願所有誠心愛我們主耶穌基督的人、都蒙恩惠。(弗六24)
“Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.” (Ephesians 6:24)
一視同仁
WITHOUT DISTINCTION OF ANY KIND
經文: Isaiah 以賽亞書 56:1-12
釋義: 以賽亞書中的公義的觀念, 著重神施行救恩的後果。前面的經文已經將「救恩臨近」與「公義將要顯現」相提並論(四五8四六13五一5), 但這裡特別加上「公平」(1)。先知告訴讀者, 神的公義無界限,救恩乃一視同仁:
Insight: The concept of righteousness in the book of Isaiah focuses on the outcome of God’s salvation. “Soon my salvation will come” and “my righteousness be revealed” have both been discussed previously (45:8, 46:13, 51:5); “justice” is added here distinctively (1). The prophet tells us that God’s righteousness is without borders; salvation is offered to all men without distinction of any kind:
●不限國籍 — 本章沒有說明預言的對象是以色列人(以色列這名字只出現一次[8])。相反地, 先知用不同的稱呼指出救恩的普世性。他們是「持守他約的(任何)人」(2,6)、外邦人(3,6)、萬民(7)、「在這被招聚的(以色列人)以外，我還要招聚別人(即外邦人)」(8)。某些與以色列人同住的外邦人, 被禁參與敬拜, 至少要被禁好幾代(出十二43申廿三3,7~8)。但是將來只要是「與耶和華聯合」(3,6), 外邦人也可以自由參與敬拜耶和華。
Regardless of Nationality — There is no specification in this chapter regarding the Israelites being the object of the prophecy (the name Israel appears only once [8]). On the contrary, the prophet uses different wordings to indicate the universal nature of salvation. They are “everyone who holds fast my covenant” (2, 6), “foreigners” (3, 6), “all peoples” (7), and “I will gather yet others (gentiles) to him besides those already gathered (Israelites)” (8). Certain foreigners who live among the Israelites are banned from worship for at least several generations (Exodus 12:43, Deuteronomy 23:3, 7-8). Yet as long as they “join themselves to the Lord”, even foreigners can worship the Lord freely in the future.
●不區身份 — 太監則害怕禮儀上的不潔，使他們不得進入聖殿的範圍(申廿三1)，以及不育(3節的「枯樹」是一棵不育的「家譜樹」)。但是「耶和華如此說」的公式引進了三篇救恩神諭 。第一篇(4-5節)中, 太監──由於他們，我們毫無疑問地聯想到如女人、痲瘋病人與其他被社會排斥的人，皆被稱為以色列的成員，這不是因著肉身或禮儀的原因，而是基於順服：「惟有裏面作的，才是真猶太人，真割禮也是心裏的，在乎靈，不在乎儀文。」(羅二29;參申卅6)
- Regardless of Status — Eunuchs are considered ceremonial unclean which forbid them from entering the temple and its surrounding area, and they are barren (the dry tree in verse 3 is a barren ‘family tree’). But the “says the Lord” formula makes an opening for three passages on salvation revealed by God. In the first one (4-5), eunuchs – for what they are, no doubt remind us of women, leprosy sufferers, and other outcasts of the society - will be called members of Israel, not for physical or ceremonial reasons but their faithfulness: “But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.” (Romans 2:29, refer to Deuteronomy 30:6)
●守安息日 — 本章再三要求人謹守安息日(2,4,6)。這不是提倡律法主義或高舉禮儀, 在眾多誡命(至少在十誡)中強調守安息日, 因為這是具立約的含意。耶和華給予以色列人兩個立約的記號: 一是割禮(創十七9~10)──這是本章特別提到的太監所不能做的事; 另一的守安息日(出十三13~16)──這是人都遵行的事, 以此表明進入與神立約的關係, 可以到聖山獻祭和在萬民禱告的殿中喜樂(7)。
- Keeping the Sabbath — This chapter urges people repeatedly to keep the Sabbath (2, 4, 6). This is not to promote outward religious laws or exalt rituals. Keeping the Sabbath is emphasized among numerous commandments (at least in the Ten Commandments) because it carries the meaning of making the covenant. The Lord gave the Israelites two signs of His covenant: First, circumcision (Genesis 17:9-10) – something this chapter specifically points out that eunuchs cannot do; the other sign, keeping the Sabbath (Exodus 13:13-16) – something that everyone follows, so as to indicate that anyone in the relationship with God in the covenant can make offerings in His holy mountain and be joyful in His temple where all peoples pray (7).
●手不作惡 — 耶和華施恩一視同仁, 只要合乎兩個條件: 「謹守安息日而不干犯，禁止己手而不作惡」(2)。本章最後一段界定什麼是作惡:
- 盲: 沒有屬靈知識(10);
- 啞: 不會指教人(10);
- 貪: 只求自己利益(10~11);
- 放縱飲食(12)。
- Keeping His Hand from Doing Any Evil — All men are equal when it comes to God’s grace as long as these two requirements are met: “Keep the Sabbath, not profaning it, and keep his hand from doing any evil” (2). The last segment of this chapter defines what doing evil is:
- Blind: Without spiritual knowledge (10)
- Silent: Fail to give guidance to others (10)
- Covet: Look out for their interest only (10-11)
- Over-Indulge in food/drink (12)
「有記念，有名號」(5)，希伯來文Yad vashem一語，銘刻在耶路撒冷內的猶太浩劫紀念碑，用以記念遭納粹殺害的六百萬犧牲者，其中不全是猶太人，也包括吉卜賽人、同性戀者與其他被社會排斥者。新約相信耶穌者會被賜下超乎萬名之上的名，即新耶路撒冷的公民，與亞伯拉罕和他的後裔所得之應許的繼承者。我們外邦人要為這個恩典獻上感謝, 也為猶太人禱告, 求聖靈開他們心竅, 使他們認識就是他們一直等候的彌賽亞救主。
“A monument and a name” (5) – The Hebrew phrase ‘Yad Vashem’ is engraved on the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem to commemorate the 6 million victims murdered by the Nazis. Not all the victims are Jews; there are also Gypsies, homosexuals, and others rejected by the society. According to the New Testament, those who believe Jesus will be given a name above all names, in other words, citizen of the New Jerusalem and heir to the promised blessings that Abraham and his descendants received. We gentiles ought to give thanks for this grace, and pray for the Jews, asking the Holy Spirit to open their mind, so that they understand Jesus is the Messiah and Savior whom they have been waiting for.
每日讀經 by 洪同勉牧師 Rev. Tommy Hung
(English Translation: Ms. Lori Wong)
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