13. Manna issue 88 - Peniel: I Have Loved You with an Everlasting Love 毘努伊勒：我以永遠的愛愛你
KC Tsai—Toronto, Canada 加拿大多倫多 KC Tsai
The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying:
"Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore, with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”
(Jer 31:3)
3古時（或譯：從遠方）耶和華向以色列（原文是我）顯現，
說：我以永遠的愛愛你，因此我以慈愛吸引你。
(耶 31：3)
God spoke these words, through the prophet Jeremiah,
to all the families of Israel
(Jer 31:1).
But who were these families of Israel?
Who exactly are the recipients of God’s everlasting love?
神通過先知耶利米，
給所有的以色列家庭，說了這些話
（耶 31:1）。
但這些以色列家族是誰呢？
到底才是神永恆之愛的領受者呢？
Jeremiah was born in the southern kingdom of Judah,
after Assyria defeated and destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C.E.
As part of the Assyrian campaign,
many Israelites were displaced to Assyria,
and the Samarian cities were repopulated by people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath and Sepharvaim
(2 Kgs 17:24).
The ten tribes that formed the northern kingdom were gradually assimilated by these peoples,
and have thus disappeared.[1]
They are known as the Ten Lost Tribes.
Judah was also later destroyed by Babylon in 586 B.C.E.
Jerusalem’s walls were destroyed,
the temple burned, and many of its inhabitants exiled to Babylon.
Seventy years later, some captives returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and,
subsequently, another group returned to reconstruct the city walls.
But, primarily, they continued to be governed by foreign powers until 1948,
when the nation of Israel was re-established.
However, this present nation is a republic,
governed by an elected president, prime minister and parliament
—far from the Davidic kingdom that God promised to establish forever.
As God revealed to David, through the prophet Nathan:
公元前 722 年，亞述打敗並摧毀了北方的以色列王國之後，
耶利米出生在南國猶大
。
作為亞述戰役的一部分，
許多以色列人被遷移到亞述，
許多來自巴比倫、古他、亞瓦、哈馬和西法瓦音的人，重新居住在撒瑪利亞城
（王下 17:24）。
組成北國的以色列十族，逐漸被這些民族同化，
並且因此消失了。 [1]
他們被稱為消失的十族。
猶大後來也在公元前 586 年，被巴比倫毀滅。
耶路撒冷的城牆被摧毀，
聖殿被焚燒，許多居民被流放到巴比倫。
七十年後，一些俘虜返回耶路撒冷重建聖殿，
隨後，另一群人返回重建城牆。
但是當以色列國重新建立時，
最主要的是，直到 1948 年，它們仍繼續由外國政權統治。
然而，現在這個國家是一個共和國，
由當選的總統、總理和議會治理
—情況差神應許的永遠建立大衛王國很遠。
正如神通過拿單先知，向大衛啟示的那樣：
"When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers,
I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
He shall build a house for My name,
and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
… And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you.
Your throne shall be established forever."
(2 Sam 7:12–13, 16)
12你壽數滿足、與你列祖同睡的時候，我必使你的後裔接續你的位；我也必堅定他的國。
13他必為我的名建造殿宇；我必堅定他的國位，直到永遠。
16你的家和你的國必在我（原文是你）面前永遠堅立。你的國位也必堅定，直到永遠。
(撒下 7：12-13, 16)
Regarding this everlasting kingdom, God later sent an angel to Mary, saying:
關於這個永恆的天國，神後來差遣一位天使到瑪利亞那裡，說：
“You will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son,
and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great,
and will be called the Son of the Highest;
and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and of His kingdom there will be no end."
(Lk 1:31–33)
31你要懷孕生子，可以給他起名叫耶穌。
32他要為大，稱為至高者的兒子；主神要把他祖大衛的位給他。
33他要作雅各家的王，直到永遠；他的國也沒有窮盡。
(路 1：31-33)
This is a kingdom established through Jesus’ blood,
a new covenant offered to those who are willing to come to Him.
這是用耶穌寶血建立的國度，
提出新約給那些願意來到祂面前的人。
Before God concluded the writings of the Old Testament (OT),
He sent the prophet Malachi to His people.
The Book of Malachi opens with
what sounds like a conclusion of God’s long-suffering love for His chosen people:
在神停止舊約（OT）的寫作之前，
他差遣瑪拉基先知到祂的百姓那裡。
瑪拉基書一開始，
就以聽起來好像是，神對祂選民長久忍耐的愛，來作為結論開頭：
"I have loved you," says the LORD.
"Yet you say, 'In what way have You loved us?'
Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" Says the LORD.
"Yet Jacob I have loved.”
(Mal 1:2)
2耶和華說：我曾愛你們。
你們卻說：你在何事上愛我們呢？
耶和華說：以掃不是雅各的哥哥麼？我卻愛雅各，
(瑪 1：2)
The physical descendants of Abraham were given the covenant to be God’s elect.
But at the close of the OT,
when God reminded them of His love,
they appeared to be unaware of being loved.
As Moses said to the chosen people,
the faithful God keeps His covenant and is merciful for a thousand generations,
towards those who love Him and keep His commandments
(Deut 7:9).
But His rebellious children broke the covenant
which He established with their forefathers with their own hands.
肉體上亞伯拉罕的後裔，得到了舊約，成為神的選民。
但舊約結束的時候，
當神提醒他們祂愛的選民時，
他們似乎沒有意識到自已被愛。
正如摩西對選民說的，
信實的神遵守祂的約，廣施憐憫直到千代，
給那些愛祂，並遵守誡命的人
（申 7:9）。
但祂有些叛逆的兒女，違背了舊約，
這約是神與他們的祖先親手建立的約。
This is why the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed that God was ready to make a new covenant:
這就是為什麼耶利米先知，宣佈神已準備好，要訂立新約的原因：
"Behold, the days are coming
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah
—not according to the covenant
that I made with their fathers in the day
that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt,
My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.”
(Jer 31:31–32)
31耶和華說：日子將到，我要與以色列家和猶大家另立新約，
32不像我拉著他們祖宗的手，領他們出埃及地的時候，與他們所立的約。我雖作他們的丈夫，他們卻背了我的約。
(耶 31：31-32)
This new covenant was inaugurated through Jesus’ blood,
and offered to all who are willing to come to Him.
這個新約，是通過耶穌的寶血正式的開創，
並獻給所有願意來到祂面前的人。
Therefore, when God tells the families of Israel,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love,”
He is speaking to the spiritual family that includes those within this new covenant
—the kingdom of Jesus.
This is the spiritual church whose members were chosen by God before the foundation of the world,
yet hidden in Himself until the apostolic era,
as revealed to the apostles and prophets through the Holy Spirit
(Eph 3:5–11).
So, aside from the OT saints and the apostolic believers,
these words of everlasting love are also directed to us today.
因此，當神告訴以色列的各家族，
“我以永恆的愛愛你，”
祂其實亦對所有包括在這新約內屬靈家庭之人說話
—屬於耶穌的國度。
這是屬靈的教會，信徒是神在創世之前就被揀選了，
然而卻一直隱藏在神自己裡面，直到使徒時代，
藉著聖靈啟示給使徒和先知
（弗 3：5-11）。
所以，除了舊約聖徒和使徒時代的信徒，
這些永恆之愛的道理，也是針對今日的我們所說的。
God loves us with an everlasting love.
However, our limited experience and knowledge make it difficult for us to understand this love.
Take the case of the kingdom of Judah.
Although God said, also through Jeremiah,
that His thoughts toward His people were thoughts of peace and not of evil,
He sent His servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to invade their cities and destroy the temple.
This kind of peace is hard to comprehend.
But He did so to give them a future and a hope
(Jer 29:11).
神以永遠的愛，愛我們。
然而，以我們有限的經驗和知識，
讓我們難以理解這份神的愛。
以猶大國為例。
雖然神也通過耶利米說過，
祂對自已百姓的意念，是平安，而不是邪惡的，
祂派僕人巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒，來入侵他們的城市，並摧毀聖殿。
這種類型的平女，是讓人難以理解的。
但祂這樣做，是為了給他們有未來和希望
（耶 29:11）。
The people of Judah had been living in spiritual darkness,
worshipping Baal and other false gods alongside offering sacrifices in the temple of God
(Jer 7:8–11).
So it was out of love that God took them to a different environment for seventy years,
to reflect on their past sins.
While in exile, God’s children sat by the rivers of Babylon
and wept when they remembered Zion
(Ps 137:1).
They yearned for the celebrative worship back home,
and their hearts were again drawn to God in this foreign land.
True to His promise, when God’s people returned to Him,
He returned to them.
Experiencing God’s love in this way,
they realized that He had never been far from them
—a realization that brought true peace.
