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No Longer a Slave to Fear

2020-12-14 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Joshua 9:15-27.  Let’s go!

Joshua 9:15-21 (NIV) 
15  Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath. 
16  Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. 
17  So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. 
18  But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, 
19  but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the LORD, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. 
20  This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.”
21  They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community.” So the leaders’ promise to them was kept. 

On verses 15-21:  Just as the Israelites kept their promise not to attack the Gibeonites, you and I should do everything we can to be those who keep our word or fulfill our promises, even when it hurts (Psalm 15:4). 

神的揀選

2020-12-14 in /by

民數記 3:41 我是耶和華。你要揀選利未人歸我，代替以色列人所有頭生的；也取利未人的牲畜，代替以色列所有頭生的牲畜。

這是摩西和亞倫生命中很重要的時刻。神呼召亞倫和摩西同工，但是摩西一離開，亞倫就幫助百姓造金牛犢。當摩西質問他時，他把所有的責任都推到百姓身上。但是神沒有離棄他，神饒恕他，再給他一個機會，是一個極大的榮耀。

神揀選他做第一任的大祭司，讓他的兒子們做第一批的祭司。神命定祭司必須是亞倫的後裔，所以第一批的祭司只有亞倫的四個兒子。沒想到拿答和亞比戶一開始事奉就沒有按照神的吩咐，獻凡火，以致神當場把他們燒死。亞倫接受了最高的榮譽，也承受了最大的悲傷。

現在只剩下以利亞撒和以他瑪兩個祭司了。神不在乎事奉的人少，祂寧可要忠心的僕人，也不要任意妄為、自以為大的祭司。這是一個神接受人的敬拜之開始，不能出錯，神若任憑他們，不予管教，以後就會全盤皆錯。亞倫在這些事上，怎樣看他和神的關係呢？他開始明白，敬拜神不是兒戲。

他看到神召集所有利未支派的人來服侍他，協助他獻祭和辦理帳幕的事，他發現神竟然把他和他的家放在以色列人最崇高的位置上，甚至勝過摩西的後裔。他開始明白，神不是故意殺死拿答和亞比戶，而是在神的聖潔上，容不得人的罪之審判。審判從神的家開始(彼前4:17)，也就是從他的家開始。

他也因而明白，自己和後裔成了神和人之間的橋樑，在這個位置上若不謹慎，就會有生命危險。因為神在鑑察。亞倫的屬靈生命開始改變，開始有了敬畏之心。

Inquire of God before Making a Big Decision

2020-12-13 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Joshua 9:1-14.  Let’s go!

Joshua 9:1-14 (NIV) 
1  Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things–those in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)– 
2  they came together to make war against Joshua and Israel. 
3  However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 
4  they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. ……

On verses 1-14:  Unlike the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites who form an alliance to fight Joshua and the Israelites (v1-2), the Gibeonites take another approach (v3).  Believing they are no match for the Israelites, they decide instead to send a worn out looking delegation pretending to come from a far away country and wanting to make a peace treaty with the Israelites (v4-6).  Without looking into the issue too much, and without praying and asking God for guidance, the Israelites eventually make the peace treaty with the Gibeonites (v7-14).  Only later do you they discover that the Gibeonites actually lived very close to the Israelites.

不憂慮的秘訣(上)

2020-12-11 in /by

馬太福音6章33-34節    你們要先求祂的國和他的義，這些東西都要加給你們了。所以，不要為明天憂慮，因為明天自有明天的憂慮；一天的難處一天當就夠了。

掛慮侵蝕生命

　　我相信這段經文是有關人生在世真正過一個平穩生活的最好寫照。沒有人沒有困難或沒有憂慮的地方，因為人是有限的，我們對將來如何沒有把握，我們就經常掛慮，把思想用錯地方。憂慮是不需要的，計畫是需要的，但許多時候我們沒有計畫，沒有思考怎樣盡心盡力預備應對可能來到的困難的能力，我們嘗試把思想放在不需要的掛慮上。

　　信仰排除掛慮，一個有真正信心依靠上帝的人應該不是被掛慮綑綁的人，但因為我們的軟弱，我們常常看不清，沒有把握地相信上帝一定照顧、一定引導、一定賜福、保全我們的生活。缺乏信心讓掛慮侵蝕我們生命的中心點，使我們受不信的影響，天天不平安，沒有真正的信仰產生有把握的生活。心理學告訴我們人一生掛慮的事情百分之七十五以上沒有發生過，換句話說我們有一大堆的思想是用在不應該用的地方。如果我們增強信心，我們的信仰就能把掛慮排除出去。

