列王紀上8章

    列王紀上8:1-66  ,

    列王紀上8:37-40  ,

    列王紀上8:56   ,    

列王紀上8:1-66

 

8:1 那時，所羅門將以色列的長老和各支派的首領，並以色列的族長，招聚到耶路撒冷，要把耶和華的約櫃從大衛城─就是錫安─運上來。
8:2 以他念月，就是七月，在節前，以色列人都聚集到所羅門王那裡。
8:3 以色列長老來到，祭司便抬起約櫃，
8:4 祭司和利未人將耶和華的約櫃運上來，又將會幕和會幕的一切聖器具都帶上來。
8:5 所羅門王和聚集到他那裡的以色列全會眾，一同在約櫃前獻牛羊為祭，多得不可勝數。
8:6 祭司將耶和華的約櫃抬進內殿，就是至聖所，放在兩個基路伯的翅膀底下。
8:7 基路伯張著翅膀在約櫃之上，遮掩約櫃和抬櫃的槓。
8:8 這槓甚長，槓頭在內殿前的聖所可以看見，在殿外卻不能看見，直到如今還在那裡。
8:9 約櫃裡惟有兩塊石版，就是以色列人出埃及地後，耶和華與他們立約的時候摩西在何烈山所放的。除此以外，並無別物。
8:10 祭司從聖所出來的時候，有雲充滿耶和華的殿；
8:11 甚至祭司不能站立供職，因為耶和華的榮光充滿了殿。
8:12 那時所羅門說：耶和華曾說，他必住在幽暗之處。
8:13 我已經建造殿宇作你的居所，為你永遠的住處。
8:14 王轉臉為以色列會眾祝福，以色列會眾就都站立。
8:15 所羅門說：「耶和華─以色列的上帝是應當稱頌的！因他親口向我父大衛所應許的，也親手成就了。
8:16 他說：『自從我領我民以色列出埃及以來，我未曾在以色列各支派中選擇一城建造殿宇─為我名的居所，但揀選大衛治理我民以色列。』」
8:17 所羅門說：「我父大衛曾立意，要為耶和華─以色列上帝的名建殿。
8:18 耶和華卻對我父大衛說：『你立意為我的名建殿，這意思甚好。
8:19 只是你不可建殿，惟你所生的兒子必為我名建殿。』
8:20 現在耶和華成就了他所應許的話，使我接續我父大衛坐以色列的國位，又為耶和華─以色列上帝的名建造了殿。
8:21 我也在其中為約櫃預備一處。約櫃內有耶和華的約，就是他領我們列祖出埃及地的時候，與他們所立的約。」
8:22 所羅門當著以色列會眾，站在耶和華的壇前，向天舉手說：
8:23 「耶和華─以色列的上帝啊，天上地下沒有神可比你的！你向那盡心行在你面前的僕人守約施慈愛；
8:24 向你僕人─我父大衛所應許的話現在應驗了。你親口應許，親手成就，正如今日一樣。
8:25 耶和華─以色列的上帝啊，你所應許你僕人─我父大衛的話說：『你的子孫若謹慎自己的行為，在我面前行事像你所行的一樣，就不斷人坐以色列的國位。』現在求你應驗這話。
8:26 以色列的上帝啊，求你成就向你僕人─我父大衛所應許的話。
8:27 「上帝果真住在地上嗎？看哪，天和天上的天尚且不足你居住的，何況我所建的這殿呢？
8:28 惟求耶和華─我的上帝垂顧僕人的禱告祈求，俯聽僕人今日在你面前的祈禱呼籲。
8:29 願你晝夜看顧這殿，就是你應許立為你名的居所；求你垂聽僕人向此處禱告的話。
8:30 你僕人和你民以色列向此處祈禱的時候，求你在天上你的居所垂聽，垂聽而赦免。
8:31 「人若得罪鄰舍，有人叫他起誓，他來到這殿在你的壇前起誓，
8:32 求你在天上垂聽，判斷你的僕人：定惡人有罪，照他所行的報應在他頭上；定義人有理，照他的義賞賜他。
8:33 「你的民以色列若得罪你，敗在仇敵面前，又歸向你，承認你的名，在這殿裡祈求禱告，
8:34 求你在天上垂聽，赦免你民以色列的罪，使他們歸回你賜給他們列祖之地。
