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耶利米书生命读经 · 第9篇

论以色列的历史

A Word Concerning Israel’s History
与以色列在神圣启示没落时的光景
and The Situation of Israel in The Sunset of the Divine Revelation
1读经：耶利米书5—6;1:1-8,18-19。在本篇信息中，我要说到以色列的历史，以及以色列在神圣启示没落时的光景。
1Scripture Reading: Jer. 5—6; 1:1-8, 18-19 In this message I would like to give a word concerning Israel's history and the situation of Israel in what may be called the sunset of the divine revelation
在埃及并在旷野
In Egypt and in the Wilderness
2以色列人在埃及是在埃及人的轭和法老的暴政之下。神差遣摩西将他们从这轭和暴政下释放出来，并将他们从埃及带进旷野，到西乃山。在西乃山，诸天向以色列人开启，神给他们关于帐幕及其器具的启示。祂也给了他们出埃及记、利未记和民数记，告诉他们要如何敬拜神，并详细的指示他们要如何吃、穿并为人。从那时候起，以色列人就开始成为各方面都在神圣启示之下的民族。起初以色列人多少有些顺从神圣的启示。他们照著所领受的启示建造帐幕，并照著这启示，开始藉著祭司体系和祭物敬拜神。然而，当他们在旷野行走时，就开始从他们藉摩西由神所领受的启示中堕落了。民数记多处记载他们从神的律法，就是从神的启示堕落的事例。
2Israel was in Egypt under the yoke of the Egyptians and the tyranny of Pharaoh. God sent Moses to release them from this yoke and tyranny and bring them out of Egypt into the wilderness to Mount Sinai. At Mount Sinai the heavens were opened to Israel, and God gave them the revelation concerning the tabernacle and its utensils. He also gave them the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, telling them how to worship God and giving them detailed instructions regarding how to eat, dress, and conduct themselves. From that time Israel began to be a people under the divine revelation in every way. In the beginning Israel obeyed the divine revelation somewhat. They built the tabernacle according to the revelation they received, and, in keeping with this revelation, they also began to worship God by means of the priesthood and the sacrifices. However, as they were traveling in the wilderness, they began to degrade from the revelation they had received from God through Moses. The book of Numbers records many cases of their degradation from God's law, that is, from God'sr evelation
神圣启示的重申
The Repetition of the Divine Revelation
3以色列人将要进入美地时，摩西重申神圣的启示；他重申神律法的启示。这个重申见于申命记。（申命记一辞的意思是『第二个律法』，因而表征神圣律法的重述。）在这个重申里，摩西特别嘱咐他们在进入美地时，要拆毁偶像，毁坏拜偶像之处，并杀尽拜偶像者。例如，关于拜偶像者，摩西吩咐以色列人说，『你就要把他们尽行灭绝，不可与他们立约，也不可恩待他们。…你们却要这样待他们：他们的祭坛你们要拆毁，他们的柱像你们要打碎，他们的亚舍拉你们要砍下，他们的偶像你们要用火焚烧。』（申七2，5。）
3When the people of Israel were about to enter the good land, Moses repeated the divine revelation; he repeated the revelation of God's law. This repetition is found in the book of Deuteronomy. (The word Deuteronomy means " second law " and thus signifies a respeaking of the divine law.) In this repetition Moses charged them especially that when they entered the good land, they were to tear down the idols, destroy the places of idol worship, and slaughter the idol worshippers. For example, concerning the idol worshippers Moses commanded Israel, saying, "You shall utterly destroy them; you shall make no covenant with them, nor shall you show them any favor....But you shall deal with them in this way: their altars you shall tear down, their pillars you shall shatter, their Asherim you shall hew down, and their idols you shall burn with fire" (Deut. 7:2, 5).
