Thursday, 18th November 2021
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Section One V1-7 Act Righteously
Every day we are bombarded with negative news, information that is full of fear, and only the Word of God can guide us to live in peace. People who are in lack will always be in need, they would want to gain something, to have more money, to have more attention, to have more people understanding them… they will not be fully satisfied, and they will always in be a doing mode. We may all be in need, we may all be in lack, we may not have peace inside our hearts, but we can overcome all this through the Word of God.
V1 ‘Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one who is perverse in his lips and is a fool.’ Even if we have a lot in this world, it is in vain in God’s eyes. The Bible talks about a rich young ruler, who wanted to follow Jesus but cannot let go of the wealth of the world. The Israelites left Egypt as slaves, but they had a lot of gold, silver, and livestock. The more we try to work hard to be rich, the more we will feel poor, because we cannot see the blessings from God every day. The more we see we are blessed by God, the more we will feel rich. May God help us to be wise and really see the fruits we bear, are we rich or poor?
V2-3 ‘Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, and he sins who hastens with his feet. The foolishness of a man twists his way, and his heart frets against the Lord.’ We like to complain, we want to know why God allows bad things to happen to us, we always see the things we lost and not see the things we gain. V6 ‘Many entreat the favour of the nobility, and every man is a friend to one who gives gifts.’ We want to make friends, who can benefit us, but we do not realise only God we can rely on, and only God can lead us to friends that can really help us. The worldly values teach us to lie to receive benefits and to receive honours from others. But the Bible teaches us to deny ourselves and benefit others.
Section Two V8-15 Receive Wisdom
V8 ‘He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who keeps understanding will find good.’ What is our attitude when we read the Word of God? If we really love our soul, we will want to live under the Tree of Life, not in a doing mode, but to really understand only the Word of God can give us true life. Do not worry that we are lacking or don’t have enough, as long as we know this decision is from God, He will provide us with all we need, and He will lead us to the end. God wants us to rely on Him, not rely on our own hands. V9 ‘A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who speaks lies shall perish.’ A false witness and he who speaks lies are people, who rely on themselves to gain something, but God says they are foolish. God has created us to manage the earth, but we somehow become slaves of the earth.
We are so busy doing things with our hands, we do not have discernment from God. When we see others, our family, our friends, our spouse, our colleagues… we do not have compassion for them, we do not see their needs, but we only see how they have wronged us. When we enter the Tree of Life, we will no longer always take things from our authority but to see how we can give to them. The law is not living, but love is, and only love can bring alive the Tree of Life. Do we have a love for our authority?
