旧约 - 西番雅书(Zephaniah)第1章

The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked: and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.
I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;
And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham;
And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him.
Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.
And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.
In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.
Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.
And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.
Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.
The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
西番雅书第一章   第 1 章 

  西番雅 

  番 1:1> 先知西番雅说预言是在── 

  1:1 西番雅在犹大王约西亚的年代作先知。约西亚跟随神,在他执政期间,在圣殿里发现了神的律法书,他读过之后,就发起了一次重大的宗教复兴运动(参王下 22:1-23:25 )。西番雅向人发出警告,要人离开自己的罪,否则审判就会来临。他的工作加快了这次复兴运动的步伐。尽管这次大复兴使全国回转归向神,但只持续了很短时间,因为偶像没有被根除。约西亚死后十二年,犹大被巴比伦占领,一部分人被掳到巴比伦去。 

  番 1:2-15> 言必信,行必果,我信神是这样的吗? 

  1:2-15 犹大人纵然受到神那最权威的明确警告,却仍拒不听从。要么因为怀疑神的先知,所以不相信那信息是出于神的;要么因为对神本身怀疑,因此不信祂会说得出做得到。如果拒绝看圣经和听神的话,我们就会像犹大人一样短视,也必会一样受到惩罚。 

  番 1:4> 不执行神的命令会有什么后果?我常这样提醒自己吗? 

  1:4 以色列人到达应许之地时,神曾命令他们要彻底消灭拜偶像的异族。但他们没有执行,反而开始拜迦南的神。迦南人信奉众多的神。巴力是众神之首,象征力量和生育。百姓背弃神而去拜巴力,令神气愤至极。 

  番 1:4-6> 拜偶像屡禁不绝,这偶像的魔力还真大,要小心…… 

  1:4-6 历史上有很多崇拜偶像的事。偶像不单是一尊尊的木像石像,任何被视为比神更尊贵的东西都是偶像。人们信靠自己、金钱和权力而不信靠神,所以时至今日,崇拜偶像依然十分流行。但是最终人们会知道所有偶像都是虚无的,只有真神必然得胜。所以我们凡事要先求神(参太 6:33 ),并除祂以外不敬拜别的神只。(参出 20:3 ) 

  番 1:5> 犹大人有多个崇拜对象,今日的信徒会不会…… 

  1:5 犹大人渐渐成为多神的民族,他们敬拜耶和华,也敬拜当地的诸神,还把异教崇拜的仪式引进真神敬拜中。但神吩咐他们不可敬拜别神(参出 20:1-5 ),所以他们犯了弥天大罪。他们也拜亚扪人的神摩洛,甚至随俗献儿童为祭,这更是可憎的罪。神早已藉摩西警告以色列人不要拜这个假神(参利 18:21 ; 20:5 )但他们却充耳不闻。神要照警告毁灭他们。 

  番 1:7> “耶和华的日子”是指末日吗? 

  1:7 审判之日和大屠杀将在巴比伦攻占犹大时来临。先知看到这些预言终会发生,然而他不知道何时会发生,也不知道发生的次序是怎样的。很多人认为这些预言有双重的应验,一次在预言发出后不久,另一次是在末日的时候。有些学者则相信,这些关于审判的预言全要到末日才应验。 

  番 1:8-9> “穿外邦衣服”也有罪吗?其实── 

  1:8-9 穿着外邦人的衣服,显示人们渴求外邦的神和生活方式。领袖应给百姓作好榜样,可是他们竟随从外邦的习俗,显出他们无视神的命令,污辱上主之名。“跳过门槛”是异族的习惯(参撒上 5:5 )。 

  番 1:12> “如酒在渣滓上澄清的”,先知耶利米也说过这话,在这里…… 

  1:12 神要提灯巡遍全城,惩罚那些该受罚的人。他们没有鉴察自己的心,对神麻木不仁,看到周围的道德沉伦(渣滓上残存的酒)也心安理得,所以神要用巴比伦来审判他们。二十年内,巴比伦人会进入耶路撒冷,把百姓从藏身之处拉出来,或俘掳或杀掉。没有人能逃脱神的审判,也没有人能在神面前隐藏。 

  番 1:12-14> 神的审判过去有,将来的末日有,现在会不会有…… 

  1:12-14 有些人以为神是纵容溺爱世人的天父,祂到处闲游视察,却没有改变人生命的真正能力;也有很多人不相信神的权能,更不相信祂要来审判世人。但神是圣洁的,祂必要严厉地审判世界,公正地审判所有活在罪中、对祂麻木不仁、对公义漠不关心的人。对神不闻不问的人常以为神对他们的罪爱理不理,但是他们终会惊讶地发现,耶和华的大日临近了。 

  番 1:14-18> 耶和华的大日临近……且甚快!就是说── 

  1:14-18 耶和华的大日临近了,巴比伦人不久便会来摧毁耶路撒冷。耶和华的日子对我们来说也近了。神立定将有一个最后的审判,就是全地被毁的一天(参启 20:12-15 )。巴比伦军兵占领犹大,就像西番雅预言的那样确实且可怕的发生了。神最后审判的日子也是确定的,但祂拯救的能力也是确定不移的。要免于审判,我们就要承认自己所犯的罪。既知道罪必带来审判而我们又不能自救,就当全心倚靠神,因为只有祂才能拯救我们。 

  番 1:18> 金钱是邪恶的,你说不是这样── 

  1:18 金钱本身并不邪恶,只是它不能救我们。在今生,金钱可以扭曲我们的观念,给我们安全和有能力的感觉。以色列人的财富不能救他们免受巴比伦的侵略,同样在最后审判之时,我们的财富也是毫无价值的。只有基督为我们所成就的救赎工作存到永远。要是我们信基督,祂便能救我们。不要相信金钱,要信靠基督。──《灵修版圣经注释》