約書亞記 第11章 中英摘要

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  約書亞帶領以色列人南征,攻取迦南地的南部諸城,殺死摩利五王;接著北伐,在米倫打敗北方諸王,並將城中的人口盡行殺滅,凡有氣息的沒有留下一個。凡耶和華所吩咐摩西的,約書亞沒有一件懈怠不行。於是國中太平,沒有爭戰了。

  國中要太平,沒有爭戰,就必須要順服神的話去行,如同約書亞「沒有一件懈怠不行」。我們常常是大事交給神,小事就自己處理,非得到山窮水盡,無法收拾時,才來找神。讀經禱告,和神意見一樣時,就聽神,不一樣時,就聽自己,這都不是順服。我們必須將大小事都交託神、順服神、倚靠神,如此我們的生命才會改變;不願以神為中心的生命是不會成長,也無法得勝的。

  我們為主站住,神就為我們爭戰。許多人對家人得救一事,似乎已經麻痺,不禱告了;或是雖然嘴巴禱告,心裡卻是覺得無望、不可能,我們若有這種心態,我們都要認罪悔改,因為在神沒有難成的事,祂願萬人得救,不願一人沉淪。所以問題不在神,而是在於我們對神的信心有多大,我們有沒有真正活出「耶穌愛你,我也愛你」的生命。

  人常會認為自己比神有義、有愛、有憐憫,所以會覺得舊約裡的神很殘忍,動不動就將人盡行殺滅。神是宇宙萬物的創造者,所有的生命氣息都來自於祂,祂有完全的主權在祂所造的萬物身上。其實神給了迦南人685年的機會悔改,但是他們不悔改。《申命記》20:16-18,神清楚地跟以色列人說:「這些國民的城,耶和華神既賜你為業,其中凡有氣息的,一個不可存留… 免得他們教導你們學習一切可憎惡的事,就是他們向自己神所行的,以致你們得罪耶和華你們的神。」神愛祂的百姓,不希望他們行迦南人所行的惡,而得罪神,惹神的憤怒。

  我們的神完全公義,而且聖潔,將來在白色大寶座前,我們都要跟神交賬。地上的罪犯有律師幫忙辯護,做認罪協商減刑,但是,將來在神的審判台前,就算是賺得了全世界的首富,也沒有保鑣可以保護,沒有律師可以為他辯護。因為只有耶穌基督,是神和人之間的中保,在審判台前,只有接受耶穌基督成為他個人救主的人,可以有耶穌基督成為他的中保,讓他免於審判與永刑。

  大多數的人喜歡聽人的話,不喜歡聽神的話;所謂「人言可畏」,聽太多人的話,只會產生更多的煩惱與恐懼,唯有聽神的話,才能讓我們得著智慧與安慰。所以,不要去打聽人家怎麼說,也不要去在乎別人怎麼講;唯有定睛於神,神怎麼說,我就怎麼信,神怎麼說,我就怎麼做,我們才能享有平安與祝福。

2015.10.8 葉志偉牧師信息/林慶如 姐妹 摘要

Joshua 11

  Joshua led the Israelites towards the south, and they conquered the southern cities and killed all their kings. They killed five kings of the Amorites, and then they went north. They defeated the northern kings at Merom and killed everyone in those cities. They totally destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed. As the Lord commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses. Then the land had rest from war.

  If a nation wants peace in its region instead of war, it should obey God’s orders. We should follow the example of Joshua, who left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses. We tend to seek God on important and major things in our lives, and take care of minor things ourselves. We often turn to God, and pray and read the Bible, only when things get out of control. It is common that we listen to God when we have the same opinion with Him, and listen to ourselves when our opinions differ; this is not total obedience. We need to listen to, count on, and obey our Lord on all things. By doing so, our lives will be changed. A person who is not willing to center on God will not grow spiritually, and he/she will not have victory over the enemy.

  If we stand firm for God, God will fight the battle for us. Many people stop feeling a thing for the salvation of their families. Some have stopped praying for their families; some are still praying and yet they feel desperate, and they don’t believe the lives of their family can be saved. If any of us is among the people mentioned above, he/she should repent! He/she should remember that nothing is too hard for God. Our Lord doesn’t want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. God can save our family, and it is all about our faith towards God. Can we really show people around us that “Jesus loves you, and I love you too?”

  We often consider ourselves as more righteous, loving and merciful than God, so we think that God in the Old Testament was cruel because He killed so many people. God is the creator of all! All lives come from Him, so He has the absolute sovereignty over all things and lives. In fact, God gave the Canaanites 685 years to repent, but they did not seize the chance. In Deuteronomy, God told the Israelites, “However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes… Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God.” God loved His people, and He wanted to protect them from sin; He did not want to be angry with His people.

  Our God is just, righteous, pure and holy. One day, we all have to answer to God before His glorious throne. In this world, criminals can have an attorney to defend them or to plea bargain for them. However, when we stand before God, no one can have the protection of a bodyguard or an attorney; not even the richest person in the world. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and mankind. When we stand before God, only those who accepted Jesus as his/her personal savior can be spared from the judgment and eternal punishment, because Jesus will be his/hers mediator.

  People like to listen to man’s words instead of God’s. As the old saying goes, “The tongue is not steel, yet it cuts,” so if you focus too much on people’s words, you will only be more troubled or terrified. Only when you listen to God can you be comforted and become wiser. Hence, do not try to figure out what people say, and don’t care too much about what others say; just focus on God and His words. Believe in God’s words, and do everything as He commands, and we shall be blessed and peaceful.

2015/10/08 Message by Elder Yeh