7. Manna issue 65 - The Christ in the Book of Numbers—Part 3: Aaron’s Rod 民數記的基督 — 第三回：亞倫的杖
A Bible Study Series adapted from “The Christ in the Book of Numbers”
by Shen Chuan Chen
查經系列節錄自 陳勝全 長老的著作，"民數記的基督"
INTRODUCTION 簡介
After the Israelites sinned by making a golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai,
Moses rallied God’s faithful to his side, and the sons of Levi duly responded
(Ex 32:26).
As a result, the tribe was later consecrated to the Lord,
in place of the firstborn of the Israelites
(Num 8:16, 18).
They were given the responsibility to assist the sons of Aaron to serve in the tabernacle
(Num 3:6–13, 8:14–15, 19, 22–26).
This grace was a reward for their loyalty.
It was unfortunate, then, that members of this tribe later led the people to sin against God.
以色列人在西奈山腳下，造了一隻金牛犢犯罪之後，
摩西召集神虔誠的信徒到他身邊，而利未的眾子及時回應，
（出 32：26）。
結果，這個支派後來分別為聖獻給了主，
代替以色列人的長子
（民數記 8：16，18）。
他們被賦予協助亞倫兒子在會幕服事的職責
（民數記 3：6-13，8：14-15，19，22-26）。
這種恩典是他們忠誠的回報。
然而不幸的是，這個支派成員後來帶領許多人得罪神。
After the Amalekites and Canaanites had driven the Israelites back to Hormah
(Num 14:45),
a group emerged to challenge the authority of Moses and Aaron.
It comprised Korah, the son of Izhar and the great-grandson of Levi;
Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben;
and 250 leaders of the congregation
(Num 16:1–2).
亞瑪力人和迦南人將以色列人趕去何珥瑪之後
（民 14：45），
有一群人出現，要挑戰摩西和亞倫的權威。
它是以斯哈的兒子和利未的曾孫可拉所組成。
流便支派中，以利押的兒子"大坍和""亞比蘭"，比勒的兒子"安"。
以及 250 名會眾領袖
（民 16：1-2）。
The rebellion gave rise to one of the most painful
and arduous tests for Moses and Aaron in the course of their forty-year leadership.
It was an explosive conflict, with Korah and his supporters forming the majority.
As such, it was a situation that only God could resolve
and showed that the true authority belonged not to Moses or Aaron,
or to anyone else for that matter, but to the Lord Himself.
As it transpired, God exercised that authority to deal with Korah and his company in a most severe manner
(Num 16:31–33).
在摩西和亞倫 40 年的領導過程中，
叛亂引發了其中一次最痛苦的事件和艱鉅的考驗。
這是一場爆炸性的衝突，可拉和他的支持者佔了大多數。
因此，這是只有神才能解決的情況，
並且顯示出來，關於真正的權柄這一點，並不屬於摩西或亞倫，
或是屬於其他任何人，而是專屬於主耶和華本身。
隨著事情的發展，神行使那種權力，以最嚴厲的方式對付可拉和他的同伴
（民 16：31-33）。
After this incident, God made Aaron’s rod come to life:
it sprouted, budded, blossomed and yielded ripe almonds overnight.
This confirmed the leadership of Moses and Aaron,
and halted the rebellion and the people’s murmurings
(Num 17: 1–11).
在這件事之後，神讓亞倫的杖重新發芽了：
它一夜之間發芽、長出花蕾、開花，並結出成熟的杏仁。
這證實了摩西和亞倫的領導權，
平息了叛亂和人民的怨言
（民 17：1-11）。
1 PREFIGURATION OF CHRIST 1 基督的預表
The Book of Exodus portrays the rod as a symbol of power and authority.
For example, we learn of God enabling Moses to turn his rod into a snake,
to prove to the Israelites that he had been chosen by God to lead them
(Ex 4:1–8);
Aaron transforming his rod into a snake before Pharaoh and his magicians,
to show that God had sent them
(Ex 7:8–11);
Pharaoh and his magicians’ counter-attempting to demonstrate their power with their enchanted rods
(Ex 7: 11–13);
Aaron using his rod to bring about the plagues of blood, frogs and lice on Egypt
(Ex 7:19–20, 8:5–6, 16–17 );
Moses lifting his rod to part the Red Sea
(Ex 14:16, 21).