在美地
In the Good Land
4然而，以色列人没有顺从吩咐，将拜偶像者尽行灭绝。反而，以色列人宽宥他们，没有将他们灭绝。结果，以色列人无法完全据有美地。
4Israel, however, did not obey the commandment to utterly destroy the idol worshippers. Instead, they spared them and did not wipe them out. As a result, Israel could not fully possess the good land
5因为以色列人宽宥拜偶像者，他们和那地的人就一再有争战；这争战描述于士师记。士师是为以色列与拜偶像者争战的壮士，领头的人。士师时期以后，由撒母耳所带进的大卫，与那地所有的居民争战，几乎得著了全地。虽然大卫不得建造圣殿，但他从神得著圣殿的样式，并且豫备材料和摩利亚山上的圣殿基地，就是亚伯拉罕献以撒的地方。（代上二八11～12，19，二九1～2，二一18～26，代下三1。）大卫的儿子所罗门，照著他父亲从神所领受的样式，约在主前一千年建造了圣殿。那是以色列国的全盛时期。所罗门是智慧的王。他很有智慧，示巴女王来朝见他，要证明他的智慧。（代下九1～12。）然而，所罗门并非一生都留在美好的属灵光景中。他晚年的时候，被许多异教的妃嫔引去拜偶像。（王上十一1～。）他领头离开神，从神的启示中堕落了。所罗门所有的后裔几乎都继续他的背道。
5Because Israel spared the idol worshippers, there was war again and again between Israel and the people in the land. This war is described in the book of Judges. The judges were the strong ones, the leading ones, who fought for Israel against the idol worshippers. After the period of the judges, David, who was brought in by Samuel, fought all the inhabitants of the land and gained nearly the entire land. Although David was not allowed to build the temple, he received the design of the temple from God and prepared the materials and the temple site on Mount Moriah, the place where Abraham offered Isaac (1 Chron. 28:11-12, 19; 29:1-2; 21:18-26; 2 Chron. 3:1). Following the design which his father received from God, Solomon, David'ss on, built the temple in approximately 1000 B.C. That was the highlight of the nation of Israel. Solomon was a wise king. He was so wise that the queen of Sheba visited him in order to prove his wisdom (2 Chron. 9:1-12). However, Solomon did not remain in a good spiritual condition for his entire life. In his old age he was led by his many heathen wives to worship idols (1 Kings 11:1-8). He took the lead to depart from God and to degrade from His8 revelation. Nearly all of Solomon's descendants continued his apostasy.
在耶利米的时代
In the Time of Jeremiah
6这背道继续到神嘱咐耶利米申言的时候。耶利米在主前六二九年（就是耶路撒冷被尼布甲尼撒掳掠之前二十三年）开始申言。神嘱咐耶利米定罪以色列离弃神，以及在行为上的邪恶。他们离弃了神这活水的泉源，凿出破裂的池子，转向偶像并敬拜牠们。（耶二13。）不仅如此，当时的社会满了凶杀、淫乱、贪婪、说谎和偷盗。甚至君王也是贪婪的，就如我们所要看见的，他吩咐百姓给他建造宫殿，却没有酬报他们的劳苦。百姓对神或彼此的对待都不忠信。例如，在五章七至八节耶和华说，『我怎能赦免你呢？你的儿女离弃我，又指著那不是神的起誓。我使他们饱足，他们就行奸淫，成群聚集在娼妓家里。他们像𫗪饱的马，到处乱跑，各向他邻舍的妻发嘶声。』
6This apostasy continued until the time when Jeremiah was charged by God to prophesy. Jeremiah began to prophesy in 629 B. C., twenty - three years before Jerusalem was captured by Nebuchadnezzar. God charged Jeremiah to condemn Israel'ss in sin forsaking God and becoming wicked in their conduct. They had forsaken God, the fountain of living waters, and, hewing out broken cisterns, they had turned to idols and were worshipping them (Jer. 2:13). Furthermore, society was filled with murder, fornication, greed, lying, and stealing. Even the king was greedy, for, as we will see, he commanded the people to build him a palace but did not pay them for their labor. The people were not faithful either to God or to one another. For instance, in 5:7 and 8 Jehovah says, "Why should I pardon you? / Your children have forsaken Me / And sworn by those who are not gods. / When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery / And trooped to the house of harlots. / Like well-fed horses they roam about, / Each one neighing after his neighbor's wife."
