Manna74-Jacob’s Pillars 雅各的柱子
Strive to have the pillar of faith in our lives
努力得到在生活中信心的柱子
Based on a sermon by Rong-Yu Ho—Singapore
來源：新加坡 Rong-Yu Ho 何榮裕傳道 講道
譯：Nina
In his life, Jacob erected a pillar on
three occasions. These were built at
different places—Bethel, Mizpah,
and a place close to Bethlehem. These
pillars not only commemorated God’s
grace but critically symbolized new
beginnings for Jacob. Jacob erected
the first pillar as a runaway from
home, the second as an exile who
desired to go home, and the third as
a new widower. These three accounts
show us the progression of Jacob’s
life, providing invaluable teachings
for our journey of faith.
在雅各一生中，他曾三次立了柱子，在不同的地方─伯特利、米斯巴，和靠近伯利恆之處。
這些柱子不只是紀念神的恩典，也關鍵的象徵了雅各新的開始，
他立第一根柱子時，是作為一位離家的逃亡者；
立第二根時，是渴望回家的流亡者；
立第三根時，是剛喪妻者。
這三件記事告訴我們雅各一生的進步，提供了我們信仰旅程上寶貴的教訓。
◎ erect樹立；建立 ◎commemorate紀念 ◎exile流亡者；離鄉背井者
◎widower鰥夫；喪妻者 ◎invaluable極有價值的，無法估價的
1) THE PILLAR AT BETHEL:
LEAVING HOME (GEN 28:10–22)
)伯特利的柱子：
離開家裡(創28：10–22)
Jacob left home because of the
favoritism practiced by his parents,
Isaac and Rebekah. Isaac favored
Esau, Jacob’s elder brother, while
Rebekah favored Jacob. This led to
a struggle for inheritance between
Jacob and Esau. First, Jacob traded
red stew for his brother’s birthright.
Later, when Isaac wanted to bless
Esau, Rebekah tricked Isaac into
blessing Jacob instead. Thus Isaac
and Rebekah’s biased love for their
respective favorites resulted in the
tussle between the brothers.
雅各離開家裡，是因為父母的偏愛。以撒偏愛雅各的哥哥─以掃，而利百加偏愛雅各，
這導致了以掃、雅各之間繼承權的鬥爭。
先是雅各以紅豆湯換得哥哥的長子繼承權，
後來，當以撒想要祝福以掃時，利百加騙了他，換成去祝福雅各。
因此，以撒和利百加對各自特愛的兒子偏心的愛導致了兄弟之間的爭鬥。
◎ favoritism偏愛；偏袒 ◎inheritance繼承；繼承權 ◎stew燉煮的食物
◎birthright與生俱來的權利；繼承權 ◎ respective 分別的；各自的
In the end, both Jacob and Esau
suffered. Esau, angered from missing
out on his father’s blessing, resolved
to kill Jacob. To save Jacob, Rebekah
got Jacob to leave until Esau’s anger
had subsided. In any case, Isaac also
wanted Jacob to leave so that the
latter could get a wife from Rebekah’s
home.
最後，雅各和以掃都受了苦，
以掃因失去父親的祝福發怒，決心要殺雅各；
而利百加為了救雅各，要雅各離開，直到以掃的怒氣平息。
無論如何，以撒也希望雅各離開，為的是讓他娶利百加家裡的女子為妻。
◎subside消退；平靜下來
Hence, Jacob left home and arrived
at Bethel where he decided to stay for
a night. On that night, God appeared
to Jacob; he saw a ladder upon which
God’s messengers ascended and
descended. God, who was beside the
ladder, blessed and promised Jacob:
Behold, I am with you and will keep
you wherever you go, and will bring
you back to this land; for I will not
leave you until I have done what I
have spoken to you. (Gen 28:15)
因此，雅各離開家裡，到了伯特利，決定在那停留一晚。
在那一晚，神向雅各顯現，他看見一個梯子，有神的使者在梯子上，上去下來。
神站在梯子旁，祝福、應許雅各：
我也與你同在。你無論往那裡去，我必保佑你，領你歸回這地，
總不離棄你，直到我成全了向你所應許的。
◎ascend攀登；登上 ◎ descend下降
When Jacob awoke, he was in awe:
“Surely the Lord is in this place, and
I did not know it” (Gen 28:16). This
was such a new and deep experience
of faith for Jacob that he took the
stone that he had slept on, and
erected a pillar. He then poured oil on
the pillar, consecrated it, and named
it Bethel—“the house of God.” He
vowed then:
If God will be with me, and keep
me in this way that I am going, and
give me bread to eat and clothing
to put on, so that I come back to
my father’s house in peace, then
the Lord shall be my God. And this
stone which I have set as a pillar
shall be God’s house, and of all
that You give me I will surely give a
tenth to You.
