`盼望可除去所有的賭注’‘HOPE AGAINST ALL ODDS


[WOTS]
8/2/2018


`盼望可除去所有的賭注’‘HOPE AGAINST ALL ODDS’      8/5/2018

耶利米書Jeremiah 32:1-17; 32:42-44

August 5th, 2018, Session 10, Unit 1: Jeremiah/Lamentations

Worldwide Outreach Teaching School 賴美滿 校長

https://www.WorldwideOTS.org

 

 

前言Preface: 如您買過房子或地皮，您知道何謂契據，是政府的文件，從這文件說明了您是房地產的正確納稅人。這交易是要經公共的記錄。您買地是您私人的事；但為何在戰爭中買一塊屬於敵人的地呢？奇妙吧！但那確是上帝要耶利米做的事情。If you have ever bought a home or a piece of property, you know what a deed is. It is the government document which states you are the owner so that the tax notification goes to the correct person. The transaction is a matter of public record. Why you bought it, however, is a personal matter. Why a person during a war would buy property controlled by the enemy is rather odd to say the least. Yet, that is what God told Jeremiah to do.

上週Last Week: 我們看到了耶利米之預告這新盟約耶穌會帶來完成。We examined Jeremiah’s prophecy of the new covenant that was brought to fulfillment by Jesus.        

這週This Week：我們將看到了一個事實，就是我們的盼望並不依據於現在的情況，而是依靠上帝的信實。We will examine the truth that our hope is not dependent on present circumstances but on God’s faithfulness.  

 

 

  1. The Word of the LORD Read Jeremiah 32:1-5,
  1. This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
  2. The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.
  3. Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, "Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, 'This is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.
  4. Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape out of the hands of the Babylonians,  but will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes.
  5. He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the LORD. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.' "

The Babylonians began the siege of Jerusalem in mid-summer 587 B.C. The supplies of food were carefully rationed. The king and his family were given food first, then the soldiers defending the City, and lastly the poor. With little to eat and poor sanitation in the City, probably many died due to starvation and disease. Six months later, the walls were breached and the City taken (2 Kings 25:1-4).

The word from God that Jeremiah gave to Zedekiah was not appreciated. Zedekiah wanted words of success, of salvation, not words of defeat. The Babylonians would take the City of Jerusalem Zedekiah would be captured and taken to Babylon. The siege would end when the wall was breached, the soldiers slain, and the City sacked. The people would be harshly treated by the Babylonian soldiers who were unrestrained in their anger. Finally the City with its temple would be burned. This was not the word Zedekiah wanted to hear.

 

B. Buying a Field: Jeremiah 32:6-17,

  1. There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim, 'Come, let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God.' "
  2. This is what the LORD says: "Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, 'O LORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel.'
  3. See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return.
  4. They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel's father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.
  5. "Hear the word of the LORD, O nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: 'He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.'
  6. .For the LORD will ransom Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they.
  7.  They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD-- the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more.
  8. "In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions:
  9. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time.
  10. For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.'
  11. "After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD :
  12. "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

From the commentary of NIV. P. 1595: Trust doesn’t come easy. It wasn’t easy for Jeremiah to publicly buy land already captured by the enemy. But the trusted God. It wasn’t easy for David to believe that he would become king even after he was anointed. But the trusted God (1 Samuel 16-31). It wasn’t easy for Moses to believe that he and his people would escape Egypt, even after God spoke to him from a burning bush. But he trusted God (Exodus 3:1-4:20). It isn’t easy for us to believe that God can fulfill his “impossible” promises either, but we must trust him. God, who worked in the lives of Biblical heroes, will work in our lives too, if we will let him..

 

C. The Promise of the Lord Je.32:42-44,

 

42 "This is what the LORD says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them.

43 Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, 'It is a desolate waste, without men or animals, for it has been handed over to the Babylonians.'

44 Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD."

 

The immediate future of Judah was bleak. The desolation was the work of God in response to the sin of the people. But this was not God’s final word. God through Jeremiah spoke words of comfort, words of hope. The people of Israel were still God’s people. They would return again to the Promised Land to buy fields, plant crops, breed herds of animals, and build villages and towns. All this came true when a Persian king named Cyrus conquered Babylon (539 BC) and allowed the exiled peoples to return home. Those who place their trust in God know that His plans are not shattered by the immediate, but stretch into the future, even into eternity.

Question: Do you know? The Persian king Cyrus II (576-530) was also called Cyrus the Great, or Koresh the Great. His empire stretched from India to the Aegean Sea. When he conquered Babylon he allowed exiled peoples, including Judeans to return home. What does this truth mean to you?

 

D. Conclusion: Hope is a feeling of certainty that God will keep His promises. Hope grows out of trust in God. We trust God when we believe He is good and keeps His promises, then depend on and obey Him. God is trustworthy.

