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Grace and Mercy Beyond Our Imagination

2021-05-23 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 20:1-18.  Let’s go!

Genesis 20:1-18 (NIV)
1  Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar,
2  and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
3  But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”……

On verses 1-18:  Here once again we see the tremendous mercy and grace God showed to Abraham even after Abraham repeats in the land of Gerar the same fearful behavior he became famous for in Egypt (Genesis 12:10-20).  Just as he did to Pharaoh in Egypt, Abraham hides from Abimelech king of Gerar the fact that Abraham and Sarah are married.  Instead Abraham tells Abimelech that he and Sarah are only brother and sister.  His motive is the same as in Egypt: he feared that his life would be in danger if people found out he was married to Sarah.  Sarah is brought into Abimelech’s home as a concubine, but before Abimelech can touch Sarah, Abimelech is warned by God in a dream that Sarah is married.

耶弗他許願

2021-05-23 in , /by

〈士師記〉 11:32   於是耶弗他往亞捫人那裡去，與他們爭戰。耶和華將他們交在他手中。

閱讀經文：〈士師記〉士師記 11:1-40

正當亞捫人前來挑釁時，以色列人卻像熱鍋上竹日心戈 螞蟻，著急不知要找誰來帶領他們出戰。在情急之中，他們想到了一個被他們輕視又趕走的人。

從亞比米勒和耶弗他的出身，我們看到男人放縱情慾的後果，造成很多家庭裡悲傷的故事。亞比米勒是基甸在示劍娶的小妾，在基甸的家中根本不被重視，或者可以說根本不被承認，因為他和他的媽媽很可能都住在示劍，靠基甸每個月的供養。但是基甸有那麼多妻妾在家裡，又怎麼來得及去照顧他們母子？所以亞比米勒才會那麼盼望被重視，那麼盼望做領導，更狠心到把七十個兄弟殺掉，反正這些人從來就沒有把他看在眼裡。以色列人想到的耶弗他也是個可憐的孩子，因為他的母親曾是妓女，所以在家裡的地位也不被承認，在父親過世後，兄弟們要分產業時就把他趕出去。

假如他們的父親不到處拈花惹草，又怎麼會使這些兒子們從小就過著被人欺凌的日子，以致心理受到太多創傷，從而造成家庭的不幸呢？「基列人耶弗他是個大能的勇士，是妓女的兒子」，這句話道盡了耶他的悲傷。大能的勇士a mighty man of valor，是指他不只長得很威武，而且很有能力。可是雖然大家都公認他很有能力和膽識，他卻總被「妓女的兒子」這個稱號壓得死死的。不管他事情做得多好，人家都叫他是妓女的兒子，讓他一輩子抬不起頭。

第二封信：給示每拿教會

2021-05-21 in , /by

對士每拿教會，耶穌沒有一句責備的話。他們因不肯妥協膜拜羅馬皇 帝，不但在經濟上、名聲上受到損失， 性命還受到威脅。士每拿教會從頭到 尾都在受苦，為耶穌付上代價，耶穌 應許他們：「凡得勝的，我必賜給他 生命的冠冕。」當時教會所在的那座 山就叫「冠冕」，所以當耶穌說士每 拿有冠冕，表明祂要給的是更好的冠 冕—永生，只要教會對祂至死忠心。 對這個城市，有四件事需要知道：

這是個美麗的城市，所以得 到許多封號，如「亞細亞的榮耀」等， 這個城市有許多值得驕傲的事。它是 在西元前一千年建立，但五百年後被 毀，所以這個城市曾經死而復生。被毀後三百年又重建，信中也提到它「死 過又活」。聳立在舊城這邊的，是一 座壯麗的高山，稱為「士每拿的冠冕」。
這個城市很富裕。西方運來土耳其的貨物，都從這個港埠進來，是很壯觀的港口。
這個城市充滿文化氣息，而且氣候宜人，在土耳其很難得。城中曾有一個巨大的體育場， 也有圖書館和劇院。這城最重要的一 點是非常愛國，每次戰爭後改朝換代的統治者，都得到士每拿人最高度的效忠。當時它十分效忠羅馬帝國，忠心膜拜皇帝。而膜拜凱撒的習俗，是百姓自己開始的，並不是皇帝的命令。

耶穌在這封信中給自己兩個名稱： 1. 我是首先的、末後的，意思是我開始這一切，也會結束這一切，在人 類的歷史上，耶穌是第一，也是最後；是阿拉法，也是俄梅戛。非基督徒看耶穌只是一個活到 33 歲的 人，但對教會來說，從頭到尾都是耶穌的作為，祂是基督、是主。

Don’t Conform But Be Transformed

2021-05-21 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 19:23-38.  Let’s go!

