16 Feb 2018, Gen 17 创17章, New Life 新生

Posted on Jan 31, 2018 in Devotions, Genesis |

Scripture Reading        : Gen 17

Theme                            : New Life

 

New revelations.

As far as the record is concerned, God waited thirteen years before He revealed Himself again to Abram. During those quiet intervening years, Abram continued to walk with God and serve Him. He did not need constant special revelations to do God’s will, nor do we. God reaffirmed His covenant and then gave Abram the sign of circumcision as the mark of that covenant. How unfortunate that many of the Jews trusted in the sign rather than in the Lord (Acts 15:5; Rom. 4:10; Gal. 5:6)! God wanted an inward change of the heart, not just surgery on the body (Deut. 10:16; Jer. 4:4).

New names.

In Bible history, a new name means a new beginning, a step forward in faith. (See Gen. 32:28; John 1:40–42.) Abram means “exalted father”; it became Abraham, “father of a multitude.” Sarai (“contentious”) became Sarah, “a princess.” God even revealed a new name for Himself: God Almighty. The only name that did not change was Ishmael, for what is born of the flesh remains flesh and cannot be changed (John 3:6).

New joy.

At last, the long-awaited son would be born, and his name would be “Isaac—laughter.” No wonder Abraham laughed (John 8:56). Abraham wanted to cling to his past mistake (v. 18) instead of looking to the future miracle that God would perform. Abraham and Sarah’s impatient act of unbelief had brought sorrow and division into the home, but God’s miracle of faith brought joy and peace (Rom. 15:13). It pays to trust God’s way and wait for God’s time. [1]


Praying the Scripture

  1. It is very difficult for us to wait on the Lord. Yet God’s way is not our way (Isa 55:9). Why would God want Abraham to wait for thirteen years? Because the Lord wanted Abraham to know that God is all-sufficient and all-powerful, and that nothing is impossible for Him. After Abraham’s battle with the four kings, God came to him as a warrior and told him He was Abraham’s “shield.” When Abraham wondered about Sodom’s wealth, God told him He was his “exceedingly great reward” (Gen. 15:1). Now when Abraham and Sarah were “as good as dead,” God assured them that He was more than sufficient to bring about the miracle birth. Yes, God is going to bless us but the obstacle is that we still rely on our own way and not his way. A father will not give his son his fortune unless the son knows how to handle it. Let’s pray that we grow in Christ to know Him and His way quickly.
  1. New name means new character. After 13 years Abram finally learned the lesson and now his name is changed to Abraham. Sarai’s name also changed to Sarah. If we claim to know God and yet there is no change in our lives, we don’t really know Him at all. If theology cannot change you, you have no theology at all. Pray that our theology is not head knowledge but coming face to face with the living God.

[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, With the Word Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), Ge 17:1.

 
 
 

经文：创17章

主题：新生

 

新的启示

从圣经的记录里，神经过了13年后才再次向亚伯兰显现自己。在这沉默的期间里，亚伯兰仍然与神同行并事奉祂。他无需神不间断的特殊启示才可以行神的旨意，我们也一样。后来，神与亚伯兰重申所立的约，并给予亚伯兰割礼的记号作为此约的标记。但许多犹太人却选择相信这约的记号，而不相信主，这是多么的不幸！（徒15:5；罗4:10；加拉太书5:6）神想要的是心里内在的改变，不只外在手术带来的改变。（申10:16，耶4:4）

新的名称

在圣经中一个新的名字意味着一个新的开始，是在信仰上向前迈进了一步。 （见 创32:28；约1:40-42) 亚伯兰的意思是“崇高的父亲”，改为成为亚伯拉罕，“多国的父”的意思。撒莱（“争议”）成为撒拉， “多国之母”的意思。神更是揭示自己一个新的名称：全能的神。唯一没有改变名字就是以实玛利，从肉体所身的，是不能有 变的（约翰一书3:6）。

新的喜悦

期待已久的儿子终于出生了，他的名字是“以撒”（笑声的意思）。难怪亚伯拉罕笑了起来。（约8:56）由于亚伯拉罕执着于过往的错误（18节）并不向前展望神在未来将要执行的奇迹。亚伯拉罕和撒拉因急躁不信，为家里带来了悲伤和分争，但信心的奇迹却带来的喜悦和平安。（罗15:13）相信神和祂的时间必带给我们祝福。


用经文祷告 

  1. 等候主是一件非常困难的事。然而，我们要明白神的道路并不是我们的道路。（赛55:9）为什么神要亚伯拉罕等待十三年呢？因为神要亚伯拉罕知道祂是全备和全能的神，在神没有难成的事。亚伯拉罕与四个国王争战后，神以一个战士的身份来到他的面前告诉亚伯拉罕，祂就是他的“盾牌”。当亚伯拉罕在考虑所多玛的财富时，神告诉他，神才是他“大大的赏赐”。（创15:1）现在，当亚伯拉罕和撒拉“如同死了”，神向他们保证，祂必使孩子奇迹的诞生。是的，神要祝福我们，但神的祝福因着我们依靠自己的方法而不是祂的全能而受到限制。除非孩子知道如何处理财富，不然父亲是不会把财产交给儿子的。让我们祈祷，我们快快的在基督里成长并认识主的祝福。
  1. 新的名字意味着新的生命。经过13年，亚伯兰终于吸取了教训，而现在他的名字已改为亚伯拉罕。撒莱的名字也改为撒拉。如果我们声称认识神，但生命却丝毫没有任何改变，那就证明我们完全不认识神。如果神学没能改变你，那你根本就不知道什么是神学。让我们祈祷，使我们的神学，并不只头脑里的知识，而是活生生的来与神面对面。