箴言22:26-27

22:26 不要與人擊掌，不要為欠債的作保。
22:27 你若沒有甚麼償還，何必使人奪去你睡臥的床呢？

²⁶ Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge
    or puts up security for debts;
²⁷ if you lack the means to pay,
    your very bed will be snatched from under you.

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     因為人的有限與不穩定，所以不要為人做保，以免自己遭殃！這是很重要的勸告，但是許多人聽不進去，由其是自以為有義氣的人，認為朋友本來就需要互相幫助，有何不妥呢？

    殊不知常常以為可以信賴的人，最後變成不可信賴；不僅不能信賴，還是出賣朋友最嚴重的人！正如彼得，向主耶穌信誓旦旦的說：「我就是必須和你同死，也總不能不認你」。但是事實如何呢？

    這也是讓我們認清一個事實，人是不可靠的，惟有上帝才是可靠的，不要傻傻的以為人都是可以信賴、都是可靠的！要自保，就必須先認清人是軟弱、是不可信賴的！

創世記9:18-29

9:18 出方舟挪亞的兒子就是閃、含、雅弗。含是迦南的父親。
9:19 這是挪亞的三個兒子，他們的後裔分散在全地。
9:20 挪亞作起農夫來，栽了一個葡萄園。
9:21 他喝了園中的酒便醉了，在帳棚裡赤著身子。
9:22 迦南的父親含看見他父親赤身，就到外邊告訴他兩個弟兄。
9:23 於是閃和雅弗拿件衣服搭在肩上，倒退著進去，給他父親蓋上；他們背著臉就看不見父親的赤身。
9:24 挪亞醒了酒，知道小兒子向他所做的事，
9:25 就說：迦南當受咒詛，必給他弟兄作奴僕的奴僕；
9:26 又說：耶和華─閃的上帝是應當稱頌的！願迦南作閃的奴僕。
9:27 願上帝使雅弗擴張，使他住在閃的帳棚裡；又願迦南作他的奴僕。
9:28 洪水以後，挪亞又活了三百五十年。
9:29 挪亞共活了九百五十歲就死了。

¹⁸ The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) ¹⁹ These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth.

²⁰ Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded^[a] to plant a vineyard. ²¹ When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. ²² Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. ²³ But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.

²⁴ When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, ²⁵ he said,

“Cursed be Canaan!
    The lowest of slaves
    will he be to his brothers.”

²⁶ He also said,

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem!
    May Canaan be the slave of Shem.
²⁷ May God extend Japheth’s^[b] territory;
    may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,
    and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”

²⁸ After the flood Noah lived 350 years. ²⁹ Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.

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    挪亞因為喝酒就惹出一些問題，使我們感覺到底是酒的問題還是人的問題呢？是否要讓我們覺得酒是不好的？因為上帝不讓祭司和拿細耳人接觸酒，以免誤事，或是得罪上帝。

    說到酒或是其他的麻醉藥物，讓人想到人因為自己的軟弱，而逃避一些自己認為無法承擔的事情，於是藉由麻醉讓自己忘記自己要面對的困境，安撫自己的情緒，讓人進入放鬆甚至放棄的狀態。這就像鴕鳥躲在沙堆一般，其實是無濟於事的，反而製造更大的問題，這是一種虛假的狀態，是魔鬼對人的挾制與欺騙。

    也因為這樣，我們要靠聖靈所賜勇敢的心，勇於面對問題，運用上帝賜給我們的能力，以及仰望上帝的恩典，來突破困境！我們要相信，上帝既然仍夠夠過耶穌基督的死而復活，始不可能變為可能，上帝也必賜足夠的恩典讓我們面對自己人生的困境，不要逃避與放棄！

創世記9:8-17

9:8 上帝曉諭挪亞和他的兒子說：
9:9 「我與你們和你們的後裔立約，
9:10 並與你們這裡的一切活物─就是飛鳥、牲畜、走獸，凡從方舟裡出來的活物─立約。
9:11 我與你們立約，凡有血肉的，不再被洪水滅絕，也不再有洪水毀壞地了。」
9:12 上帝說：「我與你們並你們這裡的各樣活物所立的永約是有記號的。
9:13 我把虹放在雲彩中，這就可作我與地立約的記號了。
9:14 我使雲彩蓋地的時候，必有虹現在雲彩中，
9:15 我便記念我與你們和各樣有血肉的活物所立的約，水就再不氾濫、毀壞一切有血肉的物了。
9:16 虹必現在雲彩中，我看見，就要記念我與地上各樣有血肉的活物所立的永約。」
9:17 上帝對挪亞說：「這就是我與地上一切有血肉之物立約的記號了。」

⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: ⁹ “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you ¹⁰ and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. ¹¹ I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
¹² And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: ¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶ Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
¹⁷ So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

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    上帝在洪水以後，用彩虹做為記號，就是宣告：「我使雲彩蓋地的時候，必有虹現在雲彩中，我便記念我與你們和各樣有血肉的活物所立的約，水就再不氾濫、毀壞一切有血肉的物了。」

    也因為這樣，我們每此看見天空的彩虹，內心就充滿了快樂！因為彩虹是上帝立永約的一個記號，與因著這個記號，上帝不以洪水來毀滅全世界，因為這樣的毀滅太恐怖，是萬物無法承受得，要付的代價太大了！

    當然我們每次看到彩虹時，要想到耶和華的慈愛永遠長存！也因為這樣，我們更是要遠離惡事來歸向上帝！祂樂意我們悔改來歸向祂，祂是以馬內利的上帝，祂愛我們到一個地步，甚至藉由祂的愛子耶穌基督的犧牲，來與我們和好，拯救我們從審判中站立的住，進入永生，享受永遠的「彩虹」！