歷代志下21:8-11

21:8 約蘭年間，以東人背叛猶大，脫離他的權下，自己立王。
21:9 約蘭就率領軍長和所有的戰車，夜間起來，攻擊圍困他的以東人和車兵長。
21:10 這樣，以東人背叛猶大，脫離他的權下，直到今日。那時，立拿人也背叛了，因為約蘭離棄耶和華─他列祖的上帝。
21:11 他又在猶大諸山建築邱壇，使耶路撒冷的居民行邪淫，誘惑猶大人。

⁸ In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king. ⁹ So Jehoram went there with his officers and all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he rose up and broke through by night. ¹⁰ To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah.

Libnah revolted at the same time, because Jehoram had forsaken the Lord, the God of his ancestors. ¹¹ He had also built high places on the hills of Judah and had caused the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves and had led Judah astray.

 

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    「約蘭」原文的意義是「耶和華高舉的」，是應該被尊敬的名字。然而，在此記載卻是一位離棄上帝的王！而他的行徑更是違反上帝立王的目的，陷百姓於不義之中，因為「他又在猶大諸山建築邱壇，使耶路撒冷的居民行邪淫，誘惑猶大人。」

 

    因為他離棄上帝，造成以東和立拿的背叛。這也讓我們看見，上帝仍然會有一些作為來警告人，使人得警戒而悔改。不過，沉溺罪中的人是看不見的，仍然執迷不悟，繼續犯罪！

 

    求主保守，讓我們對罪惡敏感，不要白白受苦而不知，繼續犯罪預上帝為仇！

 

 

 

 

歷代志下21:1-7

21:1 約沙法與他列祖同睡，葬在大衛城他列祖的墳地裡。他兒子約蘭接續他作王。
21:2 約蘭有幾個兄弟，就是約沙法的兒子亞撒利雅、耶歇、撒迦利雅、亞撒列夫、米迦勒、示法提雅。這都是猶大王約沙法的兒子。
21:3 他們的父親將許多金銀、財寶，和猶大地的堅固城賜給他們；但將國賜給約蘭，因為他是長子。
21:4 約蘭興起坐他父的位，奮勇自強，就用刀殺了他的眾兄弟和以色列的幾個首領。
21:5 約蘭登基的時候年三十二歲，在耶路撒冷作王八年。
21:6 他行以色列諸王的道，與亞哈家一樣；因他娶了亞哈的女兒為妻，行耶和華眼中看為惡的事。
21:7 耶和華卻因自己與大衛所立的約，不肯滅大衛的家，照他所應許的，永遠賜燈光與大衛和他的子孫。

Then Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. And Jehoram his son succeeded him as king. ² Jehoram’s brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat, were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael and Shephatiah. All these were sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.^{[a] 3} Their father had given them many gifts of silver and gold and articles of value, as well as fortified cities in Judah, but he had given the kingdom to Jehoram because he was his firstborn son.

⁴ When Jehoram established himself firmly over his father’s kingdom, he put all his brothers to the sword along with some of the officials of Israel. ⁵ Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. ⁶ He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. ⁷ Nevertheless, because of the covenant the Lord had made with David, the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David. He had promised to maintain a lamp for him and his descendants forever.

 

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    約蘭繼承父親作王，卻不像父親敬畏上帝，為人殘暴，用刀殺了他的眾兄弟。但是更糟糕的是，娶了亞哈的女兒為妻，行耶和華眼中看為惡的事，就像以色列的王一樣。

 

    當然他的惡行也使人質疑：上帝是否繼續保守大衛的後裔在他的寶座上，繼續執掌王權呢？

 

    然而聖經卻清楚的說：「耶和華卻因自己與大衛所立的約，不肯滅大衛的家，照他所應許的，永遠賜燈光與大衛和他的子孫。」

 

    這也清楚的宣告上帝是信實的，是永不改變的，改變的卻是人！雖然如此，上帝仍然在掌權，上帝不會因為人而放棄祂的應許之福！

  

歷代志下17:7-9

17:7 他作王第三年，就差遣臣子便亥伊勒、俄巴底、撒迦利雅、拿坦業、米該亞往猶大各城去教訓百姓。
17:8 同著他們有利未人示瑪雅、尼探雅、西巴第雅、亞撒黑、示米拉末、約拿單、亞多尼雅、多比雅、駝巴多尼雅，又有祭司以利沙瑪、約蘭同著他們。
17:9 他們帶著耶和華的律法書，走遍猶大各城教訓百姓。

⁷ In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah to teach in the towns of Judah. ⁸ With them were certain Levites—Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-Adonijah—and the priests Elishama and Jehoram. ⁹ They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people.

 

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    亞撒的兒子約沙法不僅有硬體的措施，也有軟體的措施，就是差遣臣子們和利未人帶著耶和華的律法書，走遍猶大各城教訓百姓。

 

    這是一個重要的措施，上帝的律法書就是指《摩西五經》，是整個舊約聖經的基礎，教訓人民的目的，就是要人民清楚上帝的命令而遵行，這是上帝的子民重要的記號。

 

    當然遵行上帝的律法不只是猶大和以色列人該有的記號，更是今日屬上帝的子民該有的記號，雖然不是靠行律法得救，但是行律法是活出上帝兒女生命所必須的，是為了記念上帝的拯救，所必須有的表現。