Day 1 Feb 26
Day 1 Feb 26
Passage: Isaiah 40: 1-2
The Lord began to speak again, and spoke for a very long
period of time…The contents of Chapters 40-55 are all God’s spoken words! In
fact, the entire 66 chapters in the book of Isaiah are almost solely based on
God’s words. God expressed Himself through the experience of Israel; the
history of the Israelites cannot be separated from God. At the same time,
through His acts for the Israelites, God expressed to the world His purpose.
Before this, God’s spoken words could be traced back to the
time when He created the world. When man then decided to choose his own path
and walked into “chaos”, deviating from God’s will, came the words which God
spoke to Abram’s family. God said: From Abram’s family would come forth a group
of people who belong to God, and this group of people would be the intermediary
through which the world would receive God’s blessings.
God’s word was not in vain, from a childless Abram family
came forth a huge tribe who resided in Egypt. When Pharaoh felt under threat,
and was determined to suppress the Israelites and to enact genocidal policies,
God’s words came forth again! God commanded Moses to bring the Israelites out
of Egypt and to head toward the fertile land of abundance which God had
promised.
However, ever since entering the Promised Land, Israel did
not live her life by God’s word, leading to extreme decay in behavior and
societal norms.
After God’s repeated exhortation without resulting in
repentance, God decided to punish the people and also allowed Israel to be
destroyed. To anybody, this would represent hopelessness, sorrow and extreme
darkness. Could the Israelites withstand this? Would the people acknowledge
that these were all acts of God? Was God disciplining or punishing us? Was the
Lord no longer able to bless and protect us? At this moment in a foreign
country and on alien land, survival would be paramount and of fundamental
importance.
The passage we are reading today is about God’s words to the
Israelites who had lost their country and home. The circumstance which the
people were facing was also the situation of “darkness, chaos, emptiness” which
God Himself was facing. How would God resolve the situation? Could God possibly
suffer a setback and in turn give up on the people? (Would God give up on the
people who had abandoned Him?)
We begin to hear God speak again: “Comfort, comfort my
people. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,” and telling her that the days of war were
over and behind her; “her sin has been paid for.”
God “spoke” to man again to restart his acts of creation…
Prayer: Thank you Lord, for the words
of comfort You had spoken to Jerusalem. You had spoken in the past, as you do
speak now. May You continue to create in our midst.
第一天 Feb 26
经文：以赛亚书 40:1-2
耶和华上帝又开始说话，说了很长的话…… 40-55章的内容都是神说的话!其实整66章的以赛亚书几乎都是以神的话为内容。上帝透过以色列的经历表达自己，以色列民的历史与耶和华神不可分割。同时，神也借着在以色列民身上的作为，向世人显示自己的心愿。
耶和华上帝又开始说话，说了很长的话…… 40-55章的内容都是神说的话!其实整66章的以赛亚书几乎都是以神的话为内容。上帝透过以色列的经历表达自己，以色列民的历史与耶和华神不可分割。同时，神也借着在以色列民身上的作为，向世人显示自己的心愿。
耶和华在这之前说的话可以追溯到神创造天地的时候——当人类选择走自己的路而走到“混乱”，偏离神的心意时，神对亚伯兰一家说了话。神说：要从亚伯兰一家繁衍孕育出一群属神的子民，这群子民还要成为世人蒙神祝福的媒介!神的话没有落空，本没有子嗣的亚伯兰家庭发展成寄居埃及的庞大家族。
就在法老感到威胁、决意压制以色列人民并对其施以灭族政策的时候，神的声音再次响起!耶和华吩咐摩西把以色列人民带出埃及、奔向神所应许的富饶肥美之地。
但自从进入应许地之后，以色列人民不再按神的话生活，行为、风气败坏到极点。神屡屡劝诫但却不思悔改，神决定惩罚他们并且让以色列亡国!这时的处境可以用“黑暗、空虚、混沌”来形容!对任何一个人而言，都是绝望、悲伤和极度的黑暗。以色列人民承受得了吗？ 百姓会认识到这一切都是神所行的事吗？是神在惩戒我们吗？ 耶和华上帝是不是无法保佑我们？ 此时在异国异地，生存才是最关键和根本的事。
今天所读的经文是神对着失去国家及家园的以色列人所说的话。百姓所面对的处境，也是神自己要面对的“黑暗、混沌、空虚”的局面。神会怎样收拾局面？神会放弃弃他而去的子民吗？这时，我们又听到神说： “你们要安慰，安慰我的百姓。要对耶路撒冷说安慰的话”，又告诉她争战的日子已过去了；“她的罪孽赦免了”。 神又对人“说话”开始再一次创造……
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