8. Manna issue 65 - Contradictions in the Book of Jonah 約拿記的矛盾
Vincent Yeung—Cambridge, UK 英國劍橋 Vincent Yeung
Jonah’s story has been told and retold,
and yet familiarity obscures unfamiliarity.
When we scan quickly through the Bible,
we often overlook the subtlety of its messages.
Like the well-trodden path of a journey home,
the surroundings and landscape appear familiar;
we profess to know all there is to know,
but our busy minds have long filtered out the details.
For this reason, Jonah’s personality remains foreign and remote.
The readers should ask themselves the question:
is the book simply the story of a failed prophet,
or is it a challenge to examine our own psyche?
約拿的故事已經被一再傳述，
然而，熟悉掩蓋了陌生的部份。
當我們快速瀏覽聖經時，
我們經常忽略其信息的微妙之處。
就像回家路上人來人往的道路，
周圍環境和風景早已熟識；
我們會自稱了解所有該知道的事物，
但我們忙碌的頭腦早已經濾掉了細節。
因此，約拿的個性仍然陌生而遙遠。
讀者應該問自己這個問題：
難道這本書只是一個失敗先知的故事，
還是為了檢查自己的內心的一個挑戰？
CONTRADICTIONS 矛盾
Jonah’s life was full of contradictions.
He was God’s spokesman, but he did not want to preach
(Jon 1:3).
Instead of responding promptly to the divine call,
he set out to escape as far away as possible.
Finally, when he did preach, he did not wish to save
(Jon 3:1–3; cf. 4:2).
Indeed, his message was so negative
(Jon 3:4)
that we marvel at the positive response.
Jonah predicted Nineveh’s condemnation,
and that there would be no way of escape.
約拿的生活充滿了矛盾。
他是神的代言人，但他不想傳道
（約 1：3）。
寧願不立即響應神聖的召喚，
而他開始盡可能地逃跑遠離。
最後，當他真的去傳道時，他不想讓人得救
（約 3：1-3；參見 4：2）。
事實上，他的信息很消極
（約 3：4）
因為我們對人們正面的反應感到很驚訝。
約拿預言了尼尼微的災難，
並且人們將沒有辦法逃脫。
In the book, we see plenty of contrasts
– the prophet’s noble office and his unwillingness to serve;
the gracious intention of God versus the harsh words and intention of the messenger;
the stark mismatch between man’s understanding and reality;
one’s action and intent.
All these clashes must have dug deep into the prophet’s psyche.
書中，我們看到了很多對比，
—先知崇高的職務和他不甘心服事的態度；
神恩典慈愛的用意與傳訊使者的嚴厲言語和意圖；
產生人理解與現實行動的嚴重錯亂；
人的行動和想法。
所有這些衝突一定深深植入了先知的心靈。
DESERVING AND UNDESERVING SINNERS: THE DEMARCATION IN OUR HEART 配得救和不配得救的罪人：我們心中的分界線
It is clear why Jonah ran away from God
(Jon 4:2).
His action was motivated by prejudice:
he deemed the people of Nineveh unworthy of God’s salvation.
Such behavior reveals our instinctive tendency to compare:
to envy those who appear better,
and to look down on those whom we consider inferior.
大家者很清楚，為什麼約拿會躲避神
（約 4：2）。
他的行為是出於偏見：
他認為尼尼微城的百姓不配得到神的拯救。
這種行為揭露了我們內心直覺比較的傾向：
會羨慕那些看起來更好的人，
並且看不起那些我們認為低下的人。
In the parable of the prodigal son,
the older brother toiled day and night,
and was angry and upset when his father held a sumptuous feast to welcome his wayward sibling back
(Lk 15:28–29).
He could not comprehend how his life of servitude appeared less worthy than
that of his brother who had chosen an errant lifestyle,
and had made a split-second decision to turn back only when in dire straits.