出埃及記將杖描繪成權力和權柄的象徵。
例如，我們明白，神使摩西將他的杖變成蛇，
向以色列人證明，他是被神揀選來帶領他們的
（出 4：1-8）；
亞倫在法老和他的術士面前，把杖變成蛇，
表明神差遣他們
（出 7：8-11）；
法老和他的術士用施法的杖反擊，來展示他們的力量
（例 7：11-13）；
亞倫用他的杖在埃及帶來了血災、青蛙災和蝨災
（出 7：19-20，8：5-6，16-17）；
摩西舉起他的杖來分開紅海
（出 14：16，21）。
During Korah’s rebellion, God made use of Aaron’s rod to manifest His power.
The outcome was not only the cessation of the conflict,
but also visual proof to the Israelites that God had given His authority to Aaron.
This action re-affirmed Aaron’s status as high priest.
可拉背叛期間，神使用亞倫的杖，來彰顯祂的大能。
結果不僅是衝突的止息，
而且也讓以色列人親眼看到，證明神已將權柄交給亞倫。
這一舉動再次肯定了亞倫大祭司的地位。
However, what was not evident to the people at the time
was that the rod also revealed important truths about the coming Messiah.
Like Aaron’s rod, Jesus Christ would resurrect; He would have the power of life
(Heb 8:1)
and be acknowledged as the most honorable, glorious and everlasting High Priest
(Heb 7:20–25).
然而，當時眾人並不清楚的是
就是杖還啟示了關於彌賽亞即將快來的重要真理。
就像亞倫的杖一樣，耶穌基督會復活；他將擁有生命的力量
（來 8：1）
並被公認為最尊貴、最榮耀、最永恆的大祭司
（來 7：20-25）。
2 AARON’S ROD 2 亞倫的杖
2.1 Resurrection 2.1 復活
According to the law of nature, all living things have a beginning and an end.
However, this was not the case with Aaron’s rod,
for God gave it a new lease of life.
This miracle hinted at the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
根據自然的規律，萬物皆有始有終。
然而，亞倫的杖並非如此，
因為神給了它新的生命。
這個神蹟暗示了耶穌基督的復活：
Even though death came to the world
because of the actions of the first man, Adam,
resurrection would come about on account of Jesus Christ
(1 Cor 15:17–22).
Hence, when Jesus was about to raise Lazarus from the dead,
He told Martha,
“I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live”
(Jn 11:25).
即使死亡來到人間，
由於始祖亞當的行為，
復活將因耶穌基督而發生
（林前 15：17-22）。
因此，當耶穌快要使拉撒路從死裡復活的時候，
祂告訴馬大，
“25復活在我，生命也在我。
信我的人雖然死了，也必復活，”
（約 11：25）。
2.2 Affirmation of Priesthood 2.2 祭司職份的確認
They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them,
“You take too much upon yourselves,
for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them.
Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”
(Num 16:3)
聚集攻擊摩西、亞倫，說：
“你們擅自專權！
全會眾個個既是聖潔，耶和華也在他們中間，
你們為甚麼自高，超過耶和華的會眾呢？”
（民 16：3）
The Levites had been given the privilege of ministering before God in the tabernacle,
yet they were not satisfied.
Instead, they were jealous of Moses and Aaron and sought to usurp their leadership.
In doing so, they also rejected Aaron as high priest.
利未人被賦予特權，在會幕中事奉神，
然而他們並不滿意。
相反的，他們嫉妒摩西和亞倫，並想要篡奪他們的領導權。
在這情況下，他們也拒絕了亞倫做為大祭司。
A biblical proverb says,
“A sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones”
(Prov 14:30).
Jealousy is often invoked in those who are capable and upright.
It is a destructive force and is often the Achilles’ heel of many in authority.
We learn, for example, how jealousy made King Saul loose his glory,
(cf. 1 Sam),
and prompted the chief priests to nail Jesus to the cross
(Mk 15:10).
Where jealousy exists, Satan will work further to corrupt the heart of man.
