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What is in Your Hand?

2021-12-08 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 4:1-17.  Let’s go!

Exodus 4:1-5 (NIV)
1  Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?”
2  Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.
3  The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
4  Then the LORD said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.
5  “This,” said the LORD, “is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers–the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob–has appeared to you.”

On verses 1-5:  Moses wonders what to do when people question whether God really sent him.  God responds with a question of his own: “What is in your hand?” (v2).  Whenever God calls you to a great task, He doesn’t leave you empty handed. In fact the things that God wants you to use are often the very things God has already placed in your hand.  (For example, when Jesus asked his disciples to feed the 5,000, he simply asked them to give Him whatever was already in their hand.  When they gave him the little that they thought they had, God used it to feed a multitude.)

It’s not about how able you are, but how able God is

2021-12-07 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Exodus 3:11-22.  Let’s go!

Exodus 3:11-12 (NIV)
11  But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12  And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

On verses 11-12: In Exodus 3, we see one of the most significant moments in Israel’s history taking place: out of a burning bush God calls Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.  God calling Moses was not based on how good or strong Moses was, but based on how good and strong God is.  So when Moses questions who Moses is to think he can go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt (v11), God answers by simply saying, “I will be with you” and promising that Moses will be successful (v12). 

以色列北国亡

2021-12-07 in , /by

〈列王纪〉下17:41a 如此，这些民又惧怕耶和华，又侍奉他们的偶像。

阅读经文：〈列王纪〉下17:1-41

以色列王：耶罗波安（一世）→拿答→巴沙→以拉→心利→暗利→亚哈→亚哈谢→约兰→耶户→约哈斯→约阿施→耶罗波安(二世)→撒迦利雅→沙龙→米拿现→比加辖→比加→何细亚（主前930年－722年）

从主前930年－722年，大约是208年的时间里，神一直在容忍以色列，等待他们的悔改，盼望他们的归回，等了两百多年。有的人认为神是很残忍的神，喜欢舞枪弄剑，使人流血成河的神；只要想想神等了两百多年，还等不到以色列人的悔改，神能不施行审判吗？那些说耶和华神是嗜战之神的人，大概都没有想想，为何神要兴起战争？战争其实只是神审判的一种方式，神提醒人们，远离真神去拜偶像行恶，是要付代价的。

何细亚杀了比加之后，做王九年。在这九年之中，他先是奉行亲亚述的政策，后来可能因为亚述王提革拉毗列色过世，何细亚因而想趁机反叛，投靠埃及。不料，亚述王撒缦以色在主前722年来攻打以色列，可能在围攻以色列的三年之中也去世了，换成亚述王撒珥根最后攻取撒玛利亚。根据亚述年谱的记载，撒珥根在自己的年监上声称攻陷撒玛利亚，掳去其中二万七千二百九十人及五十辆战车。

Moses And The Burning Bush

2021-12-06 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Exodus 3:1-10.  Let’s go!

A. God’s call to Moses from the burning bush.
1. (1-3) Moses and the burning bush on Mount Horeb.

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

a. Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law: For 40 years Moses lived as an obscure shepherd in the desert of Midian. At this point his life was so humble that he didn’t even have a flock of sheep to call his own – the sheep belonged to his father-in-law.

i. Tending the flock: “The Hebrew suggests that this was his habitual occupation.” (Cole)

b. The back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God: Moses brought the sheep to this mountain, also later called Mount Sinai. Horeb probably means “desert” or “desolation,” and the name gives an idea of the terrain.

c. The bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed: It wasn’t just that Moses saw a bush burning; apparently, it is not uncommon for a plant like this to spontaneously ignite out in that desert. Nevertheless, two things were distinctive about that bush:

· The Angel of the LORD appeared… from the midst of the bush.

犹大王亚哈斯

2021-12-06 in , /by

〈历代志〉下28:11现在你们当听我说，要将掳来的弟兄释放回去，因为耶和华向你们已经大发烈怒。

阅读经文：〈列王纪〉下  16:1-20
〈历代志〉下28:1-27

犹大王：罗波安→亚比央→亚撒→约沙法→约兰→亚哈谢→（亚她利雅）→约阿施→亚玛谢→亚撒利雅（乌西雅）→约坦→亚哈斯

以色列王：耶罗波安（一世）→拿答→巴沙→以拉→心利→暗利→亚哈→亚哈谢→约兰→耶户→约哈斯→约阿施→耶罗波安(二世)→撒迦利雅→沙龙→米拿现→比加辖→比加

亚哈斯有一个很敬虔的父亲约坦，但是他却反其道而行。他的曾曾祖父约阿施拆毁巴力庙，又杀了巴力的祭司（王下11:18），但是亚哈斯竟重铸巴力的像，在欣嫩子谷烧香，用火焚烧他的儿女，并在丘坛上、山冈上、各青翠树下献祭烧香，效法外邦人所行可憎之事。有的人认为那是学摩押人向假神基抹献祭。在三王（以色列王约兰、犹大王约沙法和以东王）去联合攻打摩押时，摩押王在兵败如山倒时，在城上把自己的长子献为燔祭。因此以色列人遭到神的大怒，三王才退兵（王下3:27）。亚哈斯那时面对以色列王和亚兰王的攻击，自知无法取胜，可能以为把自己的儿女经火，可以求得摩押假神基抹的帮助，却没想到触犯了神的大忌。