在浪子的比喻中，
哥哥日夜辛勞, ，
當他父親舉行奢華宴會，歡迎他任性的兄弟回來時，他很憤怒和沮喪，
（路 15：28-29）。
他無法理解，為何自已奴隸般的生活看起來顯得不如，
弟弟選擇的錯誤生活方式，
並且做出一個瞬間決定，只有在困境中才回頭。
Sometimes, we may feel that some people are so sinful
that it is not possible for them to receive God’s grace,
and the prejudice may be heightened
when we feel that they have benefited from their sinful behavior
(Ps 37:7–8).
有時候，我們可能會覺得，那些人是大罪人
他們是不可能得到神的恩典的，
當我們覺得，他們從罪惡的行為中得到好處，
就會特別注重這種偏見
（詩 37：7-8）。
It was for this reason that
the prophet Habakkuk questioned God’s favorable disposition towards the Chaldeans,
a nation who were seen as violent, wicked and prosperous
(Hab 1:6–17).
Also, we see the contempt of the self-righteous Pharisee for the tax collector praying in the temple
(Lk 18:10–11).
Jonah was no different.
To him, it was inconceivable that Israel’s oppressor could receive God’s grace.
正是因為這個原因，
哈巴谷先知質疑神對迦勒底人的偏心的處置，
他們是一個被為很暴力、邪惡和強盛的國家
（哈 1：6-17）。
而且，我們看到自以為義的法利賽人，鄙視聖殿祈禱的稅吏
（加 18：10-11）。
約拿也不例外。
對他來說，這種情況很不可思議，欺壓以色列的人，還能得到神的恩典。
Do we hold the same type of prejudice deep inside of us?
Do we, from time to time, possess a self-centered attitude?
And do we see the story counteracting a prejudice
that some of God’s chosen people believe they have a monopoly on human virtue
and view the rest of the world with such suspicion
that they refuse to share their experiences and knowledge?
我們內心深處是否亦懷有同樣類型的偏見呢？
我們是否時不時，具有自我為中心的態度呢？
我們是否有看到這個故事正想要反制偏見，
這種偏見是，有些神選民認為他們獨佔了人類的道德，
並以這種懷疑的眼光看待世界其他的地方，
所以他們拒絕分享自已的經驗和知識？
The dividing lines were clearly drawn:
the prophet Jonah versus the depraved city of Nineveh;
the hardworking older son versus the prodigal son;
the righteous Pharisee versus the sinful tax collector.
The contrasts were startling, and yet the outcomes were so unexpected.
Who were more righteous in God’s eyes?
分界線劃分的很明確：
先知約拿對比墮落的尼尼微城；
勤勞的大兒子對比浪子；
公義的法利賽人對比罪惡的稅吏。
對比令人震驚，但結果卻是出人意料。
在神的眼中，那個人才更有公義？
SEEKING TO BE FORGIVEN, YET UNFORGIVING 尋救饒恕，卻未得赦免
Jonah pleaded for God’s mercy deep in the belly of the fish
(Jon 2:9).
In truth, he had no choice.
His prayer revealed his thinking on how man should receive mercy from God:
“Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own Mercy”
(Jon 2:8).
約拿在魚腹深處祈求神的憐憫
（拿 2：9）。
事實上，他別無選擇。
他的禱告顯露了他的想法，人該怎樣領受神的憐憫：
“8那信奉虛無之神的人，離棄憐愛他們的主；”
（拿 2：8）。
All sins can be defined as rebellion against God’s commandments
(Jas 2:9–10).
In this respect, Jonah was no different from the people of Nineveh:
both were rebellious and fell short of the glory of God
(Rom 3:23).
Yet, when Jonah spoke of his own rebellion,
he only mentioned its consequence, and not the cause:
“For You cast me into the deep…”
(Jon 2:3).
He appeared to be tolerant of his own failing
and was happy to accept God’s mercy,
but he could not accept God’s mercy towards other sinners
(Jon 4:2).
所有的罪惡，都可以定義為違背神的命令
（雅 2：9-10）。
在這方面，約拿與尼尼微人並沒有什麼分別：
兩方都是悖逆，虧欠了神的榮耀
（羅 3：23）。
然而，當約拿談到自己的叛逆時，
他只提到了結果，沒有提到原因：
“3你將我投下深淵…”
（拿 2：3）。
他似乎能容忍自己的失敗，
並且樂於接受神的憐憫，
但他不能接受神對其他罪人的憐憫
（拿4：2）。
The message of deliverance in the book of Jonah evinced God’s forgiveness,
but Jonah’s own prejudice remained.
