旧约 - 创世记(Genesis)第35章

Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau."
So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.
Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone."
So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem.
Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.
Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.
There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So it was named Allon Bacuth.
After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.
God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel." So he named him Israel.
And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body.
The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you."
Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.
Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it.
Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.
Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty.
And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for you have another son."
As she breathed her last--for she was dying--she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.
So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel's tomb.
Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.
While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it. Jacob had twelve sons:
The sons of Leah: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.
The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
The sons of Rachel's maidservant Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali.
The sons of Leah's maidservant Zilpah: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years.
Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
创世记第卅五章   第 35 章 

  创 35:2> 我心仍有一些“偶像”,以致我忘了神?不会吧…… 

  35:2 当时,人们有时也相信偶像可以带来好运,而并不一定把偶像当作神。所以有些以色列人虽然敬拜神,仍然在家中安放偶像,正如现在有些基督徒佩戴一些幸运小饰物一样。雅各认为在他家中不应当存有偶像,免得他的家人在属灵的事上对神分心。 

  雅各吩咐家人把外族的神像彻底除掉,同样,我们也要除掉生命中的偶像,不然我们的信心会被毁灭。我们有什么偶像呢?偶像不一定是触摸得到的物件,它可能是某些思想或欲望。总之,任何取代神在我们心中的位置的东西,就是偶像,我们应当除掉它们。 

  创 35:4> 耳环也要除下?难道这也是…… 

  35:4 为什么大家把自己的耳环给雅各呢?耳环只是饰物,本身并不邪恶。但是在雅各的时代,人常常把佩戴耳环当作趋吉避邪的护身符。雅各的家人要除掉一切异教的影响,这些零碎的东西当然也包括在内。 

  创 35:10> 人生风雨多,信靠救主安然过!你的经历呢? 

  35:10 神提醒雅各记住自己的新名字“以色列”──意思是与神角力。虽然雅各一生饱经风霜,但他的新名字显示他不介意人生苦楚,仍切望与神亲近。 

  许多人以为信基督教会带来一帆风顺的人生,以致在逆境的时候就失望、离开信仰。其实应当在人生风暴中,坚定地倚靠神战胜艰难与试炼。艰辛的事虽然痛苦,却是难免的(参伯 5:7 )。我们不妨把它们看作是使自己灵命成长的机会,因此有问题要解决时,我们要求告神、倚靠神。 

  创 35:13-14> 向神表示崇敬其实可以很简单… 

  35:13-14 雅各浇在石柱上的油是纯净的橄榄油,价值不菲,显出石柱是受到何等的尊重。雅各藉此表示与神相遇的地方是非常尊贵的。 

  创 35:22> 没有人可以逃避罪的恶果。我心总想,如果神不知道我的罪就好了…… 

  35:22 吕便是长子,本来应当得到双份的产业,在众兄弟中居领导的地位,但他因所犯的罪付上了极大的代价。虽然他没有立时失去什么,或许他也以为自己可以幸免受罚。圣经一直没有再提到这件事,但是雅各在临终前向众子祝福时,突然把吕便的双份产业拿走给了别人,并向他说明原因:“你上了你父亲的床,污秽了我的榻。”( 49:4 ) 

  犯罪的恶果未必会即时报应。我们做错了事,或许会以为自己可以逃之夭夭,殊不知道罪已无声无息地结出严重的恶果来。 

  雅各回希伯仑──《灵修版圣经注释》