7在耶利米的时代以前，以赛亚申言指责以色列人，说以色列人成了所多玛、蛾摩拉的样子。（赛一9～。）以色列人没有改变，仍继续在邪恶里，直到耶利米的时代。然而，神是亲爱、同情、怜恤的丈夫，藉著耶利米对以色列人说话，说祂记得她订亲时的爱情。（耶二2。）神为以色列人叹息，渴望她回转归向祂。以色列人离弃了祂这独一的丈夫，到许多别的丈夫那里。不仅如此，百姓彼此恶待，满了杀害、淫乱、说谎和偷盗。以色列人如此败坏，神很难找著一个申言者为祂说话。首领、祭司、和申言者都是败坏的。神在那里能找著一个忠信、诚实的申言者？神在耶路撒冷无法找著这样的申言者，就到小小的便雅悯支派的亚拿突城，呼召一个名叫耶利米的青年人，托付他为祂说话。当耶利米藉口说，他是年幼的，不知怎样说，耶和华就对他说，『你不要说，我是年幼的；因为我差遣你到那里去，你都要去；我吩咐你说甚么话，你都要说。你不要惧怕他们，因为我与你同在，要拯救你。』（一7～8。）耶和华继续说，祂要使耶利米成为坚城、铁柱、铜墙，以抵御全地。君王、首领、祭司、和众民要攻击他，却不能胜他。（18～19。）攻击耶利米的人，实际上就是攻击耶和华。他是耶和华的一人军。没有人会击败他，因为耶和华与他同在。因此，耶利米无法逃避神的使命，乃是受激励来接受这使命。神圣启示的没落耶利米前去履行神的使命时，就对君王、首领、祭司、和百姓说话。耶利米告诉君王，他是有罪的，他若不悔改并回转归向神，就会被掳。他责备首领和官长欺诈百姓，错误的从他们夺取东西。他暴露申言者虚假的申言，祭司凭自己的权柄，不凭神圣的启示管理。他告诉百姓，他们不行公平，也不求信实。他们对待穷人不公平。他们不留意耶利米的话，反而恨他，甚至将他下在监里。祭司捉拿耶利米，将他交给首领，首领就将他下在监里。这指明以色列人不尊重神的律法，神的启示。
7Before the time of Jeremiah, Isaiah prophesied against Israel, saying that Israel had become like Sodom and Gomorrah (Isa. 1:9-10). However, Israel did not change but continued in her wickedness 10 until Jeremiah ' stime. Nevertheless, through Jeremiah God spoke to Israel asher loving, sympathetic, and compassionate Husband, saying that He remembered the love of her bridal days (Jer. 2:2). God sighed over Israel and longed for her to return to Him. Israel had forsaken Him as the unique Husband and had gone to many other husbands. Moreover, the people were evil to one another, killing, fornicating, lying, and stealing. Israel was so corrupt that it was difficult for God to find a prophet to speak for Him. The princes, priests, and prophets were all corrupt. Where could God find a faithful, honest prophet? Unable to find such a prophet in Jerusalem, God went to the city of Anathoth in the land of the small tribe of Benjamin, and there He called a young man named Jeremiah and commissioned him to speak for Him. When Jeremiah excused himself by saying that he was a youth and that he did not know how to speak, Jehovah said to him, "Do not say, I am a youth; / For everywhere I send you, you shall go; / And everything I command you, you shall speak. / Do not be afraid of their faces, / For I am with you to deliver you" (1:7-8). Jehovah went on to say that He would make Jeremiah into a fortified city, into an iron pillar, and into walls of brass against the whole land. The kings, princes, priests, and people would fight against him, but they would not prevail against him (vv. 18-19). Those who fought against Jeremiah were actually fighting against Jehovah. He was Jehovah ' so ne - person army. No one would defeat him because Jehovah was with him. Thus, Jeremiah could not escape God's commission but was constrained to accept it. THE SUNSET OF THE DIVINE REVELATION As Jeremiah went forth to fulfill God's commission, he spoke to the king, the princes, the priests, and to the people. Jeremiah told the king that he was sinful and that if he did not repent and return to God, he would be taken captive. He rebuked the princes and the rulers for deceiving the people and for wrongly taking things from them. He exposed the prophets for prophesying falsely and the priests for ruling by their own authority and not by the divine revelation. He told the people that they were not executing justice or seeking faithfulness. Rather, they were treating the needy ones unjustly. Instead of heeding Jeremiah ' sword, they hated him and even put him in prison. The priests arrested Jeremiah and handed him over to the princes, who then cast him into prison. This indicates that Israel had no regard for God's law, for His revelation.
