歷代志上28:9-10

28:9 「我兒所羅門哪，你當認識耶和華─你父的上帝，誠心樂意地事奉他；因為他鑒察眾人的心，知道一切心思意念。你若尋求他，他必使你尋見；你若離棄他，他必永遠丟棄你。

28:10 你當謹慎，因耶和華揀選你建造殿宇作為聖所。你當剛強去行。」

⁹ “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. ¹⁰ Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.”

*************

    大衛勸勉他的繼承者所羅門，要和上帝建立合宜的關係，要樂意事奉上帝，確切尋求祂的面，不可以遠離上帝，不然也會被上帝離棄。

    當然上帝在我們還是罪人、還遠離祂的時候，施恩拯救我們。但是，我們不可以因此就以為上帝沒有關係！這不對的，上帝既然用慈愛呼召我們，我們豈可已放棄這樣的機會，應當好好把我機會，趁上帝可以尋求的時候，快快來尋求祂，以免陷入深深的懊悔之中！

    而大衛王更是勉勵所羅門要剛強，因為上帝要將建聖殿的重責大任交給他，沒有剛強的心是無法承擔的！然而我們要如何才能真正剛強？就是要信靠主！

    同樣今日耶穌基督呼召我們要建更大的聖殿，就是教會！我們更是要剛強，更是要倚靠主所賜的大能大力，才能完成這使命！

申命記 1:19-46

1:19 「我們照著耶和華─我們上帝所吩咐的從何烈山起行，經過你們所看見那大而可怕的曠野，往亞摩利人的山地去，到了加低斯‧巴尼亞。
1:20 我對你們說：『你們已經到了耶和華─我們上帝所賜給我們的亞摩利人之山地。
1:21 看哪，耶和華─你的上帝已將那地擺在你面前，你要照耶和華─你列祖的上帝所說的上去得那地為業；不要懼怕，也不要驚惶。』
1:22 你們都就近我來說：『我們要先打發人去，為我們窺探那地，將我們上去該走何道，必進何城，都回報我們。』
1:23 這話我以為美，就從你們中間選了十二個人，每支派一人。
1:24 於是他們起身上山地去，到以實各谷，窺探那地。
1:25 他們手裡拿著那地的果子下來，到我們那裡，回報說：『耶和華─我們的上帝所賜給我們的是美地。』
1:26 「你們卻不肯上去，竟違背了耶和華─你們上帝的命令，
1:27 在帳棚內發怨言說：『耶和華因為恨我們，所以將我們從埃及地領出來，要交在亞摩利人手中，除滅我們。
1:28 我們上哪裡去呢？我們的弟兄使我們的心消化，說那地的民比我們又大又高，城邑又廣大又堅固，高得頂天，並且我們在那裡看見亞衲族的人。』
1:29 我就對你們說：『不要驚恐，也不要怕他們。
1:30 在你們前面行的耶和華─你們的上帝必為你們爭戰，正如他在埃及和曠野，在你們眼前所行的一樣。
1:31 你們在曠野所行的路上，也曾見耶和華─你們的上帝撫養你們，如同人撫養兒子一般，直等你們來到這地方。』
1:32 你們在這事上卻不信耶和華─你們的上帝。
1:33 他在路上，在你們前面行，為你們找安營的地方；夜間在火柱裡，日間在雲柱裡，指示你們所當行的路。」
1:34 「耶和華聽見你們這話，就發怒，起誓說：
1:35 『這惡世代的人，連一個也不得見我起誓應許賜給你們列祖的美地；
1:36 惟有耶孚尼的兒子迦勒必得看見，並且我要將他所踏過的地賜給他和他的子孫，因為他專心跟從我。』
1:37 耶和華為你們的緣故也向我發怒，說：『你必不得進入那地。
1:38 伺候你、嫩的兒子約書亞，他必得進入那地；你要勉勵他，因為他要使以色列人承受那地為業。
1:39 並且你們的婦人孩子，就是你們所說、必被擄掠的，和今日不知善惡的兒女，必進入那地。我要將那地賜給他們，他們必得為業。
1:40 至於你們，要轉回，從紅海的路往曠野去。』
1:41 「那時，你們回答我說：『我們得罪了耶和華，情願照耶和華─我們上帝一切所吩咐的上去爭戰。』於是你們各人帶著兵器，爭先上山地去了。
1:42 耶和華吩咐我說：『你對他們說：不要上去，也不要爭戰；因我不在你們中間，恐怕你們被仇敵殺敗了。』
1:43 我就告訴了你們，你們卻不聽從，竟違背耶和華的命令，擅自上山地去了。
1:44 住那山地的亞摩利人就出來攻擊你們，追趕你們，如蜂擁一般，在西珥殺退你們，直到何珥瑪。
1:45 你們便回來，在耶和華面前哭號；耶和華卻不聽你們的聲音，也不向你們側耳。
1:46 於是你們在加低斯住了許多日子。」

