历代志、以斯拉记、尼希米记、以斯帖记结晶读经
第十二篇 自隐的神—隐藏的神
A God Who Hides Himself—the Hidden God
读经:赛四五15,弗三16~17,腓二13,路十八1~8
Scripture Reading: Isa. 45:15; Eph. 3:16-17; Phil. 2:13; Luke 18:1-8
壹 “救主以色列的神啊,你实在是自隐的神”—赛四五15:
I. "Surely You are a God who hides Himself, ? O God of Israel, the Savior"—Isa. 45:15:
一 差不多神的儿女,都不知道圣经说到神是自隐的神—15节:
A. Hardly any of God's children know that the Bible speaks of God as a God who hides Himself—v. 15:
1 这就证明,神的儿女对于神是自隐的神,还不够认识。
1. This proves that God's children do not have an adequate knowledge of God as the One who hides Himself.
2 我们认识神是全能的神,公义的神,是满有恩典、慈爱的神,但我们却不认识神是自隐的神—路一49,彼前五6,启十五3,弗二7,诗十七7。
2. We may know God as the mighty God, the righteous God, and the God who is full of grace and lovingkindness; however, we may not know God as the God who hides Himself—Luke 1:49; 1 Pet. 5:6; Rev. 15:3; Eph. 2:7; Psa. 17:7.
二 如以斯帖记所指明,我们的神虽然是无所不在、无所不能且满了赦免之恩,祂也是隐藏的神—四14。
B. Although our God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and full of forgiveness, He is also the hiding God, as the book of Esther indicates—4:14.
三 神造了宇宙,祂就隐藏在宇宙中人所不知道的地方,以致人找不着祂—伯二三3。
C. God created the universe and then hid Himself within it, until we do not know where to find Him—Job 23:3.
四 神在以色列人中间也在他们个人的生活里作了许许多多的事,但神却把自己隐藏起来;祂不停地作工,却始终是隐藏的—赛四五15。
D. God did countless things in the midst of the children of Israel and countless things in their personal lives, yet He concealed Himself; He was ceaselessly working, yet He was always hidden—Isa. 45:15.
五 我们需要领悟,我们所事奉那无所不能的神,仍在隐藏自己,尤其是在祂帮助我们的时候—约十四26,罗八28:
E. We need to realize that the omnipotent God whom we are serving is still hiding Himself, especially when He is helping us—John 14:26; Rom. 8:28:
1 我们看不见祂,表面看来,祂没有作什么。
1. We cannot see Him, and apparently, He is not doing anything.
2 事实上,当祂借着祂的灵,用大能把我们加强到里面的人里,使基督安家在我们心里时,祂始终隐藏地在为我们作许多事—28、34节,斯四14,腓二13,弗三16~17上。
2. Actually, in a hidden way He is doing many things for us, as He is strengthening us with power through His Spirit into the inner man so that Christ may make His home in our hearts—vv. 28, 34; Esth. 4:14; Phil. 2:13; Eph. 3:16-17a.
六 自隐的神默默却强有力地在我们里面运行—腓二13:
F. The God who hides Himself is operating within us silently yet mightily—Phil. 2:13:
1 我们的责任乃是回应里面深处的感觉而与祂合作—罗八6。
1. Our responsibility is to cooperate with Him by responding to the inner sense deep within us—Rom. 8:6.
2 每当我们感觉神在我们里面活着并行事,我们该说“阿们”,因为在那里,就是在我们里面深处,自隐的神正默默地、不停地作工。
2. Whenever we sense God living and acting within us, we should say Amen, for there, in the depths of our being, secretly and ceaselessly the God who hides Himself is working.
七 我们如果把圣经好好地读过,就会看见神好像有一个脾气,就是不乐意显扬;祂不愿意在明处作事,祂喜欢在暗中作工—太六1~8。
G. If we study the Scriptures carefully, we will see that God has the kind of temperament that dislikes ostentation; He likes to work secretly rather than openly—Matt. 6:1-8.
