Entries by

加利利的分地

2021-04-26 in , /by

〈约书亚记〉 19:49 以色列人按著境界分完了地业，就在他们中间将地给嫩的儿子约书亚为业。

阅读经文：〈约书亚记〉 19:1-51

〈约书亚记〉 18-20章依次记载了以色列人拈阄把土地分给便雅悯支派、西缅支派、西布伦支派、以萨迦支派、亚设支派、拿弗他利支派、但支派等七个支派，他们就都得了迦南地为业。他们的地大都在以色列的北边，围绕着加利利海，这些地区有何特色呢？

在〈列王记〉上第九章记载：「推罗王希兰曾照所罗门所要的，资助他香柏木、松木和金子，所罗门王就把加利利地的二十座城给了希兰。」但是推罗王看了这廿座城后，有何反应，你知道吗？他嗤之以鼻，对所罗门王说：「我兄啊，你给我的是什么城邑呢？」他称那廿座城为迦布勒，意思是无用的小城。在〈历代志〉下八章2节，希兰把这些城还给了所罗门。希兰是推罗的王，推罗是临海贸易之地，希兰对内地的城巿自然没有兴趣。但是所罗门王收回这廿座小城后，就重新建造它们（王上9:17-19）。

这廿座小城就在加利利境内。加利利因为水源充足，土地肥沃，所以当地人主要从事农业和渔业，还有纺织、石工、造船和制造陶器等行业。古时加利利森林密布，今天那里还生长着各种树木，包括雪松、柏树、冷杉、栎树、夹竹桃、棕榈树、松树、桑叶 无花果树和胡桃树。现在这里种植许多种类的蔬菜，以及小麦、大麦、无花果、 小米、槐蓝、橄榄、大米、甘蔗、柑橘、梨和杏。这样的鱼米之乡自然人口稠密，兴旺繁荣。因此有句犹太谚语说：「到北方（加利利）找财富，到南方（犹大地）求智慧」。那么以赛亚先知为何形容它是「受过痛苦的、被藐视的」？

以赛亚先知曾预言这些地方：「但那受过痛苦的，必不再见幽暗。从前神使西布伦地和拿弗他利地被藐视，末后却使这沿海的路，约旦河外，外邦人的加利利地，得着荣耀。（赛9:1）」古时的加利利地包括了亚设、以萨迦、拿弗他利和西布伦几个族的分地。

God Does The Saving

2021-04-26 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 7:1-10.  Let’s go!

Genesis 7:1 (NIV)
1  The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.

On verse 1:  The Lord found Noah to be “righteous in his generation”.  I believe that is best understood to mean that compared to others in his generation, Noah was relatively more God fearing and tried harder to please God than the people of his generation.  That is why God decided to save Noah and his family and use them to repopulate the earth after the flood. 

What can we learn from this?

1.     While God loves everybody, to accomplish His purposes on earth God especially loves to use people who fear Him and who try hard to honour Him. 

2.     Does this mean that somehow we can earn our way to heaven by trying to be good?  No.  Noah being found relatively “righteous in his generation” and usable for God’s purposes on earth is different from Noah being found absolutely righteous according to God’s standards for heaven.  The fact is that none of us is deserving of heaven on our own merit because none of us is absolutely righteous in God’s eyes.  

Noah’s Ark, Jesus’ Body, My Salvation

2021-04-25 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 6:11-22.  Let’s go!

Genesis 6:11-13 (NIV)
11  Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.
12  God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.
13  So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.

On verses 11-13:  In Genesis 1, God saw that the earth He made was good.  Here, however, in verses 11-13 God saw how corrupt the earth had become due to the sins people would commit and the violence they would inflict on one another.  We’re only six chapters into the Bible, but we are now half way through the overarching story of the Bible:  “God made us.  We blew it.  Jesus came.  We need Him.”  This is the “we blew it” part.