　　我這一生可以說相當仰望上帝、依靠上帝，知道上帝施恩，我的掛慮應當比別人更少，但仍然無法完全。好像前天我孩子撞車的事情，我感覺孩子應當感謝上帝，因為沒有任何人死就是一個大恩典，也沒有撞死任何人，也是一個大恩典。我們一生撞車可能好幾次，如果有一次撞死別人，我們以後良心將何等痛苦，要怎樣過生活呢？

Take a Moment to Be Still and Worship

2020-12-11 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Joshua 8:28-35.  Let’s go!

Joshua 8:28-29 (NIV) 
28  So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. 
29  He hung the king of Ai on a tree and left him there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take his body from the tree and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.

On verses 28-29:  Whenever there is a change in regime, the leader of that old regime must “die”.  In ancient cultures and in times of war, this has been expressed through the king or leader of the losing nation to be killed, as in the case here where the king of Ai is hung and buried under a pile of rocks at the entrance of Ai’s city gate (v29).  In more modern times, the “death” of the old regime’s leader could mean, depending on the context, deposing the incumbent leader in the case of politics, firing the president and CEO in the case of a business, or changing general managers or head coaches in the case of sports. The same goes for the regime change that took place in your heart when you invited Jesus Christ into your life.  On that day, Jesus Christ took over as king of your life and the old leader, the old king – that is, you – died.  Christian, may you always remember who is now the king of your life.

在曠野裡

2020-12-10 in /by

〈民數記〉2:34   以色列人就這樣行，各人照他們的家室、宗族歸於本纛，安營起行，都是照耶和華所吩咐摩西的。

根據維基百科，〈民數記〉（Numbers）這個名字採自《通俗拉丁文本聖經》中紐米利(Numeri)一詞，而這個字詞則從希臘文《七十士譯本》的阿利夫摩依(Arithmoi′)演變而來。然而，猶太人更貼切地將這本書稱為必密巴(Bemidhbar′)，意即「在曠野裏」。密巴(midh•bar′)這個希伯來字是指一個沒有城鎮的曠野之地。這卷書的拉丁名是Numeri，希臘名是Arithmoi「在荒漠」，希伯來語Bemidbar，「in the wilderness of” [Sinai] 」在西乃的曠野。數點民衆這件事發生於此曠野，本書內容講述以色列百姓「在曠野」歷時 38 年漂流遷徙「信心拉扯」的經歷。

〈出埃及記〉的第19章第1節說：「以色列人出埃及地以後，滿了三個月的那一天，就來到西奈的曠野。」而在〈民數記〉的第1章第1節已經是「第二年二月初一日」，他們在西乃山下已經住了整整十個月了。在這段時間裡，神沒有急急忙忙地把他們帶到迦南地，而是要他們停下來，學習神的律法，做好會幕，建立與神的關係。

這是我們在聖靈裡經常要學習的功課，便是停下來。我們渴望成功，巴不得立刻就離開曠野到迦南。但是神要我們先建立和祂的關係，學習聆聽神的聲音，等候神的帶領。神並不把“成功”作為人生的里程碑，因為在神有什麼成功不成功，只要是在神的手裡，就沒有失敗。在今年的疫情裡，我們都在學這個功課，停下來，等待神的帶領。

做好會幕之後，神要摩西計算所有能出去打仗的男丁。神讓以色列人在埃及，從家族變成一個民族，現在要把這個民族變成一個國家。國家需要法律，也需要軍隊；有律法才能建規矩，有軍隊才能禦外侮，保護國民。「耶和華怎樣吩咐摩西，他就怎樣在西奈的曠野數點他們。」摩西在神面前何等謙卑。可能有人會覺得，數點人數有什麼困難，讓我來吧。因而沒辦法聽到神說，數點廿歲以上的就好啊！想要學摩西，不能不學會安靜的聽。

以色列人和華人有一個很相似之處，華人的生肖以動物為記號；以色列人出埃及之後，好幾個支派的徽記都以動物為記號。猶大的旗纛上是獅子，流便的旗纛是水，以法蓮的旗纛是牛，但的旗纛是鷹，以薩迦是驢，便雅憫是狼，拿弗他利是鹿；希布崙是船，迦得和西緬是不一樣的城堡，亞設是糧食，約瑟是結果子的樹枝，等等，都是按著雅各給十二個兒子的祝福而設立的記號。

Stretch It Out

2020-12-10 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Joshua 8:18-27.  Let’s go!

