旧约 - 俄巴底亚书(Obadiah)第1章

The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.
Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.
The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.
If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?
How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.
Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?
And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.
But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.
Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity;
Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.
For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.
For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.
And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.
And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD's.
俄巴底亚书注释   注释 

  以东简介 

  俄 1> 神不是爱世人吗,为何还要审判以东人? 

  1 俄巴底亚是南国犹大的先知,奉召宣告对以东国的审判。根据推测,这卷书的写作日期可能有两个:( 1 )写于公元前 853 至 841 年,在约兰任犹大王期间,非利士人和阿拉伯人联合攻击耶路撒冷时(参代下 21:16-17 );( 2 )公元前 586 年,耶路撒冷遭巴比伦人摧毁之时(参王下 25 章;代下 36 章)。以东人对以色列和犹大遭难幸灾乐祸,不念先祖以扫和雅各是亲兄弟,自己与以色列人血缘之亲的情分(参创 25:19-26 )。以扫和雅各兄弟不和,他们的后代以东人和以色列人也成了世仇。以东人以冷漠和恶毒的态度对待神的子民,所以神向他们宣告审判。 

  俄 3> 人都以为自己所握的是最稳固的,只是,真是如此吗? 

  3 以东人以为自己一无所缺,可以安枕无忧,但其实这只是自欺欺人。因为除神提供的以外,世上再无永久的安稳。你的安全感可是建基在物质或其他人身上?扪心自问,那些人与物,真能令你长久安稳吗?人世间的财物,世上的每个人,一瞬间就会消失得无影无踪,惟有神才是永不改变的,也只有祂才能给人永久的保障。 

  俄 3-9> 以东骄傲、自以为是,下场是──人心骄傲,自以为是,结果…… 

  3-9 以东与犹大国的南部接壤。正如邻居不一定友好一样,这两个国家相处得也不大愉快。那时以东的首都彼特拉是从一片石崖峭壁上开凿出来的,前面是一个峡谷,只有一条窄窄的通道可以上去,如此天险,真可谓一夫把关,万夫莫敌。可惜以东人自以为的优势,恰恰成为他们败亡的关键:( 1 )城池不是坚固吗?神偏把他们从高处拉下来( 3-4 节)。( 2 )因一无所缺就心骄气傲吗?神令他们低声下气向人乞求( 3-4 节)。( 3 )不是富有吗?盗贼要来把他们所有的财物洗掠一空( 5-6 节)。( 4 )不是有盟友可倚靠吗?神让那些盟友来欺骗他们( 7 节)。( 5 )不是有聪明智慧吗?智者将全然被消灭( 8-9 节)。 

  俄 4> 高超技能,惊天成就,目中却无神──是我吗?但神所爱的…… 

  4 以东人的都城是从岩石中凿出来的,他们很以此自豪。今日彼特拉也被公认为出色的古代建筑,但是也只是个观光胜地而已。圣经警告我们:骄傲在败坏之先(参箴 16:18 ),世上所有骄傲的人都难逃自我毁灭的下场,以东人与彼特拉就是好例子。谦卑的人比骄傲的人安稳,因为前者对自己和对世界有较正确的认识。 

  俄 4-9> 他们的罪,神都看到;我的罪神岂不是…… 

  4-9 神对以东宣告如此严厉的判决,并不是出于报复的心理,而是要维护公义。神的道德是完全的,对公义和公平的要求是绝对的,因此以东人只是恶有恶报。他们杀了人,所以也要遭杀;他们抢掠,所以也要被人抢掠;他们利用了别人,所以也会被人利用。不要自欺欺人,以为做了坏事,没有人知道,可以逍遥法外。神洞察我们所犯的一切罪,祂会以公义审判我们。 

  俄 8> 聪明人竟被神除灭,其中必有原因…… 

  8 以东人以聪明闻名于世。但是人的智慧与神的智慧差距极大。以东人可能在处理世事上十分聪明,但他们藐视神,甚至讥讽神,因此变得十分愚蠢。 

  俄 9> 提幔,名字自有来源…… 

  9 约伯的一位友人以利法就是来自提幔(参伯 2:11 )。提幔位于彼特拉以东八公里之外,是以以扫的一个孙子命名的(参创 36:11 )。 

  俄 10-11> “你竟站在一旁”──这是对我的责难吗?但我又没害人…… 

  10-11 以色列人源于雅各;以东人则源自雅各的哥哥以扫(参创 25:19-26 )。以东人在以色列国和犹大国遭难的时候,不但袖手旁观,不去救援,反而趁火打劫。任何拒绝向神子民施以援手的人,都是神的仇敌。如果看见有人在缺乏时却不去帮助他,这就是罪了(参雅 4:17 )。罪不单是指做了坏事,也指不肯去做好事。因此,知道有人欠缺,千万不要坐视不理,更不要拒绝施以援助。 

