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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?

大衛迎約櫃

2020-07-16 in /by

撒母耳記下六章21節   我也必更加卑微，自己看為低賤。至於你所說的那些使女，她們反而尊重我。

大衛迎約櫃兩次，第一次失敗了，第二次才成功。你想不想知道他為什麼失敗？又為何成功迎回約櫃嗎？

大衛做以色列王不久，就想到要迎回約櫃。就像有的弟兄姐妹一置屋或遷居就會請牧者去禱告或做感恩禮拜，為了要以基督為一家之主，並且蒙主祝福。大衛雖然做了王，但是他心裡尊主為大，渴望有主的同在，因此迫不及待要把神的約櫃迎回來。

在撒母耳之前的士師和大祭司是以利，在以利年邁之際，以色列人和非利士人打仗，神的約櫃被非利士人搶去，留在他們那裡七個月。後來非利士人把約櫃送回伯示麥，以色列人把約櫃從伯示麥帶到基列耶琳(巴拉‧猶大就是基列耶琳)，存放在亞比拿達家裡。在撒母耳做士師和大祭司時，在掃羅登基以前，約櫃停在耶路撒冷十里以內的亞比拿達家中，直到掃羅被棄，約櫃仍穩妥地停留在那裡。約櫃在亞比拿達家裡停放了大約七十年，直到大衛作出安排把它運往耶路撒冷為止。

大衛挑選了三萬人前往，將神的約櫃從山岡上亞比拿達的家裏抬出來，放在新車上；又帶著松木製造的各樣樂器和琴、瑟、鼓、鈸、鑼跳舞，一路上載歌載舞地要把約櫃和神接回大衛的保障。

一切都非常美好，但是到了拿艮的禾場，忽然牛失前蹄，亞比拿達的兒子烏撒，立刻用手去扶約櫃。不料，立即被神擊打，死在約櫃旁。原本歡樂的氣氛一下子變成悲傷痛苦，憂愁滿佈。為什麼神擊打烏撒？

大衛不知道哪裡得罪了神，不敢再繼續行程，就把約櫃送到迦特人俄別以東的家裡。在神剛剛懲罰烏撒後，誰還敢把約櫃放在自己家裡？俄別以東是誰？俄別是指僕人，全名就是以東的僕人，一個卑微的名字。聖經上說他是迦特人。

Don’t Set That Up in Your Heart

2020-07-16 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 14:1-23.  Let’s go!

On verses 1-8:  Ezekiel is sitting with the Jewish elders who have apparently come to see him to get some guidance from the Lord (v1).  All of a sudden Ezekiel receives a word from the Lord that actually these elders have set up idols in their hearts.  Thus the Lord questions whether He should answer these elders at all (v2).  The Lord then instructs Ezekiel to speak a message to the elders which would shed light upon their idolatry and encourage them to return to God (v3-11).

Notice that in these verses the following phrase gets repeated almost word for word in verses 3, 4 and 7: “sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet”.  Ezekiel was evidently describing exactly what the elders had done: consult idols before going to him for the Lord’s counsel.

What can we learn from this?

Idolatry is a heart matter.  Idolatry is when a person “sets up” (v3, 4, 7) the idol “in his heart” (v3, 4, 7) and treats it as being more important than the Lord.
Idolatry is a stumbling block to others.  If I set up an idol in my heart, my idolatry will impact every person within my circle of influence and be “a stumbling block to other people”.  More than anyone else, it is my family who is affected when I set up an idol in my heart.  So make it your goal not to set up any idol in your heart, lest those you love the most be affected negatively.

巴力‧毗拉心=衝破的神

2020-07-15 in /by

撒母耳記下 五章19節     大衛求問耶和華說：「我可以上去攻打非利士人嗎？你將他們交在我手裏嗎？」耶和華對大衛說：「你可以上去，我必將非利士人交在你手裏。」

約瑟在卅歲時做了埃及的宰相，大衛在卅歲時做了全以色列的王，耶穌在卅歲時開始出來傳道。可見卅歲是人生的黃金時期，在這之前他們都受過人生的磨鍊，約瑟從奴隸、囚犯做到宰相，大衛也是逃亡了好幾年，耶穌則默默地跟隨他肉身的父親做名不經傳的木匠。人生必須有曠野時期，因為那正是造就的時候。

大衛做了全以色列的王，推羅王希蘭也派使者把香柏木運到大衛那裏，又派木匠和石匠給大衛建造宮殿。使大衛知道耶和華堅立他作以色列王，又為自己百姓以色列的緣故，使他的國興盛。大衛把一切的好處歸於耶和華的祝福，而不是自己或從人的英勇。正如〈申命記〉8章18節說的：「你要記念耶和華你的神，因為得貨財的力量是祂給你的。」

掃羅初做王時也很謙卑，但是過了兩年就大膽代替撒母耳獻祭，後來對神的話也是虛與委蛇。但是大衛在做王之前，在曠野時遇事必求問神再行動，他做了全以色列的王之後依然如是。

當大衛登基時，是非利士人最輝煌的日子，他們打敗了掃羅父子，奪走了以色列大部份的土地。但是大衛很有軍事眼光，他沒有急著去拿回失去的土地，他先去拿下耶布斯，也就是後來的耶路撒冷。耶布斯在當地是最高最易防難攻的一個城巿，大衛以她為立足點，也給了非利士人一個下馬威，因為非利士人動都不敢動耶布斯。

不過這也挑動了非利士人的神經，他們對大衛是又懼又怕又恨。當年大衛投靠迦特王亞吉時，非利士的首領和軍長根本就不相信大衛的「投誠」。事實也證明他們是對的，為了避免後患，他們希望盡快除掉大衛。

Giving and Receiving Prophetic Words

2020-07-15 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 13:1-23.  Let’s go!