亚兰人攻击犹大，占据以拉他。以拉他位于红海北部亚喀巴湾的顶端，这里是亚拉巴路的起点，从阿拉伯半岛南部和埃及直达腓尼基的路线由此经过，是兵家必争之地。以色列人出埃及后绕行旷野时在西珥山住了很长时间；他们遵循耶和华的吩咐，离开以扫子孙所住之地，从亚拉巴路经过以拉他、以旬迦别，转向摩押旷野。大卫征服以东时，一并夺得以拉他；所罗门在红海的商船以此为基地。犹大王约沙法试图在此恢复航业，但他的船却毁坏了；在亚哈斯时，以他拉被亚兰夺去。后来又被以东抢走。

犹大王约坦

2021-12-05 in , /by

〈历代志〉下27:6约坦在耶和华他神面前行正道，以致日渐强盛。

阅读经文：〈列王纪〉下  15:32-38
〈历代志〉下27

犹大王：罗波安→亚比央→亚撒→约沙法→约兰→亚哈谢→（亚她利雅）→约阿施→亚玛谢→亚撒利雅（乌西雅）→约坦

在犹大王中，约坦不是一个很出名的王，甚至是很少被人提起的王，但也是唯一一个没有显著过失的王，因为他是一个可以从历史去学习教训的王。自从他的父亲亚撒利雅（乌西雅）因为进圣殿，想要取代祭司向神烧香献祭，因而被神惩罚额头长大痲疯之后，约坦就开始代替父亲料理国事。但是直到亚撒利雅过世之后，约坦才登基做王。亚撒利雅除了献祭这件事，一生向神心存诚实，所以约坦效法父亲所行的正事，但是不入圣殿，免得得罪耶和华神。

约坦怎样效法他父亲呢？在〈历代志〉下27章里说：“约坦在耶和华他神面前行正道，以致日渐强盛”，原文则是说：“他在耶和华他神面前‘预备’行正道。”中文没有把‘预备’这两个字译出来。这个‘预备’在其他地方有时被译为：‘坚立’、‘坚定’、‘建立’、‘立定’、‘准备’。这些字曾用在四个王身上，第一位是犹大王罗波安：罗波安行恶、因他不‘立定’心意寻求 耶和华；神称赞约沙法，因为因为他‘立定’心意寻求神；希西家也是‘立定’心意寻求神；也是约坦‘立定’心意寻求神的王。有‘立定’心意，必有准备的工作，所以有译者把它译为：“约坦在耶和华他神面前‘预备’行正道。”我们若想立定心志跟随神，也需要有预备行正道的心。有预备，才能立定心意，才能实行。

约坦王在位期间，以赛亚、何西阿和弥迦在国内做先知。虽然约坦在神面前行正道，只是还没有废去丘坛，百姓仍在那里向假神献祭烧香。因为这个罪根没有除去，所以百姓也无法全心倚靠神。这是一个很大的遗憾。一般而言，上梁不正下梁歪，但若是上梁正下梁歪，那个建筑物也不建全。因此先知们在犹大国里不断地立言，希望使百姓能归向耶和华神，能明白神的心意。也因而我们回头再看约沙法派人到各城镇去教导百姓律法，是一件何等难能可贵的事。

Prepared for Something Greater

2021-12-05 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Exodus 2:11-25.  Let’s go!

Exodus 2:11-14 (NIV)
11  One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.
12  Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
13  The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?”
14  The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”

On verses 11-14:  There is so much packed into these verses that if you fail to read between the lines there is so much you could miss.

First of all, this passage jumps from Moses as an infant in verse 10 to Moses as an adult in verse 11.  We’ve just fast forwarded past the rest of Moses’ childhood, adolescence and early adulthood.  According to Acts 7:23-24, Moses was 40 years old by this time. 

Second, this passage shows Moses’ transition from identifying himself as an Egyptian to identifying as a Hebrew.  Keep in mind that Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s royal palace and called Pharaoh’s daughter “mom”.  

Thank God for His Protection

2021-12-03 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Exodus 2:1-10.  Let’s go!

Exodus 2:1-10 (NIV)
1  Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman,
2  and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.
3  But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.
4  His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him…….

