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耶利米哀歌［第1章］
Book of Lamentations 1

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耶利米哀歌［第1章|Book of Lamentations 1

【圣城遭难的反省】

主讲: 区箴唤实习传道 + 陈炎明牧师

21/12/2021

引言:

《耶利米哀歌》是耶路撒冷在公元前586年陷落后不久写成的。当时耶路撒冷受敌人围困，然后又被烈火焚烧，耶利米就是其中的一位见证人。于是他就借着这首哀歌为神选民所经历到的惨痛经历发出深切的哀悼。

进入到第一章，我们首先会看到耶路撒冷被拟人化而描述成一位刚丧偶的寡妇，名叫锡安的女子，她孤单地坐着，却没有人来理她，然后耶利米就借此表达出她所受的羞辱和哀伤，还有她心中对着神的呼求！

一、耶城因得罪神而遭大难 (V1-7)

过去被列国所仰慕的耶路撒冷城，如今成了寡妇并服苦的人。她一直地在那里哭，过去曾经跟她有过邦交的国家却没有一个来安慰她:，甚至这些曾经的盟友也恶待她，成为她的敌人。当时犹大的百姓随着耶路撒冷的毁灭，就在巴比伦的苦待下被迁到了外邦。

回想过去每逢来到神的节期，神的百姓就会到耶路撒冷去守节，如今在走向锡安的路径上却不再有神的百姓，真的是让人感到无比的悲伤。本来耶路撒冷做买卖，聚集活动的城门口也没人了；本该在圣殿里服事的祭司因为圣殿被毁坏也无法尽职了，只能在那里叹息；就连那些锡安贞洁的，没有敬拜过偶像的女子也受同胞过犯被连累而变得愁苦。从前为尊为大的耶路撒冷，如今被列国所苦待，其实说到底都是因为神为着她的罪而让她受苦，她从前的威荣都失去了。

这段经文让神的选民以色列人能够从历史的教训去反思先祖的过犯以外，其实我们也可以从教会的角度去解读。就是那些曾经很辉煌，充满敬拜神的人，而如今却变得荒凉的教会。例子：欧洲国家一些曾经辉煌的基督教堂，如今已经成为了旅游景点，不再是给神子民聚集来敬拜神的地方。这是从《耶利米哀歌》里对着教会的荒凉所发出来的悲叹。是因为神子民的罪，也可以引申讲到是基督徒的过犯，使得教会变得荒凉。

二、求神观看耶城所受苦难（V8-11）

1. 因仇敌夸大而观看（V8-9）

犹大的百姓最终从耶路撒冷被赶除，就是因为他们偏离神心意的罪使得他们变得不洁和污秽。而且活在罪中的耶路撒冷，都没有去思想犯罪日后所会带来的结果。当她从高位坠落到一个奴仆的位置，也没有人来安慰她的时候，她就求神来观看仇敌对她夸口，她所受的一切苦难。

从教会的视觉去看，本来教会是基督所设立的万有之首，可是当过去辉煌的教会没有警醒去活出神的话语，也就是没有去思想偏离神话语生活所会造成的后果时，最终教会就一步一步走向堕落了。尤其过去和教会一起合作来影响整个社会的一些组织，看到教会的软弱，也没有安慰她，反过来却是对着教会夸口，贬低教会（基督徒的过犯常会被社会放大，然后敌对者也就借此贬低基督信仰的能力）。

从历史上当然我们看到当取代神学的思想进入到欧洲国家的教会以后，这些教会认为自己已经取代了神的选民，所以他们就没有在第二次世界大战中伸出对犹太人的援手，甚至后来也有一些基督徒当时加入到纳粹的阵型中去屠杀犹太人，而后来也没有为着基督徒同胞去认罪悔改的教会就是这样，一步一步地在信仰上走向没落了。

