Tuesday, 9th November 2021
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Section One V1-9 Wrong in Forgetfulness
God gave Hezekiah 15 more years to live, so how did Hezekiah live his last 15 years? How do we live our lives after being called by God? When God calls us, gathers us, and brings us together, we should know it’s not by accident. He has a purpose for us so how should we prepare for it? How to manage the blessings God has given to us?
V1 ‘Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.’ Hephzibah played a very important role in the kingdom of Judah, not only she was loved by Hezekiah, but also had a son Manasseh, who became the king when he was 12 years old. It also says in Isaiah 62:4, ‘You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.’
But did Hephzibah really do her job in raising up her son according to God’s Will? Hezekiah loved his wife and his son, but has he lived his last years wisely to talk to them about God? It’s the same with us! We believe in the education of this world, yet we don’t believe in the teaching of the Bible. God instructs us to help our children to understand the Bible since they were little, not only just reading a Bible story before they go to bed, but to educate them with our everyday lives! Bible is not a book for bedtime stories, the Word of God is alive, but do we really know this and do our children really know this? Do not make the teaching of the Bible the religious knowledge. May God forgive us for not brining the Word of God into the lives of our children through our own lives!
Manasseh was only 12 years old when he became the king, he had very high expectation on him when he was so young. A lot of people thought Manasseh was the worst king in Judah, he had 55 years of reign and he did evil in the eyes of God. But we do not see how God was giving him the opportunity to turn back from his wicked ways! Even during Manasseh’s reign, the Book of Isaiah was written. The meaning of Manasseh’s name was ‘forgetful’ and Manasseh was wrong because he forgot the promises of God!
Section Two V10-15 God will Chase and Punish
God sent prophets to speak to Manasseh and Judah, to warn them that the punishment has come. God allowed them to see how Israel was destroyed, but they did not learn from it, and they did not turn back to God.
Section Three V16-26 No Longer the Same
V19 ‘Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.’ Manasseh did not treasure the grace and blessings God gave him, when his son, Amon, became the king, he only reigned for two years then was killed. V23-24 ‘Then the servants of Amon conspired against him, and killed the king in his own house. But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.’
We are all leaders and authorities for people following us. Have we forgotten about God? Have we overlooked the blessings and grace God has given to us? When Jesus comes back, God will first judge the Christians. Are we prepared for God’s judgement? Let us all wake up and be alert, turn away from our mistakes and be accountable to God!
列王纪下 21 – 神的恩典 人的选择
2021年11月9日 星期二
潘锡安牧师
从上一章（王下20）的记载中我们得知神给原本病得要死的希西家增添了15年的寿命。希西家如何对待神给他和犹大国的恩典呢？在这十五年当中的第三年，希西家的妻子协西巴怀孕了，这个孩子是带着神的祝福的，然而希西家是否有很好的在接下来的12年经营他所得的祝福，为神所给他的礼物做好预备呢？他的生命给我们蒙召的人很多启发。神召聚我们来到这里不是偶然，我们要如何在这个我们安身立命的地方、在如今这个末世，运用我们的时间、经营神给我们的恩典？如果我们读第21章的焦点只放在玛拿西和亚们就会错过重点，我们要看到这两个王行恶的源头在哪里，这恶的水流是从希西家那里传下来的。
一、错在遗忘（v.1-9）
V1-3, 5-7a，9 玛拿西的名字意思是“导致遗忘”，他“行耶和华眼中看为恶的事。。。比耶和华在以色列人面前所灭的列国更甚”。一个十二岁的孩子到底为何能行出如此违背神的事呢？玛拿西“母亲名叫协西巴”- 名字的意思是“我的喜悦在她身上”，说明希西家是很爱这个妻子的【以赛亚书62:4 – “你必不再称为“撇弃的”，你的地也不再称为“荒凉的”，你却要称为“我所喜悦的”（原文是“Hephzibah”/ “协西巴”），你的地也必称为“有夫之妇”，因为耶和华喜悦你，你的地也必归他】。神拣选了协西巴，然而这位母亲在过去的12年是如何教育孩子呢？从玛拿西的名字可以看出他过去的 12年是被宠坏的。人对孩子无节制的“爱”不是圣经所教导的爱。玛拿西的父亲希西家王在玛拿西出生的时候知道自己只剩下12年的生命。他是一个很有能力人，做了很多事满足人的需要（王下20:20），却没有做到神要他做的事。我们身为父母，可能做了很多事想要我们的孩子学很多东西，然而，我们是否好好教导他们神的话语，使他们得到永恒的祝福？我们如何按神的真理栽培我们的孩子，比让他们学那些外在的技能更重要。单单在晚上睡觉前与孩子读圣经祷告是不够的，我们更需要在日常生活中将圣经真理言传身教给他们，如同一本立体的圣经呈现在他们面前。我们若不能活出圣经，圣经对我们的孩子就是一本死的书。玛拿西的问题是从他的父亲那里就开始了，他从一出生就集万千宠爱于一身，要什么有什么，神知道他生命的无奈，给了他“五十五年”的生命来悔改。神如此忍受玛拿西的任意妄为，又不断借着他的仆人众先知跟玛拿西说话（V10)，是在等待他的回转。 可惜，这棵树从一开始就歪了，神等到玛拿西67岁，他都没有悔改。
V8 如果以色列人愿意谨守遵行神的教导，他们就不会被其他国家抓走成为俘虏。然而，在上作权柄的遗忘神，下面的民也跟着行恶。
二、神必追讨（v.10-15）
V12-13 “用量撒马利亚的准绳和亚哈家的线砣”指的是神对以色列国的审判。神在这里借着先知们警告犹大国，他们所亲眼看见发生在以色列国的灾难也会发生在犹大，因为神是追讨罪孽的神。
三、不再一样（v.16-26）
恩典怜悯是有限度的，到玛拿西的儿子亚们那一代，神的恩典就被用尽了。亚们母亲的名字“米舒利密”意思是“朋友”，代表她这个母亲跟孩子的关系只是“朋友”，也没有教育好他。这位亚们王登基时已经22岁，按理说他应该懂得真理了，可是因着父母没有好好教导，依然像自己的父亲一样行恶。犹大国的民忍受了玛拿西王55年，面对重蹈覆辙的新王，终于忍无可忍，所以等到第二年就“背叛他（亚们），在宫里杀了他”。
我们在教会里都是领袖，是我们的孩子以及我们下面所带领的人的权柄，我们是否遗忘神？是否“谨守遵行”神的话，还是恃宠而骄，仗着神过去的恩典而任意妄为？耶稣基督再来的时候最先审判的就是我们基督徒，我们是否预备好向神交账? 神将我们带到新西兰这片应许之地，让我们每一个蒙召的人都能苏醒，谨守遵行神的教导，让我们的后代也能进入神的祝福。