旧约 - 尼希米记(Nehemiah)第13章

On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people and there it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God,
because they had not met the Israelites with food and water but had hired Balaam to call a curse down on them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.)
When the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent.
Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah,
and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests.
But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission
and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God.
I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah's household goods out of the room.
I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.
I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and singers responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields.
So I rebuked the officials and asked them, "Why is the house of God neglected?" Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts.
All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and oil into the storerooms.
I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because these men were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their brothers.
Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.
In those days I saw men in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day.
Men from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath to the people of Judah.
I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What is this wicked thing you are doing--desecrating the Sabbath day?
Didn't your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity upon us and upon this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath."
When evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be shut and not opened until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates so that no load could be brought in on the Sabbath day.
Once or twice the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem.
But I warned them and said, "Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will lay hands on you." From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath.
Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for this also, O my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love.
Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab.
Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language of Judah.
I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God's name and said: "You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves.
Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women.
Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?"
One of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. And I drove him away from me.
Remember them, O my God, because they defiled the priestly office and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.
So I purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign, and assigned them duties, each to his own task.
I also made provision for contributions of wood at designated times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me with favor, O my God.
尼希米记第十三章   第 13 章 

  尼 13:3> “闲杂人”是指谁?为什么不能与他们来往? 

  13:3 “闲杂人”是指亚扪人和摩押人,他们向来是以色列人的死敌( 13:1 )。神的律法清楚讲明,不准这两族人进入圣殿(参申 23:3-5 )。这不是种族歧视,神深爱全人类,当然也包括外邦人(参申 10:18 ),祂准许外邦人献祭(参民 15:15-16 ),希望人人都认识和爱祂(参赛 42:6 )。神要隔绝“闲杂人”,是因为要信徒远离污秽(参箴 24:1 )。当年犹太人就因与外邦人建立关系,导致被掳而亡国。以色列人这次重新委身,就需要表明他们认真遵守神的律法。 

  尼 13:6-7> 神的仆人有没有利用特权为自己打算?你是不是这样的人? 

  13:6-7 尼希米在耶路撒冷住了十二年,在公元前 433 年,他返回巴比伦。他可能是被亚达薛西召回,亦可能是因为要履行协议而离去。圣经没有记载尼希米在巴比伦逗留了多久,但当他再回到耶路撒冷时,竟发现主要敌人多比雅在圣殿内设置了自己的房间。多比雅是亚扪人( 4:3 ),是禁止进入圣殿的。他的女儿嫁给了祭司以利亚实,所以他能够借助女婿的影响力,在殿内自设房间。有关多比雅如何敌对尼希米,并尼希米如何作回应,请参考第 2 、 4 、 6 章。 

  尼 13:10> 对专职事奉的弟兄姊妹,我有没有关心过他们的生活?够不够? 

  13:10 由于没有人供给利未人的生活,他们只好回到自己的田地去耕种维生,圣殿的工作和以色列人的灵命因此受到忽略。神的仆人应该得到足够的报酬来维生。我们绝不可低估他们的需要,使他们受苦。 

  尼 13:16> 推罗是── 

  13:16 推罗是腓尼基的大城市,是地中海的港口。 

  尼 13:17-22> 律法规定安息日不得工作,你以为如何? 

  13:17-22 神禁止以色列人在安息日工作,为要他们安静下来,记念神的创造和祖先出埃及的事迹(参出 20:8-11 ;申 5:12-15 )。安息日是由礼拜五日落至礼拜六日落;所有犹太人、仆人、到访的外国人、甚至畜牲,都要遵守安息日为圣日。然而,耶路撒冷城却在安息日忙于做买卖,违返了神的律法,所以尼希米下令在每个礼拜五下午,安息日临近时,就要关上城门,打发商人回家。 

  尼 13:24> 亚实突、亚扪、摩押、似乎都不为以色列人欢迎…… 

  13:24 亚实突位于地中海岸,受非利士人控制。亚扪、摩押两国横过约旦,伸展至东部。这些国家,都被那些认识以色列历史的人所憎恶。 

  尼 13:25> 尼希米的做法是否过激?你怎么看? 

  13:25 尼希米看到犹太人违背神的律法,漠视誓约( 10:30 )竟毫无愧意,不禁义愤填膺。以色列人曾许下诺言,不让子女与异教徒通婚,但尼希米一离开,他们又犯上通婚罪,毁了与神订立的约。尼希米对他们严加斥责,他对神的忠心,与以色列人的漠视、叛逆和不忠,形成强烈的对比。 

  尼 13:26> 属灵领袖若跌倒,其他人有何感受?你呢? 

  13:26 尼希米引述所罗门的过失,警戒以色列人。以色列伟大的君王尚且受不信者的影响而跌倒,更遑论其他人。尼希米从所罗门身上学习到,如果不纠正自身的缺点,纵然有天赋与能力也无济于事。所罗门虽是明君,但他与异族女子通婚,令国家陷入灾难。所以我们一发现有犯罪倾向,便要立即自制,不然罪就会捆绑我们,绊倒我们。我们勤读圣经的原因之一,就是要从神子民的错误中汲取教训。 

  13:31 尼希米的一生,提供了许多作好领袖应有的原则,到今天这些原则仍然值得我们学习。( 1 )要有清晰的目标,并以神的旨意来衡量目标的价值。目标确立后,就没有什么可令尼希米退缩。( 2 )要坦率直接。尼希米让每一个人知道他的需要,纵使工作会受阻,他仍坚持讲出实情。( 3 )为人要无可指责(对尼希米的指控,完全是虚构捏造的)。( 4 )要恒久祷告,保持与神接触,支取力量和智慧。尼希米所做的一切,都归荣耀与神。 

  领袖们有时魅力四射,引人注目,但更多时是孤单、吃力不讨好,为协调各方的意见而饱受压力。尼希米力抗各种荒谬的指控,完成了巨大的工程。他知道有失败才有成功,有劳苦才有回报,有检讨才有进步,信赖神才是真正的好领导。尼希米记录了耶路撒冷城墙的重建,也描述了以色列人依靠神及灵性复兴的过程。切记一旦我们离开神,我们的生命便会迈向败亡。──《灵修版圣经注释》