八 我们的个性与神自隐的个性截然不同—赛四五15:
H. Our disposition is diametrically opposed to God's disposition, a disposition that hides itself—Isa. 45:15:
1 神喜欢隐藏;我们却喜欢显扬—太六1。
1. God likes concealment; we like display—Matt. 6:1.
2 神不求外在的显明;但我们没有外在的显明就不满意—2节。
2. God does not crave outward manifestations; we cannot be content without them—v. 2.
3 这神圣的性情对我们成为极大的试炼和试验。
3. This divine disposition constitutes a great trial and test to us.
贰 以斯帖记给我们生动的记载,说到以色列隐藏的神如何秘密照顾祂那些被分散受压制的选民,并公开拯救祂那些被掳受逼迫的选民—一1~22,二1~23:
II. The book of Esther supplies a vivid record of how the hiding God of Israel secretly took care of His oppressed elect in their dispersion and openly saved His persecuted elect in their captivity—1:1-22; 2:1-23:
一 以斯帖记的要点是:拣选亚伯拉罕后裔以色列人作选民的这位神,在祂使他们被掳到外邦列国之后,对他们成了隐藏的神,借着在隐密中行事,秘密地照顾他们,并公开地拯救他们—赛四五15:
A. The crucial point of this book is that the very God who chose Israel, the descendants of Abraham, as His elect, after He gave them into captivity to the Gentile nations, became a hidden God to them to take care of them secretly and save them openly while acting in secrecy—Isa. 45:15:
1 这是以斯帖记甚至在神的名应当提及的地方,也没有提及的原因—四3、16。
1. This is the reason that the book of Esther does not mention the name of God even in places when the name of God should be mentioned—4:3, 16.
2 一面,神使用外邦列国为工具管教祂的子民;另一面,隐藏的神与以色列人同在,照顾他们。
2. On the one hand, God used the Gentile nations as tools to discipline His people; on the other hand, the hiding God was with the people of Israel, caring for them.
二 隐藏的神秘密地为以色列作了许多事:
B. The hiding God did many things for Israel in a secret way:
1 隐藏的神在外邦世界设立一位顶尖的王,有权势管理极大的帝国,从印度伸展到古实(衣索匹亚)—一1~2。
1. The hiding God established a top king in the Gentile world in power over a great empire extending from India to Ethiopia—1:1-2.
2 隐藏的神使这位顶尖的王废掉他的王后,因她不听王命—3~22节。
2. The hiding God caused the top king to depose his queen because of her disobedience to his word—vv. 3-22.
3 隐藏的神在祂秘密的照顾中,兴起一位犹大孤女以斯帖,被这位顶尖的王册封为后—二1~18。
3. In His secret care the hiding God raised up Esther, a Jewish orphan virgin, to be crowned by the top king as his queen—2:1-18.
三 在被掳的年间,神是隐藏的,现今祂仍是隐藏的;甚至今天在召会时代,神还是隐藏自己—赛四五15。
C. During the years of the captivity, God was hiding, and He is still hiding; even today in the church age, God is hiding Himself—Isa. 45:15.
叁 路加十八章一至八节的比喻意义深奥,我们需要照着其中所启示的,认识神是隐藏的神:
III. The significance of the parable in Luke 18:1-8 is profound, and we need to know God as He is revealed, as the hidden God:
一 三节的寡妇表征信徒;就某种意义说,在基督里的信徒在今世是寡妇,因为表面看来,他们的丈夫基督不在他们这里了—林后十一2。
A. The widow in verse 3 signifies the believers; in a sense, the believers in Christ are a widow in the present age because their Husband, Christ, is apparently absent from them—2 Cor. 11:2.
二 正如这比喻里的寡妇(路十八3),我们在基督里的信徒有一个对头,就是魔鬼撒但,对这对头我们需要神的伸冤:
B. Like the widow in the parable (Luke 18:3), we believers in Christ have an opponent, Satan the devil, concerning whom we need God's avenging:
1 这比喻指明,当主表面上不在的期间,我们从我们的对头所受的苦难。
1. This parable indicates the suffering we have from our opponent during the Lord's apparent absence.
2 当主表面上不在的期间,我们是寡妇,我们的对头一直在搅扰我们。
2. During His apparent absence, we are a widow whose opponent is troubling her all the time.
三 当我们的对头逼迫我们时,我们的神似乎是不义的,因为祂允许祂的儿女遭受不义的逼迫—彼前二20,三14、17,四13~16、19:
C. While our opponent is persecuting us, it seems that our God is not righteous, for He allows His children to be unrighteously persecuted—1 Pet. 2:20; 3:14, 17; 4:13-16, 19:
1 历世历代以来,千千万万诚实、忠信跟从主耶稣的人都遭受过不义的逼迫,甚至今天许多人仍遭受不义的对待—启二8~10。
1. Throughout the centuries, thousands upon thousands of honest and faithful followers of the Lord Jesus have suffered unrighteous persecution; even today many are undergoing unrighteous treatment—Rev. 2:8-10.
