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The Greatest Proof That God Is Good

2020-01-14 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 9:13-24.  Let’s go!

On verses 13-24: Job feels helpless before God. In his great pain, Job sees God not as a loving Father but as an angry beast fiercer than monsters of the deep like Rahab (not Rahab the prostitute in the book of Joshua but Rahab, being the name for the Egyptian crocodile) (v13).  In Job’s eyes, God is a merciless powerhouse with whom you cannot reason or argue (v15-16).  He is like a UFC opponent who beats Job into submission and multiplies his wounds for no reason (v17), a God who is relentless in making life miserable for Job (v18). His strength cannot be matched (v19), His justice cannot be questioned (v19) and He is so sovereign and holy that even to try to speak to Him about your innocence would be a foolish and self-condemning act (v20). 

Hating life (v21), Job questions what good it is to try to live blamelessly, especially when “He destroys both the blameless and the wicked” (v22). Job also questions how good God really is.  He describes God as one who laughs at the suffering of the innocent (v23) and who gets in the way of the administration of justice, One who “blindfolds judges”.

詩篇一百廿五篇

2020-01-13 in /by

上行之詩。

1 倚靠耶和華的人好像錫安山，永不動搖。
2 眾山怎樣圍繞耶路撒冷，耶和華也照樣圍繞祂的百姓，從今時直到永遠。
3 惡人的杖不常落在義人的份上，免得義人伸手作惡。
4 耶和華啊，求祢善待那些為善和心裡正直的人。
5 至於那偏行彎曲道路的人，耶和華必使他和作惡的人一同出去受刑。願平安歸於以色列！

錫安山是耶路撒冷老城南部一座山的名稱。這個詞在《聖經》中首先用於形容大衛城( 《代下》5:2 ; 《代下》11:5; 《撒下》5:7; 《王上》8:1 )，後來用於聖殿山，現在被用作古代耶路撒冷西山的名字。當詩人舉頭觀看，回想大衛王怎樣戰勝耶布斯人，神怎樣保守這塊地，不生免生出許多讚嘆。錫安代表神的居所，就是神與祂子民相會的地方。耶路撒冷常與錫安合用，代表彌賽亞要在那裡作王掌權，凡被贖的子民都要與祂一同顯現在榮耀裡。

“眾山怎樣圍繞耶路撒冷，耶和華也照樣圍繞祂的百姓”，耶路撒冷的地勢：耶路撒冷位於以色列中央山脈最高處的平台上，海拔約750公尺。東有汲淪溪，西邊和南邊是欣嫩溪，三面溪底和城的高差在40至80公尺之間。城區包括五座山頭，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。城的東邊有橄欖山，群山環繞成為屏障，外敵接近不易，但交通十分便利，是天然的統治中心。詩人用群山圍繞耶路撒冷來形容神對我們的愛，也是指出我們若肯倚靠神，就可以蒙保守；反之，我們若不倚靠神，要憑自己的血氣去抵抗，那麼一定會失敗。沒有了群山環繞的耶路撒冷，就有如其他平地的城鎮一樣容易攻取，防不勝防。

Hollywood Theology

2020-01-13 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Job 9:2-4 (NIV) 
2  “Indeed, I know that this is true. But how can a mortal be righteous before God? 
3  Though one wished to dispute with him, he could not answer him one time out of a thousand. 
4  His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?
 
On verses 1-12:  In these verses Job is asking a very important question: “how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?” (v2)  The answer is we can’t.  Job knows that.  God’s power, wisdom and standards are so beyond our own that there is no way we could ever compare or come close.  But the amazing message of the Bible is that when there was no way we could possibly prove ourselves innocent in God’s sight, in love God sent Jesus Christ His Son – fully God and fully man – to die on the cross for our sins.  In so doing, at the cross God’s need for justice was satisfied while His mercy and forgiveness could be extended to us. It’s only because of God’s mercy expressed through Jesus Christ that we can be righteous and innocent before God.

Check Your Assumptions Before Giving Your Advice

2020-01-13 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 8:1-22.  Let’s go!
 
Job 8:1-4 (NIV) 
1  Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: 
2  “How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind. 
3  Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? 
4  When your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.
 
