8/19/2020— 2 Kings 21-22

By August 19, 2020 Devotion

每日诗歌: 破碎 Broken ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaBENnfqgc0 )

每日读经:列王纪下21-22 

( https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2kings+21&version=CUVS )

每日金句:

1)王下 22:8 大祭司希勒家对书记沙番说:“我在耶和华殿里得了律法书。”希勒家将书递给沙番,沙番就看了。

2)王下 22:11 王听见律法书上的话,便撕裂衣服

每日问题:

你会宁可继续犯罪而对后果麻木无知,还是想要有人告诉你你的罪会造成怎样的后果?

每日灵修:

英文有一句话说“无知就是幸福”。了解得越多,就越多担心。了解的越少,担心也就越少。可是读完了列王纪下 21-22 章, 我会想约西亚会不会同意这一句话。在21章里, 犹大与神的关系的衰落,以至于玛拿西甚至把坛和亚舍拉像都带进了圣殿,就是那神说他将 “永远奉上我的名”的圣殿。犹大人如此堕落, 神将自己的子民描述甚至比耶和华在以色列人面前毁灭的国家还要糟。因此,神应许他的义怒将落在耶路撒冷和犹大上。现在那“永远奉上他的名”的城市将被抹去,“如人擦盘将盘倒扣。” 可是呢,在五十五年来,玛拿西和犹大子民似乎并没有意识到或关心到神为他们计划的毁灭。他们开开心心不知不觉地走向毁灭之路,变得越来越腐败,越来越远离神。即使在22章中,约西亚26岁的时候,大祭司也发现了律法书,这意味着它已经遗失了很长时间,以至于百姓,甚至大祭司也完全忘记了它。但是,一旦找到法律书,约西亚便意识到神的子民堕落了多远,神的愤怒将有多大。突然之间,约西亚有很多要担心的事。他知道犹大正要面对神的愤怒,并立即派人前往女先知户勒大寻求神。可是太晚了, 神说 “我的愤怒必向这地发作,总不止息”。 但是神还是给了约西亚一些安慰。 因为他在耶和华面前谦卑自己,所以他不会看到神实现他的审判。虽然犹大和耶路撒冷的毁灭仍会发生,但约西亚不会经历。其实神原本可以隐藏那律法书。 那约西亚可能永远就不知道那本书里面说什么。他可能永远不会撕裂衣服, 不会在神面前哭泣,也从未被神听到。犹大和耶路撒冷还是仍将按照神最初的计划被摧毁。然而,神让约西亚有机会了解他的律法并求助于神,就像他让我们有机会悔改求助于他一样。

但是,当神用某人指出我的缺点时,我有多少次会觉得被冒犯?我会用这个作为提醒,离开罪恶, 还是我会认为这个人在攻击我?是神的恩典使我们知道我们是如何得罪他,也是通过他的恩典,我们才可以战胜罪恶并转向他。

祷告:

亲爱天父,我多次想起自己对罪的盲目。像犹大人一样, 我有时可能会开开心心不知不觉地,没意识到我已经渐渐远离神了。帮助我以你所看的方式看待罪恶,这样我就不会对罪麻木, 也不会对罪的后果麻木。感谢你原谅我的罪, 也感谢你每天给我多次的机会来到你面前。阿们!

Daily Hymn:Broken ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaBENnfqgc0 )

Daily Scripture:2 Kings 21-22 

( https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2kings+21&version=CUVS )

Daily Verses

  1. 2 Kings 22:8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.
  • 2 Kings 22:11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes

Daily Questions

Would you rather continue in sin without knowing the consequences, or be told how you are sinning and the consequences that will follow?

Daily Devotion:

There is a saying in English “Ignorance is bliss”. The more you know, the more you worry. The less you know, the less you worry about something. However, when reading 2 Kings 21-22, I wondered if King Josiah would agree with this statement. In chapter 21, we can see the downfall of Judah’s spiritual connection to God, to the point that Manasseh even brought altars and Asherah poles into the holy temple, where God said that he would “put my Name forever”. Judah was so fallen that God described his own people as more evil than the other nations he had destroyed. So, God promised that His righteous wrath would fall on Jerusalem and Judah. The city that he would put His name in forever would now be wiped out “as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down”. And yet, for fifty-five years, Manasseh and the people of Judah did not seem to realize or care about the destruction that God was planning for them. They went blissfully unaware, down the road to destruction, becoming more and more corrupt and falling further and further away from God. Even in chapter 22, when Josiah was 26 years old, the high priest “found” the Book of the Law, which means that it was missing for so long that the people, even the high priest, completely forgot about it. But once the Book of the Law was found, Josiah realized just how far God’s people had fallen, and just how great God’s wrath would be. Suddenly, Josiah has a lot to worry about. He knows that Judah is in great trouble, and immediately sends men to the prophetess Huldah to seek God. But it is too late, and God says that His anger will not be quenched. And yet, God gives Josiah some comfort。 Because he humbled himself before the Lord, he would not see the destruction that God has planned. Although the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem would still come, Josiah would not experience it. Actually, God could have kept the Book of the Law hidden. Josiah would never know what it said inside. He may never have torn his robes, never have wept in God’s presence, never have been heard by God. Judah and Jerusalem would still be destroyed as God originally planned. Yet, God allowed Josiah an opportunity to know His law and to turn to God, just as He allows us the opportunity to turn to Him in repentance. And yet, how many times do I get defensive when God uses someone to point out my shortcomings? Do I look at it as an opportunity to turn away from sin, or do I view it as an attack? It is God’s grace that we even know how we are sinning against Him, and through His grace we can overcome sin and turn to Him.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, I am reminded of many times that I have been blind to my own sin. Like the people of Judah, I may sometimes turn away from you, blissfully unaware that I have moved away from you. Help me to view sin the way you view it, so that I will not become numb to it or its consequences. Thank you for forgiving my sins, and for the many opportunities you give me daily to once again come into your Presence. Amen!