(Gen 28:20–22)
當雅各醒來，他非常敬畏：耶和華真在這裡，我竟不知道！(創28：16)
這對雅各是一個新的、深切的信仰的體驗，以致他取了睡覺所枕的石頭，立作柱子，
澆油在上面，奉它為神聖的，並給那地方起名叫伯特利─神的殿。
雅各許願說：
神若與我同在，在我所行的路上保佑我，又給我食物吃，衣服穿，使我平平安安地回到我父親的家，我就必以耶和華為我的神。
我所立為柱子的石頭也必作神的殿，凡你所賜給我的，我必將十分之一獻給你。
(創 28：20–22)
◎consecrate奉……為神聖
It is not difficult to see why Jacob
was awestruck by this tremendous
experience. He had been brought
up to fear the Lord God. But in the
comfort of home, God was just
some vague presence. Now he was
a scared fugitive needing assurance.
And God gave this to him in a
spectacular fashion. So God was not
only at home, God was with him
in this place! Immediately, the God
of his father became a much more
personal God.
不難看出為甚麼雅各被這極大的體驗震驚。
他一直被教育要敬畏神，但在舒適的家中，神只是個模糊的存在。
現在，他是個害怕的逃亡者，需要安全的保障，而神用特別的方式給了他保障。
所以，神不是只在家中，神與他同在此地！
隨即，他父親的神變為他自己的神。
◎awestruck震驚的，頓生敬畏的 ◎tremendous巨大的，極大的
◎vague不明確的，模糊不清的 ◎fugitive逃亡者 ◎ spectacular 驚人的；壯觀的
This pillar of Bethel was a pillar
of faith. Not only did it mark the
beginning of Jacob’s experience of
God, it would go on to be the symbol
of his lifelong engagement with the
Creator. Later in his life, whenever
Jacob faced difficulties, God would
remind him of this pillar that he had
erected in Bethel.
伯特利的柱子是信仰的柱子，
它不只標記了雅各體驗神的開端，也繼續象徵他與造物主一生的約定。
在雅各往後的人生中，無論何時他面臨困難，神就會使雅各想起他在伯特利立的柱子。
Subsequently, Jacob stayed with
his uncle, Laban, for twenty years. In
time, Jacob realized that Laban had
become less well-disposed towards
him. God then told Jacob to leave
(Gen 31:1–3). But when Jacob was
about to go home, his daughter
Dinah was violated by Shechem, a
Hivite prince (Gen 34). Two of Jacob’s
sons, angered by the violation of
their sister, sought to avenge her by
killing all the males of that city. This
put Jacob’s entire family in danger
because the native Canaanites and
Perizzites then sought revenge. At
this critical moment, God appeared.
後來，雅各與舅舅拉班同住二十年，
雅各及時意識到拉班對他的氣色不如從前了，神告訴他要離開(創31：1–3)。
但是，當雅各即將回家時，他的女兒底拿被希未人的王子示劍玷汙(創34)，
雅各的兩個兒子為這事發怒，藉殺死那城所有男丁來替底拿報仇，
這件事使雅各全家陷入危險中，因為本地的迦南人和比利洗人要尋求報復。
在這緊要時刻，神出現了。
◎subsequently後來，接著 ◎well-disposed 很有好感的，親切的 ◎violate強姦 ◎avenge替……報仇 ◎revenge報仇；報復
Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell
there; and make an altar there to
God, who appeared to you when
you fled from the face of Esau your
brother. (Gen 35:1)
神對雅各說：起來！上伯特利去，住在那裡；
要在那裡築一座壇給神，就是你逃離你哥哥以掃的時候向你顯現的那位。(創35：1)
◎altar聖壇 ◎flee逃走
Once again, when Jacob had come
to the seeming end of his tether, God
was there. God reminded him of
the pillar in Bethel, even introducing
Himself as the God of Bethel to
remind Jacob of his experience
there. For Jacob, this pillar of Bethel
had remained with him throughout
his life. In his twilight years, Jacob
recounted to his son Joseph how the
God whom he met at Luz had always
abided with him.