8那时以色列人是在神圣启示的没落期。以色列人在西乃山的时候，是在神圣启示的开端。那是日出的时期。但后来，关于神圣的启示，以色列人处于衰微的光景。至终，到耶利米的时代，以色列没落了。他们放弃了与神和祂启示有关的一切，最终就进入黑夜里。
8At that time Israel was in the sunset of the divine revelation. When Israel was at Mount Sinai, that was the dawn of the divine revelation. That was the time of sunrise. But afterward, concerning the divine revelation, Israel was in a situation of decline. Eventually, by the time of Jeremiah, Israel was in the sunset. They had given up everything concerning God and His revelation, and eventually they came to be in a dark night
作丈夫的耶和华惩治不忠信的妻子以色列
Jehovah the Husband Chastising Israel the Unfaithful Wife
9以色列人的光景迫使神惩治他们，惩罚他们。神惩治以色列人，待他们如同丈夫对待落到淫乱里的妻子。为这缘故，在二至六章里，神责备以色列人的语气，是丈夫对不忠信妻子说话的语气。
9Israel's situation forced God to chastise them, to punish them. When God chastised Israel, He regarded Himself as the Husband and Israel as the wife who had fallen into fornication. For this reason, in chapters two through six God'stone in rebuking Israel is that of a husband speaking to an unfaithful wife
西底家的事例
The Case of Zedekiah
10末了的王西底家的事例，是神惩治祂百姓的例证。有一天，西底家打发人从监牢里把耶利米提出来。王在自己的宫内私下问他说，『从耶和华有话临到么？』（三七17上。）西底家是问到以色列人和他自己作王的事。耶利米告诉西底家，从耶和华有话临到，就是西底家必被交在巴比伦王手中。（17下。）
10The case of Zedekiah, the last king, is an illustration of God's chastisement of His people. One day Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah, who was in prison. The king questioned him secretly in his house, asking, "Is there any word from Jehovah?" (37:17a). Zedekiah was inquiring concerning Israel and himself as king. Jeremiah told Zedekiah that there was a word from Jehovah, and the word was that Zedekiah would be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon (v. 17b
11在另一个场合，西底家叫人将耶利米带到他面前，和他私下说话。（三八14。）他对耶利米说，他要问他一件事，耶利米丝毫不可向他隐瞒。耶利米回答说，『我若告诉你，你岂不定要杀我么？我若给你出主意，你必不听我。』（15。）王保证必不杀耶利米，耶利米就说，『耶和华万军之神，以色列的神如此说，你若出去归降巴比伦王的首领，你的性命就必存活，这城也不至被火焚烧，你和你的全家都必存活。你若不出去归降巴比伦王的首领，这城必交在迦勒底人手中；他们必用火焚烧，你也不得逃脱他们的手。』（17～18。）王知道他该顺从这话。然而，他惧怕那些投降迦勒底人的犹太人可能作对他不利的事。虽然耶利米告诉他，他们不会作甚么伤害他，西底家却不接受他的话，反而嘱咐他不要将他对王所说的话告诉任何人，然后让他退去。
11On another occasion Zedekiah had Jeremiah brought to him that he might speak privately with him (38:14). He told Jeremiah that he wanted to ask him something and that Jeremiah should not hide anything from him. Jeremiah replied, "If I tell you, indeed will you not put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me" (v. 15). Assured by the king that he would not be put to death, Jeremiah went on to say, "Thus says Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, If you will indeed surrender to the princes of the king of Babylon, you will live, and this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your house will live. But if you do not surrender to the princes of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you will not escape out of their hand" (vv. 17-18). The king knew that he should obey this word. However, he was afraid of what might be done to him by the Jews who had deserted to the Chaldeans. Although Jeremiah told him that they would not do anything to harm him, Zedekiah did not take Jeremiah'sword, but instead dismissed him with the charge that he not tell anyone about what he had said to the king.
