作者：Jay Sklar 译者: Duncan Liang
如果你研究利未记超过十年，这会有什么结果?我知道人对这问题会做出哪种类型的回答：“你和你的心理治疗师会变得真的很熟。”“大家不再邀请你来吃晚饭。”也许最常见的回答就是：“这问题是真的吗?世上有谁会这样做呢?”
What
happens when you study Leviticus for more than 10 years? I know the types of
answers many people would provide: “You get to know your psychotherapist really
well.” “People stop inviting you to dinner parties.”
Or
perhaps the most common: “Is this a serious question? Who in the world would do
this?”
我做过了。这在与刚才列举远远不同的方面改变了我的人生。按照我的经历，当这卷书开始渗透进入你的灵魂，至少有四件意义重大的事会发生。
I
did. And it changed my life in ways far different from those just named. In my
experience, at least four profound things happen when this book begins to seep
into your soul.
1.你会更频繁渴慕神的圣洁。
You
hunger for God’s holiness more frequently.
我曾经有一次用整整一学期的时间在神学院教授利未记(是的，真的有人报名上课)。课堂上其中最后一份作业，就是在整整一周时间内，尽可能多遵守利未记里的律法。这当然是许多犹太人甚至直到今天还有规律做的事，但对于身为外邦人的神学院学生来说，这确实是一项艰巨任务，他们当中大多数人压根没有想过把咸肉和鸡蛋一起吃会有什么问题。
I
once taught a semester-long seminary class on Leviticus. (Yes, people actually
did sign up.) One of the last assignments of the class was to follow as many of
the laws of Leviticus as possible for an entire week. This is of course
something many Jews do regularly even today, but for Gentile seminary
students—most of whom had never thought twice about having bacon with their
eggs—this was a daunting task.
在那一周之内，学生要写日记记下他们的经历，然后把日记交给我。可以理解的是，学生们有挫败感。一位学生写道：“利未记19章19节说，不要穿用两种材料织成的衣服。这就把我整个衣柜里的衣服一扫而光，剩下的只有一条涤纶运动裤，这将会是漫长的一周。”其他人也作出类似的评论。
During
that week, the students had to keep a journal of their experience and turn it
in to me. There were understandable frustrations. One student noted, “Leviticus
19:19 says not to wear clothing woven of two kinds of material. That wipes out
my entire wardrobe with the exception of a pair of polyester track pants. This
is going to be a long week.” Others made similar observations.
但到目前为止，日记最常见的主题是这样：“每一天我发现，自己聚焦思想礼仪的洁净和不洁净。到了一周过半的时候，我意识到我整天在我生活的每一方面思想这些事，这时我恍然大悟：神大大关注我们的纯洁和圣洁。不仅仅出于礼仪的角度，也是出于一种道德的角度。全天，在生活的每一部分，主要我在心中，在我生命中，在我行为中都追求纯洁。祂要我在我所做的一切事上反映出祂的圣洁。过去我一直太轻看圣洁!主啊，帮助我成为圣洁!”当你沉浸在利未记中时，这就是你会开始做的那一种祷告。
But
by far, the most common theme of the journals went something like this: “Every
day, I found myself focused on thinking about ritual purity and impurity.
Partway through the week, I realized that I was thinking about these things all
day long and in every aspect of my life, and that’s when it hit me: God cares a
lot about our purity and holiness. Not just from a ritual perspective, but also
from a moral perspective. All day long and in every aspect of life, the Lord
wants me to pursue purity in my heart, in my life, in my actions. He wants me
to reflect his holiness in all that I do. I have been treating holiness way too
lightly! O Lord, help me to be holy!” That’s the kind of prayer you begin to
pray when you soak in Leviticus.
2.你会更大大敬畏神。
You
fear God more greatly.
利未记第10章开始的时候讲了拿达和亚比户的故事。这是上我讲的希伯来文课的学生上学期要翻译的故事，这故事深深影响了他们。
Leviticus
10 begins by telling the story of Nadab and Abihu. It’s a story my Hebrew
students translated last semester. And it affected them deeply.
拿达和亚比户是祭司，这意味着他们有特别责任，要带领神的百姓敬拜。我的学生深有感触，因为他们当中许多人正在预备要成为牧师，也将要在带领神的百姓来敬拜这方面负有特别责任。随着故事展开，拿达和亚比户献上耶和华没有命令的祭(10:1)。更大的上下文让人看到，他们企图未得邀请就闯入至圣所，耶和华宝座所在的地方。如果闯进一位地上君王安置宝座的地方是严重违背王的条例，是不敬的极大表现(参见斯4:11)，那么闯入天上君王宝座的所在之处，就是何等难以置信亵渎神。
Nadab
and Abihu were priests. This meant they had special duties in terms of leading
God’s people in worship. My students resonated because many of them are
preparing to be pastors and will also have special duties in leading God’s
people in worship. As the story begins, Nadab and Abihu bring an offering the
Lord had not commanded (10:1). The larger context shows that they tried to
barge into the Most Holy Place—the throne room of the Lord—without being
invited. If barging into the throne room of an earthly king was a severe breach
of royal protocol and a tremendous sign of disrespect (cf. Esther 4:11),
barging into the throne room of the King of heaven was unbelievably
blasphemous.