Genesis 19:23-28 (NIV)
23  By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land.
24  Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah–from the LORD out of the heavens.
25  Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities–and also the vegetation in the land.
26  But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27  Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD.
28  He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.

On verses 23-28:  God’s wrath against sin is real.  It is only by God’s mercy and grace expressed through Jesus Christ on the cross that we have hope and protection against God’s wrath.  When Jesus first came to as a suffering servant to die for our sins.  The next time Jesus comes, He will not come as a suffering servant but as a righteous judge and conquering king.  In fact, in Luke 17, when Jesus describes his second coming, he compares it to the way God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah:

陀拉和睚珥

2021-05-20 in , /by

〈士師記〉 10:14 你們去哀求所選擇的神！你們遭遇急難的時候，讓他救你們吧！

閱讀經文：〈士師記〉 10:1-18 

以色列人的惡性循環：平安時就離開神去拜偶像，危難中就求神拯救；回到神面前享有平安之後，又逐漸變壞。這實在是全人類的特質，並不是以色列人才有。因此《聖經》沒有剔除這一卷不甚光榮的書卷，反而把它留著，目的就是要讓人類看到自己的罪吧。在受難節的敬拜裡，我的腦海中出現兩幅圖，左邊一幅是耶穌受難，右邊是人類的犯罪。似乎落在耶穌身上的每一個鞭打，都有一個字跟著出現「paid（付清）」。右邊的圖是人類數不盡的罪過，左邊的圖是耶穌被凌辱的每一個場景。這就是受難節的意思：「祂誠然擔當我們的憂患，背負我們的痛苦；為我們的過犯受害，為我們的罪孽壓傷。因祂受的刑罰我們得平安，因祂受的鞭傷我們得醫治。 我們都如羊走迷，各人偏行己路，耶和華使我們眾人的罪孽都歸在祂身上。（節錄賽53:4-6）」

我們若明白受難節的意義，就不會繼續讓主受苦，而遠離罪中之樂；更不會讓這樣的惡性循環繼續下去，而是忠心跟隨主，至死不渝。以色列人每一次轉去拜別人的神，就等於又打了神一大巴掌，又再次鞭打耶穌，再次把祂釘在十字架上。神賜給人的救恩雖不取分文，可也不致低賤到如此的地步。但是以色列人不懂得珍惜這至上的恩典，竟把祂視如敝屣，以人造的偶像來取代這帶領他們出埃及，引導他們屢次得勝的真神。我們會不會也如此？在生活中忘記這位犧牲一切來愛我們的神？

Wave after Wave of God’s Mercy and Protection

2021-05-20 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 19:12-22.  Let’s go!

Genesis 19:12-13 (NIV)
12  The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here–sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here,
13  because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”

On verses 12-13:  In Genesis 18:16-33, Abraham kept asking God to spare the city of Sodom if God found 50, 45, 40, 30, 20 or 10 people who are righteous, and God agreed.  The fact that God still went ahead and destroyed Sodom suggests that God did not find anyone righteous in Sodom.  That is because compared to God’s perfect standard of holiness, “no one is righteous, not even one…all have turned away” (Romans 3:10,12). 

亞比米勒的下場

2021-05-19 in , /by

〈士師記〉   9:56 這樣，神報應亞比米勒向他父親所行的惡，就是殺了弟兄七十個人的惡。

閱讀經文：〈士師記〉  9:26-57

人一生的所作所為，是否都在神的眼目之中呢？〈傳道書〉十二章，所羅門王做了一個總結：「人所做的事，連一切隱藏的事，無論是善是惡，神都必審問。」無論是善是惡，神都察看，何況是亞比米勒殺了七十個親兄弟，搶著當王一事，神豈能不審問？在讀這一章的內容時，彷彿在看一場極為緊張的電影，又有點像黑手黨的內鬥，黑吃黑，一點都沒有憐憫，只想致對方於死地。不是你死便是我死，拚鬥十分激烈。

