地晃天搖 THE EARTH STAGGERS
讀經: 以賽亞書 廿四17~23
SCRIPTURE READING: Isaiah
24:17-23
釋義: 以賽亞蒙召時, 親見耶和華的主權威嚴, 又在榮光照耀下,
感到自己的污穢和卑微, 因而驚喊: 「禍哉！我滅亡了！」(六5)在這裡先知再次呼叫:「我消滅了！我消滅了，我有禍了！」(16)不過這次乃為無法逆轉的宇宙災劫而驚嘆。
INSIGHT: When Isaiah was called, he witnessed the
Lord’s sovereign majesty; feeling low and filthy before the Lord’s glorious
light, the prophet cried out, “Woe is me!” (6:5) Here he yells again, “I waste
away, I waste away. Woe is me!” (16) But,
this time, he is in shock and groans for the irreversible calamity of the
universe.
先知首先預言地上居民的禍患(17-18)。當他看到「天上的窗戶開了」, 這是引述神用洪水毀滅全世界的景象(創七11)。雖然人背了永約, 神卻守祂向挪亞所立的永約(創九16), 不再用洪水施行毀滅, 但地震卻帶來徹底的破壞(18-19)。
First, the prophet foretells the disasters that
fall upon the inhabitants on earth (17-18).
He sees “the windows of heaven are opened”, a reference to the scene of
God destroying the world with a flood (Genesis 7:11). Although men have broken
the everlasting covenant, God still keeps the everlasting covenant He made with
Noah (Genesis 9:16) to never destroy all flesh with a flood again. However, earthquakes will bring about total
destruction (18-19).
接著, 以賽亞告訴我們, 這個末世災劫由地上轉到天上。日頭和月亮這些天體固然受波及(23), 什至「高處的眾軍」(21;現代中文譯本翻譯為「天界的掌權者」)也受懲罰。因此, 本段預言的不單是世界的末日, 更是神創造的整個天地(包括有形物質和靈界受造物)的結局。
Then, Isaiah tells us that the Doomsday calamity
switches over from the earth to the sky. Celestial objects such as the sun and
the moon are affected (23); even the “host of the high ones” (21; or “host of
the heaven” in ESV) gets punished also. Thus, the prophecy in this passage is not
just about the end of the world, but the end of the entire universe that God
created, with all physical matters and spiritual creations included.
本段聖經提供了以下的重要神學觀念:
This passage provides the following important
theological concept:
人是神創造大工中最受關注的項目。在神六日創造的過程中, 人的受造佔壓軸位置。整個宇宙天地的際遇, 取決於人與神的關係。 就如始祖犯罪, 招致地受咒詛(創三17), 本段聖經指出地上居民的背約犯罪,
將引發地裂天轟的宇宙性審判。既然人在神的計劃中那麼受重視, 我們豈不應彼此尊重,
同時珍重神授與人類崇高的地位和任務?
Men received the most attention out of God’s
creation. In the six-day process, the creation
of men took the spot as the finale. The fate of the entire universe is hinged
on men’s relationship with God. When the ancestors of men sinned, the ground
was cursed (Genesis 3:17). This passage
points out that because the inhabitants of the earth broke the covenant and
sinned, it will bring forth a catastrophic universal judgment. As men are so highly valued in God’s plan,
shouldn’t we respect one another, and treasure the honorable status and
missions that God has given us?
人是神創造的最重要東西, 甚至將地球交給人類管理(創一26-18詩八6-8), 但人總不是世界的主人。人不能使地搖動或叫震動停止,
這一切都是出於在耶路撒冷作王的萬軍之耶和華的主權, 為要在他面前的人榮耀祂(23)。
Men is God’s most important creation, such that
God entrusted the earth to our care (Genesis 1:26-28, Psalm 8:6-8), but we are
not the master of the earth. We do not
have the ability to shake the ground or stop the trembling. All these come from the LORD of hosts
who reigns in Jerusalem, for the purpose of allowing people before Him to glory
Him (23).
這一切既然都要如此銷化, 你們為人該當怎樣聖潔, 怎樣敬虔, 切切仰望神的日子來到在那日, 天被火燒就銷化了, 有形質的都要被烈火鎔化但我們照他的應許, 盼望新天新地, 有義居在其中親愛的弟兄啊, 你們既盼望這些事, 就當殷勤, 使自己沒有玷污,
無可指摘, 安然見主。(彼後三11-14)
“Since all these things are thus to be
dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and
godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because
of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly
bodies will melt as they burn! But according to His promise we are
waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness
dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be
found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.” (2 Peter 3:11-14)
每日讀經 by 洪同勉牧師 Rev. Tommy Hung
No comments:
Post a Comment