第四篇 神的子民需要寻求主的指引，有主的同在，以展示祂的得胜，好建造祂的身体并扩展祂的国度
The Need for God's People to Seek the Lord's Direction and Have the Lord's Presence to Display His Victory for the Building Up of His Body and the Spreading of His Kingdom
读经：太一5，书六22~26，七1~6、10~15、20~21，九14
壹 当两个探子来到耶利哥，喇合（她是妓女，也是迦南人）与他们接触，愿意接待、隐藏并释放他们，乃是出于她信心的行动（书二1下~7、15~16、22，雅二25）；她相信以色列的神，并宣告：“耶和华你们的神本是上天下地的神”（书二11下）：─引用经文
I. When the two spies came to Jericho, Rahab (who was both a harlot and a Canaanite) contacted them and was willing to receive them, hide them, and deliver them by acts that issued out of her faith (Josh. 2:1b-7, 15-16, 22; James 2:25); she believed in the God of Israel and declared, "Jehovah your God, He is God in heaven above and upon earth beneath" (Josh. 2:11b):
一 耶和华预备妓女喇合给约书亚，为着取得那地；因着她相信神，她“就不与那些不信从的人一同灭亡”（来十一31）；她转向以色列人和他们的神，并且信靠祂和祂的百姓（书二12~13）。─引用经文
A. Jehovah provided Rahab the harlot to Joshua for the gaining of the land; because of her faith in God, she "did not perish with those who were disobedient" (Heb. 11:31); she turned to Israel and their God, and she trusted in Him and His people (Josh. 2:12-13).
二 喇合与她全家得救的记号，是挂在她房子窗户上的一条朱红线绳（18、21）；系在窗戸上的朱红线绳，预表公开承认基督救赎的血（彼前一18~19）；她相信借这记号，她和她全家都必得救。─引用经文
B. The sign for Rahab and her house to be saved was for her to hang a line of scarlet thread in the window of her house (vv. 18, 21); the scarlet thread tied in the window typifies an open confession of the redeeming blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:18-19); she believed that by this sign she and her household would be delivered.
三 喇合虽是被定罪的迦南人，又是在耶利哥这受神永远咒诅之地（书六26）的妓女（二1），却在归向神和神的百姓后（六22~25，来十一30~31），嫁给以色列领头的犹大支派中一个首领的儿子（代上二10~11），也许是两个探子之一的撒门（太一5），然后生了敬虔的波阿斯，基督乃是从他而出；喇合就联于成为肉体的基督，为着完成神永远的经纶（5）。─引用经文
C. Although Rahab was a condemned Canaanite and a prostitute in Jericho (Josh. 2:1), a place cursed by God for eternity (6:26), after she turned to God and to God's people (vv. 22-25; Heb. 11:30-31), she married Salmon (Matt. 1:5), the son of a leader of Judah, a leading tribe of Israel (1 Chron. 2:10-11), and probably one of the two spies; then she brought forth Boaz, a godly man, out of whom Christ came, and she became associated with Christ in His incarnation for the fulfillment of God's eternal economy (Matt. 1:5).
四 这给我们看见，不论我们的背景如何，只要我们归向神和神的百姓，并与神百姓中适当的人结合（不是就物质的意义说，乃是就属灵的意义说），就会生出正确的果实，并享受基督长子的名分─出二四13，三三11，民二七18，申三四9，书一1，王下二2~15，腓二19~23，林前四17。
D. This shows that regardless of our background, if we turn to God and His people and are joined to the proper person among God's people (not in a physical sense but in a spiritual sense), we will bring forth proper fruit and participate in the enjoyment of the birthright of Christ—Exo. 24:13; 33:11; Num. 27:18; Deut. 34:9; Josh. 1:1; 2 Kings 2:2-15; Phil. 2:19-23; 1 Cor. 4:17.
