約書亞記 第21章 中英摘要

  誰都喜歡神的應許可以來得快一點,你呢?但神的應許要是來得太快的話,那生命很可能在兩個禮拜之內就結束了喔!因為神該給的都已經給了,回天家的日子當然也就近了!

  神要給我們應許其實很簡單,三歲長大成人,接著馬上結婚、生子,然後六歲退休,八歲就準備讓主接走了,神的確可以這樣做,不是嗎?

  「慢」的應許讓我們可以更多享受神的同在,所以我們看所有事情,應該要站在神的立場去想,而不是從單方面去看,這樣才是有平安。

  生命、氣息、時間都掌控在神的手裡面,史蒂芬.霍金(Stephen William Hawking)有本著作《時間簡史》,整本書都是研究時間。霍金與歷史上的「牛頓」、「愛因斯坦」等人齊名,然而「時間」在《聖經》的《創世記》裡就講得很清楚:「起初,神創造天地」。「時間」對於神是沒有意義的,因為神是從「永恆」到「永恆」的神。活在時間的裡面,「我們」才有意義,但是神為了要做一件事情,於是時間就開始了、空間就出現了,因為神要「創造天、地」,神沒有要我們研究時間,神只要我們知道:時間來自神。

  基督徒的生命是、無論走在人生的高山或是低谷,都可以來讚美、倚靠神。因為在人生中有個標竿,所以不容易被迷惑。按著神的時間所給的應許是最好的,如果神是照著人的時間給應許,人生的樂趣不會太多。打球之所以有樂趣,是因為不一定每次都打出好球;球要打得好,需要經過訓練,而且我們應該在訓練的過程中享受樂趣。但我們沒有從等候中學到功課,所以常常埋怨神。

  漫長等待之後,《約書亞記》到了21章,終於輪到利未人要分地了,利未人雖然沒有參與拈鬮分地,但是神要其他支派分出48座城給利未人,平均每個以色列支派大約都會分出四個城給利未人。因為利未人的工作除了事奉神、還有設立逃城、教導律法,所以這48個城需要分配很平均,而且不能離開各支派太遠。

  革順族分到13座城,米拉利族分配到12座城,哥轄族的子民分到最多,一共拿了23座城。因為這23座城離耶路撒冷很近,這麼多城集中在此,對於利未人將來要在聖殿服事非常方便,這是神早有預備。

  其中還有6座是逃城,在約旦河以東的3座,由北到南分別是:瑪拿西半支派的「哥蘭」、迦得支派的「基利拉末」,再下面是西緬的逃城「比悉」;約旦河西岸的迦南地也有三個逃城,最北的是拿弗他利的「基低斯」,然後是以法蓮支派的「示劍」,最底下是猶大支派的「希伯崙」(基列亞巴)。

  要知道神對產業是什麼樣的態度?人有了這些產業要怎麼去治理?首先就是要很清楚這些產業的位置在什麼地方,同樣服事也要知道自己所在的位置。小組中有人擺上時間、導讀、敬拜、解經,服事神,其他人也應該花時間好好先讀過一次,才會更清楚今天來到小組到底在講什麼。「五餅二魚」是每個人都要準備一點點,預習、準備《聖經》就是「五餅二魚」、「為神擺上」。每個人都有自己的位子,知道自己該做什麼,因為這些產業都是要給我們的。

  「耶和華照着向他們列祖起誓所應許的一切話,使他們四境平安;他們一切仇敵中,沒有一人在他們面前站立得住。耶和華把一切仇敵都交在他們手中。耶和華應許賜福給以色列家的話,一句也沒有落空,都應驗了。」-《約書亞記》21:44-45

  《聖經》將一切事實和神的祝福記載這麼清楚,不是枯燥繁瑣,而是代表真有其事,我們若專心追求神,神的祝福就會追著我們。

葉志偉 牧師 風美小組信息

摘要 周映廷 弟兄 2015.12.17

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Joshua 21

  We all wish God fulfills His promises sooner, don’t you agree? But if God does fulfill His promises too quickly, it is very likely that your life will end in two weeks! If God has given you everything He had promised, of course it is time to go back to your home in heaven.

  It is fairly easy for God to give and fulfill promises; we can be a grown-up when we reach 3, then get married and have children right away, retire at the age of six, and we can die when we are 8. God can arrange that, can’t He?

  Fulfilling His promises slowly, God allows us to take more time enjoying His presence. We should see things through the eyes of God, and think from His perspectives. We should not see things from a single aspect so that we can be in peace.

  Our life, breath, and time are all in God’s hands. Stephen William Hawking wrote a book, A Brief History of Time, which is his research on time. Hawking is as famous as Newton and Einstein. However, a very clear discretion of time had been long written in Genesis, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). To God, time is meaningless, because He is alpha and omega; He lives eternally! Time had meaning to us, because we live in it. Time and space came into being because God created the heaven and the earth. God doesn’t want us to study time; God wants us to understand that time is given by Him.

  Christians should be able to praise and count on God in both favorable and adverse circumstances; because if you focus on God’s calling, you wouldn’t be tempted easily. God’s timing of fulfilling His promises can only be perfect, if God fulfills His promises according to man’s timing, there wouldn’t be so much fun and happiness in life. The fun of a ball game comes from the ups and downs during the game. A good player requires series of intense trainings, and he/she needs to be able to enjoy the trainings. However, we often complain about the trainings God gives us because we haven’t learned our lesson.

  After waiting for a very long time, it was finally the Levites’ turn to receive their share in Joshua 21. Although the Levites did not participate in the allotment, God asked the rest of the tribes to give 48 towns to the Levites; that is, the other eleven tribes all gave about 4 towns to the Levites in average. Since the duties of the Levites included serving God, establishing cities of refuge, and preaching the laws of God, the 48 towns of the Levites must be distributed evenly, and they should not be too far away from the other tribe.

  The Gershonite clans got 13 towns, the Merarite clans got 12 towns. The Kohathite clans got more towns than the others; they got 23. These 23 towns are close to Jerusalem, which made it easier for the Levites to serve in the temple in Jerusalem; God had planned it all.

  There were other 6 cities of refuge on the east side of Jordan River. There were, from north to south, Golan in the half tribe of Manasseh, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Bezer in the tribe of Reuben. There were also three cities of refuge on the west side of Jordan River; in the land of Canaan, the one at the north was Kedesh in hill country of Naphtali, the one in the middle was Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and the one at the south was Kiriath Arba (Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

  If you want to know what attitude God had toward the inheritances or how people should handle the inheritances, first you have to know the locations of the lands. In the same way, you should know your position in your services. In your group, some people devote their time to leading worships and Bible study. While they are serving, others should also spend some time reading the materials for the group meeting in order to be prepared for the lesson or discussion. The story of Jesus feeding five thousand people with five loaves and two fishes encourages us to be prepared. Study the Bible and be ready for the group meeting is that five loaves and two fishes you can offer to God. We all have different positions, and we should all know what we are supposed to do, because we ought to claim our inheritances!

  “The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled” (Joshua 21:44-45).

  All facts and God’s blessings were clearly written in the Bible; it is neither boring nor redundant. On the contrary, it emphasizes how things really happened. If we focus on pursuing God, God’s blessing will follow us.

2015/12/17 Message by Elder Yeh