On verses 1-4:  Wow.  The first words that come out of Bildad’s mouth to a grieving, distraught Job are these.  It helps to understand where Bildad is coming from.  Believing that Job is questioning God’s justice, Bildad feels the need to come to God’s defense.  But in trying to speak in defense of God, Bildad goes way overboard and says things that are highly offensive to a grieving person.  Bildad denounces Job’s words as nonsense – “Your words are a blustering wind.” (v2)  He also states that what happened to Job’s children was God punishing them for their sin (v4).  Like Eliphaz, Bildad has incorrectly assumed that all suffering is God’s punishment for sin.

詩篇一百廿四篇

2020-01-13 in /by

大衛上行之詩。

1 以色列人要說：「若不是耶和華幫助我們，
2 若不是耶和華幫助我們，當人起來攻擊我們，
3 向我們發怒的時候，就把我們活活地吞了。
4 那時波濤必漫過我們，河水必淹沒我們，
5 狂傲的水必淹沒我們。」
6 耶和華是應當稱頌的！祂沒有把我們當野食交給他們吞吃。
7 我們好像雀鳥從捕鳥人的網羅裡逃脫，網羅破裂，我們逃脫了。
8 我們得幫助，是在乎倚靠造天地之耶和華的名。

大衛在這詩篇裡用三個比喻來形容他的敵人，一被當成野食吞吃，二猶如狂傲的水、波濤、河水，三是捕鳥人及其網羅。前面兩種是看得見，迎面而來，卻很難逃脫的危險，第三種是看不見的陷阱。在羅馬皇帝逼迫基督徒時，他採用了猛獸來吞食基督徒。把他們綁在獸皮裡，然後放到競技場，任饑餓的獅子撕咬。有時是讓基督徒跟餓了好幾天的猛獸廝打，可想而知，結果十分褄慘。被當作野食，何等可憐。

第二種災難像大洪水般地來臨，這種災難就好比社會上的潮流。一波波地在向信徒挑戰聖經的可靠性，神的話語之權威，以及社會道德的低落，等等。當我們看到變性的男人可以進去女性使用的廁所和浴室及更衣室時，有女兒的父親豈能不站出來抗議嗎？同性婚姻的議題，大麻合法化，還有更多涉及道德底線的挑戰，讓人看到撒旦的手遍及這個社會，而每進一步，就聽到撒旦的狂笑聲。但是神依然掌權。

詩篇一百廿三篇

2020-01-11 in /by

上行之詩。

1 坐在天上的主啊，我向祢舉目！
2 看哪，僕人的眼睛怎樣望主人的手，使女的眼睛怎樣望主母的手，我們的眼睛也照樣望耶和華我們的神，直到祂憐憫我們。
3 耶和華啊，求祢憐憫我們，憐憫我們！因為我們被藐視，已到極處。
4 我們被那些安逸人的譏誚和驕傲人的藐視已到極處。

眼睛，是人的靈魂之窗。往往，人的眼睛注目的，就是他心裡所在意的人或事物。不僅是自己喜歡的，就是不喜歡的，也會常常去看，為了抓住別人的把柄或弱點，以便攻擊。眼睛所看的，會流露出人真正的心意。有個年輕男子在和一個年輕的女性交往時，仍然頻頻去看其他女子，想當然耳，那段感情就無法繼續了。因為他的眼睛動態，表明了他的不專情。因此結婚後的人應該更加小心自己的眼睛往哪裡看，因為你若不把心放在配偶身上，你的婚姻一定不快樂，容易失敗。你的心就是你的眼睛。

古時的中東，一般家庭裡都會有僕人或使女，他們的主人和主母不會一天到晚開口叫僕人或使女做事情，而是用手表達。尤其是在客人面前，開口叫僕人做事，等於表示自己對下人的訓練不週全。主人示意時，往往是用某種姿勢傳達，揮揮手、動動手指頭，所以僕人必須十分留意主人或主母的手，才能按著主人和主母的心意去完成任務。這種訓練需要經過長時期的觀察和配合，並不是短時間內就可以清楚主人或主母的意願。

When You Want To Ask God, “Why Me?”