Section Three V16-29 Keep Commandments
V16 ‘He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of his ways will die.‘ God gave us the Bible for us to follow, and this can help us to seek blessings and avoid curses. To keep means to follow the Word of God with spirit and truth. V21 ‘There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.‘ Only God can give us peace inside our hearts, nothing else. V23 ‘The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; he will not be visited with evil.’ The Will of God is full of peace but often we look at the peace we have too lightly. We want to receive the world but we lose our lives. Let us live together in the community of the Tree of Life and experience the blessings of God!
箴言 19 – 趋吉避凶
2021年11月18日 星期四
潘锡安牧师
箴言是一本智慧书，我们如何运用神的话来面对真实的世界呢？神对我们的心意是逃避凶恶，进入生命树的祝福，本章的箴言可以帮助我们学习如何趋吉避凶。
一、行为纯正 （v.1-7)
V1, 7 “贫穷”指的是缺乏的，与第7节相对应。一个缺乏的人常常想要去拿，不然心里不踏实。很多人的心思意念只是在赚钱，因为他们里面缺乏平安，这样的人，连“弟兄都恨他，何况他的朋友，更远离他”（V7）。要知道，虽然我们“贫穷”，但神都会供应。每一天的晨祷帮助我们克制自己内心的欲望。我们不是靠着自己的力量去获得什么超能力，而是自然从神那里得到力量，结出生命树的果子。贫穷人虽然不好，但当我们“行为纯正”，生命对准神的时候，就“胜过乖谬愚妄的富足人”。地上的所谓“富足”其实是没有自由的，因为人为了富足成为金钱的奴仆。不要看钱财重于生命，财富是神的祝福。以色列人出埃及的时候，虽然他们当时只是奴隶的身份，但埃及人还是给了他们许多的财物。埃及就是世界，尝试让神的子民丧失本来有的超能力，成为他们的奴仆，但神可以将世界的财富赐给属他的子民。若我们只是活在一个doing（做事）的模式里面，我们会失去对神国度的焦点，整天只过着为奴为仆的生活，然而我们不知道，越是努力过奴仆的生活，越是盯着我们自己的存款时，我们会越贫穷，因为我们里面没有平安。
V2“知识”就是智慧，敬畏耶和华是智慧的开端。我们心里若没有敬畏神的意念，就“不善”，意思是“不好的”。起初神创造天地时说所有他所创造的都是“好的”，而“不好”的就是失去了神起初创造的美好本质。
V3 我们是否常常在遭遇不顺的时候抱怨神？
V4 我们时常会倚靠自己的财物，以为有钱了，朋友才多。
V5 人“作假见证”或“吐出谎言”是因为想得到别人的认可，这人心里没有平安，想靠自己去获得好处。
V6 我们要去帮助别人，哪怕觉得自己缺乏。我们的给予、帮助不是在一个doing的模式，而是在“行为纯正”的being里。人若是以一个贫穷心态去帮助别人，他们就只是陷在doing的模式，想的是将来能够跟自己帮助过的人交换利益，但唯有神能给我们富足。
二、要得着智慧（v.8-15）
V8 智慧和聪明都是从敬畏神得来的。当我们愿意坚持在一个敬畏神的态度里 – 比如从温暖舒适的被窝里起来参加晨祷，攻克己身、叫身服我 – 我们才是真的在爱惜我们的生命，才更加得到好处。唯有在生命树的共同体中我们才能得到生命。人的愚昧就在于靠自己的力量去做事，结果做到筋疲力尽就做不下去了。唯有在being里面去做事，不再靠蛮力而是凡事祷告寻求，神就会给我们智慧聪明去成就不可能的事。只要是神为我们选择的，他自会为我们开路，让我们经历丰盛的供应。
V9 这类人就是尝试用自己的方式来做事，以为事情会因他们而改变。
V10 想要通过宴乐来收买人心的是“愚昧人”。神创造亚当来管理大地，但如今却变成了大地管理我们，好像“仆人管辖王子”。我们每一天将忙碌当作我们的神，因为我们看到我们父母和这个世界也是这样，若不忙碌做事就无法安心。殊不知，这些事情都是虚空的，唯有敬畏耶和华是智慧的开端，所以不要为自己谋算。
V11 “见识” 就是有从神而来的洞察力。当我们有这样的见识，就不会活在血气中。我们容易发怒，是因为只在分辨善恶树下看到别人在抵挡我们。若有从神来的洞察力，我们才能看见对方的缺乏，才能打从心里去怜悯、饶恕他们，而不是做宽恕的表面功夫。有从神而来的洞察力，我们才能有不虚伪的爱，才不会只去爱那些我们觉得有需要的人。神创造伊甸园时，是希望与人有fellowship的关系。我们的给予是否只是在一个分辨善恶的判断里面，还是出于有爱的关系？我们看到权柄好像什么都不缺乏，是否就因此不去爱他们呢？我们的爱是否出于利益交换呢？当我们进入生命树的气息里，就不会只想要跟我们的权柄索取，而是愿意由心而发的去做一些讨他们喜悦的事情。
V12 列王纪里面的诸王没有珍惜神给的恩典，神的惩罚就临到了。我们是要惹权柄生气，还是他的恩典呢？这都是我们的选择。
V13 “愚昧”指的是不认识神。愚昧的儿子没有从小被教导如何走神的道路，就成为“父亲的祸患”。从亚伯拉罕而来祝福本来要一代一代留下去，但若儿子愚昧，后代就遭遇祸患，正如以色列和犹大两国的列王一般。丈夫是否如耶稣基督爱教会一样爱自己的妻子，还是只贪图她的美貌能干？神创造婚姻是因为男人不够好，所以要有女人来帮助男人。妻子与丈夫争吵常是因为觉得丈夫不够爱她，但做妻子的不要活在分辨善恶树下去奢求丈夫的爱，而是自己要愿意去无条件的爱和委身在这段关系里。
V14 “贤惠”原文是“智慧”，敬畏耶和华的妻子是神所赐的。
V15 我们不是坐在那里等恩典，如果不愿意祷告、读圣经，就不能领受，最后生命就陷入沉睡和死亡。进入天国是要努力的，不是靠doing的模式，而是打从心底愿意负上代价。
三、谨守诫命（v.16-29）
V16 神给我们圣经让我们去跟从，这就能帮助我们趋吉避凶。“谨守”是指用心灵和诚实去遵守神的话。
V21 唯有神才能让我们安定。
V23 神给我们的是平安的意念，但我们常看轻这份平安，只想要得着世界，结果失去生命。让我们活在生命树的共同体里，一起经历神的祝福！