 

A. 上帝的話: 讀耶利米書31: 32:1-5,

  1. 猶大王西底家第十年、就是尼布甲尼撒十八年、耶和華的話臨到耶利米。
  2. 那時巴比倫王的軍隊圍困耶路撒冷、先知耶利米囚在護衛兵的院內、在猶大王的宮中．
  3. 因為猶大王西底家已將他囚禁、說、你為甚麼豫言說、耶和華如此說、我必將這城交在巴比倫王的手中、他必攻取這城。
  4. 猶大王西底家必不能逃脫迦勒底人的手、定要交在巴比倫王的手中、要口對口彼此說話、眼對眼彼此相看。
  5. 巴比倫王必將西底家帶到巴比倫、西底家必住在那裡、直到我眷顧他的時候．你們雖與迦勒底人爭戰、卻不順利．這是耶和華說的。

 

 




公元前五百八十七年的夏季巴比倫尼亞人開始攻圍耶路撒冷。食品被小心定量供應，先配給王以及其家人、其次是那些保護城市的軍人，窮人最後配給，吃得不夠，城市的衛生設備又差，許多人死於饑餓 和疾病。六個月後，城堡被攻擊，城被取了。 (王下 25:1-4).

 


經耶利米先知傳訊給西底家(猷太的最後一位王)是來自上帝的話，他聽不進去，因為西底家要成功、救世的話，非擊敗的話。巴比倫尼亞人攻取耶路撒冷城 (以色列的首都)，西底家被抓到巴比倫。 當城堡被打破， 軍人被壓倒，城市就被劫掠。人民被那些沒自制常生氣的巴比倫軍人們苛刻的對待。最後，城與廟堂被燒毀 ，這些話都不是西底家要聽的。

 

 

 

 

B. 買一塊地: 耶利米書32:6-17,

  1. 日子必到、以法蓮山上守望的人、必呼叫說、起來罷、我們可以上錫安、到耶和華我們的　神那裡去。
  2. 耶和華如此說、你們當為雅各歡樂歌唱、因萬國中為首的歡呼．當傳揚頌讚、說、耶和華阿、求你拯救你的百姓以色列所剩下的人。
  3. 我必將他們從北方領來、從地極招聚、同著他們來的、有瞎子、瘸子、孕婦、產婦、他們必成為大幫回到這裡來。
  4. 他們要哭泣而來、我要照他們懇求的引導他們、使他們在河水旁走正直的路、在其上不致絆跌、因為我是以色列的父、以法蓮是我的長子。
  5. 列國阿、要聽耶和華的話、傳揚在遠處的海島、說、趕散以色列的、必招聚他、又看守他、好像牧人看守羊群．
  6. 因耶和華救贖了雅各、救贖他脫離比他更強之人的手。
  7.  他們要來到錫安的高處歌唱、又流歸耶和華施恩之地、就是有五穀、新酒、和油、並羊羔、牛犢之地．他們的心必像澆灌的園子、他們也不再有一點愁煩。
  8. 當著他們眾人眼前、我囑咐巴錄說、
  9. 萬軍之耶和華以色列的　神如此說、要將這封緘的、和敞著的兩張契、放在瓦器裡、可以存留多日．
  10. 因為萬軍之耶和華以色列的　神如此說、將來在這地必有人再買房屋、田地、和葡萄園。
  11. 我將買契交給尼利亞的兒子巴錄以後、便禱告耶和華說、
  12. 主耶和華阿、你曾用大能和伸出來的膀臂創造天地、在你沒有難成的事．




從靈修版p.1316的解經 ：

信靠不是輕而易舉的。要耶利米公開購置敵軍佔領之田地不是件容易的事，但他卻信靠上帝。要大衛相信他會成為君王實在也不容易，甚至於他受膏以後，仍然覺得難於置信，但他卻信靠上帝 (撒上16-31)。要摩西相信他和百姓可以一齊離開埃及也不容易，甚至於上帝從荊棘中向他說話，但他卻信靠上帝(出挨及記 3:1-4:20)。並不容易相信上帝能將那我們認為“不可能” 的來應許我們。上帝能完成聖經裏的英雄們的生命，如我們信託上帝，祂也將在我們的生命中完成大事。

 

 

C 上帝的應許：耶利米32:42-44,                          

 

42 因為耶和華如此說、我怎樣使這一切大禍臨到這百姓、我也要照樣使我所應許他們的一切福樂、都臨到他們。

43 你們說、這地是荒涼、無人民、無牲畜、是交付迦勒底人手之地．日後在這境內、必有人置買田地。

44在便雅憫地、耶路撒冷四圍的各處、猶大的城邑、山地的城邑、高原的城邑、並南地的城邑、人必用銀子買田地、在契上畫押、將契封緘、請出見證人、因為我必使被擄的人歸回．這是耶和華說的。。

 



立刻猷大的未來是憂慮的，悲慘的是上帝對人民的罪的回應 。但這並不是上帝给最後的話，上帝經由耶利米說舒適、有盼望的話，因為以色列的子民仍是上帝的子民，他們可回到應許之地買田地、耕耘、飼養動物成群，和市鎮鄉村的鳥類。所有這些都是事實，當公元539年波斯王Cyrus (英文名字) 攻取巴比倫並準許被流亡之人民回家。那些對於上帝有信心的人知道上帝的計劃是直對將來、甚至永恆. 而非暫時之損傷。

 

 


問題：您可知嗎? 波斯王Cyrus II 氏(英文名字(576-530) 也被稱偉大的Cyrus 王, 或被稱偉大的Koresh 王 (波斯名字)。他的帝國括自印度到愛琴海。當他攻取巴比倫時，他允許被逐之民眾回家園。這個事實您感覺怎樣呢?

 


D. 結論：盼望是一種確據上帝會保持祂的應許；盼望使更信任上帝 。我們信任上帝因為我們相信祂是善良、 和說到就做到的上帝，於是我們依賴祂和服從祂，上帝是值得信靠的。