7. Manna issue 58 - The Legacy of David 大衛的傳承
What we can learn from David’s offering to God.
從大衛向神獻祭我們可以學到什麼。
Hain-Lee Hsueh—Hillsborough, New Jersey, USA 美國紐澤西喜樂坡
Have you ever had a dream to serve God,
having high hopes or expectations for your servitude?
Have you thought about the wondrous differences you can make in God’s ministry?
Have you ever experienced rejection or slight bitterness
when it seemed like God didn’t want your service
despite your apparently good intentions?
你是否曾經夢想要事奉神，
對自已服事抱有很高的期盼或期待呢？
您是否想過，自已可以為神的事工帶來多麼奇妙的改變呢？
你是否曾經歷過拒絕或略微苦澀的感覺，
每當神似乎不想要你的事奉時，
儘管你很明顯是出於好意呢？
DAVID’S DREAM 大衛的夢想
Just like any of us might have,
David had an admirable vision for God, a glorious ambition
—he wanted to build a temple for God.
就像我們任何人可能會有的一樣，
大衛亦對神有著令人欽佩的願景，很榮耀的抱負，
—他想要為神建造一座聖殿。
Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house,
and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies all around,
that the king said to Nathan the prophet,
“See now, I dwell in a house of cedar,
but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains.”
(2 Sam 7:1, 2)
1王住在自己宮中，
耶和華使他安靖，不被四圍的仇敵擾亂。
2那時，王對先知拿單說：
“看哪，我住在香柏木的宮中，
神的約櫃反在幔子裡。”
（撒下 7：1，2）
God gave David prosperity and rest from his enemies.
He had the resources, the manpower, and the authority
to do what he wanted for God.
In his eagerness and excitement he went and told the prophet Nathan his plan.
Nathan gave an encouraging answer,
an almost definite affirmation of David’s aspiration:
“‘Go, do all that is in your heart,
for the Lord is with you’”
(2 Sam 7:3).
神賜給大衛繁榮昌盛，使他遠離敵人獲得平安。
他有很多資源，人力，權柄，
去為神做任何祂想做的事。
他懷著迫切及興奮的心情，他去告訴先知拿單自已的計劃。
拿單先知給了令人鼓舞的答覆，
是一次幾乎肯定大衛願望的確認：
“3你可以照你的心意而行，
因為耶和華與你同在。”
(撒下 7：3)
David probably spent the rest of the day drawing up designs,
making rough measurements, and gathering an inventory of materials.
We can only imagine how he might have felt
—possibly a combination of glad, noble, and honored to build the house of God.
大衛可能用了一整天時間描繪設計圖，
進行粗略測量，並收集儲存材料。
我們只能想像他是可能怎麼感受的，
—可能是一種高興，高貴和榮耀結合的感覺去建造聖殿。
Later, however, God told David,
“‘You shall not build a house for my Name’”
(1 Chr 28:3).
David made an apparently gracious offer of noble servitude,
but God said, “No.”
然而，後來神告訴大衛，
“‘3你不可為我的名建造殿宇’”
（代上 28：3）
大衛很明顯提出了高貴事奉的熱情提議，
但神卻說：“不行。”
If we were David we may have simply given up our plans right then and there,
but is that what David did?
Unfazed, David continued to toil with all his might
in making preparations for the temple to pass onto his son Solomon.
He offered his own gold, silver, bronze, and precious stones
in front of the assembly of Israel:
如果我們是大衛，我們可能那時會立即放棄自已的計劃，
但大衛真的那麼做嗎？
大衛泰然自若，繼續盡力拼命工作，
為聖殿做準備，去傳給他兒子所羅門。
他獻上自己的金，銀，銅及寶石，
在以色列會眾面前：
“Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might:
gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver,
bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood,
onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors,
all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance.
Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God,
I have given to the house of my God,
over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,
my own special treasure of gold and silver:
three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir,
and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses;
the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver,
and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen.”
(1 Chr 29:2-5, emphasis added)
“2我為我神的殿已經盡力，
預備金子做金器，銀子做銀器，
銅做銅器，鐵做鐵器，木做木器，
還有紅瑪瑙可鑲嵌的寶石，
彩石和一切的寶石，並許多漢白玉。
3且因我心中愛慕我神的殿，
就在預備建造聖殿的材料之外，
又將我自己積蓄的金銀獻上，建造我神的殿，
4就是俄斐金三千他連得、
精鍊的銀子七千他連得，以貼殿牆。
5金子做金器，銀子做銀器，
並藉匠人的手製造一切。”
（代上 29：2-5，加入強調）
Wait a minute.
