讀經: 以賽亞書 十三1~22
SCRIPTURE
READING: Isaiah 13:1-22
釋義: 以賽亞書十三章至廿三章是一個明顯的段落, 提名講論耶和華對以色列人四周鄰國的審判和盼望。
這段聖經和耶利米書四六章至五一章、以西結書廿五章至卅二章、但以理書、那鴻書、俄巴底亞書等聖經都是向外邦宣講神的啟示,
說明即使在舊約主要透過所揀選的以色列民族彰顯祂的心意時, 神也沒有忽略地上其他民族。
及至耶穌來臨後的新約時代, 教會的任務是要將福音傳遍地極。
今天你閱讀這段經文, 可與先知同感,
一方面為彰顯神的公義高聲疾呼, 同時又為不信神的外邦人將會遭遇的審判焦急而禱告?
INSIGHT: Chapter 13 – 23 in the Book of Isaiah is a
distinct section that talks about the Lord’s judgments and hopes for Israel’s
neighboring countries by name. Passages in the bible such as these ones here,
Jeremiah chapter 46 – 51, Ezekiel Chapter 25 – 32, the Book of Daniel, Nahum,
and Obadiah all pronounce God’s revelations to the gentiles. It indicates that
although God revealed his will in the Old Testament era mainly through Israel, his
chosen nation, God did not neglect other nations. In the New
Testament era after Jesus’s arrival, the mission of the church was to spread
the gospel to the ends of the earth. Today
when you read this passage, do you share the prophet’s feeling - On one hand you
scream for God’s justice, and at the same time you pray for the unbelieving
gentiles because you feel anxious about the judgment that they are going to face?
耶和華的日子是這幾章聖經常見的詞語, 本章就提及四次 (6, 9, 13, 22) 這個日子是耶和華發怒的時候。 雖然基督徒心目中的神是聖誕老人般的慈祥寬容,
(聖經確實告訴我們神是愛)但是先知提醒我們: 神乃是烈火(來十二29),但是這位愛的神不輕易發怒。 本章聖經提出幾個要點:
‘The day of the Lord’ appears often in these
chapters, and is mentioned 4 times in this chapter (6, 9, 13, 22). This is the time of the Lord’s wrath. In
Christians’ view, God is gentle and kind like Santa Claus (the Bible does tell
us that God is love); yet the prophet reminds us: God is a consuming fire
(Hebrews 12:29). But this loving God is slow to anger. This passage brings out
several main points:
神發的是義怒, 我必因邪惡刑罰世界，因罪孽刑罰惡人(11); 祂是天天向惡人發怒的神 (詩七11)。
GOD’S ANGER IS RIGHTEOUS: “I will
punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity” (11); “a God who feels indignation every day.”
(Psalms 7:11)
耶和華的日子臨近了(6),
神的公義還未完全彰顯。 在這個等候過渡期間, 也會用邪惡的人 (就如巴比倫)執行祂的意旨, 但邪惡的人終也必受神公義審判(19)。
“THE DAY OF THE LORD IS NEAR.” (6) God’s
justice has not been fully revealed. During
this transitional period, God would use evil people (such as Babylon) to
execute his will. But evil people will
ultimately be judged righteously (19).
據John Roger 和Peter
McWilliam 分析, 憤怒是:
According to the analysis of John Roger and Peter
McWilliams, anger is:
1. 心中存在某種想法, 事情應該是怎樣。
1. Having certain expectations of how things
should be;
2. 對於這些想法, 灌注了情感。如果事情不如想像, 就會憤怒。
2. Emotionally attached to the expectation. If things don’t go as expected, anger occurs.
例如: 我們心中認為駕駛應該小心; 如果有人不小心, 就會令我們生氣。 如果損害到自己的利益或尊嚴, 就會更加生氣。 有人可能為幾角錢的紛爭而動怒; 並非錢多少的問題, 而是涉及所灌注情感的數量。 如果事情跟尊嚴有關, 那就更不得了。
EXAMPLE: We think one should drive carefully. If someone is not careful, we get angry. If our personal interest or honor is hurt, we
would get even angrier. People can be enraged
by disputes over a few dimes. It is not about the amount of money, but the amount
of emotions involved. If it is something
related to honor, it would be even more uncontrollable.
如果神所看為萬物至寶的人, 損害祂的尊嚴, 抗拒遵行神在聖經發表的「想法」, 神發怒是否應該?
If the people that God considers most precious
damage his honor and refuse to follow God’s ‘expectations’ stated in the bible,
should God be angry?
今日我可有惹神發怒?
Today did we provoke God to anger?
每日讀經 by 洪同勉牧師 Rev. Tommy Hung
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