reassures Moses that Pharaoh will (eventually) let the Israelite people go.

What can we learn from this?  When God promises to do something, He will do it according to His timing, not your timing.  Rather than getting upset with God because God didn’t do things according to your way and timing, trust God that His way and His timing are perfect.  When God doesn’t do it in your way and your time, it means that He is writing a greater story than the one you have in mind.

Exodus 6:2-8 (NIV)
2  God also said to Moses, “I am the LORD.
3  I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.