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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

〈撒母耳记上〉 1:28 所以，我将这孩子归于耶和华，使他终身归于耶和华。

阅读经文：〈撒母耳记上〉 1 :1-28 

从〈约书亚记〉一路读来，我们对以法莲山地似乎听很多次了，那究竟是一个什么样的地方，能养出那么多名人，发生那么多大事呢？从大面积来说，以法莲山地包括了玛拿西半个支派和以法莲支派的分地；从小面积来说，就只是指以法莲的分地，北部称为撒玛利亚山地，南部就称为以法莲山地。其山地的高度约在 600 至 900 公尺之间，是自北向南逐渐倾斜，东侧多石，雨量和水源皆很少，十分贫瘠；西侧则多水源，土地相当肥沃，富于各种农产品。

约书亚的地业在以法莲山地的亭拿西拉，他去世后安葬于此；亚伦的儿子以利亚撒死后也葬于此山。士师以笏刺死摩押王 伊矶伦后，在以法莲山地吹角，集合以色列人击杀欺压他们的摩押人。女士师底波拉住在以法莲山地的拉玛和伯特利中间。以法莲人可能因为出了这么多「大人物」，以至他们心高气傲，时时在战后与负责人发生纠纷，例如和基甸和耶弗他。后来因为向耶弗他挑衅，又出言不逊，侮辱基列人，以致被追杀，死了四万两千人，终于一蹶不振。

撒母耳的父母亲也住在以法莲山地，根据〈历代志上〉第六章22-27节的记载，原来以利加拿是利未的儿子哥辖的后裔，是个正统的利未人，也有解经家说他也是属于祭司家族。在以法莲的分地里也有分给利未人的城邑，因此我们知道，原来他们是住在以法莲山地的利未人。可能是这个原因，所以即使在〈士师记〉那样各自为王，各人任意而行的时代里，以利加拿还是按著律法的规定，到耶和华的殿献祭。那时候耶和华的殿指的是放有约柜的会幕，也是摩西在西乃山下做的那个会幕。那时会幕放在示罗，因此以利加拿每年都会到示罗去敬拜祭祀万军之耶和华。

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：给推雅推喇教会(下)

2021-06-11 in , /by

续  (三, 主对他们的责备)

容让耶洗别的结果，引诱他们行奸淫，吃祭偶像之物，他们有两样结果：

A.奸淫──以前亚哈作王的时候，容让耶洗别，结果叫神的子民，犯奸淫。现在推雅推喇教会，也是如此。历史告诉我们，从前天主教所设立的男女修道院，表面看来好像很清洁，神圣不可侵犯，其实他们两方面，后此相通，内里充满污秽。但最要紧的是属灵的奸淫、自从有天主教以来，到路德马丁，在这一千多年，就是犯了属灵的奸淫。就如〈雅各书〉所说：「与世俗为友。」各位亲爱的弟兄姊妹，他们犯了属灵的奸淫，直到大灾难的时候，她是大淫妇。读〈启示录〉十七章，就知道那大淫妇骑在一只兽上，这大淫妇就是代表天主教，何等可怕。

B.拜偶像──他们又引诱人拜偶像。旧约时代亚哈的妻耶洗别带领人拜偶像，今天天主教也是这样。自从中世纪起，教会与世界联婚，把罗马教的偶像搬到教会中，今天没有一个宗教，有如天主教那么多的偶像。天主教为甚么主张拜偶像，有两个原因：

（1）要使全国人民信奉天主教，不能不把一般拜偶像的风俗改变了，立起马利亚、耶稣、彼得等人的像，以迎合全国人的心，皆信天主教。

（2）天主教为甚么要拜马利亚？因为当时各国的宗教多有女神，如希腊教有女神，印度教有观音，埃及教有地下女神，各个外邦宗教均有女神，惟独只有基督教没有女神，所以天主教就把马利亚高举，来跪拜她。亲爱的弟兄姊妹，我们要认清天主教的罪恶，何等可怕。

2.第二责备他们始终不肯悔改：从这节经文可见他们始终不肯悔改，这是最愚拙的事，最悲惨的事。因为神有恩典，要他们悔改，但他们不肯悔改。各位，回头看看教会史，自推雅推喇教会至今天，意大利的沙望拿路拉，英国的唯克礼夫，克利玛，还有许多国的人兴起，就是主要他们悔改。如德国马丁路德的兴起，但他们始终不肯悔改，硬着心。不肯悔改是最悲惨的事。

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.