On verses 1-9:  Here God gives Ezekiel a word to speak against the false prophets of Israel, who claim to hear from God but who actually only “prophesy out of their own imagination” (v2) and who “follow their own spirit” (v3) but “have seen nothing” (v3).  God calls their visions false and their divinations (i.e. their attempts to discern God’s will) a lie (v6-7).  Because of their false visions and lying divinations, God says that the false prophets will face two consequences.  First, God is against them (“I am against you” – v8b; “My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations” – v9a). Second, the false prophets will ultimately be cut off from God’s people (“They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel” – v9b).

What can we learn from this?

When you hear what may be presented to you as “a prophetic word”, be careful to test it.  As 1 John 4:1 says, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”  How do you test a prophetic word?  Here are three things you can do:  (1) Test what you hear against the written Word of God, for God will never say anything that contradicts what He has already said in Scripture.  (2) Test what you hear by bouncing it off other believers whose relationship with God you respect.  (3) Test what you hear by asking the Holy Spirit to give you peace about it if it is truly a word from God.

神的應許應驗了

2020-07-14 in /by

撒母耳記下 五章4-5節   大衛登基的時候年30歲，在位40年。 在希伯崙做猶大王七年零六個月，在耶路撒冷做以色列和猶大王33年。

在以色列的元帥押尼珥被殺之後，以色列的兩個軍長也想去大衛那裡討個一官半職，因此殺了以色列王伊施波設，拿了他的首級去見大衛。沒想到他們的背叛換來的不是高官厚褖，而是死亡和羞辱。大衛最痛恨這樣的小人，如此便嚇止了小人相傚之風。

現在押尼珥死了，伊施波設死了，兩個軍長也死了。以色列再沒有可以支撐的人，眾支派的長老們終於來找大衛，他們舉出了三件事來證明他們的誠意。一，他們之間是骨肉的關係，都是雅各的子孫。二，在掃羅作王時，大衛當戰士長，所以是大衛率領以色列人出入。他們承認大衛的領袖地位。三，撒母耳曾經膏大衛為王，那是神對大衛的應許。因此大衛在希伯崙和他們立約，他們就膏大衛做以色列的王，此時猶大支派和以色列其他的支派終於統一了。大衛沒有採取流血的手段，他耐心等待，直到神的時間來到，神親自感動以色列人來和他立約，成就了和平統一。這是大衛第三次被膏為王。

大衛作王之後，便思索打耶布斯，因為它座落在以色列中央山脈最高處的平台上，海拔在750公尺左右；東邊有汲淪溪，西邊和南邊是欣嫩溪；東南有俄斐勒山，東有摩利亞山，東北有貝西大山，西北有亞克拉山，西南有錫安山，其東還有橄欖山，真正是群山環繞，外敵難以進入，是個易守難攻，交通卻四通八達的地方，拿來做首都正好。大衛是個有眼光有異象的政治家，當他挑選上這個地方做以色列人國的首都時，他心裡已經有了策略，要打造出一個讓外敵都不敢侵犯的以色列國。

但是正如上面所述，耶布斯是一個很難攻取的地方。當大衛計劃要進攻耶布斯時，裡面的人嘲笑大衛：就憑瞎眼的和破腳的，就可以抵擋你們了。在〈歷代志上〉11章5節，耶布斯人對大衛說：「你決不能進這地方。」大衛便徵求勇士：「誰先攻打耶布斯人，必作首領元帥。」在撒下五章，大衛露了一點打仗的秘密：「當上水溝攻打我心裡所恨惡的瘸子、瞎子。」上水溝是何意呢？

The Exile Symbolized

2020-07-14 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 12:17-28.  Let’s go!

Ezekiel 12:17-20 (NIV) 
17  The word of the LORD came to me:
18  “Son of man, tremble as you eat your food, and shudder in fear as you drink your water.
19  Say to the people of the land: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says about those living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: They will eat their food in anxiety and drink their water in despair, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who live there.
20  The inhabited towns will be laid waste and the land will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'”

On verses 17-20:  The Lord gives Ezekiel a message for the people still living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel.  The Lord tells Ezekiel to act out the fear and the trembling that these people will experience because of the coming desolation that they will face.  In this case they“will know that I am the LORD” not by His presence but by His absence from the city.

What can we learn from this?  Sometimes, for those who are especially stubborn and slow to learn, the only way to teach them that they have taken a great blessing for granted is to take the blessing away, at least temporarily.  This is what God did with the people living in Jerusalem and the land of Israel, as He removes His presence and protection from them and allows the people living there to feel the fear and trembling of not having God’s presence and protection in the city.