How did David do that?
God rejected his offer to construct the temple,
effectively shattering his personal ambition,
and gave the noble undertaking to someone else with practically no experience.
Why wasn’t David disappointed?
What compelled him to generously offer all his resources?
等一下。
大衛是怎麼做到那些事呢？
神拒絕了祂建造聖殿的提議，
有效的粉碎了他個人的野心，
並將這項高貴的事業交給了幾乎沒有經驗的其他人。
大衛為什麼不會失望呢？
是什麼原因促使他可以大方提供自已所有的資源呢？
What was David really offering to God?
大衛究竟向神獻了什麼東西呢？
DAVID’S LAST WORDS 大衛的遺言
Shortly before his death,
David delegated the task of building the temple to his son Solomon.
Taking a look at David’s final words of encouragement to Solomon
allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the answers to these questions:
在他去世前不久，
大衛將建造聖殿的任務委託給自已的兒子所羅門。
讓我們來看看大衛最終給所羅門鼓勵的遺言，
給我們得到更深入了解這些問題的答案：
“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father,
and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind;
for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts.
If you seek Him, He will be found by you;
but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.
Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary;
be strong, and do it.”
(1 Chr 28:9, 10, emphasis added)
“9我兒所羅門哪，你當認識耶和華─你父的神，
誠心樂意地事奉他；
因為他鑒察眾人的心，知道一切心思意念。
你若尋求他，他必使你尋見；
你若離棄他，他必永遠丟棄你。
10你當謹慎，因耶和華揀選你建造殿宇作為聖所。
你當剛強去行。
（代上 28：9，10，加入強調）
A loyal heart and willing mind
—let’s try to think about what these words mean concretely.
We may have a general and abstract idea of what the heart and mind are,
but what are they exactly?
一顆忠誠樂意的心，
—讓我們試著想想這些文字具體的意思。
我們可能對心靈是什麼東西，有一種普通抽象的概念，
但它們到底是什麼呢？
In the Bible, the Hebrew word for “heart” (leb)
means not just our inner man or feelings,
but also resolution, determination, and inclination.
The Hebrew word for “mind” (nephesh)
refers to our own self, our soul, desire, and passion.
Today the word “heart”is often used to encompass all of these attributes.
在聖經中，希伯來文“心”是 (leb)，
不僅僅是代表我們的內心或感覺，
還有決定，堅定和愛好。
希伯來文“思想”一詞（nephesh），
指的是我們自己，我們的靈魂，慾望和熱情。
如今，“心”這個字常被用來包含所有這些的特性。
Now let’s look at “loyal” and “willing.”
“Loyal” is translated from the Hebrew word for “perfect” (shalem),
meaning complete, whole, full, and in some cases peaceful.
現在我們來看看“忠誠”和“樂意”。
“忠誠”的翻譯源自希伯來文“完美”(shalem)，
意思是完全的，完整的，充滿的，並在某些情況下指的是平安的。
“Willing” is particularly interesting
because 1 Chronicles 28:9 is the only verse in the Bible
where the Hebrew word (chaphets) is translated that way.
The word itself actually means,
and in other verses is translated as, desiring, delighting in, or having pleasure in.
Now let’s put those words together again.
Loyal heart—a complete resolution.
Willing mind—a desiring soul.
Take a few moments to let the definitions and concepts sink in.
“願意”是特別的有趣，
因為歷代志上 28 章 9 節是聖經唯一的一節經文，
此處希伯來文（chaphets）就被這樣翻譯。
這個字本身的意思是，
並在其他經節中則翻譯為，渴望，喜愛或樂在其中。
現在讓我們重新把這些文字放在一起。
忠誠的心—一顆完全的決心。
樂意—一個渴望的靈魂。
花點時間讓這些定義和概念深入內心。
David encouraged Solomon to serve God
with a perfect, complete, and peaceful resolution,
with every inclination of his heart.
He counseled Solomon not to be willing in the sense of the word today,
but to desire and delight in serving God.
Why?
大衛鼓勵所羅門服事神，
以完美，完全，平安的方式進行，
且隨他心所欲。
他勸所羅門不要只照著今日字面意義的樂意而已，
而要渴望並樂於服事神。
為什麼呢？
Because before God, the heart and mind are transparent.
God can see every distinct purpose in the mind
and distinguish between every inclination of the heart.