At the end, we see how he showed pity for a plant
that died after giving him shade from the sun,
but not the people of Nineveh
(Jon 4:10).
約拿記拯救的信息表明了神的憐憫，
但是約拿自己仍有偏見。
最後，我們看到他如何愛惜一株植物，
這株植物給他遮陽後死去，
但卻不會愛惜尼尼微人
（拿4：10）。
Today, many Christians make the same mistake.
They desire God’s forgiveness for themselves,
but are not willing to show pity on others
(Mt 18:32–33)
and are even happy to condemn those who have wronged them.
今日，許多基督徒犯了同樣的錯誤。
他們渴望神寬恕自己，
卻不願意愛惜別人
（太 18：32-33）
甚至樂於譴責那些得罪他們的人。
God wants us to show love
(Mt 5:23–24; 1 Jn 4:19–20)
and requires us to love our enemies as ourselves
(Mt 5:38–48).
The Bible teaches that if God so loved us,
we ought to love one another
(1 Jn 4:11).
It is unfortunate, then, that our love is often limited,
and we choose to love our own brothers and sisters only.
Perhaps we should consider Jesus’ answer to the question,
“Who is my neighbor?”
(Lk 10:29).
神要我們表達愛心，
（太 5：23-24；約翰一書 4：19-20）
並要求我們愛敵人像愛自己一樣
（太 5：38-48）。
聖經教導說，如果神如此愛我們，
我們應該彼此相愛
（約壹 4：11）。
不幸的是，我們的愛往往都是有限的，
我們選擇只愛自己的兄弟姐妹。
也許我們應該思考耶穌對這個問題的回答，
“29誰是我的鄰舍呢？”
（路 10：29）。
The city of Nineveh was saved
(Jon 3:10),
for God showed pity on the people
(Jon 4:10–11).
He had expected Jonah to empathize and to show his love.
It is disappointing, then, to see Jonah’s recalcitrance.
尼尼微城得救了
（拿 3：10），
因為神憐憫百姓
（拿 4：0-11）。
祂原以為，約拿會同情並表達他的愛心。
然而，看到約拿頑固的態度令人失望。
MISMATCH BETWEEN FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE 信心與知識的錯置
There was an evident mismatch between what Jonah claimed to know
and what he actually believed and practiced.
He claimed to fear the God of heaven
(Jon 1:9),
and yet he dared to challenge Him by running away from His presence to Tarshish.
How could anyone run away from the LORD, the God of heaven?
He described God as gracious, merciful and kind
(Jon 4:2; cf. 3:9),
but he himself expected swift judgment and retribution on Nineveh.
Knowledge does not help unless it is augmented by faith
(Heb 4:2).
The Bible states that even the demons believe in God
(Jas 2:19–20),
but their knowledge does not benefit them.
For believers, it translates into a discrepancy between belief and behavior,
meaning we fail to do what we know or preach,
or we try to rationalize God’s word to disguise our unbelief.
約拿宣稱所知的情況，
與他真正的相信和行為，很明顯不符。
他自稱敬畏天上的神
（拿 1：9），
然而他卻膽敢挑戰祂，從神面前跑到他施去。
人怎能逃避耶和華天上的神呢？
他形容神有恩典、好憐憫和施仁慈
（拿 4：2；參見 3：9），
但他自已卻希望尼尼微城有快速的審判和報復。
知識豪無用處，除非它有信心來放大功能
（來 4：2）。
聖經說，即使是魔鬼也相信神
（雅 2：19-20），
但他們的知識對他們沒有好處。
對於信徒來說，它轉化為信仰和行為之間的差異，
意思是說，我們不能行出自已知道或宣揚的理念，
而我們想要合理化神的話語，來掩飾自已的不信。
When Jesus challenged Martha’s faith
by stating that her brother would rise again,
Martha interpreted His meaning to be that he would rise on the last day
(Jn 11:24).
