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When Idolatry Becomes Adultery

2020-07-21 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 16:15-34.  Let’s go!

On verses 15-34:  Here in verses 15-34 the love story between God and the city of Jerusalem takes a tragic turn.  God recounts how Jerusalem’s love for God grows cold and Jerusalem chases after other lovers instead.

Here God compares Jerusalem’s idolatry to adultery.  That’s because Jerusalem had made vows to the Lord and had a relationship with the Lord much like married people do, and then Jerusalem cheated on Him by running to other gods, such as the gods of Egypt (v26), Philistia (v27), Assyria (v28) and Babylonia (v29).

God also compares Jerusalem’s idolatry to prostitution, for Jerusalem was taking her beauty as well as the gifts and treasures that God had given Jerusalem and was giving them away to other nations and other gods to use (v15-19).  The only difference between Jerusalem and a prostitute is that instead of these other nations paying Jerusalem in exchange for her affection, Jerusalem incredibly pays other nations to take her affection (v33-34).

大衛秉公行義

2020-07-21 in /by

撒母耳記下八章6/14節    大衛無論往哪裏去，耶和華都使他得勝。

在〈撒母耳記下〉8章裡，作者給了大衛幾個點評。一是大衛東征西討，成了當地的覇主，是因為「 大衛無論往哪裏去，耶和華都使他得勝。」其二，「大衛作全以色列的王，又向眾百姓秉公行義。」所以大衛對外所向披靡，對內則秉公行義，整個以色列國，直到此時，才真正走上軌道。這也是以色列終於安定和大治的時期。

這裡我們要來對照一下兩節經文，可以幫助我們理解其內容。

〈撒母耳記下〉8章1節：此後，大衛攻打非利士人，制伏了他們。大衛從非利士人手中奪取了京城的治理權。

〈歷代志上〉18章1節    此後，大衛攻打非利士人，制伏了他們，從非利士人手中奪取了迦特和所屬的鄉鎮。

這兩節經文都在講同一件事，只是用詞有點不同。〈撒下〉的「京城的治理權」，原文音譯「米特‧雅瑪」，意思是「母城的嚼環」，對照〈歷上〉，原來指的就是「迦特和所屬的鄉鎮」。在大衛逃亡時，曾經兩次去迦特尋求非利士王的庇護，可見在當時迦特是非利士的京城，大衛打下迦特和所屬的鄉鎮，自然也取得其治理權。

大衛攻擊摩押人，使他們躺臥在地上，用繩來量，量二繩的殺了，量一繩的活著。摩押人曾讓大衛年老的父母度過最後一段人生，不必隨大衛東奔西逃，此時大衛也手下留情，讓年輕的摩押人可以生存下去。不至於滅族。

有時大自然生存的法則就是如此。昨天外子在院子裡看到有隻蜜蜂誤入一張蛛網，結果就被等在那裡的小蜘蛛一口一口吃掉了。本來想救那隻蜜蜂，可惜牠己經死了。一旦救出蜜蜂，蜘蛛又會餓死，

When Jesus Rescued Us

2020-07-20 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 16:1-14.  Let’s go!

Ezekiel 16:1-2 (NIV) 
1  The word of the LORD came to me: 
2  “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices
 
On verses 1-2:  In chapter 16, the Lord gives Ezekiel a second parable with which the Lord wants Ezekiel to confront the city of Jerusalem.  The parable is about Jerusalem and her unfaithfulness toward God.  The next 12 verses (verses 3-14) describe the initially beautiful part of the love story between the Lord and the city of Jerusalem. They also reflect what God did for us through Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 16:3 (NIV) 
3  and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.
 
On verse 3:  The reference to Jerusalem’s ancestry and birth being “in the land of the Canaanites” is probably a reference to how the city of Jerusalem was not originally founded by Israelites, but by Canaanites.  The same goes for the reference to how Jerusalem’s “father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite” (v2).  The point here is that originally Jerusalem was not entitled to God’s special love or attention.  Rather God supernaturally chose Jerusalem.

大衛為聖殿預備

2020-07-19 in /by

撒母耳記下 七章2節   王對拿單先知說：「你看，我住在香柏木的宮中，神的約櫃卻停在幔子裏。」

今天這節經文是令我深為感動的一節經文。世界上多的是父母為兒女購屋置產，會想到在自己住家附近為父母購置住處的人甚少。大衛縱使有百般不是，但是他對神的心卻是那麼真誠。他經常會想到：「 我能為耶和華神做何事？  」

有些人在談戀愛時，會天天為對方預備早餐，有的會替對方洗腳按摩，有的人會送花，預備假日出遊的行程，準備一些驚喜，等等。但是結婚之後，就一切從簡，送鮮花不如送塑膠花，一勞永逸；更別說會經常想到生他養他，什麼都給他的父母。但是大衛不是這樣，神恩待他，他銘刻於心，時時想念。