贰 毁灭耶利哥之后，以色列在艾城战败；在耶利哥，约书亚照着神的经纶打发探子，不是为着争战，乃是要得着喇合；但在艾城，由于以色列人失去了主的同在（书七12下），约书亚就为着争战打发探子（2~3）：─引用经文
II. After the destruction of Jericho, Israel was defeated at Ai; at Jericho, according to God's economy, Joshua sent out spies, not for fighting but to gain Rahab; but at Ai, because Israel had lost the presence of the Lord (Josh. 7:12c), Joshua sent out spies for fighting (vv. 2-3):
一 探子向约书亚关于艾城的报告，指明以色列人把神放在一边；他们没有求问神该如何攻打艾城；他们忘记神，只顾到自己；那时，他们没有与神是一，反而凭自己行动，没有寻求主的指引，也没有主的同在；以色列人因着他们的罪与神分开了─1~5、12节下：
A. The report of the spies to Joshua concerning Ai indicates that Israel had set God aside; instead of asking God what they should do against Ai, they forgot God and cared only for themselves; at that time they were not one with God but acted on their own, without seeking the Lord's direction and without having the Lord's presence; Israel was separated from God because of their sin—vv. 1-5, 12c:
1 以色列人在艾城失败的关键，乃是他们失去神的同在，不再与神是一；这次失败以后，约书亚学了功课，知道要留在约柜前与主同在（6）；至终，主进来对他说话，告诉他要作什么（10~15）。─引用经文
1. The secret of Israel's defeat at Ai was that they had lost God's presence and were no longer one with God; after this defeat Joshua learned the lesson of staying with the Lord before the Ark (v. 6); eventually, the Lord came in to speak to him and to tell him what to do (vv. 10-15).
2 我们从这记载该学习的属灵功课乃是：我们这些神的子民该一直与我们的神是一；祂不仅在我们中间，也在我们里面，使我们成为有神的人─神人。
2. The spiritual lesson to be learned from this account is that we, the people of God, should always be one with our God, who is not only among us but also in us, making us men with God—God-men.
3 我们既是神人，就该实行与主是一，与祂同行，与祂同活，并与祂一同行事为人；这是基督徒行事为人的路，神儿女争战的路，也是建造基督身体的路。
3. As God-men, we should practice being one with the Lord, walking with Him, living with Him, and having our entire being with Him; this is the way to walk as a Christian, to fight as a child of God, and to build up the Body of Christ.
4 我们若有主的同在，就有智慧、眼光、先见以及对事物内里的认识；主的同在对我们乃是一切─林后二10，四6~7，加五25，创五22~24，来十一5~6。
4. If we have the Lord's presence, we have wisdom, insight, foresight, and the inner knowledge concerning things; the Lord's presence is everything to us—2 Cor. 2:10; 4:6-7; Gal. 5:25; Gen. 5:22-24; Heb. 11:5-6.
二 我们若要进入、据有并享受包罗万有的基督这美地的实际，就必须在主的同在里去；主应许摩西：“我的同在必和你同去，我必使你得安息”（出三三14）；神的同在就是祂的道路，是那向祂的百姓指示当行之路的“地图”：
B. If we would enter, possess, and enjoy the all-inclusive Christ as the reality of the good land, we must do so by the presence of the Lord; the Lord promised Moses, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest" (Exo. 33:14); God's presence is His way, the "map" that shows His people the way they should take:
1 我们要为着神的建造完全得着并据有基督这包罗万有的地，就必须抓牢这一个原则：神的同在乃是一切问题的准则；我们无论作什么，都必须注意我们有否神的同在；我们若有神的同在，就有一切，但我们若失去神的同在，就失去一切─太一23，提后四22，加六18，诗二七4、8，五一11，林后二10，结四八35。
1. In order for us to fully gain and possess Christ as the all-inclusive land for God's building, we must hold on to this principle: God's presence is the criterion for every matter; regardless of what we do, we must pay attention to whether or not we have God's presence; if we have God's presence, we have everything, but if we lose God's presence, we lose everything—Matt. 1:23; 2 Tim. 4:22; Gal. 6:18; Psa. 27:4, 8; 51:11; 2 Cor. 2:10; Ezek. 48:35.
