於2013-07-26發佈

每週一妥拉 2013/7/21-7/27
從古時起,世界各地的猶太會堂會一週一次在安息日讀經,從摩西五經(妥拉)到先知的書(先知書)。每週的讀經內容都有一個希伯來名稱,其出自經文內容起頭的字。每週慣例讀經的實例剛好記載在路加福音四章16節,耶穌來到拿撒勒的會堂,讀了一段先知書(以賽亞書61章)。我們發現每週一次閱讀這些內容,不僅提供我們機會,與世界成千上萬的猶太人來確認神話語的內容,在我們為以色列與猶太人的代禱上,聖靈更時常貼切的啟發具體的內容禱告。 

這週的閱讀進度(7/21-7/27)稱為『果然』(Ekev),讀經內容包括: 
妥拉:申命記7:12-11:25
先知書:以賽亞書49:14-51:3

*申命記7:16. 『耶和華─你神所要交給你的一切人民,你要將他們除滅(吞吃);你眼不可顧惜他們。你也不可事奉他們的神,因這必成為你的網羅。』極具啟發性的是,這裡的『除滅/吞吃』可與四十年前探子惡報中所提到的『吞吃』相比:『探子中有人論到所窺探之地,向以色列人報惡信,說:我們所窺探、經過之地是吞吃居民之地,我們在那裡所看見的人民都身量高大。』(民13:32)同時迦勒帶回好消息,用『食物』來比喻那地的居民:『我們所窺探、經過之地是極美之地。但你們不可背叛耶和華,也不要怕那地的居民;因為他們是我們的食物,並且蔭庇他們的已經離開他們。有耶和華與我們同在,不要怕他們!』 (民14:7,9).

*申命記8:3. 『祂苦煉你,任你飢餓,將你和你列祖所不認識的嗎哪賜給你吃,使你知道,人活著不是單靠食物,乃是靠耶和華口裡所出的一切話。』

*申命記8:5.『你當心裡思想,耶和華─你神管教你,好像人管教兒子一樣。』比較希伯來書12:7-11『你們所忍受的,是神管教你們,待你們如同待兒子。焉有兒子不被父親管教的呢?管教原是眾子所共受的,你們若不受管教,就是私子,不是兒子了。再者,我們曾有生身的父管教我們,我們尚且敬重他,何況萬靈的父,我們豈不更當順服祂得生嗎?生身的父都是暫隨己意管教我們;惟有萬靈的父管教我們,是要我們得益處,使我們在祂的聖潔上有分。凡管教的事,當時不覺得快樂,反覺得愁苦;後來卻為那經練過的人結出平安的果子,就是義。』 

*申命記8:7-10. 『因為耶和華─你神領你進入美地,那地有河,有泉,有源,從山谷中流出水來。那地有小麥、大麥、葡萄樹、無花果樹、石榴樹、橄欖樹,和蜜。你在那地不缺食物,一無所缺。那地的石頭是鐵,山內可以挖銅。你吃得飽足,就要稱頌耶和華─你的神,因祂將那美地賜給你了。』

*申命記8:16. 『是要苦煉你,試驗你,叫你終久享福…。』

*申命記9:5-6. 『你進去得他們的地,並不是因你的義,也不是因你心裡正直,乃是因這些國民的惡,耶和華─你的神將他們從你面前趕出去,又因耶和華要堅定祂向你列祖亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各起誓所應許的話。你當知道,耶和華─你神將這美地賜你為業,並不是因你的義;你本是硬著頸項的百姓。』

*申命記9:21. 『我把那叫你們犯罪所鑄的牛犢用火焚燒,又搗碎磨得很細,以致細如灰塵,我就把這灰塵撒在從山上流下來的溪水中。』這裡沒有提到溪水來自何處,經文最初來自出埃及記32:20『又將他們所鑄的牛犢用火焚燒,磨得粉碎,撒在水面上,叫以色列人喝。』在上一章8:15主正是那位在乾旱無水之地,為以色列『使水從堅硬的磐石中流出來』哥林多前書10:4 顯明『所喝的,是出於隨著他們的靈磐石;那磐石就是基督。』以西結書47:1和撒迦利亞書14:4,8說到未來活水會從另一山流出,那時主的山在耶路撒冷,活水流到之處都帶來醫治。