12西底家没有听从耶利米，继续抵挡围困耶路撒冷的巴比伦军队。城破以后，西底家逃跑。（三九4。）巴比伦人的军队追赶并追上了他。西底家被带到尼布甲尼撒面前受审判。巴比伦王当著西底家眼前杀了他的众子，然后剜了西底家的眼睛，用铜炼锁著他，要把他带到巴比伦去。（5～7。）
12Instead of listening to Jeremiah, Zedekiah continued to resist the Babylonian army, which was besieging Jerusalem. After the city was captured, Zedekiah fled (39:4). The army of the Babylonians pursued him and overtook him. Zedekiah was brought before Nebuchadnezzar, who pronounced judgments on him. Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. After this, he put out Zedekiah'se yes and bound him in bronze fetters to bring him to Babylon (vv. 5-7
耶路撒冷被毁灭，耶利米蒙保守
Jerusalem Being Destroyed and Jeremiah Being Preserved
13至终，巴比伦的军队焚烧耶路撒冷城，又毁灭圣殿;耶利米目睹了这些事。对于耶利米，尼布甲尼撒吩咐人好好的看待他，不可害他。（11～12。）耶利米被炼子锁著，杂在耶路撒冷和犹大要被放逐到巴比伦的人群中。然而，护卫长解开他的炼子，对他说，『看哪，我今日解开你手上的炼子。你若看与我同往巴比伦去好，就可以去，我必照应你；你若看与我同往巴比伦去不好，就不必去。你看，全地都在你面前；你以为那里美好，那里合宜，只管上那里去罢。』（四十40。）因此，申言者耶利米得著释放。
13Eventually the Babylonian army burned the city of Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. Jeremiah witnessed these things. Regarding Jeremiah, Nebuchadnezzar commanded that they look after him and do no evil to him (vv. 11-12). Jeremiah was bound in chains among the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon (40:1). However, he was released from his chains. The captain of the guard said to him, "Now, behold, I release you today from the chains which are on your hands. If it is good in your sight to come to Babylon with me, come, and I will look after you; but if it is evil in your sight to come with me to Babylon, let it be so. See, all the land is before you; wherever it is good and right in your sight to go, there go" (v. 4). Thus, Jeremiah the prophet was set free
14耶利米六章九节说，『万军之耶和华曾如此说，他们必掳尽以色列剩下的民，如同摘尽葡萄一样。你要像摘葡萄的人回手到枝子上，摘了又摘。』这话得了应验。西底家被掳，耶利米得释放几年之后，巴比伦人又来『摘尽』以色列地，掳掠更多的人。这是以色列人在神圣启示没落时的光景。
14Jeremiah 6:9 says, "Thus says Jehovah of hosts, / They will thoroughly glean like a vine / The remnant of Israel; / Pass your hand again over the branches / Like a grape gatherer." This word has been fulfilled. Some years after Zedekiah was captured and Jeremiah was released, the Babylonians came again to "glean" the land of Israel, taking more people into captivity. This was the situation of Israel in the sunset of the divine revelation