2 主的同在，主的微笑，是支配的原则；我们必须学习受主同在的保守、掌管、管理并指引，不是祂间接的同在，乃是主直接的、头手的同在；祂宝贵的同在是我们据有包罗万有的基督这流奶与蜜美地之实际的大能─出三8，二五30，申二六9，结二十6。
2. The presence of the Lord, the smile of the Lord, is the governing principle; we must learn to be kept, to be ruled, to be governed, and to be guided, not by His secondhand presence but by the direct, firsthand presence of the Lord; His precious presence is the power for us to possess the all-inclusive Christ as the reality of the good land flowing with milk and honey—Exo. 3:8; 25:30; Deut. 26:9; Ezek. 20:6.
3 “我年轻时，人教导我各种得胜、圣别并属灵的方法。然而，这些方法没有一样管用。至终，经过六十八年以上的经历，我发现除了主的同在以外，没有一样管用。祂与我们同在，乃是一切”─约书亚记生命读经，五八至五九页。
3. "In my youth I was taught various ways to overcome, to be victorious, to be holy, and to be spiritual. However, not any of these ways worked. Eventually, through more than sixtyeight years of experience, I have found out that nothing works but the Lord's presence. His being with us is everything"—Life-study of Joshua, p. 48.
三 以色列人进入迦南地并战胜耶利哥之后，第一个犯罪的是亚干；亚干所犯严重的罪，其内在、属灵的意义和神圣的观点，乃是他贪爱一件美好的巴比伦衣服（示拿地后来称为巴比伦），为着好看，装饰自己，使自己体面─书七21：
C. When the Israelites entered into the land of Canaan and gained the victory over Jericho, the first person to commit sin was Achan; the intrinsic, spiritual significance and divine view of Achan's serious sin was his coveting a beautiful Babylonian garment (Shinar is the area that was later called Babylon) in his seeking to improve himself, to make himself look better for the sake of appearance—Josh. 7:21:
1 欺骗了圣灵的亚拿尼亚和撒非喇犯了相同原则的罪─这是巴比伦的原则，就是装假─徒五1~11，启十七4、6，太二三13~36：
1. Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to the Holy Spirit, sinned in the same principle—this is the principle of Babylon, which is hypocrisy—Acts 5:1-11; Rev. 17:4, 6; Matt. 23:13-36:
a 他们没有那么爱主，却要显出是那么爱主的；他们装假；神的儿女需要蒙拯救脱离在人面前装假。
a. They did not love the Lord very much, but they wanted to be looked upon as those who greatly loved the Lord; they were just pretending; God's children need to be delivered from pretending before men.
b 他们没有甘心乐意把一切都奉献给神，但他们在人的面前却假冒是完全奉献的；什么时候我们穿上一件与自己实际光景不相称的衣服，我们就是在巴比伦的原则里─六1~6，十五7~8。
b. They were not willing to offer everything cheerfully to God, but before man they acted as if they had offered all; whenever we put on a garment that does not match our actual condition, we are in the principle of Babylon—6:1-6; 15:7-8.
2 因着要得人的荣耀所作假冒的事，是凭着妓女的原则作的，不是凭着新妇的原则作的；假的奉献和假的属灵都是罪，但真实的敬拜是在灵和真实里；愿神使我们作诚实的人─启十七4~5，十九7~9，路十二1，林前二9~10，林后二10，五14~15，约四23~24。
2. Everything done in falsehood to receive glory from man is done in the principle of the harlot, not in the principle of the bride; false consecration and spirituality are sins, but true worship is in spirit and truthfulness; may God make us true men—Rev. 17:4-5; 19:7-9; Luke 12:1; 1 Cor. 2:9-10; 2 Cor. 2:10; 5:14-15; John 4:23-24.
