从迷惘到信靠
当感到怀疑时……
经文
以西结书十二21-28
21耶和华的话临到我说:
22人子啊,在你们以色列地怎么有这俗语,说日子迟延,一切异象都落了空呢?
23你要告诉他们说:主耶和华如此说:我必使这俗语止息,以色列中不再用这俗语。你却要对他们说:日子临近,一切的异象必都应验。
24从此,在以色列家中必不再有虚假的异象和奉承的占卜。
25我耶和华说话,所说的必定成就,不再耽延。你们这悖逆之家,我所说的话必趁你们在世的日子成就。这是主耶和华说的。
26耶和华的话又临到我说:
27人子啊,以色列家的人说:他所见的异像是关乎后来许多的日子,所说的预言是指着极远的时候。
28所以你要对他们说:主耶和华如此说:我的话没有一句再耽延的,我所说的必定成就。这是主耶和华说的。
信息分享
我们一旦掌握了圣经预言背后的原则,就能够怀着信心平静的面对将来。如果我们知道神肯定会信守祂自己的话,不只是一件事,而是在一切的事上,那么我为甚么还需要有不必要的忧虑呢?还记得神对洪水的预告吗?那是神在洪水发生前120日(创六3)所说的话,结果事情正如神所预言那样的发生了。
也许最惊人的例子是在创世记十五章13至14节,那里记载亚伯拉罕的生平:「耶和华对亚伯兰说:『你要的确知道,你的后裔必寄居别人的地,又服事那地的人;那地的人要苦待他们四百年;并且他们所要服事的那国,我要惩罚,后来他们必带着许多财物从那里出来。』」。然后在出埃及记十二章40至42节,我们看到:「以色列人住在埃及,共有四百三十年。正满了四百三十年的那一天,耶和华的军队都从埃及地出来了,这夜是耶和华的夜。因耶和华领他们出了埃及地」。
第一段经文是一般性的陈述,后来的那一段神缩短了它的时间性,不是一年,不是一个月,而是讲到拯救发生的那一个晚上。在你下一次开始怀疑神所对你说的话是否可靠的时候,要记得这些宝贵的经文。我们需要耐心等候神;需要知道神应许的一切都会实现的。有时我们很难明白耽延的原因,但是一定要等候异象,因为它是确实的,它是肯定的,它永远都不会落空。
「神会信守祂的应许」
进深研究
可一1-15;加四4;弗一10;提前二6
1. 约翰宣告甚么?
2. 神甚么时候差派祂的儿子?
祈祷
天父,求您帮助我懂得向前瞻望,不是透过疑惑的眼睛,而是透过不断增强的信心。当我感到迷惑的时候,求您坚定我的脚步。奉耶稣的名祈求,阿们。
From Confusion to Confidence
When tempted to doubt...
Bible reading:
Ezekiel 12:21-28
21 The word of the Lord came to me:
22 "Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel: 'The days go by and every vision comes to nothing'?
23 Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer quote it in Israel.' Say to them, 'The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled.
24 For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations among the people of Israel.
25 But I the Lord will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, you rebellious people, I will fulfill whatever I say, declares the Sovereign Lord.'"
26 The word of the Lord came to me:
27 "Son of man, the Israelites are saying, 'The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future.'
28 "Therefore say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign Lord.'"
Message
Once we grasp the principles that underly Biblical prophecy, they enable us to face the future with confidence and poise. What is the point of being unduly anxious when we know that God is committed to keeping His Word - not in just one thing, but in everything? Remember God's prediction concerning the Flood? It was 120 years before it happened (Gen. 6:3) - but it came to pass exactly as God foretold.
But perhaps the most striking illustration of this is found in the life of Abraham in Genesis 15:13-14: "Then the Lord said to him, 'Know for certain that your decendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and ill-treated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterwards they will come out with great possessions.' " Later, in Exodus 12:40-42, we read: "The sons of Jacob and their descendants had lived in Egypt 430 years, and it was on the last day of the 430th year that all of Jehovah's people left the land. This night was selected by the Lord to bring His people out from the land of Egypt" (TLB).
The first text is a general statement, but then God narrows it down more precisely to not just the year, not just the month, but the very night on which the deliverance is to take place. Keep these remarkable texts in mind when next you begin to doubt the reliability of God's personal word to you. Wait upon God. Be assured - everything He has promised will come to pass. It will be difficult at times to understand the delay. But wait for the vision - it is certain, it is sure, it can never, never fail.
"God is committed to keeping His Word"
Prayer
Father, help me to look out at the future, not through the eyes of chilling doubt, but through the eyes of ever-increasing faith. And when I cannot understand, help me just to stand. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Further study
Mark 1:1-15
Galatians 4:4
Ephesians 1:10
1 Timothy 2:6
1. What did John declare?
2. When did God send His Son?
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