491 中翻英 (191) God's time is precious. 上帝的時間最美好. 8/17/2023

 491  中翻英  (191)        God's time is precious.                       上帝的時間最美好.        8/17/2023         

八月十七日

「你要等候七日，等我到那里，指示你當行的事。」（撒上   10:8 新國際版）

掃羅在兩件事上被試驗，就是信心和順服。在撒上十三章那危急的情況里，掃羅所面對的問題是：他的信心是否足夠使他能以等候神？當你受窘于絕境，各方面都在催促你要采取一些行動時，試驗就會臨到你，要證明你是屬肉體的或是屬靈的。「等我到了那里」，神能否信任我們等候祂的時間，并會謹慎行事呢？

另一次，在撒上十五章，掃羅奉命將亞瑪力人完全消滅。可是，那羊叫牛鳴的聲音，將他的悖逆顯露了。我們常是在小事上跌倒的。掃羅企圖去判別好肉體与坏肉體，借此將人肉體的「好」獻給神。但這种「好」不能代替順服。然而，他仍在抗議：「耶和華的命令我已遵守了。」是的，人心是詭詐的。掃羅的作風已無法可治。神必須得著一個全新和截然不同的器皿。神在尋找一個肯將自己的看法和判斷放下，并全然接受屬天管理的人。「現在你的王位必不長久，耶和華已經尋著一個合祂心意的人，立他作百姓的君。」

August 17

"Wait seven days until I come there and show you what you should do." (1 Samuel 10:8 NIV)

Saul was tested in two things, faith and obedience. In the critical situation of 1 Samuel thirteen, the question Saul faced was: Is his faith sufficient for him to wait on God? When you are in a desperate situation, and every side is urging you to take some action, the test will come to you to prove whether you are carnal or spiritual. "When I get there," can God trust us to wait for His timing and be careful?

On another occasion, in 1 Samuel 15, Saul was commanded to completely destroy the Amalekites. However, the sound of the sheep and the cows bleating revealed his disobedience. We often stumble over little things. Saul attempted to distinguish the good flesh from the bad flesh, thereby dedicating the "good" of the human flesh to God. But this "goodness" is no substitute for obedience. Still, he protested, "I have obeyed the commandment of the Lord." Yes, the heart is deceitful. There was no cure for Saul's behavior. God must have a new and distinct vessel. God is looking for a person who is willing to let go of his own opinions and judgments and fully accept the management of heaven. "Now your throne will not last long; the LORD has found a man after his own heart, and has made him prince over his people."_