Exhortation 05/20/2007 Reading: Isaiah 10 Bro Carl Parry
2007年5月20日讲道词 读经：以赛亚书第10章 卡尔派瑞弟兄
Isaiah chapter 10 outlines two main issues for us to consider this morning as we remember the work of salvation that God has achieved in His Son. Firstly, how does God’s providence work amongst His people? Secondly, how does God look after His people when they are confronted with the most frightening of circumstances?
以赛亚书10章为我们今天早上概括了2个主要问题，来纪念。 首先，神的道是如何在他的民中做工的？第二，在他们身处恐怖环境中，神是如何看护他的民的？
Judah was facing the brutal and fearless Assyrian power. We might not face an invasion like this but we often face difficult circumstances which test our faith to the very limit.
犹大面对残暴的、无惧的亚述的力量。我们也许不会面临这样的侵害，但是我们经常面对试探我们信心的困境。
So what can we learn from Isaiah’s words in this chapter that will help us to remain steadfast to the end? The prophet explains the way in which God manipulates nations like Assyria for His purpose and focuses on how He cares for and preserves a small remnant of faithful people despite this terrible adversity.
我们从以赛亚书这个章节学到的可以帮助我们持守神的话语？这位先知解释了神为了他的目的操控亚述这样的民族的方法和神是如何看护和保存人在苦难中残留的一点点信心的。
It is a fitting chapter to draw our minds to God’s work today in Christ in preserving a small remnant of believers in these last days.
这一章恰当地把我们引导到神今天在基督里的做工来保守这末日的信徒的信心。
Imagine living in Jerusalem in Isaiah’s day knowing that your country was about to be invaded by one of the most evil nations of the period. You would be asking yourself many questions - how can God maintain His righteousness and still use such excessive evil to achieve His purpose? Is God punishing His people or is He putting their faith to the test? What will happen to the faithful during all this time? Will the innocent be destroyed along with the wicked?
想一想生活在以赛亚时代的耶路撒冷人们知道自己的国家将被当时最邪恶的民族之一入侵。你可能会问自己很多问题 – 神怎样保守他的义并仍然用这样超级的恶来达到他的目的？神是在惩罚他的民或者是试探他们的信心？在这个时代那些有信心的人会怎么样？那些无辜的人会被邪恶摧毁吗？
These questions are still relevant today. Whether we live in a prosperous country or in a country devastated by warfare and hardship, we must believe “that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28). Isaiah’s words in his 10th chapter will assist us in appreciating this truth a little more clearly.
这些问题今天仍然存在。无论我们生活在发达的国家或是被战争和困苦蹂躏的国家，我们必须相信“我们晓得万事都互相效力，叫爱神的人得益处，就是按他旨意被召的人”（罗马书8：28）。以赛亚在他的第10章将帮助我们更清晰地鉴别这个真理。
One of the first points that the prophet makes is that God does use evil to carry out His purpose. Assyria was like a rod in God’s hands (v5), and it should be noted that a rod is used to correct people, not destroy them. Hence we read in Prov 29:15; “the rod and reproof give wisdom” and again in Prov 13:24; “he that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him quickly.”
先知指出的第一点是神用恶来执行他的目的。亚述就像神手中的棍，应该注明这个棍是用来改正人民的，而不是摧毁他们。我们读到箴言29：15；“杖打和责备能增加智慧”，箴言13：24；“不忍用杖打儿子的，是恨恶他，疼爱儿子的，随时管教”
We all need correction, even though we may be grown up adults. Hence Paul wrote this:“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Heb 12:5-11)
我们需要修正，尽管我们可能已经是成人。保罗写到：“你们又忘了那劝你们如同劝儿子的话，说：我儿，你不可轻看主的管教，被他责备的时候也不可灰心。因为主所爱的，他必管教，又鞭打凡所收纳的儿子。你们所忍受的，是神管教你们，待你们如同待儿子。鄢有儿子不被父亲管教的呢？凡管教的事，当时不觉得快乐，反觉得愁苦，后来却为那经练过的人结出平安的果子，就是义。”（希伯来书12：5-11）
God loves us and therefore scourges us. (It is the same Greek word used of Pilate flogging Jesus in John 19:1). Our part is to endure these trials and to be exercised by them so that we can produce fruitfulness in our lives. The reassurance we have is that God knows how much pressure to apply and how long the pressure needs to continue for.