再一次，當雅各來到看似山窮水盡的地步，神就在那裡，
神使他想起伯特利的柱子，甚至以在伯特利的神介紹自己，來提醒雅各他在那裡的體驗。
對雅各而言，伯特利的柱子在一生中一直與他同在，
在他晚年時，雅各向兒子約瑟講述他在路斯遇見了神後，祂是怎樣一直與他同在。
◎tether（能力等的）限度，範圍 ◎recount敘述，講述
The pillar that Jacob erected at
Bethel was thus his pillar of faith,
a pillar that cannot be taken away
and a pillar that supported Jacob
throughout his life, enabling him to
worship God. It is also important for
us to have such a pillar of faith, a
pillar that represents our first belief,
our true belief. It would be a pillar
that represents our beginning and
shall also be our end. When we face
an impasse in life, we need to think
of this pillar and remember that tests
in faith are temporary. Recall how we
first came to believe and take comfort
that the pillar of faith we have erected
will follow us throughout our lives.
因此雅各在伯特利立的柱子是他信仰的柱子，
是不能被拿走的柱子，也是激勵著雅各一生，使他能去敬拜神的柱子。
對我們而言，有信仰的柱子也是很重要的，代表著我們起初的相信和真相信的柱子。
當我們面臨生命的末路，我們要想到這根柱子，並記得信心的考驗是暫時的。
要回想我們第一次是怎麼來相信的，且要因我們所立信仰的柱子將跟隨著我們一生而得到安慰。
◎impasse難局，死路
Importantly, even as the pillar
abides with us, we must abide with
the pillar for life. This means holding
on to our first belief and first love to
the end. We must remember how
we first resolved to serve Christ and
maintain this zeal. Only then can we
have a part in Christ
重要的是，即使這柱子與我們同在，我們也必須終生與他同在，
這意思是堅持我們起初的相信和愛心到底，
我們要記得第一次是怎麼決定要服事基督，並保持此熱心，
只有這樣，才能在基督裡有分。
◎maintain維持；保持 ◎zeal熱心，熱誠
For we have become partakers of
Christ if we hold the beginning of
our confidence steadfast to the end.
(Heb 3:14)
我們若將起初確實的信心堅持到底，就在基督裡有分了。(來3：14)
◎partaker關係者；分享的人 ◎steadfast堅定的
2) THE PILLAR AT MIZPAH:
SEPARATION (GEN 31:45–50)
2)米斯巴的柱子
分離(創31：45–50)
After twenty years at his uncle
Laban’s place, Jacob knew it was
time for him and his family to leave.
However, he did not inform Laban of
their departure. When Laban found
out, he immediately pursued them.
After catching up with his son-inlaw,
Laban virtually accused Jacob
of kidnap and theft (Gen 31:26,30).
Determined to prove his innocence,
Jacob allowed Laban to search
through all his possessions. Although
Rachel, Jacob’s wife, had indeed
stolen the household idols, her father
Laban did not find these.
雅各住在舅舅拉班那地二十年後，他知道是他與他全家離開的時候了，
然而，他並沒有告知拉班他們要離開。
當拉班發現時，他立即追趕他們，
追上女婿之後，拉班幾近指控了雅各綁架和盜竊的罪(創31：26,30)。
雅各決心要證明自己的清白，他允許拉班搜查他所有財產，
儘管雅各的妻子拉結真的有偷家裡的神像，拉班也沒有發現。
◎pursue追趕；追蹤 ◎virtually差不多；實際上 ◎kidnap綁架；劫持
◎ innocence無罪；清白 ◎possessions財產
Feeling the injustice of having
been unfairly accused, Jacob lost his
temper. A frustration that had been
suppressed for twenty years boiled
over:
雅各感受到被不公正指控的冤屈、生氣了，
壓抑了二十年的挫折爆發了：
◎suppress抑制，忍住
What is my trespass? What is my
sin, that you have so hotly pursued
me? … These twenty years I have
been with you; your ewes and your
female goats have not miscarried
their young, and I have not eaten
the rams of your flock. That which
was torn by beasts I did not bring
to you; I bore the loss of it. You
required it from my hand, whether
stolen by day or stolen by night. …
In the day the drought consumed
me, and the frost by night, and my
sleep departed from my eyes.