*申命記9:25-29. 『我因耶和華說要滅絕你們,就在耶和華面前照舊俯伏四十晝夜。我祈禱耶和華說:主耶和華啊,求祢不要滅絕祢的百姓。他們是祢的產業,是祢用大力救贖的,用大能從埃及領出來的。求祢記念祢的僕人亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各,不要想念這百姓的頑梗、邪惡、罪過,免得祢領我們出來的那地之人說,耶和華因為不能將這百姓領進祂所應許之地,又因恨他們,所以領他們出去,要在曠野殺他們。其實他們是祢的百姓,祢的產業,是祢用大能和伸出來的膀臂領出來的。』 

*申命記10:12-13. 敬畏, 遵行, 愛, 事奉, 遵守! 『以色列啊,現在耶和華─你神向你所要的是什麼呢?只要你敬畏耶和華─你的神,遵行祂的道,愛祂,盡心盡性事奉祂,遵守祂的誡命律例,就是我今日所吩咐你的,為要叫你得福。』

*申命記10:16-17, 21a. 『所以你們要將心裡的污穢除掉,不可再硬著頸項。因為耶和華─你們的神─祂是萬神之神,萬主之主,至大的神,大有能力,大而可畏,不以貌取人,也不受賄賂。祂是你所讚美的,是你的神,為你做了那大而可畏的事。

*申命記11:11-12. 『你們要過去得為業的那地乃是有山有谷、雨水滋潤之地,是耶和華─你神所眷顧的;從歲首到年終,耶和華─你神的眼目時常看顧那地。』

"安慰"

上週我們提到,我們已經進入七週的先知書季節,其內容都節錄自以賽亞書(直到吹角節),神透過這卷書持續對錫安說安慰的話。在下列與其他處的經文,可以很有力地使用來為以色列禱告,使她認出她的安慰者─並為彌賽亞肢體禱告,使他們在同伴面前能行出耶穌曾在這土地上所行的。 

*以賽亞書49:15-16. 『婦人焉能忘記他吃奶的嬰孩,不憐恤他所生的兒子?即或有忘記的,我卻不忘記你。看哪,我將你銘刻在我掌上;你的牆垣常在我眼前。』

*以賽亞書49:25b-26. 『與你相爭的,我必與他相爭;我要拯救你的兒女。並且我必使那欺壓你的吃自己的肉,也要以自己的血喝醉,好像喝甜酒一樣。凡有血氣的必都知道我─耶和華是你的救主,是你的救贖主,是雅各的大能者。

*以賽亞書50:4. 『主耶和華賜我受教者的舌頭,使我知道怎樣用言語扶助疲乏的人。主每早晨提醒,提醒我的耳朵,使我能聽,像受教者一樣。』

*以賽亞書50:6-7. 『人打我的背,我任他打;人拔我腮頰的鬍鬚,我由他拔;人辱我,吐我,我並不掩面。主耶和華必幫助我,所以我不抱愧。我硬著臉面好像堅石;我也知道我必不致蒙羞。』

*以賽亞書51:1-2. 『你們這追求公義、尋求耶和華的,當聽我言!你們要追想被鑿而出的磐石,被挖而出的巖穴。要追想你們的祖宗亞伯拉罕和生養你們的撒拉;因為亞伯拉罕獨自一人的時候,我選召他,賜福與他,使他人數增多。』

*以賽亞書51:3. 『耶和華已經安慰錫安和錫安一切的荒場,使曠野像伊甸,使沙漠像耶和華的園囿;在其中必有歡喜、快樂、感謝,和歌唱的聲音。』

下週的妥拉和先知書閱讀進度(7/28-8/3)稱為『看啊』(R'eh),讀經內容包括:妥拉─申命記11:26-16:17;先知書─以賽亞書54:11-55:5。

馬汀和娜瑪‧賽維士(Martin & Norma Sarvis) 
於耶路撒冷


THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:
From ancient times there has been a weekly portion (Parashah) from the first five books of Moses (The Torah) and an ending (Haftarah) from the Prophets read on the Sabbath in synagogues around the world. This portion is given a Hebrew name drawn from the opening words of the Torah passage. An illustration of this practice appears to have been recorded in Luke 4:16 where Yeshua (Jesus) arrived in the synagogue in Nazareth and was asked to read the portion (Isaiah 61) from the Prophets. We have found that in perusing these weekly readings, not only are we provided opportunity to identify in the context of God's Word with millions of Jewish people around the world, but very often the Holy Spirit will illumine specific passages pertinent that week in our intercession for the Land and people of Israel. All texts are those of English translations of the Scriptures.