神爱我们，因此鞭打我们。我们这一方是去承受这些冶炼，在我们的生命中结出果实。我们拥有的保险是神知道我们能承受多大的压力和这压力需要持续多久。
How God rewards people
神如何奖赏人
Assyria had no idea that it was being used to achieve this end. In fact its motive in attacking Judah was simply to “destroy and cut off nations” (v7). It boasted in its ability to conquer the world, when in reality God had paved the way for its success by raising up weak nations (v13-15, 2 Kings 19:26).
亚述不知道终点。事实上他进攻犹大的动机只是简单的“摧毁和剪除国”（V7）。他自夸占领世界。事实上，神通过兴起弱小民族铺平了通向成功的路。（V13-15, 列王记下19:26）
As a result of this arrogance God would punish Assyria. As v12 states: “Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.”
因为他的傲慢，神惩罚了亚述。12节里：“主在锡安山和耶路撒冷成就他一切工作的时候，主说：我必罚亚述王自大的心和他高傲眼目的荣耀。”
When God visits people to punish them it is more akin to giving them a reward than punishing them as such. He rewards people in precisely the same way in which they have behaved or in exactly the same way in which they have rewarded others. Take, for example, the following quotations:
当神降临惩罚人类的时候，就像给他们奖赏而不是单单的惩罚。神奖赏人们的方式就像人们奖赏别人一样。如：
· Jer 17:10 - ‘I Yahweh search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.’
耶利米书17：10- 我耶和华是监察人心，试验人肺腑的，要照各人所行的和他做事的结果报应他。
· Jer 50:29 - ‘recompense her (Babylon) according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her’
耶利米书50：29- 他（巴比伦）怎样待人，也要怎样待他。
· Ps 28:4 - ‘give them according to their deeds and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of heir hands; render to them their desert.’
诗篇28：4- 愿你按着他们所做的，并他们所行的恶事待他们。愿你照着他们手所作的待他们，将他们所应得的报应加给他们。
· Ps 62:12 - Also unto thee O Lord belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.’
诗篇62：12 - 主啊，慈爱也是属乎你，因为你照着各人所行的报应他。
· Rev 22:12 - behold I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be’
启示录22：12 - 看哪，我必快来。赏罚在我，要照各人所行的报应他。
These references teach that God’s response to people’s lives can be immediate and amounts to a just reward in recognition of their behaviour. Perhaps the clearest example is the way in which God responded to David’s sin with Bathsheba and Uriah in 2 Sam 12:9-14. David’s sin was classified as despising the commandment of Yahweh and doing evil. Because he had sinned secretly, slain Uriah, destroyed a household and taken Uriah’s wife, he would experience the same in full repayment - evil in his house, the defiling of his wives and open condemnation.
这些信息告诉我们，神对各人的报应可以是即时的。也许有一个清楚的例子，大卫和拔士巴及对乌利亚的罪，参见撒母耳记下12：9-14。大卫的罪是明显的，他不顾耶和华的命令做恶事。因为他悄悄地犯罪，杀害乌利亚，毁人家庭，又娶乌利亚的妻，他将为此付出同样的代价- 家中兴起祸患，把你的妃傧赐给别人，公开定罪。
Hence God’s response to our lives is perfectly just. What we do to Him and to others, God repays in kind. Even the New Testament message was the same. In 1 Cor 11:30 Paul spoke about those who had neglected the importance of the spiritual feast at the memorial table. ‘For this cause,’ wrote Paul, ‘many are weak and sickly amongst you and many sleep.’ Their physical sickness could be traced back to a poor spiritual diet of the Word of God.
因此, 神对我们是完全公平的。我们是如何对待神和他人的, 神会同样报应我们. 即使在新约的信息中也是一样的. 在哥林多前书11:30,保罗说那些忽视纪念仪式上精神盛宴重要性的人会因此软弱, 保罗写道：“在你们中间有好些软弱的与患病的,死的也不少。”他们肉体的软弱是因为缺乏神的话语的滋养.
God is absolutely just in the measurement of these rewards. It should be noted that Jer. 17:10 teaches that God rewards a person according to a person’s ways and ‘according to the fruit of their doings.’ That is, the reward may not necessarily relate to an isolated incident, it is more likely to be a response to a whole way of life. Furthermore the consequences of the action, or the fruits of our deeds, are weighed and rewarded as well.
神的报应尺度是绝对公平的. 在耶利米书17:10神教导我们：“我耶和华是鉴察人心、实验人肺腑的。要照各人所行为的和他作事的结果报应他。”也就是说，报应不是依照单个的事件而是依照这个人的一生来进行的。因此，行为的结果或者是行动的后果也是报应的衡量标准。
One of the most wonderful thoughts in relation to the response of God towards the faithful is contained in Ps 103:8-18. Here the psalmist states that God ‘hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.’ When God contemplates our shortcomings in all our struggles He is fully aware of all our circumstances and takes into account our frailty. Hence he never fully rewards the righteous according to the full measure their sins deserve. His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear Him. This is not so with the wicked.