3 “要紧的不是人怎样看；人是看外貌，耶和华是看内心”（撒上十六7）；我们若将神的话珍藏在心里（诗一一九11），并让基督安家在我们心里（弗三16~17），祂就要成为我们心中所存的善；这样，从我们心里所充满的，我们就能将祂这美妙的善分赐到人里面（路六44~45）。─引用经文
3. "It is not how man sees that matters; for man looks on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looks on the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7); if we treasure up God's word in our heart (Psa. 119:11) and allow Christ to make His home in our heart (Eph. 3:16-17), He will become the good treasure of our heart, and out of the abundance of our heart we can dispense Him as this wonderful, good treasure into others (Luke 6:44-45).
叁 以色列人对付了他们的罪，就是亚干的罪之后（书七11~12、20~21），就战胜艾城（八1~35），但之后又有以色列人如何受了基遍人欺骗的记载（九1~27）：─引用经文
III. After Israel dealt with their sin, the sin of Achan (Josh. 7:11-12, 20-21), they were victorious over Ai (8:1-35), but then there is a record of how the children of Israel were deceived by the Gibeonites (9:1-27):
一 基遍人就是希未人（3、7，十一18~19）─是以色列人必须灭绝净尽的迦南地列国之一，因为他们是属魔鬼的，并且与鬼调和（申七2，九4~5，十八9~14）；基遍的居民设诡计欺骗以色列人（书九3~14）。─引用经文
A. The Gibeonites were Hivites (vv. 3, 7; 11:18-19)—one of the nations in the land of Canaan that had to be exterminated by Israel because they were devilish and mingled with demons (Deut. 7:2; 9:4-5; 18:9-14); the inhabitants of Gibeon deceived Israel with their craftiness (Josh. 9:3-14).
二 因着他们听见以色列人击败耶利哥和艾城，就想要与以色列人讲和立约，使以色列人让他们活着；他们假充使者而来并假装是从远地来的；他们到吉甲营中见约书亚，对他和以色列人说，“我们是从远地来的，……我们是你们的仆人；现在求你们与我们立约。”（6、11）
B. Because they had heard of Israel's defeating both Jericho and Ai, they wanted to make peace and a covenant with Israel so that Israel would let them live; they went out as though they were envoys and pretended to have come from afar; they went to Joshua at the camp of Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, "From a faraway land we have come…We will be your servants; make then a covenant with us" (vv. 6, 11).
三 约书亚九章十四节是圣经中强而有力的一段，给我们看见以色列人为什么受了基遍人的欺骗─他们“并没有求耶和华指示”；因此，约书亚与他们讲和，与他们立约，让他们活着（15）：─引用经文
C. Joshua 9:14 is a very powerful portion of the Scriptures that shows us why the children of Israel were deceived by the Gibeonites—"they did not ask for the counsel of Jehovah"; thus, Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them to let them live (v. 15):
1 以色列人受了欺骗，因为他们好像一个忘记丈夫的妻子；全本圣经是一部神圣的罗曼史，记载神如何追求祂所拣选的人，至终与他们成为婚配（创二21~24，歌一2~4，赛五四5，六二5，耶二2，三1、14，三一32，结十六8，二三5，何二7、19，太九15，约三29，林后十一2，弗五25~32，启十九7，二一2、9~10，二二17上）。─引用经文
1. The children of Israel were deceived because they were like a wife who forgot her husband; the entire Bible is a divine romance, a record of how God courts His chosen people and eventually marries them (Gen. 2:21-24; S. S. 1:2-4; Isa. 54:5; 62:5; Jer. 2:2; 3:1, 14; 31:32; Ezek. 16:8; 23:5; Hosea 2:7, 19; Matt. 9:15; John 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:25-32; Rev. 19:7; 21:2, 9-10; 22:17a).
