NEW LIFE: 讀經筆記

2021年7月24日星期六

8:1 從這日起，耶路撒冷的教會大遭逼迫，除了使徒以外，門徒都分散在猶太和撒馬利亞各處。
8:2 有虔誠的人把司提反埋葬了，為他捶胸大哭。
8:3 掃羅卻殘害教會，進各人的家，拉著男女下在監裡。

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. ²Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. ³But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

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聖經的作者很誠實地敘述保羅(也就是掃羅)的過去，他的行徑就是：「殘害教會，進各人的家，拉著男女下在監裡。」

而掃羅這做這是正值司提反殉道，「耶路撒冷的教會大遭逼迫，除了使徒以外，門徒都分散在猶太和撒馬利亞各處。」的時候，他是非常熱心的迫害教會的，好像要將教會趕盡殺絕的人。

也因為這樣保羅在書信中說到：「『基督耶穌降世，為要拯救罪人。』這話是可信的，是十分可佩服的。在罪人中我是個罪魁。然而，我蒙了憐憫，是因耶穌基督要在我這罪魁身上顯明他一切的忍耐，給後來信他得永生的人作榜樣。」（提摩太前書1:15-16）

從保羅的身上我們看見上帝的保守：一是保守教會不被惡人所滅；另一是上帝使逼迫教會者變成建立教會者！這是上帝何等奇妙之作為，上帝必保守屬於他的直到永遠是真實可信的！

2021年7月23日星期五

以斯拉記3章

以斯拉記3:1-13 ,

以斯拉記3:1-13

3:1 到了七月，以色列人住在各城；那時他們如同一人，聚集在耶路撒冷。
3:2 約薩達的兒子耶書亞和他的弟兄眾祭司，並撒拉鐵的兒子所羅巴伯與他的弟兄，都起來建築以色列上帝的壇，要照神人摩西律法書上所寫的，在壇上獻燔祭。
3:3 他們在原有的根基上築壇，因懼怕鄰國的民，又在其上向耶和華早晚獻燔祭，
3:4 又照律法書上所寫的守住棚節，按數照例獻每日所當獻的燔祭；
3:5 其後獻常獻的燔祭，並在月朔與耶和華的一切聖節獻祭，又向耶和華獻各人的甘心祭。
3:6 從七月初一日起，他們就向耶和華獻燔祭。但耶和華殿的根基尚未立定。
3:7 他們又將銀子給石匠、木匠，把糧食、酒、油給西頓人、泰爾人，使他們將香柏樹從黎巴嫩運到海裡，浮海運到約帕，是照波斯王塞魯士所允准的。
3:8 百姓到了耶路撒冷上帝殿的地方。第二年二月，撒拉鐵的兒子所羅巴伯，約薩達的兒子耶書亞和其餘的弟兄，就是祭司、利未人，並一切被擄歸回耶路撒冷的人，都興工建造；又派利未人，從二十歲以外的，督理建造耶和華殿的工作。
3:9 於是猶大（在二章四十節作何達威雅）的後裔，就是耶書亞和他的子孫與弟兄，甲篾和他的子孫，利未人希拿達的子孫與弟兄，都一同起來，督理那在上帝殿做工的人。
3:10 匠人立耶和華殿根基的時候，祭司皆穿禮服吹號，亞薩的子孫利未人敲鈸，照以色列王大衛所定的例，都站著讚美耶和華。
3:11 他們彼此唱和，讚美稱謝耶和華說：他本為善，他向以色列人永發慈愛。他們讚美耶和華的時候，眾民大聲呼喊，因耶和華殿的根基已經立定。
3:12 然而有許多祭司、利未人、族長，就是見過舊殿的老年人，現在親眼看見立這殿的根基，便大聲哭號，也有許多人大聲歡呼，
3:13 甚至百姓不能分辨歡呼的聲音和哭號的聲音；因為眾人大聲呼喊，聲音聽到遠處。

When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled together as one in Jerusalem. ²Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. ³Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices. ⁴Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. ⁵After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred festivals of the Lord, as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the Lord. ⁶On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid.

⁷Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and gave food and drink and olive oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.

⁸In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak and the rest of the people (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work. They appointed Levites twenty years old and older to supervise the building of the house of the Lord. ⁹Joshua and his sons and brothers and Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Hodaviah^[a]) and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers—all Levites—joined together in supervising those working on the house of God.

¹⁰When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the Lord, as prescribed by David king of Israel. ¹¹With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:

“He is good;
his love toward Israel endures forever.”

And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. ¹²But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. ¹³No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.

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猶大人歸回故地，先恢復了摩西時代的敬拜，透過獻祭與守節。然而在件聖殿的時候，卻是十分精采，如經文的敘述：「然而有許多祭司、利未人、族長，就是見過舊殿的老年人，現在親眼看見立這殿的根基，便大聲哭號，也有許多人大聲歡呼，甚至百姓不能分辨歡呼的聲音和哭號的聲音；因為眾人大聲呼喊，聲音聽到遠處。」

然而先知哈該記下上帝對這事件的教導：「你們中間存留的，有誰見過這殿從前的榮耀呢？現在你們看著如何？豈不在眼中看如無有嗎？」(哈該書2:3)「銀子是我的，金子也是我的。這殿後來的榮耀必大過先前的榮耀；在這地方我必賜平安。這是萬軍之耶和華說的。」(哈該書2:8-9)

上帝這樣宣告，是要教導我們，不要憑著眼見，要憑著上帝的同在！正如保羅說的：「原來我們不是顧念所見的，乃是顧念所不見的；因為所見的是暫時的，所不見的是永遠的。」（哥林多後書4:18）

而關於聖殿的重建是件讓我想到一首天韻合唱團的《期待》：

總有一份期待生命找到真愛

總有一線希望心情不再悲哀

總有一種渴望重新得到力量

總有一個未來能夠超越現在

因為有真愛我們可以期待

因為有希望我們不用悲哀

因為有承諾我們會有力量