當他向先知約拿單談這件事時，約拿單立刻說：「你可以完全照你的心意去做，因為耶和華與你同在。」這件事讓我們明白，有時候神的僕人也會按著人的心意去判斷事情，但是神的心意和人的心意不見得會一致，因此我們自己要凡事求問神，確定是出於神的帶領，才不會後悔。

當晚神就向約拿單顯現，表明祂自己的心意。因為大衛是個戰士，流血太多，所以神要讓大衛的兒子，生在太平時代的所羅門為他建殿(代上22:8)。大衛聽後雖然感到遺憾，卻並不氣餒。反而更積極地為建殿的事工做各方面的準備。聖殿建好後，沒有人記念大衛的功績，但是大衛不介意，他的心只想討神的歡喜。

我們有時也可能愛慕某些事奉，但是沒有神的託付。我們要學習大衛，只為了討神喜悅，自己的得失都不計較，盡力與他人配合，做幕後工作也開心，只願神的名被高舉，神得到榮耀。

Jerusalem as a Useless Vine

2020-07-19 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 15:1-8.  Let’s go!

On verses 1-8:  Here Ezekiel senses the Lord give him the first of three parables concerning the unfaithfulness of the people living in Jerusalem.  In this parable, the Lord compares the people living in Jerusalem to a fruitless vine whose wood is unusable (v2-3) especially after having been burned in a fire (v4-5).  The people living in Jerusalem had already “come out of the fire” of one Babylonian attack in 597 B.C. (v7).  However, the Lord warns that a similar “fire will yet consume them” again (v7), meaning that they would be subject to another Babylonian attack.  As history would show, this “fire” would take place in 586 B.C. due to the Israelites’ unfaithfulness to God (v8).

What can we learn from this?  These verses remind me of what Jesus says about the disciple who does not bear fruit.  God made us to bear fruit for Him.   As Jesus says, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples…You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit–fruit that will last.” (John 15:8, 16a)

What kind of fruit does God make us to bear? 

安息日的意義

2020-07-17 in /by

20世紀著名希伯來語作家Asher Ginsburg說: 『不是猶太人持守-保存了安息日，而是安息日「扶持-保存了」猶太人』

每個星期五的傍晚，當太陽落下、漆黑的夜晚出現明亮之星時，就是進入安息日那聖潔，又歡愉的美好時刻。

因為這一天，是「家人團聚」的家庭日，在外地工作或當兵的兒女們，在安息日的時候，一定會回家吃這一頓安息日晚餐，和父母親聊聊天、話家常，分享過去一週生活的點點滴滴、酸天苦辣。而作父母的也會預備豐盛的佳餚，等著兒女們歸家，當每一位家庭成員全數到齊，確認闔家平安，於是就開始安息日的晚宴，這樣的場景就好像華人過的農曆春節一般，只是猶太人每週都要「全家團聚」個一次

安息日，當然也是一週六天辛勤勞苦工作後的「休息日」，安息日希伯來文(שבת) 讀音Shabbat，這個字的字根意思就是「停工、罷工」，而且是「有意識地停止」手邊的任何工作。所以，在以色列的星期五，過了下午四、五點之後，你會發現:路上行駛的車輛變得越來越少，馬路上的行人也寥寥可數，整座城市似乎變空城一般，那是因為，大家下班後都急著趕回家「要過安息日」。

安息日，除了是一個家庭日、休息日之外，也是猶太人要守的一個「宗教誡律」，前面提過，安息日是一個「有意識地去停止」工作的一個日子。因為在希伯來聖經中的《創世記》2:1-3節記載：「天地萬物都造齊了。到第七日，神造物的工已經完畢，就在第七日歇了他一切的工，安息了。上帝賜福給第七日，定為聖日」所以，猶太人守安息日，乃是紀念上帝的創造，並且承認神是世界的主宰，一切都是藉由祂所創造的。因此，猶太人守安息日，是對於神祂的真實存在，以及偉大創造的「見證」。

You Can’t Save Yourself. The One We Need Is Jesus.

2020-07-17 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 14:12-23.  Let’s go!

On verses 12-21:  Here the Lord continues to speak to Ezekiel while Ezekiel is sitting down with the Jewish elders (see Ezekiel 14:1).  The Lord describes four ways that He could discipline a country that is unfaithful to Him: by famine (v13-14), by wild beasts (v15-16), by sword (v17-18), and by plague (v19-20).  The Lord says that in each case not even the righteousness (or moral purity) of some of Israel’s historically most godly men – Noah, Daniel and Job – could save a nation from their sins.

What can we learn from this?

With the exception of only one person, there is no one whose righteousness is so great that they could save an entire nation, or even another individual (see v14, 16, 18, 19) from their sins with their righteousness.  As Psalm 49:7-8 says, “No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him– the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough”.  Who is the one person whose righteousness is enough to save others, even an entire nation?  Jesus Christ.  Jesus’ righteousness was enough to save not just an entire nation, but the entire world.  Are you placing your faith in your own righteousness, or in the righteousness of Jesus to save you from your sins?