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II Samuel 21 撒母耳記下 21

Tuesday, 10th October 2023

Rev Daniel Xi An Poon

潘錫安牧師

V1 ‘Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, “It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.”’ When David became the king the again, Absalom was in the past, and the land was facing three years of famine. David sought God, he was willing to ask God and God answered him. God told David that the famine was not about David but Saul’s household, but why did it happen during David’s reign? So often we feel that we have been faithful following God but so many things happened in our lives that we don’t expect. A lot of time it’s not because of what we did, but only because of the position we are in.

V1 『大衛年間有饑荒，一連三年，大衛就求問耶和華。耶和華說：「這饑荒是因掃羅和他流人血之家殺死基遍人。」』當大衛再次登基時，押沙龍已經成為過去，那地正面臨三年的飢荒。大衛尋求神，他願意求問神，神就回答了他。神告訴大衛，飢荒不是大衛的事，而是掃羅一家的事，但為什麼會發生在大衛在位期間？很多時候，我們覺得自己一直忠心跟隨神，但生活中卻發生了很多我們意想不到的事。很多時候不是因為我們做了什麼，而是因為我們所處的位置。

David didn’t complain about what was happening, he knew the famine was not to destroy him. We like to complain, to seek justice in our own ways, and to blame others. But David was not like this, he sought God in everything, he knew the problems, and he was willing to offer the sacrifice. When we complain about what is happening around us, we will become like a judge, to criticize God’s doing, and fall into self-righteous. We thought we can be like God, to differentiate between good and evil, this is where we will easily fall. When we serve God, sometimes we will lose the passion, it’s because we judge. When we don’t see the results we expected, we became our own judge, and we became God’s judge.

大衛沒有抱怨所發生的一切，他知道飢荒不會摧毀他。我們常喜歡抱怨，傾向於用自己的方式尋求正義，並指責別人。但大衛不是這樣，他凡事尋求神，他知道問題所在，他也願意獻祭贖罪。當我們抱怨周遭發生的事時，我們就會像審判官一樣批評神的作為，陷入自以為是的境地。我們以為我們可以像神一樣分辨善惡，這是我們很容易墮落的地方。當我們事奉神的時候，有時我們會失去熱情，因為我們會評判。當我們沒有看到我們期望的結果時，我們就成為自己的審判官，也成為神的審判官。

V2-3 ‘So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah. Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord?”’ David was humble, when he knew the famine was due to Saul’s household, he went to ask the Gibeonites what he should do. David took the responsibility, he didn’t push it away, because he wanted the blessings of God. David did this to make peace with the Gibeonites so they would give their blessings.

V2-3『原來這基遍人不是以色列人，乃是亞摩利人中所剩的。以色列人曾向他們起誓不殺滅他們，掃羅卻為以色列人和猶大人發熱心，想要殺滅他們。大衛王召了他們來， 問他們說：「我當為你們怎樣行呢？可用什麼贖這罪，使你們為耶和華的產業祝福呢？」』大衛很謙卑，當他知道飢荒是由掃羅家造成時，他去問基遍人該怎麼辦。大衛承擔了責任，他沒有推卸，因為他想要神的祝福。大衛這樣做是為了與基遍人講和，好讓他們祝福臨到。

V7 ‘But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the Lord’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.’ David knew the principal of God’s Kingdom. Why did Saul’s household fell? Because he didn’t keep his promise to the Gibeonites, and God treats our promises very seriously. David would not do what Saul did, he kept his promise no matter what.

V7『王因為曾與掃羅的兒子約拿單指著耶和華起誓結盟，就愛惜掃羅的孫子、約拿單的兒子米非波設，不交出來。』大衛知道神國的法則。掃羅家為何落敗？因為他沒有遵守對基遍人的承諾，而神卻非常嚴肅地對待我們的承諾。大衛沒有做掃羅所做的事，無論如何他都會遵守諾言。

V15 ‘When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint.’ God taught us to love God, and to love our neighbours as ourselves, do not see ourselves like God, and do not walk into the path of self-righteousness. David did not rely on himself, he knew when he needed support, he was living in a community and let others to help him when he needed it. God’s Kingdom is not about one great person, but a group of people. We are not by ourselves, we are not alone, because we walk together with our family in Christ, our brothers and sisters. Let us experience how great and how abundant our God is, let us willing to let go, and only rely on God.

V15『非利士人與以色列人打仗。大衛帶領僕人下去，與非利士人接戰，大衛就疲乏了。』神教導我們要愛神，要愛人如己，不要把自己看成神，不要走上自以為是的道路。大衛不依靠自己，他知道什麼時候需要支持，他生活在一個團體中，並在需要時讓別人幫助他。神的國不是只有一個偉大的人，而是有一群人。我們並不孤單，我們並不是單打獨鬥，因為我們與我們在基督裡的家人、我們的兄弟姊妹一起同行。讓我們經歷我們的神是多麼偉大、多麼豐富，讓我們願意放下自己，單單依靠神。