讀經: 賽十四1~32
SCRIPTURE READING: Isaiah
14:1-32
釋義: 聖經舊新約異口同聲地聲明, 世人都犯了罪: 「就如經上所記： 沒有義人，連一個也沒有。沒有明白的；沒有尋求神的；都是偏離正路，一同變為無用。沒有行善的，連一個也沒有。」(羅三10-12;詩十四3五三3)但是本章聖經告訴我們, 罪人可以有三種不同的結局:
INSIGHT: The Old and New Testament unequivocally
declare that all have sinned: “As it is
written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not
even one.’” (Romans 3:10-12, Psalms
14:3, 53:3) But this chapter tells us that sinners can come to one of the
following three endings:
蒙憐恤(1-3)
-- 第一種是以色列人, 她得到神再揀選;這純粹是出於神的恩典。 以色列人屢屢犯罪悖逆才被擄到異邦,
理當痛改前非才會得到翻身的機會。 但是這裡並沒有提到任何悔改的動作或意圖, 神就宣告必定使以色列人歸回,
說明了「你們得救是本乎恩，也因ㄛ信； 這並不是出於自己，乃是神所賜的」(弗二8)的道理。
BE SHOWN COMPASSION: (1-3) –
The first is the Israelites. They get to be chosen by God again out of God’s
grace alone. The Israelites sinned and rebelled, and it led them to be taken
captive to foreign lands. They should repent in order to earn the opportunity
to have their fate reverted. However, while there is no mention of repentance
or the intention to, yet God proclaims the return of the Israelites;
illustrating the doctrine – “For by grace you have been saved through
faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)
永沉淪(4-23)
-- 第二種是巴比倫王, 墮落陰間被剪除。不少學者認為巴比倫王是指墮落的天使, 原因:
1.陰間是靈界(特別是魔鬼)的居所;
2.稱呼他「首領」(8), 原文是「公山羊」, 在舊約常常是指外邦宗教敬拜的鬼魔(利十七7代下十一15);
3.「明亮的晨星」(12)英文譯本多參照早期教會武加大拉丁文譯本, 稱為「路斯弗(Lucifer)」, 即鬼王。 不過經文描述巴比倫攻擊聚民、管轄列國、壓迫世上君王, 這些是地上的事, 非靈界戰爭。而且神施行的報應, 是敗壞他的國度、殺戮他的國民、剪除他的子孫, 這些也是世界政治情況。
FALLEN FOREVER (4-23) – The second is the king of Babylon, fallen into
Sheol and be cut off. Many scholars
think the king of Babylon refers to the fallen angel, because:
1. Sheol is the dwelling place of spirits
especially the Devil;
2. He is called ‘leader’ (9), or ‘goat’ in the
original that is often referred to the demon worshipped by religions of the
gentiles in Old Testament (Leviticus 17:7, 2 Chronicles 11:15);
3. “O Day Star” (12) – Most English versions
reference the Latin Vulgate version used by the early church, and call it ‘Lucifer’,
meaning Satan. But the scripture describes Babylon striking people, ruling
nations, oppressing kings of the earth, all matters on earth, not spiritual
warfare. In addition, God dispenses retribution
by destroying his land, slaying his people, and cutting off his offspring;
these are
also political situations in the world.
所以, 巴比倫王是指聽從魔鬼驅使和受它管制的邪惡敵對神的權勢。他們墮落到萬劫不復的境況,
並非因為外邦的國籍, 而是驕傲地對抗神。(13-14節五次提到「我要」)。
Therefore, the king of Babylon refers to evil
powers that are controlled by the Devil and follow him to go against God. They
fall into a bottomless pit where return is not possible; this is not because of
them being gentiles, but their prideful resistance to God. (13-14 mentions ‘I
will’ 5 times).
投靠神(29-32) -- 第三種是非利士人, 他們代表非以色列人的外邦人(32)。 這些人因罪受責罰, 他們可以投奔在錫安的耶和華而得解救。
SEEKING MERCIES FROM GOD (29-32) – The third is the Philistia. They represent the
non-Israelite gentiles (32). These people sin and get punished; they can seek
deliverance from the Lord in Zion.
一部法國電影其中一場, 講老差骨教新丁貪污。
新丁認為貪污是罪行, 老差骨說隨便在街拉一個人,
都能告之入罪。
In
a scene out of a French movie, a veteran detective teaches a rookie to take
bribes. The rookie thinks taking bribes
is a crime. The veteran claims he can find anyone taken from the street guilty
of a crime.
新丁果然隨手拉了一週人回警署逼供。那人堅稱自己沒犯過任何罪。 新丁正要推翻老差骨說法之時, 那人竟伏在上開始飲泣,
自暴罪行。
Sure
enough, the rookie takes a random person into custody and interrogates him.
That person insists that he never committed any crime. The moment the rookie is
about to refute the veteran’s theory, that person hides his face on the desk
and starts to sob and discloses his criminal activities.
每人都是罪犯這觀念在某程度上是成立的。 試想某一天, 你突然被警察逮回去,
嚴刑拷問, 你可能也會供出一些罪來。
To
a certain extent, the concept that everyone is a criminal is valid. Imagine
that one day you are detained and tortured during the interrogation, you may
also confess some wrong doings.
問題並非你是不是罪人, 而是你是那一種罪人。
The
issue is not whether you are a sinner, but which category you are in.
每日讀經 by 洪同勉牧師 Rev. Tommy
Hung
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