8:35 「你的民因得罪你，你懲罰他們，使天閉塞不下雨；他們若向此處禱告，承認你的名，離開他們的罪，
8:36 求你在天上垂聽，赦免你僕人以色列民的罪，將當行的善道指教他們，且降雨在你的地，就是你賜給你民為業之地。
8:37 「國中若有饑荒、瘟疫、旱風、霉爛、蝗蟲、螞蚱，或有仇敵犯境圍困城邑，無論遭遇甚麼災禍疾病，
8:38 你的民以色列，或是眾人，或是一人，自覺有罪（原文是災），向這殿舉手，無論祈求甚麼，禱告甚麼，
8:39 求你在天上你的居所垂聽赦免。你是知道人心的，要照各人所行的待他們（惟有你知道世人的心），
8:40 使他們在你賜給我們列祖之地上一生一世敬畏你。
8:41 「論到不屬你民以色列的外邦人，為你名從遠方而來，
8:42 （他們聽人論說你的大名和大能的手，並伸出來的膀臂）向這殿禱告，
8:43 求你在天上你的居所垂聽，照著外邦人所祈求的而行，使天下萬民都認識你的名，敬畏你像你的民以色列一樣；又使他們知道我建造的這殿是稱為你名下的。
8:44 「你的民若奉你的差遣，無論往何處去與仇敵爭戰，向耶和華所選擇的城與我為你名所建造的殿禱告，
8:45 求你在天上垂聽他們的禱告祈求，使他們得勝。
8:46 「你的民若得罪你（世上沒有不犯罪的人），你向他們發怒，將他們交給仇敵擄到仇敵之地，或遠或近，
8:47 他們若在擄到之地想起罪來，回心轉意，懇求你說：『我們有罪了，我們悖逆了，我們作惡了』；
8:48 他們若在擄到之地盡心盡性歸服你，又向自己的地，就是你賜給他們列祖之地和你所選擇的城，並我為你名所建造的殿禱告，
8:49 求你在天上你的居所垂聽他們的禱告祈求，為他們伸冤；
8:50 饒恕得罪你的民，赦免他們的一切過犯，使他們在擄他們的人面前蒙憐恤。
8:51 因為他們是你的子民，你的產業，是你從埃及領出來脫離鐵爐的。
8:52 願你的眼目看顧僕人，聽你民以色列的祈求，無論何時向你祈求，願你垂聽。
8:53 主耶和華啊，你將他們從地上的萬民中分別出來作你的產業，是照你領我們列祖出埃及的時候，藉你僕人摩西所應許的話。」
8:54 所羅門在耶和華的壇前屈膝跪著，向天舉手，在耶和華面前禱告祈求已畢，就起來，
8:55 站著，大聲為以色列全會眾祝福，說：
8:56 「耶和華是應當稱頌的！因為他照著一切所應許的賜平安給他的民以色列人，凡藉他僕人摩西應許賜福的話，一句都沒有落空。
8:57 願耶和華─我們的上帝與我們同在，像與我們列祖同在一樣，不撇下我們，不丟棄我們，
8:58 使我們的心歸向他，遵行他的道，謹守他吩咐我們列祖的誡命、律例、典章。
8:59 我在耶和華面前祈求的這些話，願耶和華─我們的上帝晝夜垂念，每日為他僕人與他民以色列伸冤，
8:60 使地上的萬民都知道惟獨耶和華是上帝，並無別神。
8:61 所以你們當向耶和華─我們的上帝存誠實的心，遵行他的律例，謹守他的誡命，至終如今日一樣。」
8:62 王和以色列眾民一同在耶和華面前獻祭。
8:63 所羅門向耶和華獻平安祭，用牛二萬二千，羊十二萬。這樣，王和以色列眾民為耶和華的殿行奉獻之禮。
8:64 當日，王因耶和華殿前的銅壇太小，容不下燔祭、素祭，和平安祭牲的脂油，便將耶和華殿前院子當中分別為聖，在那裡獻燔祭、素祭，和平安祭牲的脂油。
8:65 那時，所羅門和以色列眾人，就是從哈馬口直到埃及小河所有的以色列人，都聚集成為大會，在耶和華─我們的上帝面前守節七日又七日，共十四日。
8:66 第八日，王遣散眾民；他們都為王祝福。因見耶和華向他僕人大衛和他民以色列所施的一切恩惠，就都心中喜樂，各歸各家去了。