余地绘图以备阄分

2021-04-25 in , /by

〈约书亚记〉 18:1以色列的全会众都聚集在示罗，把会幕设立在那里，那地已经被他们制伏了。

阅读经文：〈约书亚记〉 18:1-28

示罗是希伯来圣经中提到的一座古代城市，位于以法莲山地，位于伯特利东北的小山冈上，城的四周都是高山，东有大泉，从伯特利到示剑的大路由此经过。以色列人攻占迦南后，在此安营，会幕也设在示罗，成为固定的建筑物。在很长时期中，示罗是以色列人活动的中心，每年在此都举行一个特别节日。

约书亚从示罗派出各支派的代表，勘察迦南地的详细状况，然后按城邑分作七份，拈阉分给便雅悯、西缅、西布伦等七个未曾在约但河东岸取得土地的支派。其遗址是今伯特利东北 16公里、示剑东南18公里的赛依仑废墟。（资料来自以斯拉百科网）

示罗在以法莲境内，撒马利亚在玛拿西境内，可见这两族在以色列中举足轻重的地位。眼看五个宗族都有自己的领土了，为何其他七个支派还在观望等待呢？难道是约书亚忘了给他们拈阄？从雅各的十二个儿子来看，从大小排序是：流便、西缅、利未、犹大、但、拿弗他利、迦得、亚设、以萨迦、西布伦、约瑟、便雅悯。流便因为与雅各的妾有染，玷污了他父亲的床，失去了长子的位置。雅各把长子的名份给了约瑟，让他得两份的家产，又立以法莲在玛拿西之上。但是君王和弥赛亚从犹大而出，因此在约旦河东边，犹大、以法莲和玛拿西先得分地权，在吉甲分地；然后才轮到其他七个支派在示罗分地。

God Cares and God Is Watching

2021-04-23 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 6:1-10.  Let’s go!

Genesis 6:1-7 (NIV)
1  When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them,
2  the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.
3  Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
4  The Nephilim were on the earth in those days–and also afterward–when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
5  The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
6  The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
7  So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth–men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air–for I am grieved that I have made them.”

On verses 1-7:  At first glance verses 1-7 read to me like a fairy tale, speaking of a whimsical, romantic time when the “sons of God” mated with the “daughters of men” (v1-2), a time when the Nephilim, known to be a race of giants, lived.  According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary, what could actually be happening here in verses 1-7 is that the author of Genesis (many scholars say it was Moses) was addressing the widely held beliefs of pagan nations which taught that you could attain god-like immortality by engaging in great immorality  Along this line of teaching,

第一封信：给以弗所(上)

2021-04-23 in , /by

基督照各教会灵性的程度来牧养

　　基督复活之后，对祂的教会的吩咐、差遣到底是什么，我们要仔细传讲耶稣给每个教会的信息到底是什么。每个教会有它不同的地方，有的教会非常满足主的心意，有的教会不讨神的喜悦，照着各地灵性的状况对他们宣讲。当你真心谨慎听，你会发现这个话是对我讲，是我自己要遵行、顺服、聆听，自己修改自己，我们的灵性才会进步。每个教会领受上帝的护理都是独特的，针对他们所要改正而发出劝戒。

　　这位曾经死过，现在活着，并且活到永永远远的基督，监察、照顾、牧养他的教会，用当讲的话警戒、安慰、照顾教会，这位生命的主、教会的元首发号施令，赐下应许。基督不是死了就死了，主清楚知道我们每个教会的毛病在哪里、失败在哪里、我们的需要在哪里，然后按照各个教会的需要，一个个来监督、来教导、来警戒，我们对我们所做的好事、对的事情，祂都知道，我们要爱上帝，因为一个爱上帝的人，是上帝所知道的人。上帝不但知道我们做的好事，也知道我们的败坏、错误，因此基督发出警戒、教训，使我们在他面前预备自己，领受他要给我们的指责、审判、责备，使我们不至于将错就错，以致于远远离开他，走在灭亡的道路上。

　　教会是主的身体，主一定用他的督责把我们带回正路。如果我们所做的是上帝所喜悦的事情，那么，上帝一定会赐福；如果我们所做的是违背上帝旨意的事情，他一定要刑罚、管教我们，带我们回到正路。这是耶稣基督作为教会的元首所做的事情。

Life Beyond The Ordinary

2021-04-22 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 5:1-32.  Let’s go!

Genesis 5:1-20 (NIV)
1  This is the written account of Adam’s line. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.
2  He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them “man.”
3  When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.
4  After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.
5  Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.
6  When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh….