另外只有信仰的外表，而没有信仰的实质，也是令到这些教会走向衰落的一个主要原因，例如：对人文主义的推广，就是一种推举人的自由和权利，胜过对神话语的认定。

2. 因卑微低贱而观看（V10-11）

耶路撒冷城曾经的辉煌，尤其是圣殿中的宝贵物品，如今都被巴比伦为首的外邦敌人给抢夺了。本来外邦人是连圣殿的外院也是不能进的，但是如今外邦人已经践踏了整个的圣殿。而耶路撒冷的百姓已经来到一个地步，就是他们只顾保命而已。一切他们本来所拥有的美物，他们已经不再顾惜。耶路撒冷城再次向神祷告，求神观看她如今所处的这样一个卑微的状态。

警醒，警醒再警醒！过去欧洲教堂的辉煌，如今已经褪去了，当然神是欢迎每一个人进入教会的，所以解读这里我们不能套用外邦人不能进入圣殿的内容。而这些欧洲教堂为了求生存，确实如今真的就有开放作为旅游景点的情况。今天在英国竟然有教堂为了吸引人来，还开办了与异教信仰有关的瑜伽课程。当然这也关系到传统基督教信仰和有被圣灵更新后对信仰认知的不一样。若是没有被圣灵开启，很常我们会活在很多错误观念的里面，并且我们也没有力量去活出神的话！

三、承认神公义求神听祷告（V12-22）

当然除了对神讲说自己的苦情，耶路撒冷也对她周围的过路的人，其实也是她周边的国家来诉苦。然后耶路撒冷又一转念，思想到今天自己所陷入的光景，其实归根到底都是因为自己的罪，然后神的管教才临到。那耶路撒冷在这样的一个愿意承认自己过犯，并神的公义的状态下，求神也按着祂的公义来对待她的仇敌，就是那些因着耶路撒冷坠落而幸灾乐祸的列国。

今天当然我们不会去求神来审判那些看见教会光景荒凉，然后就在那里幸灾乐祸的人。反过来，我们更是需要求神来怜悯这些人，因为很常他们都是曾经去过教会，而在教会里受过伤害这样的一群人，结果就导致了他们对教会的反感。我们要求神帮助我们，真实地活出属神的生命，使用我们可以去重新接触他们，医治他们，并把他们带回神的家！

总结：圣城遭难历史对我们的提醒

要继续爱以色列，爱耶路撒冷，更要特别警醒留意我们到底有没有真实地去活出神的话！尤其我们也要来看我们是否有紧紧连结与圣灵。否则的话，我们其实是没有办法认清神的心意，也没有力量去活出神的心意的。

面对那些看见教会荒凉，看见教会出现失误就幸灾乐祸的人，我们要求神的怜悯临到他们，要真实地活出属神的生命，更是要求神差遣我们能够再一次地去接触他们，医治他们，把他们又再一次地带回神的家中！

Lamentations 1: Reflection on the suffering of the Holy City
GK611 Morning Devotion
21/12/2021
Speaker: IP Moses + Rev. Tan

Introduction:

The Lamentations of Jeremiah was written shortly after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Jeremiah was one of the witnesses to the siege of Jerusalem by the enemy and then by fire. So he used this lament to express his deep sorrow for the tragic experience of God's chosen people.

As we enter the first chapter, we first see Jerusalem anthropomorphized as a recently widowed woman named Zion, who sits alone with no one to care for her, and then Jeremiah uses it to express her humiliation and grief, and her heart's cry to God!

1. The City of Jerusalem Was Greatly Afflicted Because It Sinned Against God (V1-7)

The city of Jerusalem, which used to be admired by the nations, was now a widow and a sufferer. She wept there all the time, but none of the nations with whom she had had diplomatic relations in the past came to comfort her: even these former allies treated her badly and became her enemies. At that time, the people of Judah were moved to the nations under Babylon's mistreatment, with the destruction of Jerusalem.

It is really sad to think that the people of God, who used to go to Jerusalem to observe the feast whenever it came to God's feast, are no longer on the path to Zion. The priests, who were supposed to serve in the temple, could not do their duty because of the destruction of the temple, and could only sigh there. Even the chaste women of Zion, who had not worshiped idols, became sad because of the sins of their fellow citizens. Jerusalem, which was once great, was now treated badly by the nations, but in the end it was because God had made her suffer for her sins, and she had lost all her former glory.

