神的异象
神圣洁的光芒
经文
民数记十七1-13
1耶和华对摩西说：
2你晓谕以色列人，从他们手下取杖，每支派一根；从他们所有的首领，按着支派，共取十二根。你要将各人的名字写在各人的杖上，
3并要将亚伦的名字写在利未的杖上，因为各族长必有一根杖。
4你要把这些杖存在会幕内法柜前，就是我与你们相会之处。
5后来我所拣选的那人，他的杖必发芽。这样，我必使以色列人向你们所发的怨言止息，不再达到我耳中。
6于是摩西晓谕以色列人，他们的首领就把杖交给他，按着支派，每首领一根，共有十二根；亚伦的杖也在其中。
7摩西就把杖存在法柜的帐幕内，在耶和华面前。
8第二天，摩西进法柜的帐幕去。谁知利未族亚伦的杖已经发了芽，生了花苞，开了花，结了熟杏。
9摩西就把所有的杖从耶和华面前拿出来，给以色列众人看；他们看见了，各首领就把自己的杖拿去。
10耶和华吩咐摩西说：把亚伦的杖还放在法柜前，给这些背叛之子留作记号。这样，你就使他们向我发的怨言止息，免得他们死亡。
11摩西就这样行。耶和华怎样吩咐他，他就怎样行了。
12以色列人对摩西说：我们死啦！我们灭亡啦！都灭亡啦！
13凡挨近耶和华帐幕的是必死的。我们都要死亡吗？
信息分享
我们今天来进一步思考以赛亚看见神的圣洁时的心情，这革命性的异象令他的灵感到极度痛苦，因而喊叫说：「祸哉，我灭亡了！因为我是嘴唇不洁的人，又住在嘴唇不洁的民中……」（赛六5）。
以赛亚站在神面前时，令他感到惊讶的不单是神难以言喻的圣洁，他更因为自己个人的堕落而感惊讶。在这一刻之前，以赛亚很可能一直都以为自己是善良、正直和有道德的人。我们相信他也确实是如此。如果有人要将年青以赛亚的品格与以色列大部分男女相比较，我很相信他会比大部分人都优秀。不过，以赛亚并非与被神创造的受造物相比，而是与造物主自己来做比较，是与以色列的圣者面对面。忽然间，他的一切良善和他尊崇的一切都分崩离析，他赤身露体，毫无遮掩，充满恐惧地站在那里。
最远离主的人是那些最认为自己良善的人，而最接近神的人往往是那些更能意识自己罪恶的人。这是一个很有意思的发现，为甚么会是这样呢？是否因为神圣洁的光芒好像X光那样，令人更清楚看见自己的内心？如果是这样的话，那么所有的罪人多么需要与圣洁的神相遇的经历！
「接近神能令人意识自己的罪」
进深研究
弗五1-20；约壹一5-7；彼后一19
1. 我们要怎样生活？
2. 我们要留意甚么？
祈祷
神啊！让您圣洁的光芒透视我里面深藏的罪恶。求您指出我本性里面的骄傲和自负。亲爱的主，求您令我更像您。奉耶稣的名祈求，阿们。
The Vision of God
The divine X-ray
Bible reading:
Numbers 17:1-13
1 [a]The Lord said to Moses,
2 "Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff.
3 On the staff of Levi write Aaron's name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe.
4 Place them in the tent of meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law, where I meet with you.
5 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites."
6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron's staff was among them.
7 Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant law.
8 The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron's staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.
9 Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the Lord's presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each of the leaders took his own staff.
10 The Lord said to Moses, "Put back Aaron's staff in front of the ark of the covenant law, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die."
11 Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.
12 The Israelites said to Moses, "We will die! We are lost, we are all lost!
13 Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all going to die?"
Message
We move on now to consider the fact that Isaiah's revolutionary vision of the holiness of God results in him crying out in great agony of soul: "Woe to me...I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips..." (Isa. 6:5).
The thing that strikes Isaiah as he stands in the presence of God is not just the ineffable holiness of God, but, by contrast, his own personal depravity. Up to this moment Isaiah probably thought of himself as a good, upright, moral man. And no doubt he was. If someone was to compare the young Isaiah's character with that of most of the other men and women in Israel, I feel confident that he would have stood out head and shoulders above most of them. However, Isaiah is not being compared to the creatures whom God had made; he is being compared to the Creator Himself. He is face to face with the Holy One of Israel. Suddenly, all his goodness and everything he had esteemed falls to pieces, and he stands naked, exposed and afraid.
I have always thought it interesting that the people who are farthest away from the Lord are those who are impressed with their own goodness, while those who are closest to Him seem to be more conscious of their sin. Why, I wonder? Is it because the white light of God's holiness acts like an X-ray that enables people to see more clearly what is going on at the core of their beings? If so, then how vital it is that sin-sick human beings have an encounter with a holy God.
"Closeness to God brings consciousness of sin"
Prayer
O God, let the X-ray of Your holiness reveal the insidious disease of sin that is deep within me. Show up the pride and arrogance that lies hidden in my nature. Make me more like You, dear Lord. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Further study
Ephesians 5:1-20
1 John 1:5-7
2 Peter 1:19
1. How are we to live?
2. What are we to pay attention to?
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