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Joy and Strength to Move Forward

2021-06-14 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 29:1-14.  Let’s go!

Genesis 29:1 (NIV)
1  Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples.

On verse 1:  The original Hebrew for the words “Jacob continued on” are literally “he lifted up his feet”, which is a unique expression that some scholars believe implies Jacob moving along happily.  Why did Jacob have “happy feet”?  It’s because he had encountered the Lord in the previous chapter.  What can we learn from this?  When you spend time in God’s presence, it will tend to give you the joy – happy feet, if you will – to continue on with your journey.  Even though you may face uncertainties concerning your future as Jacob did, an encounter with God and time in His presence can change your perspective and give you joy to move forward amid the uncertainty.  So make it your habit to draw close to God regularly and experience Him.

Genesis 29:2-3 (NIV)
2  There he saw a well in the field, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large.

We Can’t Control How Others Hurt Us, But…

2021-06-13 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 28:1-22.  Let’s go!

Genesis 28:1-10 (NIV)
1  So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman.
2  Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.
3  May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples.
4  May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham.”……

On verses 1-10:  Pursuant to his father Isaac’s advice, Jacob heads to Paddan Aram for his uncle Laban’s house with the prospect of possibility finding a wife among Laban’s daughters.  Meanwhile, contrary to his father Isaac’s wishes, Esau intentionally marries a Canaanite woman to spite his parents.  Here we see the two brothers, Jacob and Esau, going in very different directions both geographically as well as in marriage.

哈拿祈子

2021-06-13 in , /by

〈撒母耳記上〉 1:28 所以，我將這孩子歸於耶和華，使他終身歸於耶和華。

閱讀經文：〈撒母耳記上〉 1 :1-28 

從〈約書亞記〉一路讀來，我們對以法蓮山地似乎聽很多次了，那究竟是一個什麼樣的地方，能養出那麼多名人，發生那麼多大事呢？從大面積來說，以法蓮山地包括了瑪拿西半個支派和以法蓮支派的分地；從小面積來說，就只是指以法蓮的分地，北部稱為撒瑪利亞山地，南部就稱為以法蓮山地。其山地的高度約在 600 至 900 公尺之間，是自北向南逐漸傾斜，東側多石，雨量和水源皆很少，十分貧瘠；西側則多水源，土地相當肥沃，富於各種農產品。

約書亞的地業在以法蓮山地的亭拿西拉，他去世後安葬於此；亞倫的兒子以利亞撒死後也葬於此山。士師以笏刺死摩押王 伊磯倫後，在以法蓮山地吹角，集合以色列人擊殺欺壓他們的摩押人。女士師底波拉住在以法蓮山地的拉瑪和伯特利中間。以法蓮人可能因為出了這麼多「大人物」，以至他們心高氣傲，時時在戰後與負責人發生糾紛，例如和基甸和耶弗他。後來因為向耶弗他挑釁，又出言不遜，侮辱基列人，以致被追殺，死了四萬兩千人，終於一蹶不振。

撒母耳的父母親也住在以法蓮山地，根據〈歷代志上〉第六章22-27節的記載，原來以利加拿是利未的兒子哥轄的後裔，是個正統的利未人，也有解經家說他也是屬於祭司家族。在以法蓮的分地裡也有分給利未人的城邑，因此我們知道，原來他們是住在以法蓮山地的利未人。可能是這個原因，所以即使在〈士師記〉那樣各自為王，各人任意而行的時代裡，以利加拿還是按著律法的規定，到耶和華的殿獻祭。那時候耶和華的殿指的是放有約櫃的會幕，也是摩西在西乃山下做的那個會幕。那時會幕放在示羅，因此以利加拿每年都會到示羅去敬拜祭祀萬軍之耶和華。

The Way The Father Blesses You

2021-06-11 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 27:30-46.  Let’s go! 

Genesis 27:30-33 (NIV)
30  After Isaac finished blessing him and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting.
31  He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, “My father, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”
32  His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?” “I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.”
33  Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him–and indeed he will be blessed!”

On verses 30-33:  Esau comes in to present his meal to his father and to receive his father’s blessing, but he is seconds too late, as Jacob has just finished impersonating him and has taken his father’s blessing in his place.  Why couldn’t Isaac just revoke his previous blessing on Jacob and bless Esau instead?  It’s because the kind of blessing at issue was, in Isaac’s culture, not just any blessing, but a special, irrevocable, once in a lifetime blessing from a father to a favoured son that could not be reversed, whether Isaac and Esau liked it or not.

