19 英翻中 Genesis 9:1–17 To LIFE! To LIFE! 創世記9:1–17 活著! 活著! 27/3/2025
Chapter Ten Genesis 9:1–17 TO LIFE! TO LIFE!
第十章 創 9:1-17 復活！生活！ 《To Life》是音樂劇《屋頂上的提琴手》中最快樂的歌曲之一，這部音樂劇描繪了阿納特夫卡小村莊的猶太人生活。送奶工特維耶和他的鄰居在沙皇俄羅斯手無寸鐵、貧窮且對自己的未來充滿不確定性，但他們仍然慶祝生活，將其視為慷慨的上帝賜予的快樂禮物。無論是訂婚的宣布、嬰兒的出生，甚至是縫紉機的到來，阿納特夫卡的卑微居民都找到了感恩的理由在這一段（創世記 9：1-17）中，上帝向洪水的八位倖存者提出了有關生活的四個方面的指示，雖然這些指示最初是給諾亞和他的家人的，但它們不能被忽視的所有年齡段和所有地方的人類法令，它們是永久的，但它們不能改變。生命寶貴，必須用心處理。 "To Life" is one of the happiest songs in Fiddler on the Roof, the musical that dramatizes Jewish life in the little village of Anatevka. The milkman Tevye and his neighbors were defenseless, poor, and unsure of their future in czarist Russia, yet they still celebrated life as a joyful gift from a generous God. Whether it was the announcement of an engagement, the birth of a baby, or even the arrival of a sewing machine, the humble residents of Anatevka found reasons to give thanks for the blessings of life. In this paragraph (Gen. 9:1–17), God addressed the eight survivors of the flood and gave them instruc tions concerning four areas of life. Though given initially to Noah and his family, these instructions apply to all people in all ages and all places. They are permanent ordinances from God for all humanity, and they must not be ignored or altered. Life is precious, and it must be handled with care.
Multiplying life (9:1, 7) When Noah came out of the ark, he was like a “second Adam” about to usher in a new beginning on earth for the human race. Faith in the Lord had saved Noah and his household from destruction, and his three sons would repopulate the whole earth (v. 18). God had told Adam and Eve to “be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth” (1:28), and He repeated that mandate twice to Noah and his family (9:1, 7). All of Noah’s descendants were important to the plan of God, but especially the line of Shem. From that line Abraham would be born, the man God chose to found the Jewish nation. From that nation would come the Redeemer who would fulfill 3:15 and crush the ser pent’s head. In Scripture, children are described as a blessing, not a curse, and to have many children and grandchil dren was evidence of the favor of God (Gen. 24:60; Ps. 127:3–5; 128:3–4). God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as the stars of the sky and the sand of the sea (Gen. 15:5; 22:17), and the patriarchs invoked the blessing of fruitfulness on their heirs (28:3; 35:11; 48:4). The Lord covenanted with Israel to give them many children if the nation would obey His laws (Lev. 26:9; Deut. 7:13). Many people today don’t seem to have that attitude toward children. Starting with the Revolutionary War, in nearly 200 years of American history, 1,200,000 military personnel have been killed in nine major wars. But in one year in the United States, 1,600,000 babies are legally aborted. 1 In biblical times, Jewish couples wouldn’t have considered aborting a child, no matter how difficult their circumstances or meager their resources. Life was God’s gift and children were a her itage from the Lord, treasures to be protected and invested for His glory.