(Gen 31:36–40)
我有甚麼過犯，有甚麼罪惡，你竟這樣火速的追我？......
我在你家這二十年，你的母綿羊、母山羊沒有掉過胎。你群中的公羊，我沒有吃過；
被野獸撕裂的，我沒有帶來給你，是我自己賠上。
無論是白日，是黑夜，被偷去的，你都向我索要。
我白日受盡乾熱，黑夜受盡寒霜，不得合眼睡著......
(創 31:36–40)
◎trespass罪過 ◎ewe母綿羊 ◎miscarry流產 ◎consume燒毀，毀滅
Jacob was not some pampered
rich scion who had found the work
of shepherding too difficult. But
Laban, his own uncle, has exploited
him beyond reason. He was given
little opportunity for physical rest or
peace of mind. Laban even tricked
him into serving fourteen years to
marry the woman he loved, and
another six years for Laban’s flock. In
the process, Laban changed Jacob’s
wages many times.
雅各不是被嬌生慣養的富裕子弟，不會覺得牧羊人的工作太過困難，
但是，他舅舅拉班不合理的剝削他，
他很少有機會能獲得身體休息和心裡的安寧，
拉班甚至騙雅各服事他十四年，才能娶他心愛的女人，
後來，又為了拉班的羊群服事他六年，
在這過程中，拉班改了雅各的工價好幾次。
◎pamper嬌養 ◎exploit剝削
As everything Jacob said was true,
Laban could only lamely reply, “These
daughters are my daughters …”
(Gen 31:43). To make partial amends,
Laban then made a covenant with
Jacob. To ratify the covenant,
Jacob took a stone and set it up to
as a pillar. Laban called it, “Jegar
Sahadutha,” which means “heap of
witness.” Laban wanted to ensure
that his daughters and grandchildren
were safe, and instructed Jacob
to be faithful to his wives (Gen
31:50). Laban also did not want any
more fights between them and so
suggested that the pillar be used to
demarcate their respective territories
(Gen 31:52). In other words, this
pillar separated Jacob and Laban;
Jacob could now truly set up his own
household. He would no longer be a
worker or a sojourner under Laban.
因為雅各所說的都是真的，拉班只能回答不充足的理由，“這女兒是我的女兒......”(創31:43)。
為了做部分補償，拉班與雅各立約，
雅各拿了一塊石頭立作柱子，正式認可這約，拉班稱它“伊迦爾撒哈杜他”，意思是“以石堆為證”。
拉班想確保他的女兒和孫子都平安，吩咐雅各對妻子們忠誠(創 31:50)。
拉班也不想有更多相互間的鬥爭，所以建議以柱子作為各自領土的分界(創 31:52)，
換句話說，這根柱子分隔了雅各和拉班，使雅各能真正建立自己的家庭，他不再是拉班下面的工人或寄居者了。
◎lamely 不充足的；不自信的 ◎amend賠償；賠罪 ◎covenant契約；公約
◎ratify （正式）批准；認可 ◎demarcate定……的界線；區分 ◎territory領地；領土
◎sojourner寄居者；旅居者
Furthermore, the place was to be
called “Mizpah,” meaning “watch”
and “the Lord be our witness.”
May the Lord watch between you
and me when we are absent one
from another. (Gen 31:49)
此外，這地方被稱作“米斯巴”，意思是“鑒察”和“耶和華作我們的見證人 ”
我們彼此離別以後，願耶和華在你我中間鑒察。(創 31:49)
To Jacob, the pillar went beyond
just delineating territory; it was
the marker of separation between
success and failure. As Laban himself
confessed, he could have harmed
Jacob. Had God not intervened to
protect Jacob, Laban would have
taken away all that Jacob had (Gen
31:29). Jacob understood that his
well-being was the direct result of
God’s preservation (Gen 31:42). If
God had not appeared to Laban, he
would have been left with nothing.
