Friday, 29th April 2022
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Section One V1-5 No Longer the Same
This world is full of pride, this is the root of Satan’s fall, and we must know that when we are born again, we receive this new life and we will no longer controlled by the lies of Satan. A lot of time, after we become Christians, we are still unable to overcome our difficulties, it’s because we still believe in the lies of Satan and we still have the prideful attitude towards our lives.
V1 ‘Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela to the wilderness, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.’ God created everything to be good, but what happened to the world? What was Moab like in the past? II Kings 3:4-5 says, ‘Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams. But it happened, when Ahab died, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.’ God blessed Moab in the past with a lot of lambs and rams, and Moab had a good relationship with Israel in the past. But when they became prideful and stop building the relationship with the people of God, they ended their own blessings.
Moab became prideful when they thought their ancestor, Lot, should receive the equal portion of blessings as Abraham. We often have small dramas like this in our hearts, when we start doubting and asking questions, we become prideful, we are no longer living in the fragrance of the Tree of Life, but we start to walk towards the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Bible taught us to always seek God and meditate on the Word of God. But the world taught us to challenge authorities, to gain lots of knowledge and to prove ourselves. We must stay humble because our pride can only lead us to destruction and hopelessness.
V3-5 ‘Take counsel, execute judgment; make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day; hide the outcasts, do not betray him who escapes. Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab; be a shelter to them from the face of the spoiler. For the extortioner is at an end, devastation ceases, the oppressors are consumed out of the land. In mercy the throne will be established; and One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.’ Moab thought they were a strong people, they had a wealthy land and a strong people, but prophet Isaiah warned them that nothing will last forever.
Only when they are willing to come before the One and Only God, then they can be protected. God is still giving us the opportunity to return to Him, when we are willing to seek God and come to Him, He will solve our problems one by one.
Section Two V6-8 No Repentance Until Death
V6 ‘We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud—of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath; but his lies shall not be so.’ When God is giving us teaching, do we see judgement, or do we humbly receive teaching? God loves us that is why He will teach us so we can be better, but if we are prideful then we will dislike all the teaching and disciplines. When we try to prove ourselves, people will only see the emptiness in our lives.
V7 ‘Therefore Moab shall wail for Moab; everyone shall wail. For the foundations of Kir Hareseth you shall mourn; surely they are stricken.’ At the end of the day, everyone will wail and cry for themselves. God is the God, who will bless us generations by generations, but when we choose to walk into a prideful lifestyle, not only our generation, but our next generations will suffer. God has already led us this far, He has already blessed us, and taken us away from our old lives, we must continue to seek Him, and stay away from the bondages of this sinful world.
V8 ‘For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants, which have reached to Jazer and wandered through the wilderness. Her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.’ Moab thought their city of Kir Hareseth can protect them, but nothing in this world can really protect us and sustain us. If we only look at what is in front of us, then one day we will see destruction. Heshbon was a wealthy place, but it’s not there anymore; every big city in the history has its ups and downs, nothing lasts forever, and this is a wakeup call!
Section Three V9-14 The Ups and Downs of Life
V9 ‘Therefore I will bewail the vine of Sibmah, with the weeping of Jazer; I will drench you with my tears, o Heshbon and Elealeh; for battle cries have fallen over your summer fruits and your harvest.’ At the end of the days, there is no one people can seek help from in this world. The ups and downs of life continue in this world, in the strong cities of the nations, and only by living under the fragrance of the Tree of Life, we can receive the blessings of generations.
