2018-09-12


與神一起支搭帳棚Tabernacling with God

[每日靈修9/12/2018, 駱鴻銘編譯
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/tabernacling-god/

將古代以色列人描述為「朝聖者和寄居者」的,正是舊約的出埃及記。他們是一個半游牧民族,哈維•考克斯(Harvey Cox)曾將他們的生活比喻為一種不斷漂浮的擲骰子遊戲。他們從一個地方搬到另一個地方。連他們的教會也是一個帳棚,當他們在曠野跟隨上帝的帶領時,也不得不反覆拆卸。

這幅圖像在新約聖經對道成肉身的描繪中,佔有突出的地位。約翰福音寫到,「道」(Logos),神的聖言,從一開始就是「與上帝同在」,「就是上帝」,並「道成肉身,住在我們中間」(約一14)。在這裏被翻譯為「住」(dwelt)的詞,字面的意思是:在我們中間「搭起會幕」(tabernacled)或「支搭祂的帳棚」。

在這個意義上,基督是終極的朝聖者。道成肉身是無與倫比的寄居。基督離開祂天上的家,代表我們走朝聖之旅。祂與亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各的後裔是一體的。

我愛我的家鄉。每次出國旅行,我都很高興回到美國。但是,美國是一個旅館,是一個在更高的旅程中的休息站,是通往我真正家園路上的路邊攤。

活在神的面光中(在神面前禱告):
反思這個光榮的真理:上帝在我們中間支搭帳棚(神住在我們中間)。

進一步研讀:
出廿九42 這要在耶和華面前、會幕門口,作你們世世代代常獻的燔祭。我要在那裡與你們相會,和你們說話。
約一45 生命在他裡頭,這生命就是人的光。光照在黑暗裡,黑暗卻不接受光。
約一14 道成了肉身,住在我們中間,充充滿滿的有恩典有真理。我們也見過他的榮光,正是父獨生子的榮光。


Tabernacling with God

It was the exodus of the Old Testament that earned the ancient Israelites the description of “pilgrims and sojourners.” They were a semi-nomadic people who lived the life of what Harvey Cox once likened to a floating craps game. They moved from place to place. Even their church was a tent that had to be pitched and taken down repeatedly as they followed the lead of God in the wilderness.

This image figures prominently in the New Testament portrayal of the Incarnation. In John’s Gospel, it is written that the Logos, the divine Word, was “with God” and “was God” from the beginning, and “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The word that is translated here as dwelt literally means “tabernacled” or “pitched His tent” among us.

In this sense, it is Christ who is the ultimate Pilgrim. The Incarnation is the supreme sojourn. Christ left His heavenly home to enter into our pilgrimage in our behalf. His was in solidarity with the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

I love my homeland. Every time I travel abroad, I am happy to return to America. But the United States is an inn, a resting place in the midst of a higher journey, a road-stop on the way to my true home.

Coram Deo
Reflect on this glorious truth: God pitched His tent among us.

Passages for Further Study
John 1:4–5  John 1:14


承認我們的公民身分Acknowledging Our Citizenship

[每日靈修9/11/2018, 駱鴻銘編譯

幾年前,我和妻子和另一對夫婦一起在東歐旅行。當我們越過匈牙利到羅馬尼亞的邊境時,三名身材魁梧,看上去粗魯的士兵登上火車檢查我們的護照並檢查行李。他們的隊長表示,他想看我們的護照。當我們遞給他時,他指著我們的行李。當我站起來拿一個大行李箱時,他突然攔住了我。他用蹩腳的英語說到,「等等!你不美國人!(You not American!)」然後他看著跟我們一起旅行的女人說:「你不美國人。」

我必須承認我陷入了恐慌之中。那人指著我們朋友在她旁邊座位上的紙袋。 「那是什麼?」他指著從紙袋頂部露出的書的邊緣問道。她拿出她的聖經。我嚥了一下口水,心裏想著,「這下好了,我們遇到了麻煩了。」

士兵拿起聖經開始翻閱它的頁面。他翻開以弗所書第二章,並指著第19節。他下令:「讀。」我們大聲朗讀,「這樣,你們不再作外人和客旅,是與聖徒同國,是神家裡的人了。」

當他說到:「你不美國人,我不羅馬尼亞人。我們是天堂的公民」時,士兵的臉上立刻露出一抹仁慈的笑容。然後他轉向他的同伴,並說:「這些人還好。」他把護照還給我們,並祝我們一路順風。

活在神的面光中(在神面前禱告):
為你在天上的公民身分感謝上帝。

進一步研讀:
詩一三三12 看哪,弟兄和睦同居是何等的善,何等的美! 這好比那貴重的油澆在亞倫的頭上,流到鬍鬚,又流到他的衣襟;
弗四45 身體只有一個,聖靈只有一個,正如你們蒙召同有一個指望。一主,一信,一洗。
腓三20 我們卻是天上的國民,並且等候救主,就是主耶穌基督從天上降臨。


Acknowledging Our Citizenship

My wife and I were traveling in Eastern Europe with another couple several years ago. When we crossed the border from Hungary to Romania, three burly, rough-looking soldiers boarded the train to check our passports and examine our luggage. Their leader indicated that he wanted to see our passports. As we handed them to him, he pointed to our luggage. As I rose to reach for a large suitcase, he suddenly stopped me. In broken English, he said, “Wait! You not American!” Then he looked at the woman who was traveling with us and said, “You not American.”

I must confess I was gripped by a vise of fear. The man pointed to a paper bag our friend had on the seat beside her. “What is that?” he asked, pointing to the edges of a book that protruded out of the top of the bag. She pulled out her Bible. I gulped, thinking to myself, “Now, we are in real trouble.”

The soldier took the Bible and began to leaf through its pages. He opened to the second chapter of Ephesians and pointed to verse 19. He ordered: “Read.” We read aloud, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”

Instantly, the soldier’s face radiated with a benevolent smile as he said: “You not American. I not Romanian. We are citizens of heaven.” Then he turned to his fellow troops and said, “These people okay.” He returned our passports and bade us Godspeed.

Coram Deo
Thank God for your citizenship in heaven.

Passages for Further Study
Psalm 133:1–2
Ephesians 4:4–5