聖經箴言說，
“30心中安靜是肉體的生命；嫉妒是骨中的朽爛。”
（箴 14：30）。
那些有能力和正直的人身上，常常引起嫉妒。
它是一種破壞性的力量，往往是許多達官權貴的致命弱點。
例如，我們了解到，嫉妒如何使掃羅王失去了他的榮耀，
（參見，撒上），
並促使祭司長將耶穌釘在十字架上
（可 15：10）。
嫉妒存在的地方，撒但會進一步腐蝕人心。
In the wilderness journey,
Korah and the other rebels would have witnessed the miracles performed by the two leaders
—evidence that God had appointed the latter to their roles.
Yet jealousy made them disregard Moses and Aaron
and put aside their reverence for God and their own holy status
in order to stir up dissension among the people.
In the end, God executed judgment by opening the earth to swallow up Korah and his company.
He also sent a plague that killed 14,700 Israelites
(Num 16:49).
Such was the outcome of their jealous ambition.
在曠野的旅途中，
可拉和其他叛亂分子會目睹兩位領導人行神蹟
—證明神任命後者擔任他們的角色。
然而嫉妒使他們無視摩西和亞倫，
拋開對神的敬畏和自己的聖潔地位，
以挑撥百姓之間的紛爭。
最後，神通過張開大地吞下可拉和他的同伴，來執行審判。
祂還引起了一場瘟疫，殺死了 14,700 名以色列人
（民 16：49）。
這就是他們嫉妒野心的結果。
Immediately after Korah’s rebellion, God performed a miracle:
He made Aaron’s rod come to life.
This miracle gave the stiff-necked congregation another opportunity to reflect on their behavior.
In truth, God did not need not to do this,
for He had personally appointed Aaron to his office
and had already confirmed his calling through many miraculous signs.
Yet He chose to perform one more miracle to re-affirm the status of His servant
and to let the people know that they owed him due honor.
可拉背叛後，神立即行了神蹟：
祂使亞倫的杖復甦起來。
這個神蹟給了硬頸頑固的會眾另一個機會，來反省他們自已的行為。
事實上，神不需要這樣做，
因為祂親自任命亞倫擔任他的職務，
並且早已通過許多奇妙的異象證實了祂的呼召。
然而他選擇再行一個神蹟，來重新確定祂僕人的地位，
並讓百姓知道他們欠他應有的尊重。
Aaron’s plight could mirror the experience of our Lord Jesus.
Despite coming to the world as the Messiah,
the Jews did not give Him any glory or honor, and many failed to believe in Him.
Nevertheless, the Lord resurrected from the dead
and manifested His status as the everlasting High Priest
(Heb 7:23–25).
亞倫的困境可以反映到我們主耶穌的經歷。
儘管以彌賽亞的身份來到這個世界，
猶太人沒有給他任何榮耀或尊貴，並且許多人不相信祂。
然而，主從死裡復活，
並彰顯祂永遠大祭司的身份
（來 7：23-25）。
2.3 Chosen Man of God 2.3 神的選民
The Bible records that “the rod of Aaron was among their rods”
(Num 17:6).
In this way, God wanted to show to the Israelites that Moses did not manipulate the rods,
but that the ensuing result would be God’s own decision.
When the rods were retrieved the next day,
all of them were in their original state except Aaron’s rod.
The latter had miraculously budded, flowered and borne fruit overnight.
聖經記載“亞倫的杖也在其中。”
（民數記 17：6）。
用這樣的方式，神想要向以色列人表明，摩西並沒有控制操弄這些手杖，
但接著發生的結果，將會是神自己的決定。
隔天取回手杖時，
除了亞倫的杖之外，他們全部的手杖都保持了原來的狀態。
亞倫的杖一夜之間，神奇的發芽開花結果。
What happened to the rod reflected to some extent what Aaron had experienced.
Like his rod, Aaron had been indistinguishable from any other person before God chose him for service:
he had no obvious merits and no special status.
But when he received his calling, the Lord empowered him to overcome the schemes of Pharaoh;
gave him the privilege to stand before the ark of covenant;
and appointed him to the office of high priest to serve the most holy God.
在一定程度上, 杖所發生的事反映了亞倫的經歷。
就像他的杖一樣，在神選擇他為他來服事之前，亞倫與任何其他人都沒有區別：
他沒有明顯的優點，也沒有特殊的地位。
但當他得到呼召時，主賜他力量來克服法老的詭計。
讓他得尊榮站在約櫃前；
並任命他為大祭司事奉，服事至聖的神耶和華。
Aaron’s blossoming rod reinforced the point
that Aaron was able to minister and bear fruit on account of God’s divine grace and power.
