20 Feb 2018, Gen 20 创20章, The Way of Sanctification 成圣的道路

Posted on Jan 31, 2018 in Devotions, Genesis |

Scripture Reading        : Gen 20

Theme                            : The Way of Sanctification

 

Relapse.

The man of faith started walking by sight (v. 11), became frightened (Prov. 29:25), and began scheming (Gen. 12:10ff.). This time, even Sarah lied (v. 5)! Whatever we carry with us from the old life (v. 13) will create problems in the new life. It is one thing to confess our sins but another thing to judge them before God and forsake them (Prov. 28:13). When a marriage must be protected by a lie, the home is in danger.

Revelation.

God spoke to the heathen king but not to His own friend, Abraham! Although God kept the king from sinning, He allowed Abraham to lie! God called Abraham to be a blessing, but now he had become a curse in the land. God was protecting Sarah, Isaac, and His great plan of salvation.

Rebuke.

What a humiliating thing to be openly rebuked by a pagan king. God sometimes uses the unsaved to chasten the saved. The fact that Abraham was a believer did not give him license to sin. Unfortunately, years later, Abraham’s son Isaac would imitate his father’s sin (Gen. 26).

Restoration.

In those days, the paying of a large sum of money was public “atonement” for guilt; however, sin is never profitable. God did not forsake His friend (Ps. 105:15; 2 Tim. 2:12–13) but honored him in the end and answered his prayer. Financially, Abraham was richer; spiritually, he was poorer. He lost character as well as opportunity to witness and glorify God. [1]

Praying the Scripture

  1. Yes, Abraham fell again. Temptations come in many different sizes and shades. Just when we think everything is safe and sound, we fall into it. Let’s pray that we keep watching and praying that we may not enter into temptation. (Mat 26:41)
  1. If we walk uprightly, God will protect us from sinning. This is what we learn from Genesis 20:6, “Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. (Gen 20:6) Let us pray that we’ll walk in righteousness and obey God from our hearts. The Lord will be faithful and protect us from sinning.

[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, With the Word Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), Ge 20:1.

 
 
 
 

经文：创20章

主题：成圣的道路

 

复发。

当信徒开始凭眼见行事时（11节）、就会担心受惊（箴29:25），开始心里谋算。（创12:10）这一次，连撒拉也说谎了！（5节）无论我们从旧生命里带来什么（13节），它都将使我们新的生命产生问题。承认自己的罪是一回事，把罪带到神前来受审并离弃它们又是另一回事。（箴28:13）当婚姻必须由一个谎言来维护时，那这家必会处在危险之中。

启示

神向外邦的异教国王说话，也不与自己的朋友亚伯拉罕说话！虽然神阻止异教国王犯罪，但祂却允许亚伯拉罕说谎！神呼召亚伯拉罕成为别人的祝福，但他却导致这片土地受到诅咒。但神却是正在保护撒拉、以撒和祂伟大的救赎计划。

训斥

在公开场合上被一个异教国王斥责是多么丢脸的事啊。神有时会使用不信徒来教训真信徒。事实上，亚伯拉罕身为信徒并不代表他就可以犯罪。不幸的是，在多年以后，亚伯拉罕的儿子，以撒，也犯下父亲同样的罪。（创26）

恢复

在当时支付大笔钱是“赎罪”的方法；然而，犯罪从来就不会得到好处。神没有离弃祂的朋友（诗105:15；2摩2:12 – 13），反而尊重他并回应他的祷告。在金钱上，亚伯拉罕更富裕了；但在属灵上，他更贫穷了。他失去见证和荣耀神的机会。

 

 

用经文祷告

  1. 是的，亚伯拉罕再次跌倒了。诱惑以许多不同的方式和表现呈现在我们的面前。当我们正觉得一切都安然无恙时，我们就跌倒了。让我们祈祷神使我们能随时保持警惕，并祷告我们不会掉入诱惑的陷阱。 （太26:41）
  1. 如果我们行为正直，神就会保守我们不犯罪。这就是我们从创世记20:6知道的：“神在梦中对他说：我知道你作这事是心中正直；我也拦阻了你，免得你得罪我，所以我不容你沾着他。”（创20:6）让我们一起祷告，使我们行在公义的道路上并从心里顺服神。信实的主将保守我们不犯罪。