約珥書1:1-7

1:1 耶和華的話臨到毘土珥的兒子約珥。

1:2 老年人哪，當聽我的話；國中的居民哪，都要側耳而聽。在你們的日子，或你們列祖的日子，曾有這樣的事嗎？

1:3 你們要將這事傳與子，子傳與孫，孫傳與後代。

1:4 剪蟲剩下的，蝗蟲來吃；蝗蟲剩下的，蝻子來吃；蝻子剩下的，螞蚱來吃。

1:5 酒醉的人哪，要清醒哭泣；好酒的人哪，都要為甜酒哀號，因為從你們的口中斷絕了。

1:6 有一隊蝗蟲（原文是民）又強盛又無數，侵犯我的地；牠的牙齒如獅子的牙齒，大牙如母獅的大牙。

1:7 牠毀壞我的葡萄樹，剝了我無花果樹的皮，剝盡而丟棄，使枝條露白。

The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:

Hear this, you elders;

give ear, all inhabitants of the land!

 Has such a thing happened in your days,

or in the days of your fathers?

Tell your children of it,

and let your children tell their children,

and their children to another generation.

What the cutting locust left,

 the swarming locust has eaten.

What the swarming locust left,

 the hopping locust has eaten,

and what the hopping locust left,

 the destroying locust has eaten.

Awake, you drunkards, and weep,

and wail, all you drinkers of wine,

because of the sweet wine,

for it is cut off from your mouth.

For a nation has come up against my land,

 powerful and beyond number;

 its teeth are lions 'teeth,

and it has the fangs of a lioness.

It has laid waste my vine

and splintered my fig tree;

it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down;

their branches are made white.

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    約珥先知用蝗蟲的災害來使以色列人認識上帝的審判，讓他們感受到死亡的威脅。因為人犯罪的結果帶來愁苦，愁苦讓人感受到死亡的威脅，因為所有的一切都被奪走了，真的是一無所有了，連自己都沒有了！

    死亡真的是如此，使我們一切的奮鬥與努力都歸於無有，都被剝奪，都成了無意義，真的如煙霧一般轉眼成為空！

    也因此人需要基督，因為唯有在基督裡的才能存到永遠，才不會被死亡所奪去，因為耶穌勝過死亡！

阿摩司書9:11-15

9:11 到那日，我必建立大衛倒塌的帳幕，堵住其中的破口，把那破壞的建立起來，重新修造，像古時一樣，

9:12 使以色列人得以東所餘剩的和所有稱為我名下的國。此乃行這事的耶和華說的。

9:13 耶和華說：日子將到，耕種的必接續收割的；踹葡萄的必接續撒種的；大山要滴下甜酒；小山都必流奶（原文是消化，見約珥三章十八節）。

9:14 我必使我民以色列被擄的歸回；他們必重修荒廢的城邑居住，栽種葡萄園，喝其中所出的酒，修造果木園，吃其中的果子。

9:15 我要將他們栽於本地，他們不再從我所賜給他們的地上拔出來。這是耶和華─你的上帝說的。

“In that day I will raise up

the booth of David that is fallen

and repair its breaches,

and raise up its ruins

and rebuild it as in the days of old,

  that they may possess the remnant of Edom

and all the nations who are called by my name,”

declares the Lord who does this.

  “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,

“when the plowman shall overtake the reaper

and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;

the mountains shall drip sweet wine,

and all the hills shall flow with it.

  I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,

and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;

they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,

and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.

  I will plant them on their land,

and they shall never again be uprooted

out of the land that I have given them,”

says the Lord your God.

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     上帝必定重建自己的國，使悖逆的百姓轉變為順服的百姓，使他們重新歸回上帝的面前。重新使被破壞的聖殿，也被在重建起來，重新再次獻上自己成為上帝子民。

阿摩司書9:5-10

9:5 主─萬軍之耶和華摸地，地就消化，凡住在地上的都必悲哀。地必全然像尼羅河漲起，如同埃及河落下。

9:6 那在天上建造樓閣、在地上安定穹蒼、命海水澆在地上的─耶和華是他的名。

9:7 耶和華說：以色列人哪，我豈不看你們如古實人嗎？我豈不是領以色列人出埃及地，領非利士人出迦斐託，領亞蘭人出吉珥嗎？

9:8 主耶和華的眼目察看這有罪的國，必將這國從地上滅絕，卻不將雅各家滅絕淨盡。這是耶和華說的。

9:9 我必出令，將以色列家分散在列國中，好像用篩子篩穀，連一粒也不落在地上。

9:10 我民中的一切罪人說：災禍必追不上我們，也迎不著我們。他們必死在刀下。

The Lord God of hosts,

he who touches the earth and it melts,

and all who dwell in it mourn,

and all of it rises like the Nile,

and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt;

  who builds his upper chambers in the heavens

and founds his vault upon the earth;

who calls for the waters of the sea

and pours them out upon the surface of the earth—

the Lord is his name.

  “Are you not like the Cushites to me,

O people of Israel?” declares the Lord.

“Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt,

and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir?

  Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom,

and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground,

except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,”

declares the Lord.

  “For behold, I will command,

and shake the house of Israel among all the nations

as one shakes with a sieve,

but no pebble shall fall to the earth.

  All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,

who say, Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’

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    上帝的「留餘種」，是祂拯救的契機。正如以色列人雖然得罪上帝，受上帝的懲罰，但是上帝仍然讓它們有餘種，不僅如此，還散布全地！

    有人拿客家人和以色列人做比較，客家人的母語在台灣有漸漸消失的現象，而以色列民的母語卻能保存得很好。其實最大的原因還是在上帝保守，因為他們認同自己的身分；而台灣的客家人有許多人不認同自己的身分，認為人活著的目的只是為了生存，為了賺錢，其他不重要！

    今天客家人要先認同自己的身分，不要做隱性人，而這份力量，必須靠基督信仰來注入，因為唯有基督信仰強調身分的認同，強調自己是被上帝選召來活出自己該有的身分。

阿摩司書9章

      阿摩司書9:1-4 ,   阿摩司書9:5-10  ,  阿摩司書9:11-15 ,

阿摩司書9:1-4

9:1 我看見主站在祭壇旁邊；他說：你要擊打柱頂，使門檻震動，打碎柱頂，落在眾人頭上；所剩下的人，我必用刀殺戮，無一人能逃避，無一人能逃脫。

9:2 他們雖然挖透陰間，我的手必取出他們來；雖然爬上天去，我必拿下他們來；

9:3 雖然藏在迦密山頂，我必搜尋，捉出他們來；雖然從我眼前藏在海底，我必命蛇咬他們；

9:4 雖被仇敵擄去，我必命刀劍殺戮他們；我必向他們定住眼目，降禍不降福。

I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said:      

“Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake,

and shatter them on the heads of all the people;

and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword;

not one of them shall flee away;

not one of them shall escape.

  “If they dig into Sheol,

from there shall my hand take them;

if they climb up to heaven,

from there I will bring them down.

  If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,

from there I will search them out and take them;

and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,

there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.

  And if they go into captivity before their enemies,

there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them;

and I will fix my eyes upon them

for evil and not for good.”

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    若是上帝要懲罰人，比人遇見災禍個可怕！因為災禍只能傷身體，上帝的懲罰卻是包括靈魂，尤其是使我們失落上帝的同在！那是最可怕的！