And when challenged again,
she sidelined the question by affirming Jesus as the Son of God
(Jn 11:26–27).
But all the while, her grief remained
(Jn 11:31).
當耶穌挑戰馬大的信心時，
宣稱她的兄弟會再次復活，
馬大將祂的意思解釋為，他會在末日復活
（約 11：24）。
而當再次受到挑戰時，
她以肯定耶穌是神的兒子，而擱置了這個問題
（約 11：26-27）。
但一直以來，她的悲傷依然存在
（約 11：31）。
The contradiction between knowledge and practice in Jonah’s story
reminds us to reconsider our own belief.
Do we possess an unspoken prejudice and disbelief that clouds our judgment?
As True Jesus Church members,
we pride ourselves on a true knowledge of God
—a knowledge that is manifested in sermons, Bible studies, theological seminars and spiritual convocations.
約拿故事中知識與行為的矛盾，
提醒我們重新思考我們自己的信仰。
我們是否有一種隱藏的偏見和不信，蒙敝了我們的判斷？
作為真耶穌教會的信徒，
我們以真正認識神為榮，
—認知體現在講道、聖經研究、神訓班和靈恩會。
However, knowledge remains theoretical and non-beneficial,
unless we actualize it in our daily living.
Jonah might well have been able to find a plethora of examples
and teachings in the Scriptures to justify his stance,
but he failed to see the pathos of God.
Job’s friends had exhausted their arsenal of arguments to defend God’s righteousness,
yet they were off the mark in God’s eyes
(Job 42:7; cf. Jon 4:10–11).
然而，知識仍然只是理論，並毫無益處，
除非我們日常生活中能加以實現。
約拿很可能早已經能夠從聖經找到很多的例子和教導
來支持他的立場，
但他沒有看到神的憐憫。
約伯的朋友們用盡了所有論據來捍衛神的公義，
然而他們在神眼中卻是越走越偏
（伯 42：7；參見，拿 4：10-11）。
It would be a pity if we possessed the knowledge of God,
but denied it through our actions
—much like the Pharisees who knew the Scriptures,
but failed to come to Jesus
(Jn 5:40).
To come to Jesus is more than knowing and subscribing to the ten basic beliefs and our common faith;
we also need to have the compassion of Jesus
(Phil 1:8)
and to actualize God’s kindness, longsuffering and forbearance
(Jon 4:2; cf. Joel 2:13; Rom 2:4).
In this way, we fulfill the law of Christ
(Gal 6:1–2)
—the commandment to love one another
that Jesus gave to His disciples before His departure
(Jn 13:34).
如果我們擁有神的認知，
但我們卻用行動否認了它，那將很可惜，
—就很像通曉聖經的法利賽人，
但未能來到耶穌面前
（約 5：40）。
要來到耶穌面前，不是只知道並認同十大基本信條和我們的共信之道；
我們也需要具有耶穌的憐憫
（腓 1：8）
實現神的仁慈、寬容、忍耐
（約 4：2；參見，珥 2：13；羅 2：4）。
只有這樣，我們才會成就基督的律法
（加 6：1-2）
—就是彼此相愛的誡命，
是耶穌離別之前所賜給門徒的
（約 13：34）。
IGNORANCE AND RELIGIOSITY VERSUS KNOWLEDGE AND BLINDNESS 無知和宗教與知識和盲目
Jonah, God’s chosen vessel, preached God’s message,
thereby saving many lives.
Nevertheless, he did not see eye to eye with God.
In contrast, the Gentiles exhibited far more positive behavior:
the sailors sought God with a simple heart in the midst of difficulty
(Jon 1:6, 10);
they wanted to save Jonah’s life by putting their own on the line
(Jon 1:13, 14);
they showed gratitude to the Lord
by making sacrifices and vows after He stilled the storm
(Jon 1:16).