以赛亚书 16 – 骄傲带来的败亡
2022年4月29日 星期五
潘锡安牧师
我们若不能在圣灵里重生，就不能进入神的国。重生就是要切去从祖宗而来的根，而骄傲是我们的根。神的怜悯让我们能够重生。当撒旦欺骗我们的时候，我们愿意谦卑下来，不听他的谎言吗？我们听了撒旦的欺骗，就不愿意克制己身、叫身服我，反而让我们的身体来支配我们的灵。我们要让我们的灵壮大，而不是让我们的肉体膨胀。现在流行讲我们是神的儿女，可以做任何事，但若是这样，耶稣就不用为我们死在十字架上了。整本圣经给我们的教导都是要谦卑顺服。旧约里很多先知对于百姓的罪非常恨恶，但仍然顺服神的带领，继续用神的话服事那些百姓。
一、v.1-5 不再一样
V1 我们在一开始被创造的时候，不是骄傲的样子。摩押人原本向以色列进贡 – 列王纪下3:4-5 记载，在亚哈王时代，摩押王很蒙祝福，有许多羊可以给以色列王进贡。然而，亚哈死后，摩押人因着骄傲，就背叛以色列。当我们心里有很多小剧场，质疑为什么我们要被要求做某些事的时候，我们就离开了生命树气息，走进分辨善恶树，只在乎对错。唯有谦卑顺服、舍己利他能帮助我们留在生命树的气息。不要滥用自己在神国度里的“自由”。当年约瑟被卖到埃及后，经历很多无法让人理解的苦难，但他没有问“为什么我要这样”；反而是扫罗王，在等不到撒母耳来献祭的时候，他疑问为什么自己不能代替撒母耳去献祭，结果走进分辨善恶树。我们的“为什么”应当是谦卑来到神面前寻问，求神指示我们，而不是像世界的教导那样什么都去质疑，其实是想在凡事上都有自己的主张。圣经并未教导我们独立自主，反而是凡事寻求神。一个高知识分子若不是被现实问题打败了，是不会来相信神的。不要让无神论的思想影响我们，因为这都是撒旦的欺骗。人离不开神，我们敬拜的是真神还是假神，是否只是某种“主义”？摩押人质疑为什么自己要每年进贡给以色列，生命就不再一样。
V2 本来他们不可一世，看到自己如此有能力牧羊，然而当骄傲进来，“摩押的居民在亚嫩渡口，必像游飞的鸟，如拆窝的雏”，他们的妇孺流离失所。
V3-4 当他们愿意来到神面前，靠近神的时候，神的怜悯就来了，神的公平、为我们所行的旨意就会临到。当摩押剩余的民愿意来到神面前，神就为他们包底。当我们愿意来到神的面前，原本会发生在我们生命的难处都会被神解决。骄傲的结局是败亡，当我们谦卑，我们的结局就不再一样，再没有掳掠、羞愧。
V5 你愿意离开分辨善恶树，选择在居住在生命树下吗？这是我们的选择。你的选择是衰亡，还是被神包底？
二、v.6-8 死不悔改
V6 摩押人的骄傲不只是以色列人知道，而是大家茶余饭后都会谈论的事。“狂妄”就是以为自己可以、没问题，于是不需要神。我们彰显出来的是否只是自己厉害，神在哪里呢？“愤怒”的人整天问“为什么我要这样”、“为什么又提升我？”。我们质疑的时候，看不到神借着教导要给我们的恩典。“夸大”的人用贬低别人来显示自己好。我们可以将事情做得更好，但不需要跟别人比较。当我们膨胀自己的时候，别人看我们就是虚空的。不要以为自己厉害，最后都是走向灭亡。
V7 摩押人要为自己的国家哀哭。神是祝福我们直到千代的神，但当我们走进骄傲，我们的下一代直到万代都受影响，“人人”就是每一代的人“都要哀号”。我们若不是来到新西兰，就很难接受福音、很难脱离罪的捆绑、进入神的祝福。神带我们到这里来是爱我们的。“吉珥哈列设”是摩押里一个重要的保护国家的城池，然而这些都不能保护他们。当我们以为可以倚靠曾经很厉害的东西时，这些都会过去。
V8 希实本是摩押首都，但繁荣都会过去。如今被疫情肆虐的地方，就连曾经富裕繁华的上海都物资匮乏。我们看到这些景象，还不愿意醒悟吗？我们来到新西兰，是否看到神的祝福，还是不愿意得地为业吗？求神帮助我们分别为圣，勇敢跨进神给我们的应许和祝福里。摩押因着骄傲会被“列国的君主”侵略，那些他们原本引以为傲的城池、资源都会败亡。
三、v.9-14 沧海桑田
V9 是有战争的。
V10 过去的欢喜快乐都会被夺去，因为人骄傲，以为自己可以，于是耶和华“使他欢呼的声音止息”。
V12 摩押人看到这些景象，就跑去他们的丘坛祷告、敬拜，但这些都没有用。我们在困难中，靠山靠人靠马都没有用。
V14 求神帮助我们谦卑，在生命树的气息里经历神千代万代的祝福，离开分辨善恶树，不要在骄傲中存活、怀着奢望，结果反而换来沧海桑田、战火连连。