以西結書16:44-52

16:44 「凡說俗語的必用俗語攻擊你，說：『母親怎樣，女兒也怎樣。』

16:45 你正是你母親的女兒，厭棄丈夫和兒女；你正是你姊妹的姊妹，厭棄丈夫和兒女。你母親是赫人，你父親是亞摩利人。

16:46 你的姊姊是撒馬利亞，她和她的眾女住在你左邊；你的妹妹是所多瑪，她和她的眾女住在你右邊。

16:47 你沒有效法她們的行為，也沒有照她們可憎的事去做，你以那為小事，你一切所行的倒比她們更壞。

16:48 主耶和華說：我指著我的永生起誓，你妹妹所多瑪與她的眾女尚未行你和你眾女所行的事。

16:49 看哪，你妹妹所多瑪的罪孽是這樣：她和她的眾女都心驕氣傲，糧食飽足，大享安逸，並沒有扶助困苦和窮乏人的手。

16:50 她們狂傲，在我面前行可憎的事，我看見便將她們除掉。

16:51 撒馬利亞沒有犯你一半的罪，你行可憎的事比她更多，使你的姊妹因你所行一切可憎的事，倒顯為義。

16:52 你既斷定你姊妹為義（為義：或譯當受羞辱），就要擔當自己的羞辱；因你所犯的罪比她們更為可憎，她們就比你更顯為義；你既使你的姊妹顯為義，你就要抱愧擔當自己的羞辱。」

“Behold, everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’  You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.  And your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters.  Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.  As I live, declares the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.  Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.  They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.  Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed.  Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

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    先知在此說的話是要耶路撒冷清楚自己犯罪受到上帝憎惡，而這城市的罪惡比所多瑪還嚴重！雖然口氣很重，但是上帝的用意是要他們悔改！

    其實教會若有犯罪的事，最難過的是上帝，責備最重的也是上帝！正如上帝則被耶路撒冷一樣，重要的是教會要常常在上帝面前認罪、悔改！

    今天我們還自以為義嗎？當求基督的寶血洗淨！我們自以為教會興旺是我們關心人結果，非也！若不是上帝自己透過基督吸引人，沒有人會到上帝面前，不要將榮耀歸給自己。

箴言22:4

敬畏耶和華心存謙卑，就得富有、尊榮、生命為賞賜。

 

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    關於這樣的經文我們要小心，聖經要我們行的是「敬畏耶和華心存謙卑」，不是鼓勵我們追求後面的應許，因為後面的應許是指在上帝國實現時，上帝要讓我們完全享受到的，是永恆的獎賞。

    也因此，基督徒在世要存「忍耐」的心來實行上帝的旨意。因為我們遵行上帝旨意必定有所付出，甚至是要與我們的罪性相抵抗，正如主耶穌在客西馬尼園說的：「總要警醒禱告，免得入了迷惑。你們心靈固然願意，肉體卻軟弱了。」（馬太福音26:41）

    但是，我們這一路並不是我們一個人傻傻地忍耐，而是有主耶穌隨時地同在與扶持，有主的同在就如同這裡所說，「得富有、尊榮、生命為賞賜」！

以西結書16:30-43

16:30 主耶和華說：你行這一切事，都是不知羞恥妓女所行的，可見你的心是何等懦弱！

16:31 因你在一切市口上建造圓頂花樓，在各街上做了高臺，你卻藐視賞賜，不像妓女。

16:32 哎！你這行淫的妻啊，寧肯接外人，不接丈夫。

16:33 凡妓女是得人贈送，你反倒贈送你所愛的人，賄賂他們從四圍來與你行淫。

16:34 你行淫與別的婦女相反，因為不是人從你行淫；你既贈送人，人並不贈送你；所以你與別的婦女相反。

16:35 你這妓女啊，要聽耶和華的話。

16:36 主耶和華如此說：因你的污穢傾洩了，你與你所愛的行淫露出下體，又因你拜一切可憎的偶像，流兒女的血獻給他，

16:37 我就要將你一切相歡、相愛的，和你一切所恨的都聚集來，從四圍攻擊你；又將你的下體露出，使他們看盡了。

16:38 我也要審判你，好像官長審判淫婦和流人血的婦女一樣。我因忿怒忌恨，使流血的罪歸到你身上。

16:39 我又要將你交在他們手中；他們必拆毀你的圓頂花樓，毀壞你的高臺，剝去你的衣服，奪取你的華美寶器，留下你赤身露體。

16:40 他們也必帶多人來攻擊你，用石頭打死你，用刀劍刺透你，

16:41 用火焚燒你的房屋，在許多婦人眼前向你施行審判。我必使你不再行淫，也不再贈送與人。

16:42 這樣，我就止息向你發的忿怒，我的忌恨也要離開你，我要安靜不再惱怒。

16:43 因你不追念你幼年的日子，在這一切的事上向我發烈怒，所以我必照你所行的報應在你頭上，你就不再貪淫，行那一切可憎的事。這是主耶和華說的。

30 "How sick is your heart, declares the Lord God, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute, 31 building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. 32 Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! 33 Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings. 34 So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different.