For that reason, no one had the right to reject him as high priest.
亞倫的開花手更強調了這一點，
亞倫能夠事並結果，是因為神的神聖恩典和大能。
因此，沒有人能有權拒絕神，成為祂的大祭司。
The miracle of Aaron’s rod also reminds us that we,
as Christians, were once sinners
—indistinguishable from others in the world.
However, when God chose us, He bestowed us with power and honor,
and the privilege to partake in His holy work.
Apostle Paul understood this truth, for he said,
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us”
(2 Cor 4:7).
Our achievements are like the budding of Aaron’s rod:
they are only possible because of God.
亞倫手杖的神蹟也提醒我們，
我們作為基督徒，曾經是罪人，
—與世上其他人沒有區別。
然而，當神揀選我們的時候，祂賜予我們力量和榮耀，
並且有參與祂聖工的特權。
使徒保羅明白這個真理，因為他說，
“7我們有這寶貝放在瓦器裡，
要顯明這莫大的能力是出於神，不是出於我們。”
（林後 4：7）。
我們的成就就像是亞倫手杖的萌芽：
他們之所以成為可能，是因為有神。
2.4 Blossoms of Hope 達成盼望
The almond tree is native to Egypt and Israel.
It flowers ahead of other trees, usually in the first or second month of the year,
and announces the coming of spring.
It has lush green foliage, grey branches, fragrant white (or pink) blossoms,
and green fruits that turn brown when ripe, splitting open to reveal an edible nut.
We can imagine that the sight of Aaron’s rod blossoming
and bearing fruit in the inhospitable wilderness would have created quite a stir.
But most importantly, the flowering rod served to quell Korah’s rebellion
and re-affirmed Aaron’s position as high priest.
Furthermore, this wondrous sign hinted at the future Messiah and His status
as the firstfruits of resurrection
(1 Cor 15:20).
杏仁樹是原生產於埃及和以色列的。
它會比其他樹木先開花，通常會在每年開始的第一個月或第二個月，
並且宣告春天的到來。
它有鬱鬱蔥蔥的綠葉，灰色的樹枝，芬芳的白色（或粉紅色）花朵，
成熟的時候，綠色果實變成褐色，並且裂開露出裡面可食用的種子。
我們可以想像亞倫手杖開花的景象，
在荒涼的曠野中結出果實會引起不小的轟動。
但最重要的是，開花的手杖平息了可拉的叛亂，
並重新確認亞倫大祭司的地位。
此外，這個奇妙的異象暗示了未來的彌賽亞以及他地位，
以後會作為復活初熟的果子
（林 15：20）。
When Jesus came to the world,
He made it His mission to teach, heal and proclaim the gospel of the heavenly kingdom.
He showed compassion on the people
who were, in His eyes, like sheep without a shepherd
(Mt 9:35–36).
Through His work, the hearts of men came to life.
Therefore, Jesus was like the almond blossoms,
bringing hope by signaling the end of the harsh winter and the arrival of spring.
當耶穌來到世上時，
他決定自已的使命是教導、醫治及宣揚天國的福音。
他很同情百姓，
在他的眼中，他們像是沒有牧羊人的羊
（太 9：35-36）。
通過祂的行動，人們的心得到生命。
因此，耶穌就像杏仁開花，
藉由預表嚴冬結束和春天來到，以帶來盼望。
In response to Korah’s rebellion, God gave a sign to the Israelites:
He made Aaron’s rod sprout, blossom and bear ripe almonds.
By doing so, He put an end to their doubts and re-affirmed Aaron’s position as high priest.
However, the miracle also pointed forward to the coming Messiah,
specifically His resurrection, which established Him as the everlasting High Priest.
As Christians, we should trust in the leadership and guidance of this everlasting High Priest
with a submissive and humble heart.
為了面對可拉的叛變，神給以色列百性一個異象：
神使亞倫的手杖發芽、開花並結出成熟的杏仁。
如此一來，神打消了他們的疑慮，再次確認亞倫大祭司的地位。
然而，這個神蹟也指向未來的彌賽亞，
特別是祂的復活，並確立祂永遠成為大祭司。
作為基督徒，我們應該懷著一顆順服謙卑的心
信靠這位永恆大祭司的領導和指引。
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
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