Thursday, 12th May 2022
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Section One V1-7 Joy Begets Sorrow
V1 ‘The burden against Tyre. Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no harbour; from the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them.’ Tyre was the place gathered with businessmen and merchants, a place of trading, importing and exporting; it was full of resources and wealth, and people, who lived there, lacked nothing. No one thought about God in Tyre, no one would believe that everything they had was from God. But through the prophet Isaiah, God said to His people about the end of Tyre. God is talking to His people, those who are called and chose to follow Him, that all the wealth and richness will go away eventually.
V2-3 ‘Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland, you merchants of Sidon, whom those who cross the sea have filled. And on great waters the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the River, is her revenue; and she is a marketplace for the nations.’ Sidon was a busy port, with traders and merchants; people there thought that their wealth would never go away, because they had strong connections such as Egypt.
V4 ‘Be ashamed, O Sidon; for the sea has spoken, the strength of the sea, saying, “I do not labour, nor bring forth children; neither do I rear young men, nor bring up virgins.”’ We rely on the environment like how Sidon was relying on the sea, but the sea did nothing. V6-7 ‘Cross over to Tarshish; wail, you inhabitants of the coastland! Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is from ancient days, whose feet carried her far off to dwell?’ God is giving us a wake-up call through the environment, in the past two years, the worldwide pandemic and economic crisis have turned the world upside down. Wealthy and strong cities have fallen, and people can no longer rely on their ‘joyous city’.
Section Two V8-14 God will Take Over
V8-9 ‘Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the honourable of the earth? The Lord of hosts has purposed it, to bring to dishonour the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.’ Joy will beget sorrow, if we cannot give thanks and realise that everything we have is from God, our family, our job, our wealth, our academic degree, our expertise, even out social status… everything is from and if we don’t give thanks then everything will soon pass.
V10-11 ‘Overflow through your land like the River, o daughter of Tarshish; there is no more strength. He stretched out His hand over the sea, He shook the kingdoms; the Lord has given a commandment against Canaan to destroy its strongholds.’ God will tear down everything we thought that can protect us and stop us seeing the eternality. God wants us to be alert, not to be destroyed with this fallen world. When God takes over, He wants us to repent and return, He wants us to raise up and be alert. God’s will for us is always good, He wants us to see our lives and change our ways. In the past, present and future, God’s love for His people is always the same.
When we see things happen that are undesirable, what is our attitude towards it? Do we hide away and ignore God’s calling? Do we judge and make assumption? No, God wants us to love our neighbours as ourselves, to forgive one another, and to act out our faith. V12 ‘And He said, “You will rejoice no more, o you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, cross over to Cyprus; there also you will have no rest.’ Tyre was the protection of Sidon, and if Tyre had fallen, then Sidon would seek help from Cyprus. But God said to Sidon that no matter who they would seek help from and where they would go, there would be no place of rest for them.
Section Three V15-18 God will Work
V15-16 ‘Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot: “Take a harp, go about the city, You forgotten harlot; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that you may be remembered.’ Seventy years is a generation, a generation has passed and another generation will rise up. What we must gather for our next generation is the inheritance of the kingdom, because all the wealth of this world will pass. Only those provided by the Lord will last, are we willing to humbly follow God, to offer to Him and to let Him take over?
V17-18 ‘And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire, and commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. Her gain and her pay will be set apart for the Lord; it will not be treasured nor laid up, for her gain will be for those who dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for fine clothing.’ God’s Word will never fail, and God’s Work is at hand, let us continue to set our eyes on Him, and Him only.