耶和华守护祂的尊荣，发出火来烧灭了这两位亵渎神的祭司(利10:2)，然后发出这警告：“我在亲近我的人中要显为圣;在众民面前，我要得荣耀”(利10:3)。简而言之，耶和华告诉担任祭司的整个家族，“如果你们不通过你们的行动让我显为圣，以我作配得尊崇的神，我就要使用你们的死作为提醒的机会，让所有百姓知道，我确实是那当在万有之上受尊崇的神。”
The
Lord guards his honor by sending out fire to consume the blasphemous priests
(Lev. 10:2) and then gives this warning: “Amost those who approach me, I will
show myself holy; in the sight of all the people, I will display my glory”
(Lev. 10:3).In short, the Lord is telling the entire priestly family, “If you
do not set me apart by your actions as the God worthy of reverence, I will use
your death as an opportunity to remind all the people that I am indeed the God
who is to be revered above all.”
在那一天，随着这事实开始抓住我们内心，课堂上有片刻神圣的安静。我们比以往更清楚，我们绝不可轻慢主，我们也比以往更清楚，祂必要让那些带领祂百姓敬拜的人负特别大的责任(参见雅3:1)。我们不能不更大大敬畏祂。
There
was a moment of holy silence in class that day as this truth began to grip our
hearts. It was clearer to us than ever before that we must not trifle with the
Lord. And it was clearer to us than ever before that he holds those who lead
his people in worship to an especially high account (cf. James 3:1). We could
not help but fear him more greatly.
3.你会更深深爱耶稣。
You
love Jesus more deeply.
我开始研究利未记，是在我和妻子搬到英格兰，好使我可以在一位名叫戈登·文瀚的福音派学者教导下，进行旧约圣经博士研究的时候。我有三年半时间关注从出埃及记到民数记这些书卷对罪和不洁净的教导，以及它们教导神是怎样解决这些问题的。
I
began studying Leviticus when my wife and I moved to England so I could do a
PhD in Old Testament under an evangelical scholar named Gordon Wenham. For three
and a half years I was focused on what the books of Exodus to Numbers teach
about sin and impurity, and what they teach about God’s solution to these
things.
在我的学习进行到大概两年的时候，我上教会时，一件新的事情开始在我身上发生。每次我们唱一首提到献祭、赎罪，或主赎我们脱离我们罪的诗歌时，我都挣扎着很难唱完却不落泪。这些观念对我来说没有一样是新鲜事，我一辈子都在上教会。但利未记帮助我更清楚看到，主是如何竭力用祂对像我这样有罪罪人的爱，为我提供了一种赦免之道。
About
two years into my studies, something new began to happen to me in church.
Whenever we sang a song that mentioned sacrifice, or atonement, or the Lord
ransoming us from our sin, I struggled to make it through without crying. None
of these ideas was new to me; I had been going to church all my life. But
Leviticus helped me to see with even greater clarity how far the Lord has
gone—in his love for guilty sinners like me—to provide a way of forgiveness.
这在像利未记17:11这样的经文中显得特别清楚。这节经文解释了耶和华允许以色列人献上一头无瑕疵动物的血，代替他们自己的血，赎他们有罪的生命免受祂的审判。意义重大的是，耶和华在经文中加了一个额外“我”，强调祂在提供赎罪祭方面发挥的作用：“我把这血赐给你们，可以在坛上为你们的生命赎罪。”神颠覆了献祭的观念!献祭不仅仅是以色列人向耶和华献上，首先和最重要的，是祂施恩赐给他们一种方法，以此作为赎罪的途径，达致他们如此急迫需要的赦免。
This
became especially clear in a verse like Leviticus 17:11. It explains that the
Lord allowed the Israelites to ransom their guilty lives from his judgment by
offering the lifeblood of a perfect animal in place of their own.
Significantly, the Lord emphasizes his role in providing atonement by adding an
extra “I” in the verse: “And I myself have given [the animal’s lifeblood] to
you on the altar to make atonement for your lives.” God turns the idea of
sacrifice upside down! It was not just what the Israelites gave to the Lord. It
was first and foremost something he gave to them, in his grace, as a means of
atoning for sin and achieving the forgiveness they so desperately desired.
到了耶稣的时候这变得更美好。在旧约以色列人仍然需要带来并献上赎罪的祭物，为的是赎他们的生命。在新约，那位被人得罪的君王，出于他无法言说的大爱，代表那些得罪祂的人提供了这赎罪祭!保罗做了美好的概括：“惟有基督在我们还作罪人的时候为我们死，神的爱就在此向我们显明了。”(罗5:8，参见约3:16)
And
it gets even better with Jesus. In the Old Testament, the Israelites still had
to bring and present an atoning sacrifice to ransom their lives. In the New
Testament, the offended King—in his unspeakably great love—provides the atoning
sacrifice on behalf of the ones who sinned against him! Paul summarizes
beautifully: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us!” (Rom 5:8; cf. John 3:16).