Sustaining life (9:2–4) A survey taken in 1900 revealed that people felt they needed seventy-two things in order to function nor mally and be content. Fifty years later, in a similar survey, the total came to nearly 500 things! But the Bible lists only two: “And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Tim. 6:8 nkjv). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught the same truth when He spoke about the birds and the flowers (Matt. 6:24–34). If the heavenly Father clothes the flowers with beauty and gives the birds their food, surely He will provide food and raiment for His own dearly loved children. “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” (v. 32 nkjv). When God established Adam and Eve in their gar den home, He gave them fruit and plants to eat (Gen. 1:29; 2:9, 16); but after the flood, He expanded the human diet to include meat. The harmony in nature that Adam and Eve had enjoyed was now gone, for Noah and his family didn’t have “dominion” over ani mal life (1:26, 28). Now the animals would fear humans and do everything possible to escape the threat of death. Since most animals reproduce rapidly and their young mature quickly, the beasts could easily overrun the human population; so God put the fear of humans into the animals. Cain was a farmer, Abel was a shepherd, but Noah and his sons were now hunters. However, God put one restriction on the eating of animal flesh: the meat must be free of blood (9:4). God stated concisely to Noah what He later elaborated through Moses: the life is in the blood, and the life must be respected, even if you’re butchering an animal to eat at a feast. (See Lev. 3:17; 7:26–27; 17:10–14; 19:26; Deut. 12:16, 23–25; 15:23.) 2 In this restriction, God revealed again His concern for animal life. The life is in the blood, and that life comes from God and should be respected. Furthermore, the blood of animals would be important in most of the Mosaic sacrifices, so the blood must be treated with reverence. Jesus taught that it was permissible to eat all foods (Mark 7:1–23), and both Peter (Acts 10) and Paul (1 Tim. 4:3–4; Col. 2:16) reaffirmed this truth. However, the early church still faced disagreements over diets (Rom. 14:1—15:7). To keep Gentile believers from offending Jewish believers or seekers, the early Christians were advised not to be careless about the eat ing of meat (Acts 15:19–21, 24–29). 3 Paul’s counsel was: receive one another, love one another, do nothing to make one another stumble, and seek to build one another up in the faith. The approach was love; the goal was maturity.
Protecting life (9:5–6) From instructing Noah about the shedding of animal blood, the Lord proceeded to discuss an even more important topic: the shedding of human blood. Thus far, mankind didn’t have a very good track record when it came to caring for one another. Cain had killed his brother Abel (4:8), Lamech had killed a young man and bragged about it (vv. 23–24), and the earth had been filled with all kinds of violence (6:11, 13). God had put the fear of humans into the animals, but now He had to put the fear of God into the humans lest they destroy one another! Those who kill their fellow human beings will have to answer to God for their deeds, for men and women are made in the image of God. 4 To attack a human being is to attack God, and the Lord will bring judg ment on the offender. All life is the gift of God, and to take away life means to take the place of God. The Lord gives life and He alone has the right to authorize taking it away (Job 1:21). But how did God arrange to punish murderers and see that justice is done and the law upheld? He estab lished human government on the earth and in so doing shared with mankind the awesome power of taking human life. That’s the import of God’s mandate in Genesis 9:6. Human government and capital punish ment go together, as Paul explains in Romans 13:1–7. Government authorities carry the sword and have the right to use it. Under Old Testament law there was no police force as we know it. If a murder was committed, it was up to the family of the victim to find the culprit and bring him to justice. There’s a difference between murder and involuntary manslaughter (Ex. 21:12–14), so the Lord instructed the nation of Israel to establish six cities of refuge to which an accused murderer could flee for safety (Num. 35:6–34; Deut. 19:1–13). The elders of the city would protect the accused until the case could be investigated, and if the accused was found guilty, the family of the deceased could proceed with the execu tion. Since the murderer had shed blood, the murderer’s blood must be shed. Government was established by God because the human heart is evil (Gen. 6:5) and the fear of punish ment can help to restrain would-be lawbreakers. The law can restrain but it can’t regenerate; only the grace of God can change the human heart (Jer. 31:31–34; Heb. 8:7–13). But if individuals, families, or groups were allowed to deal with offenders in their own way, society would be in a state of constant chaos. Human government has its weaknesses and limitations, but government is better than anarchy and people doing what’s right in their own eyes (Judg. 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). 5 God ordained and established three institutions on this earth: marriage and the family (Gen. 1:26–28; 2:18–25), human government (9:5–6), and the church (Matt. 16:13–19; Acts 2). Each has its sphere of responsibility and one can’t substitute for the other. The church wields the sword of the Spirit (Heb. 4:12), not the sword of justice (Rom. 13:4; John 18:36), but if the government interferes with matters of Christian conscience, believers have the right to disobey (Acts 4:18–20). Opponents of capital punishment ask, “Does capi tal punishment deter crime?” But does any law deter crime, including parking laws and speed laws? Perhaps not as much as we’d desire, but the punishment of offenders does help society to honor law and justice. Nobody knows how many people learn about convic tions and think twice before they disobey the law. The law also helps to protect and compensate innocent peo ple who are victims of lawless behavior. Not everything that’s legal is biblical. Regardless of what philosophers, parliaments, and courts may say, God’s mandate of capital punishment begins with “whoever.” It was given by God to be respected and obeyed by all people.
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