2020-01-10 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Job 7:11 (NIV) 
11  “Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 

On verses 1-11:  Long, difficult days (v1-2), sleepless nights (v3-4), deteriorating health (v5), an unsightly appearance (v5), feeling cut down during the prime of his life (v6), and utter hopelessness (v7-10) – that is Job’s plight.  “Therefore,” Job says, “I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.” (v11)  In other words, because life is so hard for Job, Job has had enough.  He decides it is time to voice his complaint to God.  Has life ever gotten so tough that you felt like you had to express your frustration to God?  It is fine and in fact healthy to do so, but always with humility, remembering that God is God and we are not.

Job 7:16-17 (NIV) 
16  I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning. 
17  “What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention,

When Friends Let You Down

2020-01-09 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 6:14-30.  Let’s go!

Job 6:14-21 (NIV) 
14  “A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
15  But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams, as the streams that overflow
16  when darkened by thawing ice and swollen with melting snow,
17  but that cease to flow in the dry season, and in the heat vanish from their channels.
18  Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go up into the wasteland and perish.
19  The caravans of Tema look for water, the traveling merchants of Sheba look in hope.
20  They are distressed, because they had been confident; they arrive there, only to be disappointed.
21  Now you too have proved to be of no help; you see something dreadful and are afraid.

詩篇一百廿二篇

2020-01-09 in /by

大衛上行之詩。

1 人對我說「我們往耶和華的殿去」，我就歡喜。
2 耶路撒冷啊，我們的腳站在祢的門內。
3 耶路撒冷被建造，如同連絡整齊的一座城。
4 眾支派，就是耶和華的支派，上那裡去，按以色列的常例稱讚耶和華的名。
5 因為在那裡設立審判的寶座，就是大衛家的寶座。
6 你們要為耶路撒冷求平安：「耶路撒冷啊，愛你的人必然興旺。
7 願你城中平安，願你宮內興旺！」
8 因我弟兄和同伴的緣故，我要說：「願平安在你中間！」
9 因耶和華我們神殿的緣故，我要為你求福。

耶路撒冷，在全世界裡具有不可磨滅的位置。很多人去那裡旅遊是抱著一種朝聖的心情，想要去經歷舊約和新約聖經裡的情景。這種現象說明了一個事實，雖然許多人不相信有神，但是有更多人相信聖經的史實。不然他們去做什麼呢？特別是以色列人，有些人很窮，但是總要想盡辦法，一生裡怎樣也要去一次。去過的人總會把那旅程當成一生最大的炫耀。是的，人的心相信有神，不管他們的生活或外表不斷地拒絕神，但是他們的行動卻洩露出心裡的秘密。

上行之詩從詩篇120篇開始，有人認為120篇是一首悔改詩，因為認識到世界的虛謊和充滿敵意，因而向世界說“不”，掉轉自己的腳步，歸向神的一個開始。121篇則是開始靠交託的詩篇，證明在對神的信心裡，能勝過試煉和苦難；經過許多辛苦，終於到了耶路撒冷，這就是122篇的心境。

詩篇一百廿一篇

2020-01-08 in /by

上行之詩。

1 我要向山舉目。我的幫助從何而來？
2 我的幫助從造天地的耶和華而來。
3 祂必不叫你的腳搖動，保護你的必不打盹。
4 保護以色列的也不打盹，也不睡覺。
5 保護你的是耶和華，耶和華在你右邊蔭庇你。
6 白日，太陽必不傷你；夜間，月亮必不害你。
7 耶和華要保護你免受一切的災害，祂要保護你的性命。
8 你出你入，耶和華要保護你，從今時直到永遠。

這是一首大家都很喜歡的詩，有人譜曲，作成詩歌，連小朋友都朗朗上口。這首詩篇也很容易背誦，每一句經文都是無比的祝福。當詩人帶著滿心的仰慕朝著耶路撒冷的聖殿，一步比一步高地往上走時，他無可避免地看到圍繞著耶路撒冷的群山。當他看到四週圍著耶路撒冷的眾山時，他發出了一個問題：“我的幫助從何而來？”

在所羅門做王的後期，納了許多外邦的妃嬪，她們帶來各自在家鄉裡祭拜的偶像。為了討取她們的歡心，所羅門王也隨著她們去拜偶像。從那時開始，百姓就在高處和各山崗上做祭拜偶像的丘壇。在華人住的地方，在各大山小丘上也是處處有廟。