Lord, please use me; let me be the light and salt of the world.
求主使用我為你作光作鹽.
The Lord’s Witness
耶和華見證人
Scripture Reading : Isaiah 以賽亞書 45: 1 - 25
Insight: Isaiah indicates very clearly that the Lord God created the universe and everything in it with men at the center, the purpose being that – “everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made…..they might declare my praise.” (43:7, 12) Take heed of the fact that the Lord voices His wish many times – “that people may know, I am the Lord…..besides me there is no God” (5, 6, 14, 18, 21, 22). In this chapter, the prophet elaborates how God’s witnesses can be found all over the universe:
釋義: 以賽亞很清楚指出耶和華神創造以人為中心的宇宙萬物, 目的是:「凡稱為我名下的人，是我為自己的榮耀創造的，是我所做成所造作的……好述說我的美德。」(四三7,21)請留意耶和華多次說出心願:「使人都知道除了我以外沒有別神」(5,6,14,18,21,22)。先知本章聖經講解神的見證怎樣普遍天下:
- God uses those not chosen to witness for Him (1-6, 13-14) - The previous chapter has mentioned Cyrus being God’s servant, messenger, and shepherd (44:26-27). In this chapter, Cyrus is referred to as Messiah (or the transliteration of ‘anointed’, translated to ‘Christ’ in the New Testament). God called him by his name; yet he was not chosen by God (God only chose Israel [4]); he also ‘did not know’ God. Cyrus obviously worshiped Marduk, the national god of Babylonia, the god he exalted on monuments. Regardless, the Lord’s foretelling of the rise of Cyrus and Cyrus’ edict for the rebuilding of the temple in Judah, and the subsequent fulfillment of these events are testimonies that the Lord is God.
● 神用非揀選的人見證祂(1~6,13~14) 上章已經提到塞魯士(古列)是神的僕人、使者和牧人(四四26~27); 本章更介紹他為彌賽亞(「所膏的」的音譯, 而新約翻譯為「基督」)。雖然神提名召他(3), 但是他不是神所揀選的(神只揀選以色列[4])。他也「不認識」(4,5)神;古列顯然敬拜巴比倫主要神祗瑪爾杜克, 即他在碑石上稱頌的神。無論如何, 耶和華預言古列的興起和下諭猶大重建聖殿(四四28), 這些事的應驗見證耶和華是神。
- God uses His creation to witness for Him (7-12) - This passage mentions ‘create/form’ more than ten times, expounding that “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above[a] proclaims his handiwork. “ (Psalm 19:1)
● 神用所造之物見證祂(7~12) 本段超過十次提到神「造/作」,闡述「諸天述說神的榮耀, 穹蒼傳揚他的手段。」(詩十九1)
- God uses those who receive the grace of salvation to witness for Him (15-21) – The Lord is “a God who hides Himself” who chooses not to introduce himself. Thus, God “speaks the truth and declares what is right” by asking those who receive the grace of God and the others to “declare and present your case; let them take counsel” to witness God’s truth and faithfulness.
● 神用蒙救恩的人見證祂(15~21) 耶和華是「自隱的神」, 選擇不自我介紹, 所以神「所講的是公義，所說的是正直」要求蒙恩者與別人「你們要述說陳明你們的理，讓他們彼此商議」見證神的真實。
- God asks for everyone to witness for Him (22-24) – As everything in the universe is to glorify Him, God expects that men, His key creation, also witness His greatness - “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.”
● 神要萬民見證祂(22~24) 既然宇宙都要榮耀祂, 神當然期望祂重點創造的人類也見證祂的偉大: 「地極的人都當仰望我，就必得救；因為我是神，再沒有別神。我指著自己起誓，我口所出的話是憑公義，並不反回：萬膝必向我跪拜；萬口必憑我起誓。」
There was a blind man who always held a lighted lantern when he traveled at night. People asked him, ‘Since you can’t see, whether it’s day or night, with or without lights, it makes no difference to you. Why do you light a lamp?’
The blind man replied, ‘I am afraid people cannot see and I would become their stumbling block!’
Let’s take a moment to think about the blind man’s words. You are the light of the world, capable of enlightening a lot of people, allowing them to see the right way. If you hide your lamp under a bushel, not only would people be unable to see the right way, they would also be stumbled by you. When Jesus was riding the donkey into Jerusalem, the Pharisees demanded that the disciples be stopped from cheering and shouting testimonies. Jesus said, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” (Luke 19:40) Have you thought about how you will witness God’s glory?
有一個盲人, 黑夜行路, 總是手提點亮的燈籠。人問他: 「你既不能見, 白日黑夜, 有燈無燈, 於你並無分別, 你點燈為著什麼呢?」
盲人回答說: 「我怕人看不見, 我竟成了他們的絆腳石!」
請思想盲人的話。你是世界的光, 可以照耀許多人, 叫他們看得見正路; 如果將燈收在斗底下, 人不但看不見正路, 反被你絆倒了。耶穌騎驢進京, 法利賽人要求制止門徒歡呼見證, 耶穌說：「我告訴你們，若是他們閉口不說，這些石頭必要呼叫起來。」(路十九40)你可有考慮今天怎樣見證神的榮耀?
每日讀經 by 洪同勉牧師 Rev. Tommy Hung
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