2 圣经给我们看见，我们这班神的选民是祂的妻子，在祂与我们之间，必须有基于相互之爱的婚姻联结；所以，宇宙是结婚礼堂，丈夫是那经过过程并终极完成的三一神，在此与蒙救赎、重生、圣别、更新、变化并荣化的三部分人结为婚配；至终，圣经结束于新耶路撒冷，就是神选民在新天新地里的终极完成，作宇宙的妻子，直到永远─启二一9~10，二二17上。
2. The Bible shows us that we, as God's elect, are His wife and that between Him and us there must be a marriage union of mutual love; the universe, therefore, is a wedding place, the place where the Husband, the processed and consummated Triune God, is being joined in marriage to the redeemed, regenerated, sanctified, renewed, transformed, and glorified tripartite man; eventually, the Bible ends with the New Jerusalem as the ultimate consummation of God's elect in the new heaven and new earth, as the universal wife for eternity—21:9-10; 22:17a.
3 妻子绝不该离开她的丈夫，乃该一直依赖丈夫，并与他是一；基遍人到以色列人那里时，以色列这妻子该到她丈夫那里去，问问祂该作什么─书九14。
3. A wife should never leave her husband; rather, she should always rely upon him and be one with him; when the Gibeonites came to Israel, as the wife Israel should have gone to her Husband and checked with Him about what to do—Josh. 9:14.
4 作为爱主并渴望成为祂得胜新妇构成分子的信徒，我们碰到一切的问题，都该和神商量：我们需要把每件事都带到主面前，在祂面前并在与祂的交通里来考虑、审核并定规事情：
4. As believers who love the Lord and aspire to be the constituents of His overcoming bride, we should consult God related to every problem that we encounter; we need to bring every matter to the Lord and to consider, examine, and determine things before Him and in fellowship with Him:
a 每一个信徒从这一面来说，都要软弱到一个地步，每逢碰到一件事的时候，他没法主张，不敢定规，不能去作，必须和主先接触过，先商量过，让祂来定规；这才是基督徒最甜美的生活─林后十二9~10。
a. In this respect, every believer needs to be weak to the extent that he does not have his own ideas, make his own decisions, or take any action related to what he encounters without contacting the Lord and consulting with Him, allowing Him to make the decisions; this is the sweetest living of a Christian—2 Cor. 12:9-10.
b 我们无别办法，一切都得和神交通，一切都得和祂商量，一切都得让祂来处理，一切都得让祂来说话，一切都得由祂来主张；在基督徒身上，每一时刻，每一件事，都依赖另一位─神─乃是荣耀的─腓四6~7，箴三5~6，耶十七7~8，林后一8~9，诗六二8，一〇二标题与7节。
b. We have no alternative but to fellowship with God in all things, discuss all things with Him, and allow Him to handle all things, speak in all things, and make every decision; it is glorious for a Christian to be dependent on another One—God—at every moment and in every matter—Phil. 4:6-7; Prov. 3:5-6; Jer. 17:7-8; 2 Cor. 1:8-9; Psa. 62:8; Psa. 102, title and v. 7.
5 神若引导你走你所不认识的路，这就迫使“你与祂有千百次的谈话，以致这路程在祂和你中间，变成一个永远的记念”─倪柝声文集第一辑第七册，二二八页。
5. If God leads you to take a way that you do not know, "this forces you to have hundreds and thousands of conversations with Him, resulting in a journey that is an everlasting memorial between you and Him"—The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 7, p. 1144.
6 以色列没有寻求她丈夫的意思，结果乃是这独立自主的妻子受了欺骗，没有保护，没有防卫；从圣经中的这记载，我们需要学习，我们是主的妻子，该与祂同活，一直依赖祂，并时时与祂是一；这是约书亚九章的内在意义。
6. The result of Israel's not seeking the counsel of her Husband was that this independent and individualistic wife was deceived, and she had no protection, no safeguard; from this record in the Scriptures, we need to learn that, as the Lord's wife, we should co-live with Him, always relying on Him and being one with Him all the time; this is the intrinsic significance of Joshua 9.