以別的兒子迦勒可能是原來示劍城的主人之後，因為在他鼓動眾人時，他說「你們可以服侍示劍的父親哈抹的後裔」，表明他是哈抹的後裔，他才是示劍城的主人，所以示劍人應當跟隨他。雖然利未和西緬當時殺死了所有示劍城的男人（創34），可能當時有人正懷著胎兒，逃出了他們的毒手。因此他也指出，亞比米勒不是真正的示劍人。雖然他的母親是示劍人，但他的父親是以色列人，以別的兒子迦勒才是真正的示劍之主。迦勒等待這個報仇的機會，應該已經等待很久，籌謀計劃有段時間了。

在亞比米勒想做王時，示劍人稱他為弟兄；等示劍人要叛變時，亞比米勒什麼也不是，變成外人，變成敵人了。在迦勒的聳動下，示劍人背棄了亞比米勒，在各交通要道上搶劫行旅，使亞比米勒的名聲受損，讓人不再信任他的統治，因為他不能再保障過境旅客的財產和生命安全。一旦過境的旅客銳減，亞比米勒的稅收也相應下降，削減了亞比米勒的經濟來源。

Sin’s Effect on Our Lives

2021-05-19 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 19:1-11.  Let’s go!

Genesis 19:1-3 (NIV)
1  The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.
2  “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.” “No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”
3  But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.

On verses 1-3:  The fact that Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city of Sodom leads some scholars to believe that Lot was a leader in the city of Sodom.  Lot invites two visitors, who happen to be angels, to rest at his house.  The fact that Lot prepares a meal of bread without yeast suggests that it was quite a rushed meal.  Lot doesn’t seem to go out of his way to serve his visitors lavishly as much as Abraham did for his three visitors in Genesis 18.  Even in how they serve their visitors you can see the difference between Abraham and Lot.  Perhaps Lot’s lesser hospitality was influenced by the self-centered culture of the city he lived in, in which case it shows that sin has this shrinking effect on our heart to love others.  In any event, you can understand why God blessed and used Abraham more than God blessed and used Lot.  How you welcome God into your life will directly impact how much God will bless and use your life.

Standing in the Gap

2021-05-18 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 18:1-15.  Let’s go!

Genesis 18:16-21 (NIV)
16  When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way.
17  Then the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
18  Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
19  For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
20  Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous
21  that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

On verses 16-21:  Here God confides in Abraham regarding what He is planning to do to Sodom and Gomorrah.  Likewise, when you make it your life’s passion to worship, obey and trust God, God will entrust you with the things that are on His heart.

亞比米勒殺基甸眾子

2021-05-18 in , /by

〈士師記〉   9: 23 神使惡魔降在亞比米勒和示劍人中間，示劍人就以詭詐待亞比米勒。

閱讀經文：〈士師記〉  9:1-25

耶路巴力，就是基甸。「耶路」就是爭論，耶路巴力就是「讓巴力與他爭論」的意思。這是在基甸蒙召後，拆掉巴力的祭壇後，他的父親對攻擊他的人所說的話：「巴力若果是神，有人拆毀他的壇，讓他為自己爭論吧！」耶路巴力的名字由此而來。能跟巴力爭論，是何等的地位？

基甸是指大能的勇士，可是這位大能的勇士把米甸人趕走後，就把他的精力全用在生兒子的事上。一個男人要在多少年裡可以生下七十個兒子呢？那必定有許多女人的幫忙。沒想到耶路巴力忙了那麼多年，生了那麼多兒子，在世人中好像建立起很大的勢力，可是在神的眼中卻不堪一擊。全部被他自己的一個兒子殺掉了。他多年的努力換來一場家族的大慘劇。這是神給他的縱情聲色的人生的一個評語：一無可取。枉費神對他的一番栽培，信任和託付。

基甸放棄神給他的託付，做了一付以弗得，讓以色列人陷入拜偶像的罪惡裡，然後縱情聲色。但是他的婢女為他所生的一個兒子亞比米勒，卻對權力有十分的渴望，不甘長居人下。試想，在一個大家族裡，婢女所生的孩子會受到怎樣的待遇呢？若是在古代的朝鮮或韓國，庶出的兒女地位就如奴隸一般，是沒有前途的，更別想分家產。亞比米勒怎能不為自己的前途憂心？因此他想出了一個可怕的計劃。他若想要出人頭地，就必須去除那些擋在他前面的人。誰有資格成為以色列人的掌權者呢？基甸不做，再來豈不當由基甸的兒子接任嗎？要死了幾個兒子才能輪到亞米比勒？可能終其一生都等不到了。