尊重上帝的審判Respecting God’s Judgment
[每日靈修] 11/8/2018, 駱鴻銘編譯
神的審判中最令人痛苦的事件之一，發生在舊約以利的案件中。以利在以色列作士師和祭司。在大多數情況下，他是個敬虔的人。但是他的兒子們卻是邪惡的，並且褻瀆了上帝的殿。 以利斥責他們，卻沒有完全禁止他們。上帝向撒母耳顯明祂會審判以利的家：
「看哪，我在以色列中必行一件事，叫聽見的人都必耳鳴。我指著以利家所說的話，到了時候，我必始終應驗在以利身上。我曾告訴他必永遠降罰與他的家，因他知道兒子作孽，自招咒詛，卻不禁止他們。」（撒上三11～13）
當以利持續不斷地問撒母耳，上帝說了什麼話時，撒母耳終於告訴了他。以利聽到這些話，他說：「這是出於耶和華，願祂憑自己的意旨而行。」（第18節）。
上帝的旨意是要懲罰以利家。以利聽見這些話，就認出這是上帝的話，因為他認識上帝的性情。我們不必敬畏的上帝不是上帝，而是我們親手製造的偶像。
活在神的面光中（在神面前禱告）：
以利說：「這是出於耶和華，願祂憑自己的意旨而行。」無論是在艱困或平順之時，你都能從內心深處做出這種肯定嗎？
進一步研讀：
撒上三10 耶和華又來站著，像前三次呼喚說：「撒母耳啊！撒母耳啊！」撒母耳回答說：「請說，僕人敬聽！」
撒上三18 撒母耳就把一切話都告訴了以利，並沒有隱瞞。以利說：「這是出於耶和華，願祂憑自己的意旨而行。」
詩一一五4 他們的偶像是金的，銀的，是人手所造的。
Respecting
God’s Judgment
One
of the most poignant episodes of the judgment of God occurred in the Old
Testament case of Eli. Eli was a judge and priest over Israel. He was, for the
most part, a godly man. But his sons were wicked and profaned the house of God.
Eli rebuked them but did not fully restrain them. God revealed to Samuel that
He would judge the house of Eli:
“Behold,
I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will
tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken
concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I will
judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made
themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.” (1 Sam. 3:11–13)
When
Eli persisted in asking Samuel what God had said, Samuel finally told him. When
Eli heard the words, he said: “It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to
Him” (v. 18).
What
seemed good to God was to punish the house of Eli. Eli recognized the Word of
God when he heard it because he understood the character of Him whose word it
was. A God before whom we need to have no fear is not God but an idol made by
our own hands.
Coram
Deo
Eli said:
“It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.” Can you make this
affirmation from the depths of your heart in difficult times as well as good
times?
Passages
for Further Study
1
Samuel 3:10
1
Samuel 3:18
Psalm
115:4