[今日經文 Today’s Reading: 約珥書 Joel 1-3]
2:12 然而你們現在要禁食，哭泣，哀號，一心歸向我。這是耶和華說的。13 你們要撕裂心腸，不要撕裂衣服。歸向耶和華—你們的 神，因為他有恩惠，有憐憫，不輕易發怒，有豐盛的慈愛，並且會改變心意，不降那災難。
約珥書 Joel 2:12-13
2:12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
先知約珥向猶大的居民講述了蝗蟲即將在這片土地上行毀滅的事，並呼籲他們“ㄧ心[全心]歸向[上帝]”。先知的信息最終不是審判的信息，而是憐憫的信息！隨之而來的毀滅是要讓人們回到上帝面前，而不是懲罰他們。人們將衣服撕裂作為表面行為是不夠的；當我們認識到問題的嚴重性和根源時，我們需要真誠地撕裂自己的心。當我們心碎時，上帝就會開始行動！他將傾倒秋雨和春雨（2:23），“將恢復[我們]被成群的蝗蟲吃掉的歲月。”(2:25) 對美國來說還為時不晚；現在不是放棄的時候！讓我們“吹號”，先“發出警報[警戒危險]”（2:1)，然後“宣告嚴肅會[集結行動]”(2:15)，好讓我們都歸向神。此聚集不僅是召集成年人，也要召集“老年人、孩童，甚至是在母懷吃奶的”。不管情況看起來多麼無望，神仍然可以做大事，但祂在等著我們“撕裂[我們]的心，而不是撕裂[我們的]衣服”！
”。不管情況看起來多麼無望，神仍然可以做大事，但祂在等著我們“撕裂[我們]的心，而不是撕裂[我們的]衣服”！
禱告：主啊，請幫助我們“撕裂我們的心”以全心回歸上帝，不僅是成年人，而且是老年人、孩童。 願祢在我們的家庭和國家傾倒秋雨和春雨，以恢復被敵人吃掉的東西，奉耶穌的名，阿們!
The prophet Joel spoke to the inhabitants of Judah about the coming destruction of locusts upon the land and called for them to “return to [God] with all [their] heart”. Let us recognize that the message of the prophets was ultimately not a message of judgment but of mercy! The ensuing destruction was to bring the people back to God, not to punish them.
Yet it was not enough for people to rend their garments as a formal act; they needed to rend their hearts in all sincerity as they recognized the severity and root of their problem. When we rend our hearts, God will start to act! He will pour down the early rain and the latter rains (2:23) and “will restore to [us] the years that the swarming locust has eaten.” (2:25) It is still not too late for America; it is not the time to give up! Let us “blow the trumpet”, first to “sound an alarm” (2:1) and then to “call a solemn assembly”(2:15) so that we may all return to God. The gathering is not just for adults but also for “the elders, the children, even nursing infants.” (2:16) No matter how hopeless the situation may seem, God can still do great things, but He is waiting for us to “rend [our] hearts and not [our] garments”!
Prayer: O Lord, please help us to “rend our hearts” to return to God! May we do so with all our hearts – not only adults but also the young and the old. May You pour down abundant rain upon our families and upon our country to restore what had been eaten by the enemy. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