先知約拿，是神所揀選的器皿，去傳講神的信息，
從而挽救許多生命。
然而，他與神的看法並不一致。
相反的，外邦人表現出更為積極的行為：
困難中，水手們以單純的心尋求神
（拿 1：6、10）；
他們想冒著生命危險來挽救約拿的性命
（拿 1：13、14）；
在神平息風暴之後，以獻祭和誓言
表達了他們感謝主
（拿 1：16）。
Similarly, the people of Nineveh were receptive to God’s word
(Jon 3:5)
and believed that He would change His mind
(Jon 3:9).
Their belief was translated into action,
and God saw their works and responded accordingly
(Jon 3:10).
同樣，尼尼微城的人很容易就接受神的話語
（拿 3：5）
並相信神會改變自已的想法
（拿 3：9）。
他們的信心轉化為行動，
神看到了他們的行為，並做出了相對的回應
（拿 3：10）。
The people who were supposedly ignorant and unenlightened
appeared to know God better than Jonah.
The Gentiles searched for God,
but the prophet was slumbering;
the Gentiles wanted to save,
but the prophet wanted to condemn.
The Gentiles perceived God’s kindness and forbearance,
yet Jonah wanted judgment.
那些被認為是無知和不開明的人，
很明顯比約拿更認識神。
外邦人尋求神，
但先知卻正在沉睡；
外邦人想要得救，
但先知卻想要譴責。
外邦人察覺出神的恩慈和寬容，
然而約拿卻想要審判。
It is often said that the longer politicians are in office,
the further removed they are from the people.
They become so accustomed to being in power that they stop listening.
Here lies a warning for God’s people:
we may have knowledge of the truth,
but we should not lose sight of the needs of the people of the land.
人們常說，政治家在位的時間越長，
他們就離人民越遠。
他們變得很習慣掌權，以至於他們不再聆聽。
這是有一則對神子民的警告：
我們可能了解真理，
但我們不應忽視當地人民的需要。
The Pharisees despised the people, saying
“But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed”
(Jn 7:49).
They claimed to see, but were really blind
(Jn 9:39).
In contrast, the unlearned blind man was able to see
(Jn 9:25).
Jonah could not see his own faults, God’s will, or what was important.
法利賽人藐視百姓，說
“49但這些不明白律法的百姓是被咒詛的！”
（約 7：49）。
他們聲稱可以看見，但實際上反瞎了眼
（約 9：39）。
相反的，未受教育的眼盲之人卻能看見
（約 9：25）。
約拿看不到自己的錯誤、神的旨意或什麼才是重要的事情。
The moral for believers today is that
we should take time out from our busy church schedules in order to re-examine our faith.
We should also take our focus off others and look at ourselves, to ask,
“Are we really doing God’s will?”
(Mt 7:21; 1 Cor 9:27).
In reality, we may be sleeping in the hold of the ship,
or cosseted in the belly of the big fish.
The problem is, we may be so accustomed to our situation
that we do not feel any discomfort.
If so, it is time to wake up and pray to the Lord!
今日信徒的標準是，
我們應該從自已繁忙的教會行程中抽出時間來，重新檢視自已的信仰。
我們也應該把注意力從別人身上遠離，聚焦自己，來詢問，
“我們是否真的有遵行神的旨意？”
（太 7：21；林前 9：27）。
實際上，我們可能睡在船艙裡，
或沉溺於大魚的腹中。
可問題是，我們可能已經習慣了自已的處境，
而自已並不會感到有任何不適。
如果是這樣，現在是時候，要甦醒來向主祈禱了！
A STORY WITHOUT ENDING 故事延續下去
The book of Jonah ends abruptly with a rhetorical question,
and we can only speculate at what happened to the prophet.
Nevertheless, his adventure and folly remain for our benefit and warning
—teaching us never to ignore or rebel against God’s will.
As in the case of Jonah, our own chapters remain open.
May we take the opportunity to search deep within ourselves.
約拿書突然以一個反問句來結束，
我們只能猜測先知發生的事情。
儘管如此，他的冒險旅程和愚昧，仍然對我們的有益，並且成為了警告，
—教導我們永遠不要忽視神的旨意，或是違背神的旨意。
就像約拿的情況一樣，我們自己的故事章節仍然持續開啟編寫中。
願我們藉此機會深入探索自己的心思。
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
歡迎主內同靈來信加入翻譯
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