對雅各來說，這柱子不只是畫出領土，它是成功與失敗間分隔的標記。
就像拉班他自己坦白，他可以傷害雅各，若神沒有介入去保護他，拉班會把雅各所有的拿走(創 31:29)。
雅各知道，他的平安幸福是神的保護直接造成的(創 31:42)，
如果神沒有出現到拉班那裡，雅各就已經一無所有。
◎delineate勾畫，畫出……的外型 ◎ intervene介入；干涉
Hence, Jacob’s success really lay
in the type of pillar that he erected
between Laban and himself, as
revealed in its name. Success and
failure were equally likely outcomes.
Had Jacob not looked toward God
as his witness, he may have been
deprived of everything he had
gained; he would return home
empty-handed.
因此，雅各的成功真的在於立在兩人之間的柱子的功用，就像它名稱所顯示的一樣。
成功和失敗都很可能是結果，若雅各沒有仰望神為他的見證人，他會被剝奪所有一切他得到的，他將會一無所有的回家。
◎outcome結果；結局 ◎deprive剝奪
God’s care of Jacob was in
fulfillment of His promise to Jacob. At
Bethel, God had told Jacob that He
would be with him. So when Jacob
was treated unfairly by Laban, God
won back Jacob’s portion for him.
Without God’s help, Jacob would
have left Laban’s place as a failure.
神對雅各的看顧履行了他對雅各的應許，
在伯特利時，神告訴他，祂會與他同在。
所以，當雅各被拉班不公平的對待時，神為雅各奪回他的份，
若沒有神的幫助，雅各將像個失敗者一樣離開拉班那裡。
The pillar that Jacob erected at
Mizpah thus represented God’s watch
and God’s judgment. God helped
Jacob and was with him because
he was the special chosen one of
God (Isa 41:8,12–13). Today, God
is also watching over and watching
out for us, the spiritual descendants
of Abraham. Even though we may
face much injustice in life, all things
are fair at Mizpah; we can find God’s
judgment there. Even if we suffer
loss, God will compensate us.
雅各立於米斯巴的柱子因此表示神的看顧和神的審判。
神幫助雅各並與他同在，因為他是神特別揀選的(賽41:8,12–13)。
今日，神也在照看、留意我們─亞伯拉罕的屬靈上的後裔，
即使我們在生命中可能會面臨很多的不公平，在米斯巴，所有事情都會是公平公正的，
在那裡，我們能找到神的審判，
即使我們受虧損，神也會補償我們。
◎compensate補償，賠償
Knowing this, we must thus
redefine “success” in life. Success is
not about enjoying material blessings
or wealth. A much more important
possession is God’s presence, for
if God does not abide with us, we
can lose everything in a moment.
Jacob knew very clearly that had it
not been for God, he would have
been a failure. We too must share
this realization—only with God’s
perpetual presence can our life be a
true success.
知道了這點，我們必須如此重新定義生命中的「成功」，
成功不是享受物質的祝福或財富，
更重要的財產是神的同在，如果神不與我們同在，我們可能在瞬間失去所有東西。
雅各非常了解，若沒有神，他會一直是失敗的；
我們也必須分享此領悟─只有有神永久的同在，我們的生命才能真正的成功。
◎realization領悟；認識
Jacob’s name means “grasp” and in
the first part of his life, Jacob plotted,
deceived, and grasped to get what
he wanted. But he lost whatever he
gained. Only what God gave him
became what he truly owned. We
should not just use our two hands to
grasp secular possessions, thinking
that these are the absolute measures
of success. Instead, we must
remember the pillar at Mizpah and its
precious lesson that true success can
only be achieved if God is with us.
雅各的名字意思是「抓」，在他生命的第一階段，他策劃、欺騙、並抓住了他所想要的，
但他失去了一切獲得的，他真正擁有的只有神給他的。
我們不該只用我們的兩隻手去抓取世俗的財產，認為這些是成功的絕對方法。
反之，我們一定要記得在米斯巴的柱子，和它寶貴的教訓─真的成功要有神同在才能達成。
◎deceive欺詐，行騙 ◎secular世俗的
3) THE PILLAR AT BETHLEHEM:
DEATH OF LOVED ONES (GEN 35:16–20)
伯利恆的柱子
所愛之人的死亡(創35:16–20)
The final pillar was at Bethlehem. This
pillar marked a sad period in Jacob’s
life, as his beloved wife left before
him. Jacob set a pillar on Rachel’s
grave to remember the place where
she died. He was bothered by the
fact that he could not bury his wife
properly. Two other people close to
Jacob also died—Deborah, Rebekah’s
nurse (Gen 35:8), and Isaac, Jacob’s
father (Gen 35:29). In fact, his other
wife, Leah, had died earlier. To Jacob,
all these were major sources of pain;
hence, the grave and the pillar were
his way of remembering.
