各位平安，歡迎收聽每日聖經，每天與上帝親近，我是馬克
弟兄姊妹平安，我們今天的讀經進度是申命記的第七章一到11節。
這一章的一開始，我們就面對到了一個非常大的困難。也就是這一段的命令，上帝很明顯地在說，要完全清除這一些迦南地的七個民族，而且是沒有憐恤地清除。這些歷史記載是很難解釋的經文，當我們讀的時候，必須要從各個角度來思考。所以我們今天要來分享這一段的時候，人要懷抱著一個學習思考的心情以及來了解的心情，而不是批判的心。
首先，我要提到關於聖經的總原則讀經法，也就是說，當你在讀經的時候，我們先要明白整本聖經其實是一個漸進式的、已經完結的啟示。所以，當我們看到最後的結局是耶穌在十字架上為人類死並且復活，這是上帝最大的啟示，也是上帝最後的啟示。他把上帝的心意彰顯了出來，告訴我們說，今天上帝連自己的兒子都捨了給了我們，是為了要贖回我們的罪，為了要赦免我們的過犯。這是整本聖經的核心點以及絕對的中心。就像我們之前所說，我們看見了上帝的愛展現在耶穌身上，我們也看見上帝的公義展現在耶穌身上：耶穌必須死，因為我們的罪需要被懲罰，他的死是為了擔當我們的罪，而他會如此甘心死，是因為愛我們。
愛與公義，這兩個上帝的性格，在耶穌的死與復活這一歷史事件中同時存在。
當瞭解了這個原則的時候，我們再來看每一節聖經、每段聖經的時候，我們會稍微容易一點點來理解上帝的心意，當然，我們無法完完全全的理解，因為我們終究不是上帝。所以，有些地方就是我們之前所說的，其實我們不需要去為上帝辯護，同時我們也沒有辦法評論上帝的對錯，因為在那樣的時空背景之下，上帝有上帝的決定和選擇。我們只能試著去理解，這樣做的目的是什麼呢？
這個時候的以色列人還不是一個國家，他們剛剛是一小群很弱的人民來到了迦南地，面對了相當強大的居民們。而這個時候，上帝說的是我要與你一起爭戰，他沒有叫以色列人直接去進攻，他說的是我與你一同征戰。在這裡，我們看見上帝強調了一個他的揀選了(7節)，這是上帝的揀選的主權。很多人可能會覺得這個不好聽，覺得說為什麼上帝揀選他們而不揀選別人呢？上帝偏心嗎？
讓我們從總原則角度來看，上帝並不是揀選他們而不愛其他人，而是在歷史之中，上帝有一個任務要交托給以色列人，讓以色列人承擔一些事情 (就如保羅在羅馬書所說，上帝的聖言先交託他們)。然後，當耶穌來的時候，上帝完全彰顯他的美意，就是讓萬國萬民得救。所以，我們就不會覺得上帝挑選以色列人是偏心的，他們只是被交托在歷史中的一個任務，他們是傳福音的第一棒。
當我們看歷史的時候，你會發現上帝的工作交給不同的人去進行。在猶太人的時代過後，耶穌來臨之後，上帝讓猶太人將福音傳遍許多外邦地區。隨後，外邦人也不斷地傳遞這個福音 – 羅馬帝國，德國日耳曼民族，歐洲各民族，大航海時代… 一直傳向世界各處。在21世紀的今天，我們看見福音在亞洲各個角落開花結果，我們也看到接下來的亞洲的民族將承擔福音的工作。所以，上帝在歷史中總是讓不同的民族在不同的時代擔負福音的使命，這實在是非常奇妙的事情。因此，當我們學習了解歷史時，我們會看見上帝的手一直在其中，做著奇妙的工作，在以後的歷史講解中，我將花一些時間分享不同時代的民族在不同的福音任務中的參與。就像一場接力賽一樣，每個民族不斷地將福音的火炬傳遞給下一個民族，因此福音也得以擴展到全世界。上帝的手在其中的作為確實是極為奇妙的。
我們看到，在申命記的這個時候，上帝要求以色列人堅守一神論，完全排除其他信仰的影響。他要求他們不可以有其他污染、邪惡或外邦的信仰參雜在他們的信仰中。因此，上帝用非常嚴厲的口氣和手段，強調以色列人只能信仰唯一的真神，絕對不能有錯誤的信仰。建立以色列這種特殊的民族性，對於後來的歷史發展產生了深遠的影響。
所以，在閱讀申命記時，以及面對其中的血腥畫面時，雖然我們無法完全理解上帝的心意，但當我們不斷注視著耶穌基督時，我們就知道上帝的本意是為了耶穌基督。上帝真正的目的是耶穌基督的十字架和復活。當我們看待所有這一切時，我們就明白上帝的心意就像一位慈愛的父親的心意一樣。
感謝各位的聆聽，明天我們將繼續閱讀申命記第七章的下半段。
Brothers and sisters, today our reading takes us to Deuteronomy chapter 7, verses 1 to 11.