在回应神在诗篇103：8-18中说到：耶和华有怜悯，有恩典，不轻易发怒，具有丰盛的慈爱……就是那些遵守他的约，记念他的训词而遵行的人。当神奖赏义人的时候不是以他们所犯的罪来衡量的，他对那些敬畏他的人的怜悯是从更古到永远。这样的怜悯是不会垂帘到那些恶人的。
The Preserving of a Remnant
保守那些剩余的人
In Hezekiah’s time only a fraction of the nation really understood the purpose of the Assyrian invasion. This small group of faithful brethren and sisters were called in v20 “the remnant of Israel” and those that “are escaped out of the house of Jacob.”
在以西结Hezekiah’s时代只有一部分人真正明白亚述侵略的真正目的。这一小部分忠心的弟兄姐妹们在第二十节中被称为：“以色列所剩下的”和“雅各家所逃脱的”。
In actual fact they were two small groups - one from the north which had responded to Hezekiah’s invitation and had moved south - and the other living in Judah. For the first time in many years they were together and God addressed them both as they faced the brutal onslaught of the enemy.
事实上这两小组人-一部分是从北方接到希西家的邀请迁移到南方-另外一部分生活在犹大。在开始的年头里他们在一起生活，在他们面临敌人的残酷攻击时神与他们在一起。
Whilst the remnant were faithful they had allowed themselves to be caught off guard by putting their trust in the powerful nations of the day. And so Isaiah recorded: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon Yahweh the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.” (Isa 10:20-21)
在这剩余的人中，他们的信心在那些强族统治的日子里保守着他们。以塞亚记录到：到那日，以色列所剩下的和雅各家所逃脱的，不再倚靠那击打他们的，却要诚实倚靠耶和华以色列的圣者。所剩下的，就是雅各家所剩下的，必归回全能的神。（以赛亚书10：20-21）
They had wandered off the path and now it was time to lean upon God and return to Him. How important it is to trust in Yahweh with all our heart and not to lean upon our own understanding (Prov 3:5). This is what it means to lean upon God in truth. If our mind is stayed upon Him after this fashion, perfect peace will follow (Isa 26:3-4).
他们迷失，正是该信靠神和回归神的时候了。全心信靠耶和华，不可依靠自己的聪明是多么的重要（箴言3：5）。这是信靠神真理的含义。如果我们的心思信靠神，完美的平安将来临。（以赛亚书26：3-4）
We have to believe that God is mightier than the powerful Assyrian. Our problems sometimes seem so powerful that we feel like giving up, but we have to trust in the fact that our God is greater than all these things. He can do more than we can ever think possible (Eph 3:20-21). All we need to do is to believe this and act upon it.
我们相信神是大能的，远远超出亚述的力量。我们有时觉得自己的困难是如此的大而要放弃， 但是我们要相信事实上我们的神比任何事情都伟大。他的大能远远超乎我们所想的。（以弗所书3：20-21）。我们应该做的是信靠神。
Hence Isaiah continues to offer great words of encouragement to this faithful remnant. “Therefore thus saith the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt” (v24).
因此以赛亚继续宣讲这些伟大的话语来鼓励这些剩余的有信心的人。“所以主万军之耶和华如此说：“住锡安我的百姓啊，亚述王虽然用棍击打你，又照埃及的样子举仗攻击你，你却不要怕他”（V24）。
The words He used to encourage the remnant were very simple, be not afraid of the Assyrian, but in saying this He was making a direct allusion to the offer He once made to Ahaz in chapter 7:4. God encouraged Ahaz many years before and now He was encouraging the remnant with the same thoughts - fear not, believe in my care and you will be established. Ahaz failed through unbelief. What now would the remnant do? Could they believe that God was dwelling in their midst? Could they believe that the Assyrian would be decisively removed?
神用来鼓励这些剩余的人的话语非常简单：不要怕亚述。但是神在说这些的时候直接引用了曾经给亚哈斯的比喻。神多年前鼓励亚哈斯，现在鼓励剩余的人，用的是同样的思想 – 不要怕，相信我的看护，你将会有所建树。亚哈斯因为不信而失败。现在这些剩余的人会怎样？他们能相信神在他们中间吗？他们能相信亚述被打败？
Every encouragement was being offered. Yes, God’s anger was evident in the invasion. Yes, they would be subject to the rod of discipline, but they had to believe it would soon pass. Could they endure for just a little longer? “For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction” (v25). Here is the wonderful thing about the God whom we serve. ‘His anger endureth but a moment; in His favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning’ (Ps 30:5).
