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Manna issue 82 - Editorial 編輯的話

Paradoxical Winter 矛盾的冬季
by Peter Shee—Singapore

新加坡 許彼得傳道

Winter in Israel differs from the drab, depressing and
frosty months in some places. After autumn seeding at the
beginning of the rainy season, the showers increase into
heavy winter rains, causing the crops to grow. The rain
should continue into spring, when the latter rain matures
the grain for harvest. However, weather in the holy land
is as unpredictable as the hearts of the children of Israel,
so when rainfall becomes sporadic or when there is no
latter rain, many of the crops fail to ripen, resulting in
a poor harvest. In biblical times, this was a reflection of
God’s displeasure with His people (Jer 3:3).

以色列的冬天和一些地方沒有生氣，沉悶，冰冷灰白的月候有所不同。
在雨季開始撒種之後，陣雨增加到變成冬天大雨的季節，讓穀物得以生長。
這時的雨水會一直持續到春天，直到晚雨讓殼物成熟，可以收割。
然而，聖經的氣候就像以色列百姓內心一樣，難以預料，
所以當雨水零零散散，或是沒有晚雨的時候，
許多殼物就無法成熟，造成收獲稀少。
由其在聖經的時代中，這是神不高興祂百姓的一個反應。
(耶 3：3)

So on one hand, winter is the gateway to fruitfulness
and vitality; on the other hand, it can be a time of
trepidation. Hence, winter is a time of waiting—either
in joyful expectation of renewal or with repentant prayer
for restoration. In either case, it is a time of looking to
God to fulfill His promises when spring arrives.

所以，一方面，冬天是結果和生氣的入口；
另一方面，它可能是讓人憂慮的時節。
因此，冬天是等候的時間 - 
不是讓人更新的快樂期待，就是回轉的悔改禱告。
不論那一種情況，當春天來臨時，
這是尋求神完成祂應許的時間。

Theme article “The Winter Rains” reminds us of God’s
faithfulness—He executes His eternal plan throughout
human history out of His goodwill, despite human
weakness, fickleness and faithlessness.

主題文章"冬季的雨"提醒我們，神的信實 - 
因著祂美好的旨意，神經由人類的歷史執行他永恆的計劃，
雖然人類很軟弱，又很浮燥，且一點都不信實。

The Bible Study, “The Dwelling Place Where God has
Chosen to Establish His Name (II),” continues to look
at the church as the culmination of God’s dwelling with
men. Time and again, God departs and returns to His
disobedient people, to the land of His choice, to dwell in
the tabernacle erected for His name. From the rejection
of Eli and Shiloh to the choosing of David and Jerusalem,
the Lord maps out His unchanging plan to establish for
Himself a community in the Messiah, in whose midst
He will permanently dwell. From the winter of rejection
to the spring of restoration in the apostolic times—in
today’s context, we witness the revival of the true church
that conforms to the apostolic faith.

查經文章，"神所選擇建立祂名的居所(II)"
繼續來探討教會，就是神與人同在的高點。
一次又一次 神離開了他不聽話的子民，但又回歸，
來到了應許之地，居住於以祂名所立的帳幕之中。
從拒絕以利和士羅，到選擇了大衛及耶路撒冷，
神描繪了祂不變計劃的藍圖，為祂自已在彌賽亞之中建立一個社群，
在其中祂會永遠居住。
從拒絕的冬季，到使徒時代恢復的春天 - 在今日的文章中，
我們見証了真教會的復興，這教會復興與使徒時代的信仰相吻合。

It is interesting to compare God’s departure and return
with the story of departure and return of God’s people from
the land of Israel in “Naomi’s Return.” The Bethlehem
family’s encounter with famine, death, and eventual
restoration ought to teach us to wait on God instead
of losing hope in adversity. Christian understanding of
suffering and our appropriate response to it are explored
in “When Suffering Comes.” The article “Moses Returns
to Egypt (I)” highlights the fact that we do not know
our time and, much less, God’s time. It again brings to
the fore the fact that we should wait on the Lord, for He
makes all things beautiful in His time (Eccl 3:11).

在"拿俄米回歸"的故事中，用神的離去和回歸，
來比較神的子民離開以色列地及回歸的故事，是很有趣的比較。
這個伯利恆的家庭遭到餓荒，死亡，及最後恢復了，
應該就教會我們要等候神，而不是在患難中失去盼望。
基督徒對受苦的了解，及我們對受苦有適當的反應，
在"患難來臨"一文中，對此加以探討。
"摩西回到埃及(I)"一文強調，我們不了解自已的時機，
更不用說，能夠了解神的時機的這個事實。
再一次把這個事實提到人前來強調，
我們應該等候神，
因為神造萬物，各按其時成為美好，
(傳 3：11)

“Against the Tide” takes lessons from Noah, who
stood against the surging waves of moral decline, and
walked with God while waiting for the cleansing deluge.
Moreover, this article cites examples of moral issues in
the modern world and offers practical approaches to
standing against them.

"抵擋潮流"用諾亞來教導我們，
他站起來抵擋一波波道德沉淪的沖擊，
在等候神滅世洪水的時候，與神同行。
不僅如此，這篇文章引用了現代道德問題的例子，
提供了實際的方法來站起來抵擋潮流。

One interesting point in “Hard Hearts” is the call to
thaw our hearts. If there is a commonality between the
summer and winter, it must be the hardness of the parched
ground and the frozen hearts that require thawing.

"硬心"一文中，有一個有趣的觀點，
就是得到呼召要軟化自已的心。
若夏天和冬天有一共通性，
那就是乾旱之地的堅硬，及需要解陳的冰冷之心。

May this issue of Manna evoke in you an earnest
expectation of renewal, and the prayer: “Lord to my
heart bring back the springtime. Take away the cold and
dark of sin!”1

但願本期嗎哪可以在你身上喚醒更新自已的認真期待
也願禱告文"主啊求你來到我心，帶回春天。
消除罪的冷淡和黑暗！"1

1 Kurt Kaiser, “Bring Back the Springtime”. Copyright: 1970 by Word Music (a division
of Word, inc.).

1 Kurt Kaiser, "Bring Back the Springtime 帶回春天”
版權所有 : 1970 by Word Music (a division of Word, inc.).

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