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约拿书生命读经 · 第1篇

看顾和拯救耶和华对外邦最邪恶之城的

to the Most Evil City of the Gentiles Jehovah’s Care and Salvation
1读经：约拿书一至四章。在本篇信息中，我们要来看约拿书。在各卷小申言者书中，约拿书是独特的。
1Scripture Reading: Jonah 1—4 In this message we will consider the book of Jonah. Among the books of the Minor Prophets, Jonah stands alone
壹 介言
I. THE INTRODUCTORY WORD
2一章一至二节是这卷书的介言。
2Jonah 1:1-2 is the introductory word to this book
一 约拿名字的意义
A. The Meaning of the Name Jonah
3约拿，希伯来原文意『鸽子』。这表征神要约拿像鸽子出去，传和平为福音。
3Jonah in Hebrew means “dove” (v. 1). This signifies that God wanted Jonah to go out as a dove to preach the gospel of peace
二 约拿尽职的时间
B. The Time of Jonah’s Ministry
4约拿尽职的时间约在主前八六二年，申言者以利沙（主前八九六～
4The time of Jonah’s ministry was about 862 B.C., at the time of the prophet Elisha (896-838 B.C
5八三八年）的时候。
5
三 他尽职的对象
C. The Object of His Ministry
6他尽职的对象是亚述京城尼尼微大城的人。
6The object of his ministry was the people of the great city of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria
四 他尽职的地方
D. The Place of His Ministry
7他尽职的地方也是尼尼微。
7The place of his ministry also was Nineveh
五 他尽职的主题
E. The Subject of His Ministry
8他尽职的主题乃是：耶和华的救恩甚至临到外邦人的城尼尼微。
8The subject of Jonah’s ministry was that Jehovah’ss alvation reached even to the Gentile city Nineveh
六 中心思想
F. The Central Thought
9约拿书的中心思想乃是：神甚至看顾并拯救最邪恶的外邦人，怜惜人和牲畜。
9The central thought of the book of Jonah is that God cared for and saved even the most evil Gentiles in His pity on men and cattle
七 关于基督的启示
G. The Revelation concerning Christ
10约拿书中关于基督的启示乃是：约拿是基督的豫表。
10In the book of Jonah, the revelation concerning Christ is in Jonah’s being a type of Christ
１ 在约拿豫表基督传和平的福音给外邦人这事上
1. In Jonah’sTypifying Christ Preaching the Gospel of Peace to the Gentiles
11在约拿豫表基督传和平的福音给外邦人这事上，基督被启示出来。（拿三2，太十二41。）约拿是从以色列转向外邦人的申言者。在这事上，他是基督的豫表，因祂也是从以色列转向外邦人。（路四25～27，太二一43。）
11Christ is revealed in Jonah’s typifying Christ preaching the gospel of peace to the Gentiles (3:2; Matt. 12:41). Jonah was a prophet who turned from Israel to the Gentiles. In this he was a type of Christ, who turned from Israel to the Gentiles (Luke 4:25-27; Matt. 21:43).
２ 在约拿留在大鱼腹中
2. In Jonah’s Staying in the Great Fish
三天三夜的事上
Three Days and Three Nights
12基督也启示在约拿留在大鱼腹中三天三夜的事上。（拿一17。）这豫表基督留在地心三日三夜。（太十二40。）基督死了，并进入了地心。祂在复活里从那里出来；并且在复活里，祂成了赐生命的灵，（林前十五45下，）为著使福音能传扬、开展到外邦列国，如在使徒行传所看到的。
12Christ is revealed also in the type of Jonah’s staying in the great fish three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17). This typifies Christ’s staying in the heart of the earth three days and three nights (Matt. 12:40). Christ died and entered into the heart of the earth. He came forth from there in resurrection, and in resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b) for the preaching, the spreading, of the gospel to all the Gentile nations, as seen in the book of Acts
八 分段
H. The Sections
13约拿书分为五段：介言，（一1～，）约拿逃避耶和华的任命，（一2～17，）约拿的悔改，（二，）约拿的传扬，（三，）和约拿的成见。（四。）贰约拿逃避耶和华的任命
13The book of Jonah has five sections: the introductory word (1:1-2); Jonah’s fleeing from2 Jehovah’s commission (1:2-17); Jonah’s repenting (ch. 2); Jonah’s preaching (ch. 3); and Jonah’s prejudice (ch. 4). II. JONAH’S FLEEING FROM JEHOVAH’S COMMISSION
一 耶和华的任命
A. Jehovah’s Commission
14耶和华的任命，是要约拿去呼喊以反对尼尼微的恶。（一2。）神要审判亚述的京城尼尼微，但祂也渴望将祂爱的救恩延伸到这邪恶的外邦城。因这缘故，祂任命约拿到尼尼微去呼喊反对这城。
14Jehovah’s commission was for Jonah to go and cry out against the evil of Nineveh (1:2). God intended to judge Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, but He also intended to extend His salvation of love to that evil Gentile city. For this reason He commissioned Jonah to go to Nineveh to cry out against the city
二 约拿逃往他施，躲避耶和华的面
B. Jonah’s Fleeing to Tarshish from the Presence of Jehovah