每一次鼓励是这样的。是的，神的怒气在这次侵略中显现。是的，他们是惩戒的棍，但是他们还必须相信这一切会很快过去。他们能忍受再长一点吗？第25节：“因为还有一点点的时候，向你们发的忿恨就要完毕，我的怒气要向他发作，使他灭亡。”关于我们所侍奉的神的最美妙的一件事，“因为，他的怒气不过是转眼之间，他的恩典乃是一生之久。一宿虽然有哭泣，早晨便必欢呼。”（诗篇30：5）
Assyria would share the same fate as all oppressors who blaspheme God and attempt to destroy His people. God would brandish a whip over them and destroy them (v26-30). The taskmaster was about to become the slave and the slave was about to be set free.
亚述王将承受跟亵渎神和毁灭神的民的压迫者一样的命运。神要兴起鞭来攻击他。（V26-30）。监工将变成奴隶，奴隶将会得到解放。
This exhortation ‘be not afraid’ is one that is constantly before us in the Scriptures. Human fear is a barrier to faith. Faith and trust in God cannot grow when we are afraid. This is evident from the incident recorded in Exodus 20 when the children of Israel stood before mount Sinai and received the law.
这个劝勉词“不要怕”在这个章节中一直出现在我们面前。人类的恐惧是我们信心的障碍。对神的信心和相信在我们害怕的时候是不能增长的。这样的证据在出埃及记20章中有记载，那些以色列的孩子们在西奈山前接受律法时。
The whole mountain was enshrouded with cloud and darkness. It also shook violently as the voice of God crashed over the plain. Israel’s reaction was one of pure fear. “And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Ex 20:18-19).
整个山是乌云密布，黑暗笼罩。剧烈震动，神的声音响彻旷野。以色列的反映只有单纯的恐惧。“众百姓见雷轰、闪电、角声、山上冒烟，就都发颤，远远的站立，对摩西说：“求你和我们说话，我们必听，不要神和我们说话，恐怕我们死亡”（出埃及记20：18-19）。
But what is important to note is Moses’ reply to this fear. He said, “Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not” (v20).
但是摩西对恐惧的回答是很重要的。 他说，“不要惧怕，因为神降临是要试验你们，叫你们时常敬畏他，不至于犯罪。（出埃及记20：20）
Now there are two kinds of fear mentioned here - human fear and godly fear. The first is a natural human reaction to danger, but the second is based on knowing and understanding God (Prov 1:7). Human fear drives out our ability to trust in God. Godly fear allows us to draw near to Him in absolute trust.
在这里提到两种恐惧 – 人的恐惧和神性的恐惧。第一个是人类对于危险的自然反应，第二个是基于对神的了解和知识 （箴言1：7）。人性的恐惧给了我们相信神的能力。神性的恐惧使我们以绝对的相信来靠近神。
This is why we so often read the phrase ‘Fear not’ in the Scriptures. It is God’s way of saying that there is no need to be afraid of the difficulties that we face. When Jairus approached Jesus for help, the Lord responded by saying: “Be not afraid, only believe” (Mark 5:22).
这是我们为什么在这个章节中经常读到“不要怕”。神的道是不需要我们面临的困难。当睚鲁来找耶酥帮忙时，主回答说：“不要怕，只要相信”（马可福音5：22）
We are a small remnant of believers living in the last days and often we face great trials and difficulties, just like the remnant did in Isaiah’s day. May we have the same courage to banish fear from our lives and to lean upon the mighty God of Jacob in truth.
我们是少数的生活在这末日的信徒，我们经常面临大大的试探和困难， 就象以赛亚时代剩余的人那样。愿我们有同样的勇气去屏除生活中的恐惧信靠真理中的雅各的大能的神。
Summary
· God describes how He uses the wicked (like the Assyrian) to forward His purpose and how He will punish then if they manifest cruelty, blasphemy and pride.
· Assyria is a tool in God’s hand to correct and chastise Israel even though it has no comprehension of this role (v5-7).
· God replies that once He has finished using Assyria in the chastisement of His people, He will return to punish it (v12).
· God rewards people according to their deeds and way of life - either for good or bad.
· As for the remnant (represented by the survivors in Jerusalem) they will turn to God in faith (v20-21).
· God exhorts the remnant in Zion against showing fear. Instead they need to believe that He will destroy the Assyrian and release Judah from bondage (v24-27).
· It is important to banish fear and develop faith instead.