第四封信：給推雅推喇教會(下)

2021-06-11 in , /by

續  (三, 主對他們的責備)

容讓耶洗別的結果，引誘他們行姦淫，吃祭偶像之物，他們有兩樣結果：

A.奸淫──以前亞哈作王的時候，容讓耶洗別，結果叫神的子民，犯奸淫。現在推雅推喇教會，也是如此。歷史告訴我們，從前天主教所設立的男女修道院，表面看來好像很清潔，神聖不可侵犯，其實他們兩方面，後此相通，內裏充滿污穢。但最要緊的是屬靈的奸淫、自從有天主教以來，到路德馬丁，在這一千多年，就是犯了屬靈的奸淫。就如〈雅各書〉所說：「與世俗為友。」各位親愛的弟兄姊妹，他們犯了屬靈的奸淫，直到大災難的時候，她是大淫婦。讀〈啟示錄〉十七章，就知道那大淫婦騎在一隻獸上，這大淫婦就是代表天主教，何等可怕。

B.拜偶像──他們又引誘人拜偶像。舊約時代亞哈的妻耶洗別帶領人拜偶像，今天天主教也是這樣。自從中世紀起，教會與世界聯婚，把羅馬教的偶像搬到教會中，今天沒有一個宗教，有如天主教那麼多的偶像。天主教為甚麼主張拜偶像，有兩個原因：

（1）要使全國人民信奉天主教，不能不把一般拜偶像的風俗改變了，立起馬利亞、耶穌、彼得等人的像，以迎合全國人的心，皆信天主教。

（2）天主教為甚麼要拜馬利亞？因為當時各國的宗教多有女神，如希臘教有女神，印度教有觀音，埃及教有地下女神，各個外邦宗教均有女神，惟獨只有基督教沒有女神，所以天主教就把馬利亞高舉，來跪拜她。親愛的弟兄姊妹，我們要認清天主教的罪惡，何等可怕。

2.第二責備他們始終不肯悔改：從這節經文可見他們始終不肯悔改，這是最愚拙的事，最悲慘的事。因為神有恩典，要他們悔改，但他們不肯悔改。各位，回頭看看教會史，自推雅推喇教會至今天，意大利的沙望拿路拉，英國的唯克禮夫，克利瑪，還有許多國的人興起，就是主要他們悔改。如德國馬丁路德的興起，但他們始終不肯悔改，硬著心。不肯悔改是最悲慘的事。

Receive the Father’s Highest Blessing

2021-06-10 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 27:15-29.  Let’s go!

Genesis 27:15-29 (NIV)
15  Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob.
16  She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins.
17  Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.
18  He went to his father and said, “My father.” “Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”
19  Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing.”……

On verses 15-29:  Rebekah dresses Jacob in Esau’s clothes (v15) and places goatskins on his hands and neck to mimic Esau’s hairiness (v16).  Carrying his father’s favourite meal (v17), Jacob then approaches his father Isaac in hopes of getting the blessing that was meant for Esau (v18-19).  Isaac is put off by two things.  First is the fact that the meal he requested was prepared so quickly (v20).  Second, the person approaching him sounds like Jacob but his hands feel like those of Esau (v21-22).  After being reassured by Jacob that the son before him is indeed Esau, Isaac eats the meal presented to him, asks the son before him to give him a kiss, and then blesses him.  Thinking he is blessing Esau, Isaac prays over Jacob a blessing of prosperity (v28), lordship over his brothers (v29) and protection.

波阿斯娶路得為妻

2021-06-10 in , /by

〈路得記〉4:15 他必提起你的精神，奉養你的老，因為是愛慕你的那兒婦所生的。有這兒婦比有七個兒子還好。

閱讀經文：〈路得記〉4:1-22 

每個人都想尋得真正的愛情，而愛情又唯有碰到試驗時，才能顯露出其本質。甜言蜜語很容易，但若是要用財產去換取，你願不願意？波阿斯就受到了這樣的考驗。在波阿斯所講的那位至近的親屬眼中，路得是誰？他知道拿俄米，因為他們是至親，但是路得是個摩押女子，與他何干？若是娶了拿俄米，這個老太婆生不出孩子，以利米勒的地就歸他了；若是娶了路得，年輕女人總還會生育，生了第一個兒子，地就是這個小傢伙的，那他落得兩袖清風，何苦？因此他寧可脫鞋。