35 "Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord:36 Thus says the Lord God, Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your whorings with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them, 37 therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from every side and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness. 38 And I will judge you as women who commit adultery and shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy. 39 And I will give you into their hands, and they shall throw down your vaulted chamber and break down your lofty places. They shall strip you of your clothes and take your beautiful jewels and leave you naked and bare. 40 They shall bring up a crowd against you, and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 And they shall burn your houses and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. I will make you stop playing the whore, and you shall also give payment no more. 42 So will I satisfy my wrath on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry. 43 Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, I have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord God. Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations?

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    先知在此描述耶路撒冷比妓女還不如，所以上帝要懲罰她！因為猶大國的變態狀況，花錢找人來與自己行淫，卻拒絕丈夫。上帝就是要毀滅耶路撒冷，讓祂的忌恨可以平息，所以宗教上淫亂的耶路撒冷是一定要被擄、被毀滅的。但整個毀滅的動機卻是來自「丈夫的愛」。

    而在此讓我們認識到信仰是人心靈中最私密的事情，但是這私密如同婚姻一般是要忠貞的。而忠貞的原因是因為我們是被上帝拯救，被上帝所命定、所揀選，是與上帝有一種不可抗拒的關係！選擇了其他對象，是否定上帝的愛，藐視上帝的地位，也因此會遭上帝的懲罰！

    以色列人蒙上帝拯救脫離埃及為奴之地！而基督徒不僅蒙拯救脫離「埃及」，更是蒙拯救脫離「罪與死」的權勢，就是魔鬼的權勢！而上帝為我們的拯救，是一種犧牲的愛，就是透過愛子耶穌基督為我們的罪死在十字架上！使我們不能再悖離這樣的愛，因為祂已徹底敗壞魔鬼在我們身上的權勢了！得勝是屬乎上帝和祂的子民！

以西結書16:23-29

16:23 你行這一切惡事之後（主耶和華說：你有禍了！有禍了！）

16:24 又為自己建造圓頂花樓，在各街上做了高臺。

16:25 你在一切市口上建造高臺，使你的美貌變為可憎的，又與一切過路的多行淫亂。

16:26 你也和你鄰邦放縱情慾的埃及人行淫，加增你的淫亂，惹我發怒。

16:27 因此我伸手攻擊你，減少你應用的糧食，又將你交給恨你的非利士眾女（眾女是城邑的意思；本章下同），使她們任意待你。她們見你的淫行，為你羞恥。

16:28 你因貪色無厭，又與亞述人行淫，與他們行淫之後，仍不滿意，

16:29 並且多行淫亂，直到那貿易之地，就是迦勒底，你仍不滿意。

"And after all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! declares the Lord God), 24 you built yourself a vaulted chamber and made yourself a lofty place in every square. 25 At the head of every street you built your lofty place and made your beauty an abomination, offering yourself to any passerby and multiplying your whoring. 26 You also played the whore with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, multiplying your whoring, to provoke me to anger. 27 Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you and diminished your allotted portion and delivered you to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. 28 You played the whore also with the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; yes, you played the whore with them, and still you were not satisfied. 29 You multiplied your whoring also with the trading land of Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied.

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    聖經用男女關係的混亂（淫亂）來形容以色列人對上帝不忠心，這事非常貼切，因為男女關係是人與人之間最親密且最接近的關係，是不能隨便，也不是為了滿足彼此的慾望。這也是問甚麼混亂的男女關係會被輕視，甚至於被認為如同「禽獸」降低等級。不僅如此，若是為利益而失去對婚姻的忠誠，更是被唾棄！

    然而偏偏在人類的社會中，充斥著這樣的情形。以至於讓人感受到罪惡的力量，使人不僅失格，更是讓人墜入滅亡之中，因為人沒有與上帝有正確且合宜的關係，就是生命隔絕，這是非常嚴重的事情，這也是為什麼上帝要透過耶穌基督設立救恩，使人不再落在滅亡之中。

    上帝更透過祂與以色列之關係，讓世人知道：上帝不喜悅也無法容忍他的子民在罪中生活，這是一種淫亂的，祂為了恢復正常關係，情願以不生愛子耶穌基督為贖罪祭獻上，好把悖逆的人拉回應有的地位，這是何等的愛與恩典！