2 我们的神似乎不公正,因为祂不来审判并表白;因着这种光景,主耶稣用一个不义的审判官来表征那似乎不为祂受逼迫的子民作些什么的神—路十八2~6。
2. Our God seems to be unjust, since He does not come in to judge and vindicate; because of this situation, the Lord Jesus used an unjust judge to signify God, who does not seem to do anything on behalf of His persecuted people—Luke 18:2-6.
四 这比喻里的寡妇一直来到这不义的审判官面前,求审判官给她伸冤,因为她有一个对头;我们应当为这伸冤恒切祷告,不可灰心—1、3节:
D. The widow in the parable kept coming to the unrighteous judge and asking him to avenge her of her opponent; we ought to pray persistently for this avenging and should not lose heart—vv. 1, 3:
1 当我们的丈夫表面上不在,留我们在地上如同寡妇的时候,我们的神暂时好像是不义的审判官—6节。
1. When our Husband is apparently absent and we are left on earth as a widow, temporarily our God seems to be an unrighteous judge—v. 6.
2 虽然祂看似不义,但我们仍要向祂求诉,恒切祷告,一再地烦扰祂,因为祂要快快地给祂那些“昼夜呼吁祂”的选民伸冤—7~8节上。
2. Although He appears to be unrighteous, we still must appeal to Him, pray persistently, and bother Him again and again, for He will carry out quickly the avenging of His chosen ones, who "cry to Him day and night"—vv. 7-8a.
五 启示录八章五节含示对六章九至十一节和路加十八章七至八节的答应:
E. Revelation 8:5 implies the answer to 6:9-11 and Luke 18:7-8:
1 在启示录八章三至四节,圣徒的祷告必定是求神审判这抵挡神经纶的地。
1. The prayers of the saints in Revelation 8:3-4 must be for the judgment of the earth, which opposes God's economy.
2 神对地的审判—将火丢在地上—乃是对那加上了基督作香之众圣徒祷告的答应—3~5节。
2. God's judgment upon the earth—casting fire to the earth—is the answer to the prayers of the saints with Christ as the incense—vv. 3-5.
六 “人子来的时候,在地上找得到信心么?”—路十八8下:
F. "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"—Luke 18:8b:
1 “信心”原文意“那信心”;这是指恒切祷告的恒切信心,就像寡妇的信心。
1. Literally, the Greek words rendered "faith" mean "the faith"; this denotes the persistent faith for our persistent prayer, like that of the widow.
2 我们借以得救的信是信的起始阶段;将我们带进与基督生命联结的信是联结的信—借着我们不断接触三一神而进到我们里面的信,使我们凭神的儿子而活—罗一17,加二20,约十四19。
2. The faith through which we were saved is the initial stage of faith; the faith that brought us into a life union with Christ is the linking faith—the faith that comes into us through our contacting the Triune God continually so that we may live by the Son of God—Rom. 1:17; Gal. 2:20; John 14:19.
3 联结的信乃是对得胜者神圣的要求,使他们可以在基督凯旋回来时与祂相见—路十八8下:
3. The linking faith is the divine requirement for the overcomers to meet Christ in His triumphant return—Luke 18:8b:
a 联结的信乃是在我们里面运行的三一神,把我们联于祂一切追测不尽的丰富—弗三8。
a. Linking faith is the Triune God moving in us to link us to His unsearchable riches—Eph. 3:8.
b 联结的信乃是信徒那不信靠自己,只信靠神的信—林后一9。
b. Linking faith is the faith of the believers who have no trust in themselves; rather, their trust is in God—2 Cor. 1:9.
c 主耶稣回来时,会找着一些凭这联结之信而活的得胜者,以他们为祂作王一千年之国度里的珍宝—路十八8下,启二十4、6。
c. When the Lord Jesus returns, He will find a number of overcomers who are living by the linking faith and will regard them as treasures for His kingdom in the thousand years of His reign—Luke 18:8b; Rev. 20:4, 6.