Thank you God, I accept Jesus as my Lord and I have become Your child, You are my Father.
公義的救主
THE RIGHTEOUS SAVIOR
經文: Isaiah 以賽亞書 63:1-19
以賽亞的名意是耶和華拯救。他取這名基於他所信(或差派他)的神的性情, 而這就是本章先知傳講的信息: 耶和華「是誰呢？就是我，是憑公義說話，以大能施行拯救。」(1) 本章七次提到耶和華救贖或他是救主(1,4,5,8,9,16)。
The name Isaiah means the Lord saves. He got this name based on the temperament of the God he believes in (or the God who commissions him); and this is the message: “Who is this…? It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.” (1) The Lord saves or He is the Savior is mentioned 7 times throughout the passage (1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 16).
1. 耶和華為什麼拯救 — Why does the Lord save?
耶和華「是憑公義說話」(1), 他嫉惡如仇, 第一段(1~6)五次說耶和華發烈怒。神發怒有兩個原因:
The Lord ‘speaks in righteousness’ (1). He hates sin. The Lord acting in wrath is mentioned 5 times in the first segment of this chapter (v. 1 – 6). God gets angry for two reasons:
- 選民離棄神, 「眾民中無一人與我同在」(3);
- His people desert Him, “from the peoples no one was with me”(3);
- 外邦人趁著神向選民發怒時, 過分地逼害迫他們,「報仇之日在我心中；救贖我民之年已經來到。我仰望，見無人幫助；我詫異，沒有人扶持。所以，我自己的膀臂為我施行拯救；我的烈怒將我扶持。」(4~5)
- During the time the Lord is angry at His people, the foreigners oppress them, “For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come. I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold; so my own arm brought me salvation, and my wrath upheld me.” (4 – 5)
2. 耶和華怎樣拯救 — How does the Lord save?
當聖經提說神發怒時, 用詞相當強烈。先知一口氣在本章六次提到神「踹」酒醡般踐踏人。(「踹」字在舊約出現27次, 在2~3節則有四次, 另外18節「踐踏」乃同一字, 所以本段一共用了五次; 再加上同義辭「踐踏」[3]。)神這種行動, 比「攻擊」(10)更嚴重, 因為本段用紅色(即血的顏色)來形容神(1~2)。後來再明顯地說明神做的是流血行動:「他們的血濺在我衣服上……又將他們的血倒在地上」(3,6)。
When the Bible talks about God getting angry, the language used is fairly strong. In this chapter, the prophet mentions God trampling people like ‘treading’ winepress 6 times. (the word ‘tread’ and its various forms appear 27 times in the Old Testament, 4 of which are in verse 2-3; also, ‘trample’ in verse 18 is the same word, therefore, it is used a total of 5 times in this chapter; and the 6th is in verse 3 where ‘trample’ is a synonym.) This action of God is more severe than ‘fighting’ (10), because it says here that God is in red (meaning the color of blood) (1 – 2). It is even more direct later regarding its bloodiness: “their lifeblood spattered on my garments…..poured out their lifeblood on the earth” (3, 6).
3. 拯救的歷史原因 — The historical reason for salvation.
神的拯救本來是不用流血行動, 因為神從開始就向以色列人施大恩, 並且已經成為他們的救主, 與他們同甘共苦(7~9)。只可惜自摩西時代, 他們就「悖逆」神(10)。經歷了近千年的寬容, 終於神只得讓「我們的敵人已經踐踏你的聖所」(18)。為此, 神必須踹踏列國來再
次施行拯救。
God’s original salvation does not involve bloodshed, because from the very beginning, God is already graceful and merciful to the Israelites, saving them and staying with them through thick and thin (7 – 9). Unfortunately, since the Moses era, they have been ‘rebelling’ against God (10). After close to a thousand years’ of lenience, God finally allows “our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary” (18). For that, God must tread the foreign nations to deliver His people again.
以賽亞向讀者講論耶和華拯救的同時, 在本章中提到幾個舊約罕見、而又重要的神學觀念:
While speaking to the reader on the Lord’s salvation in this chapter, Isaiah also mentions several rare but important Old Testament theological concepts:
1. 聖靈 — 除本章二次外(10~11),舊約只有其他三處經文提及(民27: 18詩51:11賽32:15)。本章還有一次「耶和華的靈」(14;這名詞舊約只出現廿多次)。但是這裡將聖靈作為保惠師和代禱者的角色發明出來(約14:16,26~27羅8:26 弗4:30)。
The Holy Spirit - Apart from the 2 references in this chapter (10 – 11), there are only 3 other in the Old Testament (Numbers 27:18, Psalm 51:11, Isaiah 32:15). There is also one mention of “the Spirit of the Lord” in this chapter (14; this title appears only a little over 20 times in the Old Testament); but the Holy Spirit’s roles as the Comforter and intercessory prayer emerge from here (John 14:16, 26 – 27; Romans 8:26; Ephesians 4:30).
2. 耶和華是父(16) — 第九節描述神像父親那樣保抱、懷搋人, 符合舊約以慈父形容神(103:11~13), 也提供了新約中天父是慈悲的神學基礎(路6:36林後1:3)。
The Lord is the Father (16) – Verse 9 describes God lifting up and carrying His people like a father, in line with the depiction of God as a living father in the Old Testament (Psalm 103:11 – 13), and laying the foundation for the Heavenly Father being the merciful God in the New Testament (Luke 6:36, 2 Corinthians 1:3)
3. 救贖主(16)。這是以賽亞書對神的特別稱號(舊約十七次,而十二次是在本書中)。而救主(8)這個名稱, 舊約十六次的一半是在本書, 這正好成為作者以賽亞的名字的詮釋。
The Redeemer (16) – This is a special title that Isaiah refers to God (17 times in the Old Testament, and 12 of which are in the Book of Isaiah). As for the title Redeemer (8), half of the 16 references in the Old Testament are in this book; this is the exact reason for the meaning of the author’s name Isaiah.
這三個神的名稱正好表達三位一體的神學觀念。
The above 3 titles of God perfectly illustrate the concept that God is three in one.
以賽亞在講論耶和華拯救時, 他固然介紹神會如何成就一個怎麼樣的救恩, 但他也不忘表達面對救恩時, 帶給他什麼神的認識, 和與耶和華建立那種的關係。今天你從神的話語中, 除了能夠認識多一點神的旨意外, 可想到怎樣與慈悲的天父建立更深固的關係?
When speaking of the Lord’s salvation, he surely introduces how God achieves what kind of salvation; but he also includes what he learns about God and what kind of relationship he builds with the Lord when presented with the gift of salvation by grace. Today, apart from learning a little more about God’s will from His word, have you thought about how to build a deeper and more solid relationship with our merciful Heavenly Father?
每日讀經 by 洪同勉牧師 Rev. Tommy Hung
(English Translation: Ms. Lori Wong)
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