On verses 1-10:  Exodus 2:1-10 is a beautiful picture of God’s protection.  Remember what the Nile River represented starting in Exodus 1:22. Intent on destroying the Israelites, Pharaoh ordered his people to throw every Hebrew boy into the Nile (see Exodus 1:22). So for the Israelites, the Nile River represented death.

Ironically, when Moses was a few months old, his mother hid him in a basket among the reeds of the Nile. But unlike other boys, when Moses went into the Nile River, he didn’t die. He came out alive!

《圣经中各种审判》12 — 对埃及的审判 之七

2021-12-03 in , /by

上帝审判干犯人权之极权

上帝曾用洪水毁灭地上的活物，仅存留八个人，这是全世界第一次广泛的审判，上帝应许以后不再用洪水毁灭世界，就以彩虹为记，与挪亚立约。耶稣再来时，白色大宝座的审判是用永远的烈火来审判。上帝对埃及的审判，是对帝国的审判。当百姓受当权者逼迫，上帝怜悯受逼迫的百姓，听见被奴役的以色列百姓的哀声，就纪念与亚伯拉罕、以撒、雅各所立的约，因而干预人的政权，行了神蹟，超自然的上帝干预自然，显明祂是掌管宇宙万物的上帝，是天地的主宰。自然界的规律为上帝所定，当人违背上帝的心意，超自然的上帝干预自然界的规律，显明祂超越万有的能力，干预政界的不公。

在埃及之前，有所多玛、蛾摩拉被上帝毁灭，这是局部的区域被审判，然而埃及帝国国力强大的程度超越各国，甚至超越当时的中国，当时的中国还没有建造最宏伟的建筑，而埃及却已经建造很大的金字塔，是四千年前已有的建筑。中国的秦始皇于二千二百年前建立阿房宫【编按：阿房宫被誉为「天下第一宫」，是中国历史上第一个统一多民族的中央集权国家——秦朝修建的新朝宫，始建于秦始皇三十五年（前212年），与万里长城、秦始皇陵、秦直道并称为「秦始皇的四大工程」】，被放火烧了九十天还没有烧完，但阿房宫不高，也没有雄伟的石碑与高塔，然而埃及的金字塔历经风吹雨打的摧残，仍有高一百五十多公尺的建筑矗立在那，更何况是四千年前在没有现代科技的辅助下，动用二十万到四十万名工人建成的。这些帝王的坟墓、皇宫的建造真是令人感到不可思议，是古代建筑的典范，足见埃及是国力雄厚的帝国。

如此伟大的帝国，为什么遭受上帝的审判呢？上帝对埃及的审判关系着人类宗教自由、神人关系的基本人权，因为上帝所赋予的政权不应滥用其权，随意欺压百姓。当政权用人为的方法控制人的宗教自由、神人关系，这是上帝所不喜悦的。上帝审判埃及，差遣摩西面见法老并逐次降下各种灾难，法老总是刚硬着心，直等到第十大灾难临到埃及，法老才终于松手让以色列人离去。

北国君王从撒迦利雅到比加

2021-12-02 in , /by

〈列王纪〉下 26:5通晓神默示撒迦利亚在世的时候，乌西雅定意寻求神，他寻求耶和华，神就使他亨通。

阅读经文：〈列王纪〉下  15:1-12
〈历代志〉下  26:1-23

犹大王：罗波安→亚比央→亚撒→约沙法→约兰→亚哈谢→（亚她利雅）→约阿施→亚玛谢→亚撒利雅（乌西雅）→约坦

以色列王：耶罗波安（一世）→拿答→巴沙→以拉→心利→暗利→亚哈→亚哈谢→约兰→耶户→约哈斯→约阿施→耶罗波安(二世)→撒迦利雅

就像耶罗波安二世一样，犹大王亚撒利雅（乌西雅）登基后，也成了一个非常伟大的君王，在他的任内有许多辉煌的功绩。亚撒利雅的意思是“我的帮助是耶和华”，乌西雅的意思是“我的力量是耶和华”，在他执政时，的确让人看到神在犹大的作为，重新感受到神的祝福。但是也像历代的犹大王，他们行眼和华眼中看为正的事，“只是”，总有一点美中不足，是神心里的遗憾。这个“只是”让我们感受到神何等希望去掉我们心中的“只是”，多么希望我们能够全然归向祂，不要有“只是”的存在。只要有“只是”的存在，就有百姓还在丘坛献祭烧香的事实，就有百姓还在祭祀偶像和假神。神要的不只是犹大王归向祂，神要的是祂的子民都全然的归回。

神希望的，是否就是犹大王能去拆除掉那些丘坛呢？因为有丘坛的存在，百姓就无法专心归向神。我们心里有没有不属于神的地方，我们的生活中有没有“只是”的存在呢？神非常祝福亚撒利雅，因为他定意寻求神，神就使他亨通。他登基时才十六岁，可见从年轻时就定意寻求神，是何等地蒙福。