Finally, David exhorted Solomon simply to “be strong”
in building the temple of God,
to carry out the task with urgency and firm resolve.
因為在神面前，人的心思意念都是透明的。
神可以辨別人心中每一種不同的目的，
並且區分內心的每一種喜好。
最後，大衛勸所羅門唯有“剛毅堅強”
於建造神的聖殿，
以急迫及堅定的決心去完成任務。
So what does David’s encouragement to Solomon
have to do with what David was giving to God?
Looking in 1 Chronicles chapter 29,
we see that after David and the people of Israel dedicated their gold and silver,
they were joyful because they had offered willingly and with a loyal heart
(1 Chr 29:9).
As a result,
David offered a prayer of praise, acknowledging God’s greatness, providence, and glory.
那麼大衛給所羅門的鼓勵之言，
與大衛給神準備什麼材料有什麼有關係呢？
查看歷代志上 29 章，
我們看到，大衛與以色列人獻了他們自已的金銀之後，
他們很高興，因為他們懷著樂意且忠誠的心思而奉獻
（代上 29：9）
因此，
大衛獻上讚美禱告，承認神的偉大，預備天意和榮耀。
And then David made the following plea
—read it carefully:
然後大衛提出了以下請求
—請仔細閱讀：
“O LORD our God,
all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house
for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own.
I know also, my God,
that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness.
As for me, in the uprightness of my heart
I have willingly offered all these things;
and now with joy I have seen Your people,
who are present here to offer willingly to You.
O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers,
keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people,
and fix their heart toward You.
And give my son Solomon a loyal heart
to keep Your commandments and Your testimonies and Your statutes,
to do all these things, and to build the temple for which I have made provision.”
(1 Chr 29:16-19, emphasis added)
“16耶和華─我們的神啊，
我們預備這許多材料，要為你的聖名建造殿宇，
都是從你而來，都是屬你的。
17我的神啊，
我知道你察驗人心，喜悅正直；
我以正直的心樂意獻上這一切物。
現在我喜歡見你的民在這裡都樂意奉獻與你。
18耶和華─我們列祖亞伯拉罕、以撒、以色列的神啊，
求你使你的民常存這樣的心思意念，
堅定他們的心歸向你，
19又求你賜我兒子所羅門誠實的心，
遵守你的命令、法度、律例，
成就這一切的事，用我所預備的建造殿宇。 ”
（代上 29：16-19，加入強調）
On the surface, we see that
David passed his wealth of material resources to Solomon
for him to use to build the temple
(an extensive list is in 1 Chronicles 28:11-19).
What we often fail to see is
that David really tried to pass something else to his son
and to the rest of Israel,
something David knew was of much greater importance
—his own heart.
表面上，我們看到，
大衛傳下自已的物質資源的財富給所羅門，
給他用於建造聖殿
（歷代志上 28：11-19有詳盡的清單）
我們常常所忽略的事物是，
大衛確實想給留下一些別的事物給自已的兒子
及其餘的以色列人，
大衛知道某些事情是更為重要的，
—他自己的內心。
David had a perfect and willing heart.
Building the temple of God would have been glorifying to God
and for David himself,
but every inclination in his mind and heart was for God alone.
Because of that, he could accept God’s refusal with a peaceful resolution
to make preparations rather than with confused discouragement.
大衛有一顆完美樂意的心志。
建造聖殿本就是在榮耀神，
而大衛本人亦沾光，
但他思想和內心的每種喜好都是只屬神。
因此那樣，他能夠平靜接受神的拒絕且下決定，
要做好準備，而不是沮喪內心混亂。
He knew that the complete and delightful heart
behind the construction of the temple
was what was precious in God’s eyes,
because everything he and the people could physically offer
came from and already belonged to God.
他知道，完全喜樂的心，
在聖殿建造的背後，
是神眼中珍貴的東西，
因為他與百姓所能提供的一切事物，
都來自神且早已經都屬於神。
He knew that when the temple was complete,
God wasn’t going to make an inspection of it
to see that all the right measurements were made,
all the correct materials were used,
and all the rooms were properly furnished.
He was going to make an investigation of the heart.
他知道當聖殿完工後，
神不會去檢查它，
去查驗所有丈量都能正確建造，
所有材料都正確使用，
所有房間都有好好的裝潢配備。
祂將會詳細查驗心思意念。
That’s why David prayed that
Solomon and the Israelites would forever keep that perfect and willing heart fixed on God
—it was the only thing they could really give and what God ultimately looked at.