 

  Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. ² All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.

³ When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, ⁴ and they brought up the ark of the Lord and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up, ⁵ and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.

⁶ The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. ⁷ The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles. ⁸ These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. ⁹ There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.

¹⁰ When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. ¹¹ And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.

¹² Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; ¹³ I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.”

¹⁴ While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. ¹⁵ Then he said:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, ¹⁶ ‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’

¹⁷ “My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁸ But the Lord said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. ¹⁹ Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’

²⁰ “The Lord has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ²¹ I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”

²² Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven ²³ and said:

“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. ²⁴ You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.

²⁵ “Now Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me faithfully as you have done.’ ²⁶ And now, God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true.

²⁷ “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! ²⁸ Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. ²⁹ May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. ³⁰ Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

³¹ “When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath before your altar in this temple, ³² then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.

³³ “When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple, ³⁴ then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors.

³⁵ “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, ³⁶ then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.

³⁷ “When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, ³⁸ and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of the afflictions of their own hearts, and spreading out their hands toward this temple— ³⁹ then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know every human heart), ⁴⁰ so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors.

⁴¹ “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name— ⁴² for they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, ⁴³ then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.

⁴⁴ “When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to the Lord toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, ⁴⁵ then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.

⁴⁶ “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near; ⁴⁷ and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; ⁴⁸ and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; ⁴⁹ then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. ⁵⁰ And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy; ⁵¹ for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.

⁵² “May your eyes be open to your servant’s plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you. ⁵³ For you singled them out from all the nations of the world to be your own inheritance, just as you declared through your servant Moses when you, Sovereign Lord, brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”

⁵⁴ When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the Lord, he rose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. ⁵⁵ He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:

⁵⁶ “Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. ⁵⁷ May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us. ⁵⁸ May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors. ⁵⁹ And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need, ⁶⁰ so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. ⁶¹ And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”

⁶² Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord. ⁶³ Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the Lord.

⁶⁴ On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar that stood before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings.

⁶⁵ So Solomon observed the festival at that time, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. They celebrated it before the Lord our God for seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all. ⁶⁶ On the following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.

.

 

********

 

    讀到所羅門的獻殿盛況，心中不禁產生一種「物極必反」的念頭！正如所羅門獻殿之後，以色列人對上帝的信仰開始由盛轉衰！所羅門王，在這時表現好像很敬虔，很蒙上帝和人的喜悅，卻因為眼前的榮景，忘記要繼續敬畏上帝！相信這些都是人自滿和自傲造成，因為人只看表面，沒有注意內在！

 

    在《箴言》中有一句話：「恐怕我飽足不認你，說：耶和華是誰呢？又恐怕我貧窮就偷竊，以致褻瀆我上帝的名。」（30:9）

 

    相信所羅門對這句話有深深的體會，因為他經歷了以色列最豐盛的年代，以至於讓他忘記了耶和華上帝，去隨從他的嬪妃去敬拜外國的偶像，使他離開上帝，以色列之後就敗亡了！

 

    從所羅門王的例子，讓我們看見表面的豐盛和蒙福，對於上帝的子民不是好事！正如有多人盼望主的名得榮耀，願主復興教會，不是真正要看見上帝或基督的榮耀，是希望向人炫耀自己所信的是做好的，自己是最優秀的！這樣的心態背後，只是利用上帝高抬自己，等到目的達到就不認上帝為主了！想想這是不是很可怕？

 

    求主幫助我們，不要有一顆炫耀的心，不要利用上帝求人的榮耀！主耶穌從來就是謙謙卑卑的，正如聖經所說：「看哪！我的僕人，我所揀選、所親愛、心裡所喜悅的，我要將我的靈賜給他；他必將公理傳給外邦。他不爭競，不喧嚷；街上也沒有人聽見他的聲音。」(12:18-19)

 

    主是如此，我們更要如此，讓上帝親自來彰顯自己的榮耀，而不是刻意要人看見！

 

 

帖撒羅尼迦前書 4:15-18

 

4:15 我們現在照主的話告訴你們一件事，我們這活著還存留到主降臨的人，斷不能在那已經睡了的人之先；

4:16 因為主必親自從天降臨，有呼叫的聲音，和天使長的聲音，又有上帝的號吹響；那在基督裏死了的人必先復活。

4:17 以後我們這活著還存留的人，必和他們一同被提到雲裏，在空中與主相遇，這樣我們就要和主永遠同在。

4:18 所以，你們當用這些話彼此勸慰。

 

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

對帖撒羅尼迦教會來說, 是擔心那些已過世的, 很可能會錯過基督再來的榮耀, 和叫那人興奮的時刻。

    保羅訴說我們的盼望是: 已死的必復活。 他說: 事實上, 他們是首先復活! 錯過耶穌的再來? 絕對不會的!

    死亡, 這終極的阻隔已被粉碎, 「生命」因著在基督裡死了, 要在空中與主相遇, 那豈不更顯榮耀? 到祂再來的時候, 在基督裡死了的要在前面, 為仍在地上生活的引路。

    保羅這樣吩咐「所以, 你們當用這些話彼此勸慰」, 是否很出奇? 當我們因所愛的人過身, 以至憂傷得心靈沉重時, 保羅帶來盼望和鼓勵, 能穿越黑暗、叫可怕的敵人—-死亡無言以對。

    「我們就要和主永遠同在!」才是終極的說話。