猶大人一直生活在屬靈的黑暗中，
敬拜巴力和其他假神，同時在神的殿中獻祭
（耶 7：8-11）。
所以神出於愛，將他們帶到不同的環境七十年，
反思他們過去的罪過。
在流放期間，神的兒女坐在巴比倫河邊，
當他們想起錫安時，就哭了
（詩 137:1）。
他們渴望回家節慶時，敬拜神，
在這片陌生外國土地上，他們的心再次被神所吸引。
當神的百姓回到她身邊時，神就忠於自已的應許，
祂回到他們的身邊。
用這種方式來體驗神的愛，
他們才意識到，神從未遠離他們
—這才是一種帶來真正平安的認知。
We can never fully appreciate what everlasting love is,
but we know that God has chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world
(Eph 1:4).
He has “called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works,
but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began”
(2 Tim 1:9).
This is love beyond human comprehension
—we were chosen purely because, in His eternity, He loves us.
This is an unchanging and everlasting love.
Not even calamities, such as Judah’s seventy-year captivity,
could cast doubt on the beauty of this love.
我們永遠無法完全體會到，永恆的愛到底是什麼，
但我們知道，在創世之前，神已經在基督裡揀選了我們
（弗 1:4）。
他“以聖潔的呼喚，號召我們，
不是照著我們的付出，
而是照著萬古之先，因在基督耶穌裡，賜給我們的旨意和恩典”
（提後 1:9）。
這是人類無法理解的大愛
—我們被揀選，純粹是因為，在他的永恆國度裡，祂愛我們。
這是一種永恆不變的愛。
甚至像是遇到了，猶大被擄七十年之類的大災難，
很有可能就會懷疑，這種慈愛的美好。
Our time on earth is brief, while God’s love is everlasting.
Through this everlasting love, God has drawn us to Himself.
Since we have not lived forever,
how can we appreciate everlasting love?
In fact, God’s love transcends life and death,
and cannot be measured by whatever is happening to us in the immediate present,
or by the success of our secular pursuits in this physical life.
His love for us lives on, even after we die.
我們在世的時間是很短暫的，而神的愛卻是永恆的。
通過這種永恆的愛，神將我們吸引到祂的身邊。
既然我們沒有辨法永遠活著，
我們要如何才能體會到這種永恆的慈愛呢？
事實上，神的愛超越了生死，
並不能用當下即刻，發生在我們身上的任何事情來衡量，
或是通過我們在今生世俗追求的成功，來評定。
即使我們死後，祂對我們的愛依然存在。
God’s love may not be apparent at certain points in time,
but when we look back at the path God has guided us on,
we will see His mercy and will for us.
For this, we cannot but give thanks,
every moment of our lives.
神的愛，在某些時候可能並不明顯，
但當我們回顧神引導我們所走的道路時，
我們會看到祂的憐憫和對及祂對我們的旨意。
因為這樣，我們不得不用自已生命中的每一刻，來感謝神
。
As we experience God’s love,
we also learn to patiently love others.
Whatever the circumstances,
if we love persistently, it will eventually bear fruit,
even if it is unappreciated by the other party at the time.
當我們體會到神的愛，
也學會了耐心疼愛別人。
無論什麼情況，
如果我們堅持愛下去，它最終會結出果實，
哪怕當時對方毫不領情。
[W]e have had human fathers who corrected us,
and we paid them respect.
Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them,
but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful;
nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
(Heb 12:9–11)
9再者，我們曾有生身的父管教我們，我們尚且敬重他，何況萬靈的父，我們豈不更當順服他得生麼？
10生身的父都是暫隨己意管教我們；惟有萬靈的父管教我們，是要我們得益處，使我們在他的聖潔上有分。
11凡管教的事，當時不覺得快樂，反覺得愁苦；後來卻為那經練過的人結出平安的果子，就是義。
(來 12：9-11)
We enjoy many blessings and joyful moments from God.
However, even within God’s love,
we experience pain and stress as He purifies us.
Certainly,
“all things work together for good to those who love God,
to those who are the called according to His purpose”
(Rom 8:28).
Time, and our commitment to walk with God all our lives,
will produce the peaceable fruit of righteousness.
當然
28我們曉得萬事都互相效力，叫愛神的人得益處，就是按他旨意被召的人。
(羅 8：28)
And when we finally reach the end of our life’s journey,
we will surely see how He has loved us with an everlasting love!
當我們最後到達人生旅程的終點時，
就一定會看到祂是如何的以永遠的愛，來愛我們！
[1] “Ten Lost Tribes of Israel,”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, accessed April 1, 2019,
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ten-Lost-Tribes-of-Israel.
[1] “以色列的十個失落部族”，
參考大英百科全書於 2019 年 4 月 1 日，
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ten-Lost-Tribes-of-Israel。
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
歡迎主內同靈來信加入翻譯
Manna 嗎哪 56 (1)