¹⁹ Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful wilderness that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea. ²⁰ Then I said to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. ²¹ See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

²² Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.”

²³ The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe. ²⁴ They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshkol and explored it. ²⁵ Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported, “It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.”

²⁶ But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. ²⁷ You grumbled in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. ²⁸ Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’”

²⁹ Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. ³⁰ The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, ³¹ and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”

³² In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, ³³ who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

³⁴ When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore: ³⁵ “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, ³⁶ except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.”

³⁷ Because of you the Lord became angry with me also and said, “You shall not enter it, either. ³⁸ But your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to inherit it. ³⁹ And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it. ⁴⁰ But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.^[a]”

⁴¹ Then you replied, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us.” So every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.

⁴² But the Lord said to me, “Tell them, ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.’”

⁴³ So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the Lord’s command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country. ⁴⁴ The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees and beat you down from Seir all the way to Hormah. ⁴⁵ You came back and wept before the Lord, but he paid no attention to your weeping and turned a deaf ear to you. ⁴⁶ And so you stayed in Kadesh many days—all the time you spent there.

***********

    摩西在此講論以色列人失敗的事蹟，要新的一代以此為警誡，不要小看上帝的應許，不要只看困難而不仰望上帝，不相信上帝的應許！在上帝沒有難成的事，祂說有就有，命立就立！因為上帝有完全的主權，不要以人的想法限制上帝的作為！

    而在進迦南地的事上，上帝會照祂的心意成就。在出埃及第一代的以色列人中，只有約書亞和迦勒可以進入，這是上帝應許給他們的，因為他們願意照上帝的心意宣告迦南的狀態，準備好進入上帝的應許之地。

    同樣今日我們準備好，進入耶穌基督為我們預備的榮耀家嗎？上帝的恩典是臨到信靠祂和準備好的人！因為祂差遣聖靈開我們的心眼，使我們看見基督的榮耀，正如上帝使約書亞和迦勒看見迦南之美一般！

申命記 1:9-18

1:9 「那時，我對你們說：『管理你們的重任，我獨自擔當不起。
1:10 耶和華─你們的上帝使你們多起來。看哪，你們今日像天上的星那樣多。
1:11 惟願耶和華─你們列祖的上帝使你們比如今更多千倍，照他所應許你們的話賜福與你們。
1:12 但你們的麻煩，和管理你們的重任，並你們的爭訟，我獨自一人怎能擔當得起呢？
1:13 你們要按著各支派選舉有智慧、有見識、為眾人所認識的，我立他們為你們的首領。』
1:14 你們回答我說：『照你所說的行了為妙。』
1:15 我便將你們各支派的首領，有智慧、為眾人所認識的，照你們的支派，立他們為官長、千夫長、百夫長、五十夫長、十夫長，管理你們。
1:16 「當時，我囑咐你們的審判官說：『你們聽訟，無論是弟兄彼此爭訟，是與同居的外人爭訟，都要按公義判斷。
1:17 審判的時候，不可看人的外貌；聽訟不可分貴賤，不可懼怕人，因為審判是屬乎上帝的。若有難斷的案件，可以呈到我這裡，我就判斷。』
1:18 那時，我將你們所當行的事都吩咐你們了。」

⁹ At that time I said to you, “You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone. ¹⁰ The Lord your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky. ¹¹ May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised! ¹² But how can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself? ¹³ Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you.”