15约拿不同意神。约拿知道神是『有恩惠，有怜恤的神，不轻易发怒，有丰盛的慈爱，并且后悔不降所说的灾。』（四2。）他知道那城的人若悔改，神就会改变主意，不审判那城。他豫料事情会是这样，就起来坐船逃往他施去，躲避耶和华的面。
15Jonah did not agree with God. Jonah knew that God was “a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and great in lovingkindness and repentant of evil” (4:2) and that God would change His mind and not judge Nineveh if the city repented. Anticipating this, Jonah rose up to flee by ship to Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah (1:3
三 耶和华的干豫
C. Jehovah’s Interruption
16在一章四至十七节我们看见耶和华的干豫。祂这位主宰的神，兴起了大风，海就狂风大作，船几乎要破裂。（4。）约拿却已下到底舱，躺卧沉睡。（5下。）后来，船上的水手掣签，掣出约拿来；（7～14；）水手答应约拿的要求，把他抛在海中。（15～16。）耶和华安排一条大鱼吞了约拿，他就在鱼腹中三日三夜。（17。）
16In verses 4 through 17 we see Jehovah’s interruption. As the sovereign God, He raised up a storm. He caused a great tempest on the sea, and the ship was about to be broken up (v. 4). Jonah had gone down into the innermost part of the vessel and had lain down and had fallen fast asleep (v. 5b). Eventually, it was found out by the casting of lots that Jonah was responsible for the storm (vv. 7-14). At Jonah’s request, the mariners cast him into the sea (vv. 15-16). Jehovah prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah up, and he was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights (v. 17).
四 基督的豫表
D. The Type of Christ
17我们已经指出，约拿在这里豫表基督受神差遣，传福音给外邦人；而他留在大鱼腹中三日三夜，豫表基督留在地心三日三夜。
17As we have pointed out, Jonah here was a type of Christ, who was sent by God to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, with Jonah’s staying in the great fish three days and three nights typifying Christ’s staying in the heart of the earth three days and three nights
参 约拿的悔改
III. JONAH’S REPENTING
18约拿留在大鱼腹中三日三夜后，就向耶和华祷告悔改。二章记载约拿的悔改。
18After three days and three nights in the stomach of the fish, Jonah prayed and repented to Jehovah. Chapter two is the record of Jonah’s repenting
一 约拿向耶和华的祷告
A. Jonah’sPray er to Jehovah
19二至九节是约拿向耶和华的祷告。约拿的祷告很奇怪，他说到诸如这样的事：『诸水围绕我，甚至淹没我的魂；深渊围住我，海草缠绕我的头。』（5。）
19Verses 2 through 9 are Jonah’spray er to Jehovah. Jonah prayed in a very strange way, saying such things as this: “Water encompassed me, even to my soul; / The deep surrounded me; / Seaweed was wrapped about my head” (v. 5
二 耶和华吩咐鱼
B. Jehovah Commanding the Fish
20耶和华吩咐鱼，鱼就把约拿吐在旱地上（10。）
20Jehovah commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah out onto the dry land (v. 10
肆 约拿的传扬
IV. JONAH’SP REACHING
21三章记载约拿传扬的事。一耶和华第二次任命约拿，
21Chapter three covers the matter of Jonah’sp reaching. A. Jehovah’s Commission to Jonah the Second Time
以及约拿向尼尼微大城传讲
and Jonah’sP reaching to the Great City Nineveh
22约拿受调整、被改正、被征服后，愿意与神同去，接受祂的任命。『耶和华的话，二次临到约拿，说，你起来，往尼尼微大城去；向那城的居民宣告我所要吩咐你的话。』（三1～2。）约拿便照耶和华的话起来，往尼尼微去传扬，呼喊说，『再等四十日，尼尼微必倾覆了。』（3～4。）
22After Jonah was adjusted, corrected, and subdued, he was willing to go along with God and take His commission. “Then the word of Jehovah came to Jonah a second time, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city; and proclaim to it the proclamation that I will speak to you” (3:1-2). Jonah arose, went to Nineveh according to the word of Jehovah, and preached, crying out and saying, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overturned” (vv. 3-4
二 尼尼微的人和王信神，
B. The People and the King of Nineveh
23宣告禁食而悔改尼尼微的人和王信神，宣告禁食而悔改。（5～9。）王通告全城，宣告说，『人与牲畜都当披上麻布，切切呼求神。各人要回头离开邪恶的道路，丢弃手中的强暴。或者神转意后悔，不发烈怒，使我们不至灭亡，也未可知。』（8～9。）
23Believing God, Proclaiming a Fast, and Repenting The people and the king of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and repented (vv. 5-9). In his proclamation the king declared, “Let man and beast be covered in sackcloth, and let them call to God strongly. And let each turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows whether God will turn and repent and will turn from His burning anger so that we do not perish?” (vv. 8-9).