波阿斯娶路得为妻

2021-06-10 in , /by

〈路得记〉4:15 他必提起你的精神，奉养你的老，因为是爱慕你的那儿妇所生的。有这儿妇比有七个儿子还好。

阅读经文：〈路得记〉4:1-22 

每个人都想寻得真正的爱情，而爱情又唯有碰到试验时，才能显露出其本质。甜言蜜语很容易，但若是要用财产去换取，你愿不愿意？波阿斯就受到了这样的考验。在波阿斯所讲的那位至近的亲属眼中，路得是谁？他知道拿俄米，因为他们是至亲，但是路得是个摩押女子，与他何干？若是娶了拿俄米，这个老太婆生不出孩子，以利米勒的地就归他了；若是娶了路得，年轻女人总还会生育，生了第一个儿子，地就是这个小家伙的，那他落得两袖清风，何苦？因此他宁可脱鞋。

在〈申命记〉第25章里记载：「弟兄同居，若死了一个，没有儿子，死人的妻不可出嫁外人，她丈夫的兄弟当尽弟兄的本分，娶她为妻，与与她同房。妇人生的长子必归死兄的名下，免得他的名在以色列中涂抹了。」若兄弟不愿意，「他哥哥的妻就要当着长老到那人的跟前，脱了他的鞋，吐唾沫在他脸上，说：『凡不为哥哥建立家室的都要这样待他。  在以色列中，他的名必称为脱鞋之家 』 」。这「弟兄”也包括至近的亲属。

为何有人不愿意为哥哥或至近的亲属建立家室呢？因为于自己的产业有碍。路得于这至近的亲属是一个会影响他产业的负数，所以他不要。但是波阿斯为什么宁可冒着对自己的产业有碍的风险，去娶路得呢？因为路得在他的眼中是个宝。他欣赏路得的品德，他明白路得是一个不可多得的女性，他宁可损失一些财产，也不愿意失去路得。这就是路得在波阿斯心中的地位，胜过他的财产。

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:

路得有求于波阿斯

2021-06-09 in , /by

〈路得记〉  3:5     路得说：「凡你所吩咐的，我必遵行。」

阅读经文：〈路得记〉 3:1-18

 在男女交往之间，一直以来有个不成文的规定，一般都是凤求凰。因而也有人问，那么就不可以凰求凤吗？当然有凰求凤的例子，而且成功的还不少。当拿俄米向路得提出这个凰求凤的建议时，路得的反应是：「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规矩和传统，但是她相信拿俄米。在她要跟着拿俄米回伯利恒时，她已经说了：「你往哪里去，我也往哪里去；你在哪里住宿，我也在哪里住宿。你的国就是我的国，你的神就是我的神。你在哪里死，我也在哪里死，也葬在那里。除非死能使你我相离。」这种信心，就是神向我们要的信心，但是即使死也不能使我们与主分离。

路得不明白以色列人的传统，但是因为相信拿俄米，她就完全顺服。这种顺服也是神所求于我们的，因为相信神，所以不管明不明白，都愿意顺服。拿俄米叫路得去做的事，不是花好月圆那回事。拿俄米是要路得去探探波阿斯心里有什么想法？拿俄米所关心的是路得的终生幸福，不是她自己的利益关系。这样的婆婆殊是难得，人都想养儿防老，没儿了，有个愿紧紧跟随的媳妇，还能不把她抓紧一点，看紧一点？哪里还让她去跟别的男人制造机会？

但是拿俄米心里还有件事，她的丈夫以利米勒和儿子都死了，以利米勒的产业没人去赎回。除非有个至近的亲属，例如拿俄米的丈夫的兄弟再娶拿俄米，为拿俄米的丈夫生个儿子，才能继承以利米勒的产业。

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.