  俄 12> 看见人家遭难就暗笑他活该?你说你不会;我想想我也应该不会,但有时候…… 

  12 以东人憎恨以色列人,看见犹大有难竟然十分欢乐,希望他们灭亡,为此神将以东的名字从地上抹掉。你看见别人遇到不幸的事是否感到高兴?别忘了只有神才有资格作审判,纵使那是他们应得的,我们也不应因别人遭逢不幸而高兴。(参箴 24:17 ) 

  俄 12-14> 以东对他的兄弟做了什么?为何神不怜悯他? 

  12-14 在以色列和犹大四邻的国家中,只有以东得不到神的怜悯应许,因为他们洗劫耶路撒冷,又对以色列人和犹大人遭难幸灾乐祸。以东人在血缘兄弟遇难时背叛他们,与兄弟的敌人同伙(参诗 137:7 ;耶 49:7-22 ;结 25:12-14 ;摩 1:11-12 )。 

  俄 15> 耶和华降罚的日子临近了!我,将如何向神交账? 

  15 神为什么要降罚于万国?因为除以东之外,还有一些国家高兴看见犹大覆亡。万族万国万民都要按他们对神子民的态度接受审判。有些国家善待神的子民,有些则敌视他们。神会按各人对待别人的态度,尤其是对待信徒的态度来施行审判(参启 20:12-13 ),耶稣对此也早已言明(参太 25:31-46 )。 

  以色列与以东冲突的历史 

  俄 17-21> 以东曾不可一世,但终照先知所预言的灭亡── 

  17-21 以东是在公元前 164 年,被犹大马喀比王朝覆灭的。到了公元一世纪,整个国家已不复存在。俄巴底亚发出这预言时,以东似乎比犹大有更大的生存机会,但最终以东灭亡了,而犹大却仍然存留。这个事实表明,神是言出必行的,所有恶待神子民的人一定会遭到惩罚。 

  俄 19> 南地,是一处怎样的地方? 

  19 南地在犹大国的南部,是一片既干又热的地区。高原地带则在犹大西部。 

  俄 20> 被掳之人回到撒勒法、西法拉,这两地位于…… 

  20 将来国家的边界会包括迦南人(腓尼基人)的土地,南至撒勒法,即地中海沿岸介乎推罗与西顿的地区。西法拉很可能就是撒狄。 

  俄巴底亚 

  俄 21> 先知时代,人心蔑视神;今天也差不多,人类的盼望哪里去了? 

  21 以东人内心蔑视神,又公然与神对抗,神不喜悦他们的态度,因此俄巴底亚宣告了神对以东的审判。今日世人的表现跟俄巴底亚时代的人差不多;狂傲、嫉妒、欺诈到处可见,不知何日方消。不过,罪恶虽然好像得胜,但神仍然掌管一切。你在与罪恶争斗之时,别灰心丧气,当知道一切过去后,神仍是天地的主,对祂的信靠是不会落空的。 

  俄 21> 俄巴底亚书讲到的拯救与审判我明白了多少?其中与我的关系…… 

  21 从以东的例子我们看见所有敌视神的国家的下场。神应许保护祂的子民,不让他们全被歼灭,任何事都不会令神不守诺言。俄巴底亚书指出神审判信息的四方面:( 1 )恶人必遭惩罚;( 2 )信靠神的人对未来有盼望;( 3 )神掌管人类的历史;( 4 )神的终极目标是建立一个永恒的国度。以东人狂傲自大,残忍地对待神的子民,趁火打劫;任何国家若苦待神的子民,也会遭到惩罚,即使他们外表看来无人可敌。同样,我们每个人都不可以财富或安稳的地位自满,以致看不见神子民的困乏。不去帮助别人就是罪,神是公义的,任何人犯罪,都会受到惩罚。──《灵修版圣经注释》