三 神后悔，不把所说的灾祸降与他们
C. God Repenting and Not Doing the Evil to Them
24神看他们所行的，就后悔，不把所说的灾祸降与他们。（10。）结果，整个尼尼微城就得救了。
24God saw their deeds, repented, and would not do the evil to them (v. 10). As a result, the whole city was saved
伍 约拿的成见
V. JONAH’S PREJUDICE
25四章暴露约拿的成见。当神改变心意，原谅尼尼微城的人时，约拿大大发怒。
25Chapter four of this book exposes Jonah’s prejudice. When God changed His mind and forgave the people of Nineveh, Jonah was angry
一 耶和华转意不将灾祸降与尼尼微，使约拿大大不悦；约拿就发怒向神祷告
A. Jehovah’s Turning from Doing Evil to Nineveh Displeasing Jonah Greatly, and Jonah Praying to Jehovah in His Anger
26耶和华转意不将灾祸降与尼尼微，使约拿大大不悦；约拿就发怒向神祷告。（四1～4。）他祷告说，『耶和华阿，我在本地的时候，岂不是这样说么？我既料到，所以就急速逃往他施去；因我知道你是有恩惠，有怜恤的神，不轻易发怒，有丰盛的慈爱，并且后悔不降所说的灾。』（2。）约拿不能忍受一个事实：就是神吩咐他传扬尼尼微将要倾覆这信息后，又改变心意。约拿在这事上不能与神一致，且因这事向神发怒。
26Jehovah’s turning from doing evil to Nineveh displeased Jonah greatly, and Jonah prayed to Jehovah in his anger (4:1-4). As he prayed, Jonah said, “Ah, Jehovah, was this not what I said when I was still in my land? Therefore I anticipated it by fleeing to Tarshish, for I know that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and great in lovingkindness and repentant of evil” (v. 2). Jonah could not tolerate the fact that, after charging him to preach that the city of Nineveh would be overthrown, God changed His mind. Jonah could not go along with God in this, but was actually angry with God because of it
27一个人怎么敢向神发怒？约拿应该说，『神是主宰的；尼尼微会发生甚么事都在于祂。祂说祂要毁灭尼尼微，但不论尼尼微会不会毁灭，都在于祂。祂后悔，改变心意，对我都不要紧。』然而，约拿没有这种态度，反而发怒，向神说，『耶和华阿，现在求你取我的命罢，因为我死了比活著还好。』(3。)当他说这话时，耶和华回答，『你这样发怒合乎理么？』（4。）
27How could a man dare to be angry with God? Jonah should have said, “God is sovereign, and what happens to Nineveh is up to Him. He said that He would destroy Nineveh, but whether or not Nineveh is destroyed is up to Him. It does not matter to me if He repents, if He changes His mind.” However, instead of having such an attitude, Jonah was so angry that he said, “Jehovah, take my life, I pray, from me, for it is better for me to die than to live” (v. 3). When he said this, Jehovah replied, “Do you do well to be angry?” (v. 4
二 蓖麻树的功课
B. The Lesson of the Castor-oil Tree
28在五至十一节我们看见蓖麻树的功课。约拿出城，坐在城的东边，在那里为自己搭了一座棚，坐在棚的荫下，要看看那城究竟如何。神安排一棵蓖麻，使牠生长高过约拿，影儿遮盖他的头。约拿因这棵蓖麻大大欢喜。但神却安排一条虫子咬这蓖麻，以致枯槁。此外，日头出来的时候，神安排了炎热的东风。日头曝晒约拿的头，他就为自己求死。神问约拿说，他因这棵蓖麻发怒合乎理么；约拿说，他发怒以至于死，都合乎理。于是耶和华对他说，『这蓖麻不是你劳苦的，也不是你培养的，牠一夜发生，一夜干死，你尚且怜惜；何况这尼尼微大城，其中不能分辨左右手的有十二万多人，并有许多牲畜，我岂能不怜惜呢？』（10～11。）
28In verses 5 through 11 we have the lesson of the castor- oil tree. Jonah went out from the city, made a booth for himself, and sat under it in the shade to see what would happen to the city. Then God prepared a castor- oil tree, and it came up over Jonah to be a shade over his head. Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the tree. But God prepared a worm, and it struck the tree so that it withered. Furthermore, when the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah’she ad, and he requested that he might die. When God asked Jonah if he did well in being angry about the tree, Jonah said that he did well to be angry unto death. Then Jehovah said to him, “You had pity on the tree that you did not labor for nor cause to grow, which came into being overnight and perished overnight; and I, should I not have pity on Nineveh, the great city, in which are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people, who cannot discern between their right hand and their left, and many cattle?” (vv. 10-11).