This passage allows God's chosen people, Israel, to reflect on the transgressions of their forefathers in addition to the lessons of history, but in fact we can also read it from the perspective of the church. It is the churches that were once glorious and full of worshipers of God, but now have become desolate. Example: Some of the once glorious Christian churches in European countries have now become tourist attractions and are no longer places for God's people to gather to worship God. This is a lament from the Lamentations of Jeremiah about the desolation of the church. It is because of the sins of God's people, and by extension, the sins of Christians, that the church has become desolate.

2. Ask God to See the Suffering of The City of Jerusalem (V8-11)

(1) See because of The Enemy's Exaggeration (V8-9)

The people of Judah were finally expelled from Jerusalem because their sins against God had made them unclean and defiled. Moreover, Jerusalem, living in sin, did not think about the consequences of her sin later. When she fell from her high position to the position of a slave, and there was no one to comfort her, she asked God to watch her enemies boast about her, and all her sufferings.

From the perspective of the church, the church was originally the head of all things established by Christ, but when the glorious church of the past did not wake up to live out the word of God, that is, did not think about the consequences of deviating from the word of God, the church eventually fell away step by step. In particular, some organizations that used to work with the church to influence society as a whole did not comfort the church when they saw its weakness, but instead boasted against it and belittled it (the sins of Christians are often magnified by society, and then the antagonists use this to belittle the power of the Christian faith).

Historically, of course, we see that when the idea of replacement theology entered the churches in European countries, these churches thought they had replaced God's chosen people, so they did not reach out to the Jews in the Second World War, and even later some Christians joined the Nazi formation at that time to slaughter the Jews, and the churches that did not later confess their sins and repent for their fellow Christians did so, and step by step they fell away in the faith.

The promotion of humanism, for example, is a way of promoting the freedom and rights of people over the acknowledgement of God's Word.

(2) See Because of Humility and Lowliness (V10-11)

The former splendor of the city of Jerusalem, especially the precious objects in the Temple, were now plundered by the Gentile enemies led by Babylon. Originally, the Gentiles were not allowed to enter even the outer court of the temple, but now the Gentiles had trampled on the entire temple. And the people of Jerusalem had come to a point where they were only concerned with saving their lives. They no longer cared for all the beautiful things they had. The city of Jerusalem prayed to God again, asking Him to see the humble state in which she was now living.

Be warned, be warned and be warned again! The glory of the European churches of the past has now faded, but of course God welcomes everyone into the church, so interpreting this we cannot apply here that Gentiles cannot enter the temple. And it is true that these European churches are really open as tourist attractions today in order to survive. There are churches in England today that are actually offering yoga classes related to pagan beliefs in order to attract people. Of course this is also related to the difference between traditional Christian faith and the perception of faith after being renewed by the Holy Spirit. If we are not opened by the Holy Spirit, we will often live in many misconceptions and we will not have the power to live out the word of God!

3. Confess God's Righteousness and Ask God to Hear Prayer (V12-22)

Of course in addition to speaking to God about her suffering, Jerusalem also spoke to the people passing around her, in fact the nations around her, about her suffering. Then Jerusalem thought about what she had gotten herself into today, and realized that it was all because of her own sin, and then God's discipline came upon her. Then Jerusalem, in such a state of willingness to confess her transgressions and the righteousness of God, asked God to deal with her enemies, the nations who were gloating over the fall of Jerusalem, according to His righteousness.

Today we certainly don't ask God to judge those who see the church in desolation and then gloat there. On the contrary, we need to ask God to have mercy on these people, because often they are the ones who have been to church and have been hurt in church, which has led to their resentment of the church. We ask God to help us to truly live out a godly life, using us to reach out to them again, heal them, and bring them back to the family of God!

Conclusion: A Reminder of The History of the Holy City's Crucifixion

We must continue to love Israel and Jerusalem, and we must be especially alert to see if we are living God's word in truth! In particular, we must also see if we are connected to the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we will not be able to recognize God's heart and have the power to live it out.

In the face of those who see the desolation of the church and gloat when they see its failures, we ask God's mercy to come to them, to live Godly lives in truth, and moreover, to send us to reach them again, to heal them, and to bring them back to God's family once again!