感謝神, 使我在基督裡稱義
Thank you Lord for declaring me righteous in Christ.
耶和華的膀臂
THE LORD’S ARM
經文: Isaiah 以賽亞書 59:1-21
釋義: 前一章論到形式主義時，先知曾說到形式主義者的抱怨，他們埋怨耶和華對他們視而不見，漠不關心。現在他宣告他們受這些苦──被耶和華忽視、不顧的原因，不是在耶和華這方面。「耶和華的膀臂並非縮短，不能拯救；耳朵並非發沉，不能聽見」(1)。神既不是不能相助，也不是忽視他們。只是罪使他們與神隔絕(2)。
Insight: When speaking on ritualism in the previous chapter, the prophet mentions the ritualist’s complaint; they whine about the Lord failing to pay attention and His indifference to them. Here he declares that the Lord bears no responsibility for their sufferings – being ignored and abandoned by the Lord. “The Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear” (1). God is neither incapable of helping nor does He neglect them. It is their iniquities that separate them from God (2).
Ⅰ．無公義(3~7) — 公義和公平這詞句在本章一共出現十次, 可見這是他們罪孽的基本問題。先知首先論到產生這種行為的根由──品格的敗壞。人整個生命都受到了污染。他們的手、腳、指頭、嘴唇、舌頭、意念無一樣潔淨。先知用一連串生動的句子來描述這種品格的腐化, 以致先知說, 他們中間是無公義，只有虛妄、謊言(4)。
No Righteousness (3-7) — Wording such as ‘righteousness’ and ‘justice’ appear a total of ten times in this chapter, which shows that their sins are the main problem. First, the prophet points out the root cause of those behaviors – the corruption of character. Their entire life is defiled. None of their hands, feet, fingers, lips, tongue, or mind is clean. The prophet depicts the corruption of their character with a series of lively descriptions, and concludes that there is no righteousness, only empty pleas and lies (4).
Ⅱ．公義遠離(8~11) — 公義和公平在本章中被擬人化。本段不像前段否定公義的存在, 但是開始時說:「公平離我們遠; 公平追不上我們。」(9)結束時感嘆: 「指望公平, 卻是沒有; 指望救恩, 卻遠離我們。」(11)先知說明公義與人疏遠, 原因是人「不知道」(8),沒有尋求正路。人與公義背道而馳, 結果彼此不相遇。
Righteousness Goes Far Away (8-11) — Righteousness and justice are personified in this chapter. Unlike the previous passage, there is no denial here that righteousness exists. However, it says in the beginning, “Justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us.” (9), and exclaims in the conclusion, “we hope for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us.” (11) The prophet indicates that righteousness keeps its distance from men because men “do not know” (8) and do not seek the correct path. Men go the opposite direction from righteousness, and therefore never meet each other.
Ⅲ．公義退後(12~15) — 以賽亞在第一段講述罪使公義不存在人間。第二段說, 人間看不到公義, 因為他們彼此存在不同的空間。而本段指出人與公義隔離, 原因是人不容許公義有存在的條件, 公義和公平只得退後、站在遠處(14)。其實這種隔離狀況並非必然, 只因雖「知道」活在罪中, 仍存心悖逆不認識耶和華」, 公義不能「進入」, 無地自容, 唯有引退。
Righteousness Turns Back (12 – 15) — In the first passage, Isaiah says righteousness does not exist in the world because of sins; and in the second, the world cannot see righteousness because they exist in different space. In this passage, he points out that men are separated from righteousness because men do not allow the conditions for righteousness to exist; righteousness and justice can only turn back and stand far away (14). Actually, this kind of separation status is not inevitable; it is just that they ‘know’ their iniquities yet deny the Lord; righteousness cannot ‘enter’ and has to turn back for the lack of room.
轉捩點在於公義的神。人自甘墮落, 不能自拔, 也使神的膀臂無法施展。但神不甘心, 「那時, 耶和華看見沒有公平, 甚不喜悅; 他見無人拯救、無人代求, 就甚詫異, 就用自己的膀臂施行拯救」(16):祂派「一位救贖主來到」(20)人間。保羅引用本節聖經, 說出耶穌就是神差派的救贖主(羅十一26~27), 而21節所預言的都應驗在基督身上。
The righteous God is the turning point. Men allow themselves to go down. Not only are they not able to pull themselves up, it also disables God’s arm. But God is not resigned, “The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation” (16): He sends “a Redeemer” (20) to the world. Paul quotes this verse, revealing that Jesus is the Redeemer that God sends (Paul 11:26-27); and indeed, the prophecy in verse 21 is fulfilled in Christ.
台灣作家幾米在《向左走、向右走》中說到男女主角:
Taiwanese author/illustrator Jimmy Liao (Chinese pen name 幾米) presents the main male and female characters in his book “Turn Left, Turn Right”:
在同一棟公寓裡‧‧‧
In the same apartment…..
她住在城市郊區的一棟舊公寓大樓裡，每次出門，不管去哪裡，
總是習慣性的先向右走。
She lives in an old apartment building in the suburbs. Every time she goes out, regardless of where she is going, she habitually turns left first.
他住在城市郊區的一棟舊公寓大樓裡，每次出門，不管去哪裡，
總是習慣性的先向左走……
He lives in an old apartment building in the suburbs. Every time he goes out, regardless of where he is going, he habitually turns right first.
他從不曾遇見她‧
He has never met her.
她習慣向左走，他習慣向右走，他們始終不相遇‧
She is used to going left. He is used to going right. They never meet.
這也許正是公義和人的現狀: 背道而馳, 互不知彼此的存在。
Perhaps this is exactly the situation of righteousness and men – going in opposite direction, not aware of each other’s existence.
但是, 幾米在書中繼續畫下去……
However, Jimmy Liao continues to draw…..
人生總有許多巧合，兩條平行線也可能會有交會的一天‧
Life is full of coincidences; even two parallel lines might join some day.
是的, 公義終於與人交會了──在基督裡。
Indeed, righteousness and men finally meet – in Christ.
感謝神!
Thank you Lord!
每日讀經 by 洪同勉牧師 Rev. Tommy Hung
(English Translation: Ms. Lori Wong)
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