At the beginning of this chapter, we are faced with a significant challenge. It involves the commandment that God gives, which is to completely remove the seven nations inhabiting the land of Canaan, and this removal is to be done without mercy. These historical records are challenging to interpret, and as we read them, we must approach them from various angles. So, when we share this passage today, let us do so with a mindset of learning and understanding rather than a critical one.
First, I want to mention the overarching principle of biblical interpretation, which is that when you're reading the Bible, we must understand that it is a progressive and completed revelation. Therefore, when we see the ultimate conclusion that Jesus died for humanity's sins on the cross and rose again, this is God's greatest revelation and His final revelation. He has revealed God's heart to us, telling us that God even gave His own Son for us, to redeem our sins and forgive our offenses. This is the core point and absolute center of the entire Bible. As we mentioned before, we see God's love displayed in Jesus, and we also see God's justice as Jesus had to die because our sins needed punishment. His death bore our sins, and His willingness to die is due to His love for us.
Love and justice, these two attributes of God, coexist in the historical event of Jesus' death and resurrection. When we understand this principle, we can approach each verse and passage of the Bible with a slightly easier understanding of God's intentions. However, we must acknowledge that we cannot fully understand because we are not God. Some aspects don't require us to defend God, and we cannot judge God's right or wrong because in that specific time and context, God had His own decisions and choices. Our purpose is to attempt to understand.
At this time, the Israelites were not yet a nation, they were a small and vulnerable group of people who had just arrived in the land of Canaan, facing formidable inhabitants. During this time, God says, "I will fight alongside you," and He did not command the Israelites to attack directly but rather to battle alongside them. Here, we see God emphasizing His sovereignty in choosing them (verse 7). Many might wonder why God chose them and not others. Is God being partial?
From the perspective of the overarching principle, God did not choose them because He loved them more than others, but rather, in the context of history, God had a specific mission to entrust to the Israelites, as Paul mentions in the book of Romans – God's Word was entrusted to them first. Then, when Jesus came, God fully revealed His will, which was for all nations and peoples to be saved. Therefore, we do not view God's selection of the Israelites as partiality. They were entrusted with a specific mission in history, the first leg in passing on the Gospel.
When we look at history, we see that God entrusts His work to different people. After the era of the Jewish people, following the arrival of Jesus, God allowed the Jewish people to spread the Gospel to many foreign lands. Subsequently, people from various nations continued to pass on this Gospel – the Roman Empire, the Germanic tribes, various European nations, and the Age of Exploration, all contributed to spreading the Gospel worldwide. In the 21st century, we witness the Gospel blossoming in every corner of Asia, and we anticipate that the nations of Asia will carry on the work of the Gospel. Thus, God always assigns the mission of the Gospel to different nations in different eras, and this is truly a marvelous thing. Therefore, as we study history, we see God's hand constantly at work, performing wonderful deeds. In future discussions, I will spend some time sharing the participation of different nations in various Gospel missions throughout different eras, much like a relay race where each nation passes on the torch of the Gospel, resulting in its expansion throughout the world. God's work in this is truly wondrous.
We see, at this point in Deuteronomy, God requires the Israelites to maintain monotheism and completely eliminate the influence of other faiths. He demands that they do not allow any contamination, evil, or foreign beliefs to be mixed in with their faith. Therefore, God uses a very strict tone and means to emphasize that the Israelites can only believe in the one true God and must have no erroneous beliefs. Establishing this unique national identity for Israel had profound implications for the subsequent development of history.
So, as we read Deuteronomy and encounter these bloody scenes, although we cannot fully comprehend God's intentions, when we continually focus on Jesus Christ, we understand that God's ultimate purpose is Jesus Christ. The true goal of God is the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As we look at all these things, we realize that God's intention is like that of a loving father.
Thank you all for listening, and tomorrow we will continue reading the second half of Deuteronomy chapter 7.
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