2019年1月22日 星期二

箴言22:29



Do you see someone skilled in their work?
    They will serve before kings;
    they will not serve before officials of low rank.

***********

    許多人感嘆懷才不遇,認為自己很有才幹卻不被重用,所以很沮喪、很失望,甚至於自暴自棄,鬱鬱而終的過一生!

    而事實上如果事真的有才能,不要害怕沒有人發現,不要以為沒有伯樂,其實伯樂到處都是,好好的努力或殷勤,總是會有人發現,會被重用的,正如這裡所說的「必站在君王面前,必不站在下賤人面前」!

    就如今日一個弱小教會,要尋求強大的支援者,不管是大教會,或是上一級的中會或總會,都先看看這個弱小教會有沒有從上帝來的異象,有沒有想到將來教會要成長到什麼程度,如此才會獲得支持!

    因此,不要感嘆別人有沒有發現,而要看是不是敢將自己交在上帝手中,讓上帝的大能手來成全,讓生命的光彩展現出來!

箴言22:28



Do not move an ancient boundary stone
    set up by your ancestors.

***********

    說到移地界,想到小時候聽說的故事,就是在清朝的時代,俄羅斯帝國曾經派人將地界的柱子用馬車移動了一大段,來侵占中國的土地。不管真實性如何,表示這是有發生過的事情。

    當然今天這樣的事情比較不容易了,因為有地籍圖,地政機關一段時間會量測與建界,不斷的修正,比較無法用改地界的方式來侵占土地。但是,人的貪心仍然沒有改變。所以,人要不斷的提醒不要貪心,不是屬於自己的,就不要強求!

    而移地界,讓我們認識到「不可貪心」的誡命非常重要,人之所以會有許多糾紛,也是因為貪心而起,一條誡命犯了,十條誡命都守不住啊!想要過平安的生活,記得「不可貪心」!



   

創世記11:10-32


11:10 閃的後代記在下面。洪水以後二年,閃一百歲生了亞法撒。
11:11
閃生亞法撒之後又活了五百年,並且生兒養女。
11:12
亞法撒活到三十五歲,生了沙拉。
11:13
亞法撒生沙拉之後又活了四百零三年,並且生兒養女。
11:14
沙拉活到三十歲,生了希伯。
11:15
沙拉生希伯之後又活了四百零三年,並且生兒養女。
11:16
希伯活到三十四歲,生了法勒。
11:17
希伯生法勒之後又活了四百三十年,並且生兒養女。
11:18
法勒活到三十歲,生了拉吳。
11:19
法勒生拉吳之後又活了二百零九年,並且生兒養女。
11:20
拉吳活到三十二歲,生了西鹿。
11:21
拉吳生西鹿之後又活了二百零七年,並且生兒養女。
11:22
西鹿活到三十歲,生了拿鶴。
11:23
西鹿生拿鶴之後又活了二百年,並且生兒養女。
11:24
拿鶴活到二十九歲,生了他拉。
11:25
拿鶴生他拉之後又活了一百一十九年,並且生兒養女。
11:26
他拉活到七十歲,生了亞伯蘭、拿鶴、哈蘭。
11:27
他拉的後代記在下面。他拉生亞伯蘭、拿鶴、哈蘭;哈蘭生羅得。
11:28
哈蘭死在他的本地迦勒底的吾珥,在他父親他拉之先。
11:29
亞伯蘭、拿鶴各娶了妻:亞伯蘭的妻子名叫撒萊;拿鶴的妻子名叫密迦,是哈蘭的女兒;哈蘭是密迦和亦迦的父親。
11:30
撒萊不生育,沒有孩子。
11:31
他拉帶著他兒子亞伯蘭和他孫子哈蘭的兒子羅得,並他兒婦亞伯蘭的妻子撒萊,出了迦勒底的吾珥,要往迦南地去;他們走到哈蘭,就住在那裡。
11:32
他拉共活了二百零五歲,就死在哈蘭。

10 This is the account of Shem’s family line.
Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father[d] of Arphaxad. 11 And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. 13 And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.[e]
14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. 15 And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. 17 And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. 19 And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. 21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. 23 And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. 25 And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
26 After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.
27 This is the account of Terah’s family line.
Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28 While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. 29 Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. 30 Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.
31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.
32 Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.


*********

    上帝用巴別塔的失敗來引導我們看見祂有預備,因為上帝是不放棄人的上帝,雖然用洪水「淨化」世界,人仍然是沒有改變,仍然是讓上帝痛心,但是上帝總是有辦法,總是有祂的作為,也開始展現了祂永恆的救贖計劃,雖然那是創是以前就有的,卻是萬古常新的作為!

    祂藉由閃的後裔來預備基督,因為基督是從以色列人中出來的,而以色列人是亞伯拉罕、以撒和雅各的子孫,而這個揀選是從亞伯拉罕開始。雖然亞伯拉罕的父親開始離開出了迦勒底的吾珥,要往迦南地去。或許亞伯拉罕到迦南地的動機是這樣來的,但這也是上帝的引導!

    我們也是上帝所呼召的,我們要走上帝為我們預備的道路,完成上帝託付我們的使命,如同亞伯拉罕!


創世記11章

              創世記11:1-9   ,

             創世記11:10-32   ,

創世記11:1-9


11:1 那時,天下人的口音、言語都是一樣。
11:2
他們往東邊遷移的時候,在示拿地遇見一片平原,就住在那裡。
11:3
他們彼此商量說:「來吧!我們要做磚,把磚燒透了。」他們就拿磚當石頭,又拿石漆當灰泥。
11:4
他們說:「來吧!我們要建造一座城和一座塔,塔頂通天,為要傳揚我們的名,免得我們分散在全地上。」
11:5
耶和華降臨,要看看世人所建造的城和塔。
11:6
耶和華說:「看哪,他們成為一樣的人民,都是一樣的言語,如今既做起這事來,以後他們所要做的事就沒有不成就的了。
11:7
我們下去,在那裡變亂他們的口音,使他們的言語彼此不通。」
11:8
於是耶和華使他們從那裡分散在全地上;他們就停工,不造那城了。
11:9
因為耶和華在那裡變亂天下人的言語,使眾人分散在全地上,所以那城名叫巴別【就是變亂的意思】。

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar[b] and settled there.
They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel[c]—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

*********

    雖然洪水好像把不義的人都殺死了,人就從此會敬畏上帝嗎?當然是不可能的!就像巴別塔的建立是為了高舉人,就像當時的人之宣告:「來吧!我們要建造一座城和一座塔,塔頂通天,為要傳揚我們的名,免得我們分散在全地上。

    上帝避免人的罪惡繼續下去,就變亂他們的口音,使他們的言語彼此不通。也因為這樣人和人就無法溝通,除非要經過翻譯。就像我們生活的現實環境,就有許多的語言。語言不同就會造成彼此的隔閡,就無法合作了!

    而巴別塔的教訓也是提醒我們不要建立超大組織,這是主所不喜悅,這樣的組織最後是宣揚人,不是宣揚上帝!所以,我們建立教會,是要宣揚基督,而不是告訴世人基督徒是很棒、道德高操的人。要人信耶穌,不是要榮耀教會!