¹⁴ You answered me, “What you propose to do is good.”

¹⁵ So I took the leading men of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them to have authority over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials. ¹⁶ And I charged your judges at that time, “Hear the disputes between your people and judge fairly, whether the case is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner residing among you. ¹⁷ Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too hard for you, and I will hear it.” ¹⁸ And at that time I told you everything you were to do.

***********

    摩西雖然是離現在快4000年的人物，卻有現代人的智慧，懂得怎樣放下權力，不一個人承擔萬事！他將審判的權力分給百姓的領袖，正如經文所說：「我便將你們各支派的首領，有智慧、為眾人所認識的，照你們的支派，立他們為官長、千夫長、百夫長、五十夫長、十夫長，管理你們。」

    今日教會的治理也當以這樣的方式為依歸，層層負責，讓每一位信徒領袖也可以進到牧養的工作。也因為這樣，每一個弟兄姊妹才會真正被牧養到，這也就是所謂的「小組事工」。如此真正需要牧者關懷的人，才可以得著幫助。而一般的領袖同工，才會被訓練到牧養的工作！

    然而能夠把主權放下的牧者，才能讓信徒認識到真正的牧者是耶穌基督，才能夠讓耶穌基督真的在教會掌權，如此教會才真的是基督的身體，而不是牧者霸佔的地方。

申命記 1:1-8

1:1 以下所記的是摩西在約旦河東的曠野、疏弗對面的亞拉巴─就是巴蘭、陀弗、拉班、哈洗錄、底撒哈中間─向以色列眾人所說的話。
1:2 （從何烈山經過西珥山到加低斯‧巴尼亞有十一天的路程。）
1:3 出埃及第四十年十一月初一日，摩西照耶和華藉著他所吩咐以色列人的話都曉諭他們。
1:4 那時，他已經擊殺了住希實本的亞摩利王西宏和住以得來、亞斯他錄的巴珊王噩。
1:5 摩西在約旦河東的摩押地講律法說：
1:6 「耶和華─我們的上帝在何烈山曉諭我們說：你們在這山上住的日子夠了；
1:7 要起行轉到亞摩利人的山地和靠近這山地的各處，就是亞拉巴、山地、高原、南地，沿海一帶迦南人的地，並黎巴嫩山又到幼發拉底大河。
1:8 如今我將這地擺在你們面前；你們要進去得這地，就是耶和華向你們列祖亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各起誓應許賜給他們和他們後裔為業之地。」

These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—that is, in the Arabah—opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. ² (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.)

³ In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them. ⁴ This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.
⁵ East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab, Moses began to expound this law, saying:

⁶ The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. ⁷ Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. ⁸ See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”

***********

    對以色列人而言，進入迦南美的是應該的，是必要的！但是，進去的不是當初離開埃及的那一代，卻是第二代以後的人進入！

    而申命記是摩西要離世前對第二代的以色列人說的話！要他們向前看，不要受曠野限制住而忘記上帝的應許，因為上帝給他們的使命是：「如今我將這地擺在你們面前；你們要進去得這地，就是耶和華向你們列祖亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各起誓應許賜給他們和他們後裔為業之地。」

    同樣，親愛的弟兄姊妹！雖然我們的人生路途像在曠野之中，但是不要忘記，主耶穌去為我們預備地方，將來祂要再來，領我們進入祂應許的榮耀之地！要堅定相信，上的的應許絕對不會落空！

詩篇49篇

     詩篇49:1-20  ,