16 Sep 2017, Lev 22 利 22章, Fear of the Lord 敬畏耶和华

Posted on Sep 11, 2017 in Devotions, Leviticus |

Scripture Reading    : Lev 22

Theme                        : Fear of the Lord

 

The chapter begins and ends with the solemn admonition, “You shall not profane My holy name” (vv. 1, 32). In chapter 21, God warned the priests not to be defiled by the unclean things; now He warns them not to defile the clean things.

Defective serving(1–9).

It was dangerous for the priests to serve God if they knew they were unclean. They were insulting God, who knows all things, and deceiving the people who depended on them to present their offerings. The prophet Isaiah advised, “Be clean, you who bear the vessels of the Lord” (Isa. 52:11).

Defective sharing(10–16).

The priests fed their families from the sacrifices the people brought, and that holy food could not be given to outsiders, not even a house guest. It is good to be generous, but not if our generosity dishonors God’s gifts (Matt. 7:6). 

Defective sacrificing(17–33).

We must give God the best, for that is what He deserves. Since they pictured the coming Savior, the sacrifices had to be perfect. How easy it is to give to the Lord something we don’t want anymore! Ponder Malachi 1:6–8.[1]


Praying the Scripture

  1. Bible tells us to sanctify the Lord in our hearts (1Pe 3:15). How can we sanctify the Lord in our hearts by offering defective sacrifices to Him? How many times we give the Lord or the church what we do not want. We give the church things we do not want and have no use of them. There is nothing wrong about the idea of not wasting anything including food, clothing and materials things etc. But the Lord should deserve our best not what we do not want. The problem is heart issue. Let’s pray that we give our very best not the very least or the bare minimum to the Lord. In order to safeguard ourselves from this sin, we make sure we give over and above what is required in the Bible. Let’s sanctify the Lord in our hearts.
  2. Do we remember Nadab and Abihu who offered strange fire before the Lord? What about Ananias and Sapphira who lied to the Holy Spirit in the church? Let’s not take our service to the Lord lightly. As Ecclesiastes warns us, “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God (Ecc 5:1). Let’s pray that we have the right fear of the Lord to worship Him.

[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, With the Word Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), Le 22:1.

 
 
 

经文：利 22章

主题： 敬畏耶和华

 

本章开头和结尾，都严肃告诫“不可亵渎我（耶和华）的圣名”（1、32节）。在第21章中，神警告祭司不得被不洁净之物玷污；现在，祂警告他们不要玷污圣洁之物。

有缺陷的侍奉（1-9）

祭司如果知道自己不洁净但仍事奉神，这是很危险的。他们是在侮辱那无所不知的神，也在欺骗依赖他们为自己献祭的百姓。先知以赛亚告诫说：“你们扛抬耶和华器皿的人哪，务要自洁”（赛52:11）。

有缺陷的分享（10-16）

祭司当以百姓所带来的祭物喂养自己的家，但外人和寄居在祭司家中的人都不得吃这圣物。为人慷慨是好，但我们不可玷污神所赐的礼（太7:6）。

有缺陷的祭牲（17-33）

神配的我们把最好的献给他。既然祭物所勾画的是将来的救世主，这些祭牲就必须是完美的。我们如此轻易献上自己所不要的东西啊！请默想玛拉基书1:6-8。


用经文祷告

  1. 圣经告诉我们要在心里尊主基督为圣（彼前3:15）。我们如果把有缺陷的祭牲献上，又如何能做的这一点呢？我们有多少次将所不要的东西献给主或教会？我们给教会的，都是一些我们不要或无用的东西。我们不想要浪费东西的想法是没错，如食物、衣服和材料等，但主配得拥有的是我们最好的一切，而不是些我们不想要的东西。这个问题在于心。让我们祈祷，叫我们能全然献上自己最好的，而不是最少或最低限度标准。为了提防自己陷入这个罪中，我们需要不断反复问自己圣经的要求是什么。让我们在心里尊主基督为圣。
  2. 我们是否还记得在耶和华面前献上凡火的拿答和亚比户？也记得在教会里欺骗圣灵的约亚拿尼亚和撒非喇吗？让我们不要轻视在主前的服侍。正如传道书警告我们的：“你到神的殿要谨慎脚步”（传5:1）。让我们祈祷，叫我们以正确的心来敬拜并敬畏耶和华。