這就是為什麼大衛會禱告，
所羅門和以色列人將可以永遠保持那完美樂意的心志專注於神的事上，
—那是他們唯一能真正給予的東西，也是神最終所關心的事物。
WHERE WE ARE TODAY 我們目前的處境
In our service today we often get caught up with the physical results.
We build new chapels and think that
their beauty and grandeur are pleasing in the eyes of God.
在我們目前服事，自已經常關心世俗物質的結果。
我們建造了新的會堂並且認為，
它們的美麗和華美在神眼中是可喜悅的。
We weigh our devotion to God by the things we’ve done:
the donations we’ve given,
the religious education classes we’ve taught,
the sermons we’ve delivered, the meals we’ve cooked,
the floors we’ve cleaned, and the articles we’ve written.
我們用自已所做的事情來衡量對神的虔誠：
我們捐贈的奉獻，
我們教授的宗教教育課程，
我們講台的道理，烹調的愛餐，
我們清潔打掃的地板，以及寫過的文章。
We may even look at other people’s work
and think that we could do a better job.
If this is how we judge our servitude,
then we only see the physical things that David contributed.
We see only the gold and silver
and not the pure and selfless heart behind them.
我們甚至可能會看看其他人的工作，
並認為自已可以做得更好。
如果這就是我們如何評價自已的事奉，
那麼我們就只能看見大衛所獻上物質的東西。
我們只看到金銀，
而不是其背後那顆純潔無私的心。
Everything we can physically give
—our money, our possessions, our talents and abilities
—is from God and belongs to God,
yet too often we look at the outward things we have done for church
and take pride in them, even if just a little.
我們物質上所能給予的一切，
—我們的金錢，財產，才華和能力，
—都來自於神，屬於神，
然而我們常常只關注自已已為教會所做外在的事情，
並為其感到自豪，哪怕只有一點點。
If David were living with us today,
he would rebuke us.
He would tell us that we had missed the point,
and that God doesn’t look at what we’ve done for Him,
He searches and understands our hearts and intent of thought.
However glorious and spectacular the physical result may be is secondary;
having a truly perfect and willing heart is primary.
如果今日大衛還跟我們一樣活著，
他會責備我們。
他會告訴我們，我們已經錯過了重點，
神不會看重我們早已為祂做了什麼事情，
祂探尋且了解我們的內心及想法的意圖。
無論物質的結果可能有多麼的榮耀及盛大壯觀，都是次要的；
帶著一顆真正完美樂意的心才是首要的。
Upon examining the core of David’s servitude,
the words that God spoke to Samuel before he anointed David
now resound with a deeper significance:
在細察了大衛事奉的核心後，
神在膏立大衛之前對撒母耳所說的話，
現在帶著更深層的意義回響：
“For the LORD does not see as man sees;
for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
(1 Sam 16:7)
“7因為，耶和華不像人看人：
人是看外貌；耶和華是看內心。 ”
（撒上 16：7）
So let us ask ourselves today
—what is the motivation behind our service to God?
Do we serve God with our own notions of what’s right,
automatically assuming that
whatever we do with good intentions is acceptable in front of God?
Do we serve God to publicly display our devotion and love?
所以今日讓我們問問自己，
—我們事奉神的動機是什麼呢？
我們是否按照自己觀念什麼才是好的，來服事神呢？
會自動設想，
在神面前，不論我們本著好意做什麼事都是可接受的？
難道我們服事神就是為了公開展示自已的虔誠和愛心？
Are we more concerned with the quality of our physical service
or with the quality of our hearts?
Is our servitude unconsciously conditional,
or are we content and at peace with serving in any way,
regardless of the task?
Is our service to God just a part of our life that we do when we can,
or is it the goal and joy of our life
that we pursue eagerly and with urgent resolve?
我們是否更關心自已物質事奉的品質呢？
還是自已內心的品質？
我們的事奉有沒有帶著自已都沒有意識到的限制條件呢，
或者我們是否滿足於安心的以任何方式來服事呢，
不管到底是什麼種類的任務？
我們服事神是否只是我們生命的一部分，只是在我們力所能及的情況才去實行？
或者那是我們生命的目標和樂趣，
我們很急切的追求，並帶堅定的決心？
What are we really offering to God?
我們真正要向神獻上什麼呢？
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
歡迎主內同靈來信加入翻譯
Manna 嗎哪 56 (1)