Joshua 8:18-27 (NIV) 
18  Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out his javelin toward Ai. 
19  As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly from their position and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it and quickly set it on fire. 
20  The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising against the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction, for the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the desert had turned back against their pursuers. 
21  For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from the city, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. 
22  The men of the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives. ……

On verses 18-27:  Here we see Joshua and the Israelites achieving a dominant and overwhelming victory over the city of Ai and its king.  The ambush strategy God gave Joshua works perfectly, as the king of Ai and his troops are caught outside of their city walls and being attacked both from the front and from behind by Israelite forces.

What can we learn from this?  For me the image of Joshua obeying God’s command and stretching out his javelin toward the city of Ai (v18, 26) is a powerful one.  It reminds me of the time when Moses and the Israelites were fleeing from the Egyptians and God tells Moses to “[r]aise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.” (Exodus 14:16)  

挺身而走

2020-12-10 in /by

〈利未記〉26章13節    我是耶和華─你們的　神，曾將你們從埃及地領出來，使你們不作埃及人的奴僕；我也折斷你們所負的軛，叫你們挺身而走。

現在我們己經到了〈利未記〉的尾聲，你可以猜猜看，以色列人現在在哪裡嗎？你有沒有發現從到了西乃山下之後，以色列人到現在都還沒有動。所以〈利未記〉是何意呢？就是在西乃山下，神把律法和典章傳給以色列人的一段時期。

為何神要在西乃山下做這件耗時耗力的工作呢？因為這個地方人煙稀少，以後越走，敵人越多，要考慮的事也更多。之前是埃及，之後是迦南，只有在曠野裡，神能跟祂的百姓好好交心。

試想神若不把這些典章律例都教他們，那他們中間的判斷從何而來？所以神的律法典章就是以色列立國的根基。神做事情很有計劃，都先把話講在前頭，順不順服由你，後果自付，這就是成長和成熟要付的代價。

有的人不要信神，因為怕束縛。但是提摩太.凱勒牧師說：「To insist doctrine doesn’t matter is really a doctrine itself. 」堅持不要教義(教條或學說)，這本身就是一種教義或教條。另外一種說法是，跟隨耶穌要付出代價，不跟隨耶穌也要付出代價。你可以想像這兩種代價是什麼嗎？你願意付出哪種代價？一種是今生遠離罪惡的代價，一種是遠離神的家，進入撒旦權勢領域，最後跟著牠下地獄的代價。

神在〈利未記〉的結束之前也把兩種代價訴諸以色列民。神總是給人有選擇的權利，因為祂尊重我們，有尊重的愛才是真正的愛。就好像有的父母強制要兒女按著他們安排的「最好計劃」去過他們的人生，造成很多年輕人受不了壓力而輕生或怨恨或反目的例子。那不是真愛，因為不尊重他們兒女的選擇，或根本不給他們選擇。但是神真的愛我們，即使我們選得不好，祂還是愛我們，一路引導我們，直到我們回歸正路。

Watch Your Back

2020-12-09 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Joshua 8:9-17.  Let’s go!

Joshua 8:9-17 (NIV) 
9  Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai–but Joshua spent that night with the people. 
10  Early the next morning Joshua mustered his men, and he and the leaders of Israel marched before them to Ai. 
11  The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city and arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the city. 
12  Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. 
13  They had the soldiers take up their positions–all those in the camp to the north of the city and the ambush to the west of it. That night Joshua went into the valley. ……

On verses 9-17:  When the king of Ai saw that Joshua had stationed troops in front of the city, he hurried to meet them for battle (v14).  Then when Joshua’s men began to retreat (v15), King Ai told all his men to pursue them (v16), thus leaving the city of Ai open and vulnerable to attack from behind (v17).  Because the king of Ai was in a hurry, he made a rushed decision that exposed his city to attack.  Like a quarterback in football who gets sacked from behind, King Ai didn’t watch his back, and thus he didn’t see ambushers coming (v14).