三 神怜惜外邦最邪恶的城
C. God’sP i ty on the Most Evil City of the Gentiles
29在十一节我们看见，神怜惜外邦最邪恶的城，甚至顾到他们的牲畜。尼尼微是由宁录这邪恶的人在亚述所建立的。（创十8～11。）亚述是在主前七一三年侵略并羞辱以色列人，（赛三六，）这是在约拿的时代之后。神怜惜这样一个邪恶的城。在马太十二章四十节，主耶稣告诉法利赛人这一班『约拿』，约拿怎样三日三夜在大鱼腹中，祂也必照样三日三夜在地心里，为要将神的救恩从犹太人延伸到外邦人。这指明神不只是犹太人的神，也是列国的神。犹太人认为自己是神惟一的子民；他们认为自己是长子，（路十五25～32，）有权利首先享受神所有的一切。但因著犹太人对神错误的反应，外邦人（不是犹太人）反而成了头一班在神救恩中享受神的人。约拿书特别指明，神不只是某一班人的神；祂乃是所有人的神。在基督复活升天，并圣灵浇灌之后，在行传十三章，神告诉保罗和巴拿巴要到外邦人那里去。（46～。）他们不像约拿，反之，他们接受神的托付，出去把福音传遍小亚细亚。然后那灵带领他们从亚洲到欧洲，到马其顿去。（十六6～10。）约拿书给我们看见，当神向亚述发怒时，祂向尼尼微这样一座罪恶的大城，仍然有恩惠，有怜恤。这指明神的经纶就是要藉著这两个因素作事－消毁的因素和受苦的因素，好将祂的救恩延伸到地上所有的人。
29In verse 11 we see God’sp i ty on the most evil city of the Gentiles; He cared even for their cattle. Nineveh was built by the evil man Nimrod in Assyria (Gen. 10:8-11). Assyria was the country that invaded and insulted Israel about 713 B.C. (Isa. 36), after the time of Jonah. God had pity on such an evil city. In Matthew 12:40 the Lord Jesus told the Pharisees, a group of “Jonahs,” that He would be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights, just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish, for the extending of God’s salvation from the Jews to the Gentiles. This indicates that God is not only the God of the Jews but also the God of all the nations. The Jews thought that they were the unique people of God. They considered themselves the firstborn son (Luke 15:25-32) with the right to be the first to enjoy all that is of God. But because the Jews responded to God wrongly, the Gentiles, not the Jews, became the first to enjoy God in His salvation. The book of Jonah indicates particularly that God is not the God of only a certain people; He is the God of all peoples. After Christ’s resurrection and ascension and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, in Acts 13 God told Paul and Barnabas to go to the Gentiles (vv. 46-47). They were not like Jonah; rather, they took 47 God’s commission and went and preached the gospel throughout As i a Minor. Then the Spirit led them to go from Asia to Europe, to Macedonia (16:6-10). The book of Jonah shows us that while God was angry with Assyria, He would still be gracious and compassionate toward a great and sinful city such as Nineveh. This indicates that God’secon o my is to do things through these two factors — the consuming factor and the suffering factor — to extend His salvation to all the peoples on earth.
30神的经纶是要使基督得显现，这含示祂要把祂在基督里的救恩，甚至延伸到远方外邦邪恶的大城。我认为俄罗斯是今天的尼尼微；我们在俄罗斯所作的，完全是在神经纶的范围里。我相信我们会大得祝福，因为这是照著神的经纶。因此，消毁的蝗虫仍在消毁，受苦的以色列仍在受苦，而主也仍在祂的恢复里往前。
30God’secon o my to manifest Christ implies the extending of His salvation in Christ to reach even the distant, great, evil cities of the Gentiles. I consider Russia as to days Nineveh. What we are doing in Russia is altogether under the span of God’secon o my. I believe that we will receive much blessing because this is according to God’secon o my. Thus, the consuming locusts are still consuming, the suffering Israel is still suffering, and the Lord is still going on in His recovery