就这样，在经过所有这些年月之后，每次领主餐时我都复述利未记17:11。并且我仍然发现，很难唱提到献祭的诗歌，却不流下为了耶稣感恩的泪水，祂“为我们舍了自己，当作馨香的供物和祭物献与神”(弗5:2)。
And
so, all these years later, I repeat Leviticus 17:11 every time I partake of
communion—and I still find it hard to sing songs about sacrifice without tears
of thankfulness for Jesus, the one who “gave himself up for us as a fragrant
offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2).
4.你会更完全爱你的邻舍。
You
love your neighbor more fully.
圣经其中一个最为人知的事实，就是它告诉我们要“爱人如己”，而圣经其中一个最不为人所知的事实，就是这节经文首先出现在利未记19:18。按上下文看的时候，这讲的远远不只是为人友善，在我们邻舍生病的时候为他们修剪草坪。
One
of the best known facts about the Bible is that it tells us to “love our
neighbor as ourselves.” One of the least known facts is that this verse is
first found in Leviticus 19:18. And when seen in context, it’s about a whole
lot more than being nice and mowing our neighbors' lawn when they’re sick.
如果我们看整节经文，就会清楚看到爱我们的邻舍，这包括像饶恕我们自己过错一样快快饶恕其他人的过犯：“不可报仇，也不可埋怨你本国的子民，却要爱人如己。我是耶和华。”爱我们的邻舍意味着怜悯饶恕冤枉我们的人，而且我们之所以这样做，是因为我们跟从主，祂已经如此丰富和白白地把祂的怜悯和饶恕赋予了我们(诗86:5;耶3:12;结33:11;约壹1:9)。
If we
look at the entire verse, it becomes clear that loving our neighbor involves forgiving
the wrongs of others as quickly as we forgive our own: “Do not seek revenge or
bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I
am the LORD.” To love our neighbors means to extend mercy and forgiveness to
those who wrong us, and to do so because we follow the Lord, the one who so
richly and freely extends his mercy and forgiveness to us (Ps. 86:5; Jer. 3:12;
Ez. 33:11; 1 John 1:9).
这还不是全部。如果我们看上下文，爱邻舍就扩展，包括了在我们所有日常活动中，从做生意的手法(利19:9-10，35-36)，到法庭(15-16节，35节前半节)，家庭事务(3节前半节，29节)，正确对待穷人和弱势群体(9-10节，13-14节，33-34节)，再到一般的社交活动(11-12节，17-18节，32节)都体现出主神圣的品格。换一个说法：爱我们的邻舍，这起码是把耶稣荣耀的福音告诉他们(这是我还是一名年轻基督徒时想到的爱邻舍的首要方法)，但它确实包括多得多的内容。追求和解，向人施怜悯，在生意交往和法庭上寻求公义，所有这些事情都成了爱我们邻舍，向他们显明神的怜悯、公义和慈爱的机会。
That's
not all. If we look at the surrounding verses, loving our neighbor broadens to
include embodying the Lord’s holy character in all of our daily interactions,
from business practices (Lev. 19:9-10, 35-36) to courts of law (vv. 15-16, 35a)
to family matters (vv. 3a, 29) to proper treatment of the poor and
disadvantaged (vv. 9-10, 13-14, 33-34) to social interactions in general (vv.
11-12, 17-18, 32). To put it differently: loving our neighbors is not less than
telling them about the glorious gospel of Jesus (the primary way I thought of
loving my neighbor as a young Christian); but it does include far much more.
Pursuing reconciliation, extending mercy, seeking justice in business dealings
and courts of law—all these things become opportunities to love our neighbors
by showing them God’s mercy, justice, and love.
所以，虽然利未记强调，保持神圣和非神圣，圣洁和非圣洁之间区分很重要，但它也强调，日常仁慈、爱和怜悯的作为是难以置信地神圣，难以置信地圣洁，因为它们表现出是终极神圣圣洁的那一位那难以置信的仁慈，爱和怜悯。
So
while Leviticus emphasizes the importance of maintaining distinctions between
the sacred and the non-sacred, the holy and the non-holy, it also emphasizes
that everyday acts of kindness and love and mercy are incredibly sacred,
incredibly holy, because they show forth the incredible kindness, love, and mercy
of the One who is ultimately sacred and holy.
我成长的时候并不是这样思想圣洁，但这却是利未记对圣洁的看法。这是耶稣的看法(路10:29-37)。如果我们所有人都开始像这样思想圣洁，我们的教会就会发生何等改变?
This
is not how I grew up thinking about holiness. But it is how Leviticus thinks
about it. It is how Jesus thinks about it (Luke 10:29-37). What would happen in
our churches if we all began to think of holiness in these ways?
我们需要更多多读利未记。
We need more Leviticus.