On verses 1-20:  How could human beings live such a long time, in some cases almost 1,000 years (see for example Methuselah in verse 27)?  One theory is that God’s original plan was that God made man to live forever, but as sin came into the world, gradually lifespans would get shorter over time.  As the Quest Study Bible explains, “The Creator made men and women to be immortal.  Nevertheless, death – the result of sin – progressively decreased human longevity until 70 or 80 years became a normal life span (see Psalm 90:10).” (Quest Study Bible: New International Version. Zondervan, 2003).  Another explanation is that life spans remained this long during the first several generations of human beings as shown in Genesis 5, but in Genesis 6 we see that God intentionally limits the lifespan of human beings to 120 years (see Genesis 6:3).

约瑟的子孙求分地

2021-04-22 in , /by

〈约书亚记〉 17:18 山地也要归你，虽是树林，你也可以砍伐。靠近之地必归你。迦南人虽有铁车，虽是强盛，你也能把他们赶出去。

阅读经文：〈约书亚记〉 17:1-18

这里说约瑟的子孙，主要是讲到玛拿西。玛拿西是个大族，共有五万二千七百名。他们在约但河东分到基列和巴珊地；在河东河西也分到不少地。玛拿西的孙女们指的就是西罗非哈的女儿们，摩西曾为她们的哀告求问神。她们为了让父亲留名而要求承受父亲的产业。摩西也因而订下了女性承受产业的条例，她们不可以嫁给别的支派；若是要嫁给别的支派，就得放弃土地。免得自己宗族的土地成为别人的，自己的土地就会减少。

从玛拿西得到的分地来看，他们拿到了很好的地方，包括约旦河东大部份的耶斯列平原，还有十足轻重的米吉多。「米吉多(Megiddo)，是连贯非洲 与亚洲的古代著名地方，位置连贯两洲军事与贸易路线的要冲。米吉多的希伯来文意思是集合地点或军队的结集，这地方亦是历史上一古战场。现今米吉多有一 座可俯瞰山谷的70英呎山丘，是米吉多城的故址所在。米吉多城是基顺河流域的古城。（摘录自维基百科）」

以色列北国的首都撒马利亚就在玛拿西的境内。分到了这样又多又好的地，但他们还是不满足。他们对约书亚说：「 耶和华到如今既然赐福于我们，我们也族大人多，你为什么仅将一阄一段之地分给我们为 业呢？」我个人非常喜欢约书亚的答复，真是可圈可点：「你们如果族大人多，嫌以法莲山地窄小，就可以上比利洗人、利乏音人之地，在树林中砍伐树木。」是 的，还有许多未得之地，焉能期望约书亚为他们把所有的地都打理好吗？

以法莲所得之地

2021-04-21 in , /by

〈约书亚记〉 16:10 他们没有赶出住基色的迦南人，迦南人却住在以法莲人中间，成为做苦工的仆人，直到今日。

阅读经文：〈约书亚记〉 16:1-10

在〈民数记〉26章里，神要摩西按着人名的数目分产业给他们。人多的，要把产业多分给他们；人少的，要把产业少分给他们。要照被数的人数，把产业分给各人。要按著所拈的阄，看人数多人数少，把产业分给他们。根据在摩押平原数算的人数如下：犹大的各族，共有七万六千五百名。以法莲子孙的各族，共有三万二千五百名。玛拿西的各族，他们中间被数的，共有五万二千七百名。便雅悯的子孙，共有四万五千六百名。 鲁本的各族，共有四万三千七百三十名。但所有的各族，共有六万四千四百名。以萨迦的各族，共有六万四千三百名。西布伦的各族，共有六万零五百名。亚设子孙的各族，共有五万三千四百名。拿弗他利的各族，共有四万五千四百名。迦得子孙的各族，共有四万零五百名。西缅的各族，共有二万二千二百名。

这也解释了为何从犹大支派的分地开始记录，因为犹大支派的人最多，共有七万六千五百名。所以他们的分地看起来也最大，甚至在〈列王记〉里，当耶罗波安分掉了以色列的十个支派之后，所罗门王的儿子罗波安仍然可以自成犹大南国。

Marked By God For Protection

2021-04-21 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 4:13-26.  Let’s go!

Genesis 4:13-15 (NIV)
13  Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear.
14  Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
15  But the LORD said to him, “Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.

On verses 13-15: Realizing that the punishment for his sin is that he will be hidden from God’s presence and vulnerable to attack, Cain cries out to God.  Was Cain asking for forgiveness or just complaining about his punishment?  While some commentators think Cain was asking for forgiveness, it would seem to me based on the text probably the latter.  Yet God has mercy on Cain, placing a mark on him so that no one would kill him (v15).