讀經： 創世記十二章4至8節 4亞伯蘭就照著耶和華的吩咐去了；羅得也和他同去。亞伯蘭出哈蘭的時候年七十五歲。 5亞伯蘭將他妻子撒萊和姪兒羅得，連他們在哈蘭所積蓄的財物、所得的人口，都帶往迦南地去。他們就到了迦南地。 6亞伯蘭經過那地，到了示劍地方、摩利橡樹那裡。那時迦南人住在那地。 7耶和華向亞伯蘭顯現，說：我要把這地賜給你的後裔。亞伯蘭就在那裡為向他顯現的耶和華築了一座壇。 8從那裡他又遷到伯特利東邊的山，支搭帳棚；西邊是伯特利，東邊是艾。他在那裡又為耶和華築了一座壇，求告耶和華的名。 |
| 若用今天的用語，神要亞伯拉罕放下的是甚麼呢？他要離開安全熟悉的環境，他的房子、工作和朋友。要踏出這一步並不容易。經文沒有告訴我們，他的妻子撒萊和一眾僕人的反應。然而，儘管對前路一無所知，亞伯拉罕卻遵從神的呼召。 我們看起來，亞伯拉罕一開始就是順服神的。然而，他的順服是完全的嗎？ 神吩咐他：「你要離開本族、父家。」他卻帶了父親他拉和侄兒羅得一同上路。神已指示他目的地是迦南，但請留意十一章31節說：「他們走到哈蘭，就住在那裡。」 當他離開哈蘭的時候，仍然帶著羅得，以致後來惹來很多麻煩。此外，他還帶同「在哈蘭……所得的人口」（十二5）。這一切行為，是否表示他沒有徹底順服呢？ 我們這些舒適地生活在3,500年後的人，可以輕易指責前人的不是。神一直知道答案，卻仍然稱亞伯拉罕為祂的朋友。我們在指責亞伯拉罕之前，應當省察我們自己的生活。同樣的，有太多時候我們的順服也並不完全，我們也沒有徹底從世俗中分別出來。 你是否留意到，當亞伯拉罕抵達迦南時，祝福和試驗同時臨到？亞伯拉罕的一生經歷了不少試驗，也許有十次之多。 他抵達迦南之時，得到的第一個祝福，是神親自向他顯現。神對他說：「我要把這地賜給你的後裔。」對於亞伯拉罕，那是多麼輝煌的時刻。 亞伯拉罕立即的反應便是敬拜。他築了一座祭壇，向神獻祭敬拜（十二7）。 亞伯拉罕在每個所到之處，都會留下一座壇。這是多麼美好的見證！我們每到一個地方，留下的是甚麼樣的見證呢？ |
Bible Reading: Genesis 12:4-8 1 Now the LORD had said to Abram:
"Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father's house,
To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." |
| In today's terminology, what did God ask Abraham to leave behind? He left security, a known environment, a house, employment, and friends. It was a big step. We are not told the reaction of his wife, Sarah or of his servants. But Abraham was obedient to God's call even if he could not see the way ahead. It would seem to us at this distance that Abraham started out as God commanded, but was his obedience really complete? God had said, 'Leave your father's house'. But he took Terah, his father, and his nephew Lot with him. God had indicated Canaan as his destination. But notice again in 11:31, 'When they came to Haran, they settled there.' When he left Haran, he took Lot, the cause of much trouble later. He also took 'the people he had acquired in Haran'. (12:3) Was all this actually incomplete obedience? It is easy for us to judge, sitting here in comfort 3,500 years later. God alone knows the answers and He still called Abraham his friend. We need to look at our lives and our all too often partial obedience and incomplete separation from the world before judging Abraham. Did you notice that blessing and testing met Abraham on his arrival in Canaan? Abraham faced a number of tests in his lifetime, on perhaps as many as ten separate occasions. The first blessing however that came to him in the land of Canaan was God's personal appearance to him. God came and said, 'You are now in the land I will give to your children.' That must have been a remarkable moment. Abraham's response was one of worship. He built an altar, offered a sacrifice and knelt before God. (12:7) Wherever Abraham travelled in the land, he left behind an altar. What a witness! As we move around, what kind of a witness are we leaving behind? |
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