The reading for this week 21-27 July 2013 is called Ekev-"In consequence of":
TORAH: Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25
HAFTARAH: Isaiah 49:14-51:3

*Deut. 7:16. "Also you shall devour all the peoples whom the LORD your God delivers over to you; your eye shall not pity them." It is instructive to compare this "devouring" with that mentioned in the evil report of the ten spies 40 years earlier, "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants" (Num. 13.32), and with the 'bread' in Caleb's good report at the same time, "The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land.Do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them" (Num. 14:7-9).

*Deut. 8: 3. "He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna.that he might make you know that mankind shall not live by bread alone; but by every utterance of the LORD's mouth does the human live."

*Deut. 8:5. "And you knew in your heart that as a man chastises his son the LORD your God chastises you." Cff: Heb. 12:7-11: "If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten.Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no ch astening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

*Deut. 8:7-10. "For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you."

*Deut. 8:16. ".that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end---"

*Deut. 9:5-6. "It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Therefore understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to posse ss because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people."

*Deut. 9:21. "Then I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it and ground it very small, until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that descended from the mountain." No mention is made of where the brook comes from in the original account of Exodus 32:20. In the previous chapter 8:15, the LORD is the One who brought forth water for Israel "out of the flinty rock in a thirsty land where there was no water". I Corinthians 10:4 reveals that "they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Messiah." Ezekiel 47:1- and Zechariah 14:4,8 speak of a future time when living water will tumble forth out from another mountain, this time the Mountain of the Lord in Jerusalem, bringing healing wherever it flows.

*Deut. 9:26-29. "Thus I prostrated myself before the LORD.I kept prostrating myself, because the LORD had said He would destroy you. Therefore I prayed to the LORD, and said: 'O Lord YHVH, do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look on the stubbornness of this people, or on their wickedness or their sin, lest the land from which You brought us should say, "Because YHVH was not able to bring them to the land which He promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness." Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your mighty power and by Your outstretched arm.'

*Deut. 10:12-13. Fear, Walk, Love, Serve, Guard! "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to guard the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?"

*Deut. 10:16-17, 21a. "Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome.He is your praise."

*Deut. 11:11-12. "But the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rai n of heaven, a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year."

"Comfort ye."

AS MENTIONED LAST WEEK, we have entered a seven-week season (Until the Feast of Trumpets) in which the Haftarah readings are taken from the prophet Isaiah, and continue to speak words of comfort to Zion. The passages below are only some drawn from this week's portion which may be used powerfully in praying for Israel to recognize her Comforter-and for the Body of Messiah to walk, as He walked, before her fellows in the land.

*Isaiah 49:15-16. "Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; Your walls are continually before Me."

*Isaiah 49:25b-26. "For I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children. I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall kn ow that I, the LORD, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

*Isaiah 50:4. "The Lord YHVH has given me the tongue of disciples, that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens me morning by morning. He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple."

*Isaiah 50:6-7. "I gave my back to those who strike me, and my cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover my face from humiliation and spitting. For the Lord YHVH helps me, therefore, I am not disgraced; therefore, I have set my face like flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed."

*Isaiah 51:1-2. "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, who seek YHVH: Look to the rock from which you were hewn and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain; when he was but one I called him, then I blessed him and multiplied him" (NASB).

*Isaiah 51:3. "For YHVH will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places. He will make her desert like Eden, and her arava like the garden of YHVH; Joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of melody!"  

Martin and Norma Sarvis
Jerusalem

[The Torah and Haftarah portions for next week 28 July-3 August will be R'eh-"See!" ("-I put before you today a blessing and a curse:"): TORAH: Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17; HAFTARAH: Isaiah 54:11-55:5]