最後的柱子在伯利恆，
這根柱子標誌了雅各生命中一段悲傷的時期，當他心愛的妻子先離開的時候。
雅各在拉結的墳墓上立了柱子(統碑)，去紀念她死的地方，
令他困擾的事實是，他無法好好的埋葬他妻子。
另外兩個與雅各親近的人也死了─利百加的奶母底波拉(創 35:8)和雅各的爸爸以撒(創 35:29)，
事實上，他另一個妻子利亞更早就死了。
對雅各來說，這些都是痛苦的主要來源，
因此，墳墓和柱子(統碑)是他紀念的方式。
◎ properly恰當的；正確的
All of us have experienced such
moments of intense grief. But this is
part of life—there is a time to weep
and a time to laugh (Eccl 3:4). There
are happy times but also sad times. We
enjoy the sense of accomplishment
from work and family, but we are sad
when our loved ones leave before us.
There is also a time to be born and
a time to die (Eccl 3:2). We will not
be on this earth forever. No matter
how high we have flown in our
careers and how much we own, in
the end all we get is a “pillar”; the
tombstone and a memorial for our
relatives to remember that we had
once been alive. But as a generation
comes and another goes, would we
even be remembered three or more
generations on?
我們都體驗過這種極度悲痛的時刻，
但這是生命的一部份─哭有時，笑有時(傳 3:2)，
有快樂的時候，也有悲傷的時候，
我們享受工作和家庭的成就感，但當我們所愛的人先離開時，我們會傷心。
生有時，死有時(傳 3:2)，
我們不會永遠待在這世上，
不管我們在事業上多麼成功，不管擁有了多少，最後我們能得到的就是一根「柱子」，
作墓碑和紀念物，讓我們的家人記得我們曾經活著，
但當一代人來到，另一代人離開，我們還能被三代或更多子代記得嗎？
◎intense強烈的；極度的 ◎grief悲痛，悲傷 ◎accomplishment 成就；成績 ◎tombstone墓碑，墓石 ◎generation 一代人；世代
What is thus of the greatest
importance is not how busy we are
when we are alive, but what we have
been busy over. For whom do we
labor? If we do not labor for Jesus,
then the tombstone we get at the end
will not be worth much. Conversely,
if we labor for Jesus, our death will be
meaningful.
最重要的事不是在活著的時候我們有多忙碌，而是我們在忙什麼，我們為了誰努力作工？
如果我們不是為了耶穌努力作工，我們在生命結束時得到的墓碑不會價值多少，
反之，如果我們為耶穌努力作工，我們的死會是有意義的。
◎conversely相反的
For what and for whom do we
labor—these are key questions for
our constant reflection; equally
important, these are opportunities
that we need to seize before we die.
我們為了什麼、為了誰努力作工─這些是我們不斷反思的關鍵問題，
一樣重要的是，這些也是我們必須在離世之前抓住的機會。
CONCLUSION 結語
Leaving home, returning from
exile, and death—these were the
significant moments marked by three
pillars in the life of Jacob. At the end,
what mattered most was the pillar
of faith, i.e., the presence of God in
Jacob’s life from the beginning to the
end.
離開家裡、流亡後歸家鄉和死亡─這些是雅各人生中被三根柱子標記的重要時刻，
到最後，最重要的是信仰的柱子，就是神在雅各一生中從始至末的同在。
We too may have many milestones
in our journey of life and faith. Most
critically, we must all strive to have
the pillar of God in our lives. Only
then can we see the face of God.
在生命和信仰的旅程中，我們也會有許多里程碑，
最重要的是，在生命中，我們所有人要努力得到神的柱子，
只有這樣才能得見主面。
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
歡迎主內同靈來信加入英翻中的事工
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Manna 嗎哪 56 (1)