以赛亚书 23 – 属世的高傲尊贵的下场
2022年5月12日 星期四
潘锡安牧师
神借着对世界各国的预言不断对他的百姓说话。推罗当时是在非利士一个非常重要的港口城市。海边各个大小国家要运送物资，一定要经过这里，没有人想到这样一个繁荣的地方会灭亡。我们跟从神，是否还在倚靠这个世上的财富？
一、v.1-7 乐极生悲
V1 遇到顺境的时候，我们自然而然会很开心。有祝福当然很好，但我们是否归荣耀于神，还是以为这一切都是我们自己努力得来的？我们是否以为是我们来到像推罗这样一个宝地才得到“转运”的祝福？在推罗，人人都能赚大钱，夜夜笙歌，生活富裕，资源充足，这是不是我们所期盼的人生？推罗的人有美好的计划，想的都是将来如何更好的与周围各国做进出口贸易，却没有人想到神，不认为这一切的祝福有神的保守。神借着以赛亚对所有相信他的百姓说，不要羡慕推罗现在的繁荣美好，“因为推罗变为荒场，甚至没有房屋，没有可进之路”。这些表面昌盛的东西不会长久，因为没有神的地方，人就骄傲，单靠自己，最终乐极生悲。
V2-3 西顿是卸货物的码头之地，曾经繁华的城市，在时间到的时候，要“静默无言”！“西曷”和“尼罗河”代表埃及 – 神提醒他们不要以为埃及能保护那些倚靠她的城市。
V4 他们以为大海是他们的财富的保障，但其实大海什么都没有做、没有生产。我们常常倚靠的是环境，以为当环境对了，我们就可以运筹帷幄、飞黄腾达。商人想的就是资源、运输发达，人脉丰富，我们是否也是如此呢？
V5-7 在疫情中，我们乱了阵脚，所以神给我们一个wake-up call – 上海，一个曾经繁荣的城市，如今竟然经历这样的艰辛。那里的人以前想不到会有现在的日子。我们不要以为事情十拿九稳，其实乐极会生悲，神要让世界看见，曾经“欢乐的城”最终也会荒废。
二、v.8-14 神要出手
V8-9 我们有没有看见我们今日所得到的一切祝福 – 包括我们的家庭、职场、在新西兰的身份、等等，是从神而来？若我们以为是自己厉害，这些我们所倚靠的都会过去。
V11 神会将这些蒙骗我们的保障除去，因为它让我们看不见永生，只会在夜夜笙歌中沉迷，与世界一同灭亡。当父母看到孩子走错路的时候，他们会难过、痛心，同理，神看到这样的境况，他一定会出手。因此，神出手对我们是好的。有些时候，一些不好的事情被曝光了，对有尊位的人造成负面影响，然而，危机就是转机，神的心意不是现在就审判、灭亡，而是让我们能悔改、回转。过去、现在、未来，神对我们的爱始终没有改变。当我们看见问题，我们是用什么心态去面对，是否看见神的恩典？我们看见别人跌倒，是否批评论断他们，还是能爱人如己、饶恕、接纳、帮助他们？我们自己有了问题，是否只想躲在山洞里？我们不是神，但靠着那加给我力量的凡事都能做。
V12 推罗是整个迦南地的保障，是西顿的保护。西顿的居民整天陷在金钱的享乐中，一旦曾经倚靠的推罗出了问题，人们还可以跑到“基提”（就是塞浦路斯）。然而，神说，你逃到哪里都不得安息，因为唯有耶和华沙龙才能给我们平安。
V13-14 迦勒底人就是巴比伦 – 他们没想到会被亚述攻击，至终荒凉。耶稣基督曾教导我们，要聚宝在天上。唯有天上的城是永恒的，求神帮助我们看到福音的大能。
三、v.15-18 神要做事
V15-16 “七十年”也代表一个世代。神会让欢乐城一代的人过去，所以当七十年后，新的一代人起来，他们没看过繁荣的景象，只看到荒凉。然而，人看为没有用的地方，神能让他繁荣起来。
V17-18 推罗可以再一次做买卖赚钱，然而，这些收益“要归耶和华为圣”。他们的财富要被神使用，才能存到永远。神给我们今生的祝福，我们有食物吃、有衣服穿，是否能知足？我们要留给下一代的是属天的资财，因为地上的欢乐城终会过去，唯有耶和华所预备的他必眷顾。你是否愿意谦卑跟从神，为神摆上？