在〈申命記〉第25章裡記載：「弟兄同居，若死了一個，沒有兒子，死人的妻不可出嫁外人，她丈夫的兄弟當盡弟兄的本分，娶她為妻，與與她同房。婦人生的長子必歸死兄的名下，免得他的名在以色列中塗抹了。」若兄弟不願意，「他哥哥的妻就要當著長老到那人的跟前，脫了他的鞋，吐唾沫在他臉上，說：『凡不為哥哥建立家室的都要這樣待他。  在以色列中，他的名必稱為脫鞋之家 』 」。這「弟兄”也包括至近的親屬。

為何有人不願意為哥哥或至近的親屬建立家室呢？因為於自己的產業有礙。路得於這至近的親屬是一個會影響他產業的負數，所以他不要。但是波阿斯為什麼寧可冒著對自己的產業有礙的風險，去娶路得呢？因為路得在他的眼中是個寶。他欣賞路得的品德，他明白路得是一個不可多得的女性，他寧可損失一些財產，也不願意失去路得。這就是路得在波阿斯心中的地位，勝過他的財產。

When the Direction You’re Considering Is A Wrong Shortcut

2021-06-09 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 27:1-14.  Let’s go!

Genesis 27:1-14 (NIV)
1  When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” he answered.
2  Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death.
3  Now then, get your weapons–your quiver and bow–and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me.
4  Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”……

On verses 1-14:  Isaac, up in years and eager to give his blessing to his firstborn son Esau before he dies, tells Esau to prepare his favourite meal so that he can give Esau his blessing.  Rebekah overhears Isaac’s plan, thinks about the fact that the older twin Esau was always meant to serve the younger twin Jacob.  So Rebekah decides to take matters into her own hands.  Instead of trying to reason with her husband Isaac as to why their firstborn Esau should not get the blessing, Rebekah chooses a dishonest, deceitful shortcut approach to trying to secure the blessing for her younger son Jacob. She thought, “I’ll just go behind Isaac’s back and trick Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing instead of Esau.” While it is true that in the short-term Rebekah would get what she wanted, her plan also led to several painful long-term consequences that Rebecca never intended:

路得有求於波阿斯

2021-06-09 in , /by

〈路得記〉  3:5     路得說：「凡你所吩咐的，我必遵行。」

閱讀經文：〈路得記〉 3:1-18

 在男女交往之間，一直以來有個不成文的規定，一般都是鳳求凰。因而也有人問，那麼就不可以凰求鳳嗎？當然有凰求鳳的例子，而且成功的還不少。當拿俄米向路得提出這個凰求鳳的建議時，路得的反應是：「凡你所吩咐的，我必遵行」。路得不是以色列人，可能不懂得以色列人的規矩和傳統，但是她相信拿俄米。在她要跟著拿俄米回伯利恒時，她已經說了：「你往哪裡去，我也往哪裡去；你在哪裡住宿，我也在哪裡住宿。你的國就是我的國，你的神就是我的神。你在哪裡死，我也在哪裡死，也葬在那裡。除非死能使你我相離。」這種信心，就是神向我們要的信心，但是即使死也不能使我們與主分離。

路得不明白以色列人的傳統，但是因為相信拿俄米，她就完全順服。這種順服也是神所求於我們的，因為相信神，所以不管明不明白，都願意順服。拿俄米叫路得去做的事，不是花好月圓那回事。拿俄米是要路得去探探波阿斯心裡有什麼想法？拿俄米所關心的是路得的終生幸福，不是她自己的利益關係。這樣的婆婆殊是難得，人都想養兒防老，沒兒了，有個願緊緊跟隨的媳婦，還能不把她抓緊一點，看緊一點？哪裡還讓她去跟別的男人製造機會？

但是拿俄米心裡還有件事，她的丈夫以利米勒和兒子都死了，以利米勒的產業沒人去贖回。除非有個至近的親屬，例如拿俄米的丈夫的兄弟再娶拿俄米，為拿俄米的丈夫生個兒子，才能繼承以利米勒的產業。

Forgiving Brings New Blessings

2021-06-08 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 26:23-35.  Let’s go!

Genesis 26:23-25 (NIV)
23  From there he went up to Beersheba.
24  That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”
25  Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.

On verses 23-25:  One thing Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, three generations of men, had in common was that after hearing God speak, each of them would build an altar to God and call on His name.  It’s a reminder to me that:

1. God wants to personally speak to people in every generation.  You were made not simply to hear about God from the generation before you.  You were made to personally hear from God yourself and to worship Him. 

2. Just as Isaac pitched his tent and dug a well in the same place where he worshiped God and heard from God, so may you choose to live near God’s presence every day, make worship your priority, and seek to add more blessings and prosperity to the place where you worship and hear from God.