晨興聖言-經歷、享受並彰顯基督(W8-1)

第八週■週一

w08d01-ch

晨興餧養

利二三39『你們收藏了地的出產，從七月十五日起，要守耶和華的節七日；第一日要有完全的安息，第八日也要有完全的安息。』

        43『好叫你們世世代代知道，我領以色列人出埃及地的時候曾使他們住在棚裏…。』

利未記二十三章說，神爲祂的選民每年設立了七個節期。第一個節期是逾越節，（5，）最後一個節期是住棚節。（34。）逾越節是我們對基督之享受的起頭，住棚節是我們對基督之享受的完成。逾越節是神爲祂子民所設立之一切節期中的第一個節期，豫表基督是我們對祂之享受的開端，使我們開始過屬靈的生活。整個基督徒的生活，應當是一個節期。…基督徒的生活是受苦的生活，但我們受苦是爲使我們能更多的過節。我們的受苦幫助我們享受主。至終，我們的受苦成了我們的筵席。這就是爲甚麼詩篇二十三篇五節說，主在我們仇敵面前，爲我們擺設了筵席。『仇敵』指明爭戰和受苦，但主使我們的爭戰和受苦成爲筵席。（李常受文集一九九四至一九九七年第四册，四九一至四九二頁。）

信息選讀

在〔逾越節〕裏，主要的享受乃是逾越節的羊羔，帶着其爲着救贖的血和爲着爭戰與行動的肉，以及表徵無罪之生活的無酵餅。（出十二5 ～ 8。）…血在法理一面救贖〔以色列人〕，羊羔的肉是給神選民喫的，在生機一面使他們得着滋養和加強，能以走出埃及。今天基督是羔羊，祂的血是爲着救贖，祂的自己是爲着加強並滋養我們，使我們能走在神的道路上，從埃及出來。我們同時也喫作爲無酵餅的基督，表徵我們過着無罪的生活。

在享受基督時，我們必須喫祂的肉，喝祂的血，好得着祂永遠的生命，（約六54，）也必須喫祂這天上的糧，好藉着祂那對我們是靈也是生命的話，（63，）而永遠活着。（58。）在約翰三章，我們看見基督作新郎，乃是在萬有之上，（29 ～ 31，）祂講說神的話，使神擴展。在使神擴展之後，祂就賜那靈沒有限量。（34。）然後祂賜給人永遠的生命。（36。）

約翰在他的福音書中，首先向我們題到逾越節，作爲我們對基督之享受的開端，引進神在法理一面的救贖。…然後他又向我們題到住棚節，表徵神在生機一面完全救恩的完成。猶太人從美地得了豐滿的收成之後，就守住棚節，敬拜神並享受他們的收成。（申十六13 ～ 15。）事實上，他們來在一起，乃是一幅相調的真實圖畫。爲着這樣的相調，所有以色列人都必須一年三次上耶路撒冷去。最後一次是在秋天收割之後，以享受他們從美地收割的出產，向神獻上他們的讚美和敬拜，說美言稱頌神。

神設立住棚節，是要以色列人記念他們的先祖在曠野飄流時，如何住在帳棚裏，（利二三39 ～43，）期望進入美地的安息。每一個人都有一個帳棚，在這些帳棚中間，神有一個會幕，所以住棚節乃是記念神的故事。這指向主在設立祂的桌子時所說的話。祂告訴我們，要喫餅喝杯，爲的是記念祂。（路二二19 ～ 20。）主的桌子是一個記念，正如住棚節是一個記念一樣。（李常受文集一九九四至一九九七年第四册，四九二至四九四頁。）

參讀：約翰福音結晶讀經，第六篇。

WEEK 8 — DAY 1

Morning Nourishment

Lev. 23:39 Then on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall keep the feast of Jehovah seven days; on the first day shall be a complete rest, and on the eighth day shall be a complete rest.

           43 So that your descendants may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt…

Leviticus 23 says that God ordained seven annual feasts for His elect. The first one was the Passover (v. 5), and the last one was the Feast of Tabernacles (v. 34). The Passover is the initiation, and the Feast of Tabernacles is the consummation of our enjoyment of Christ. The Passover, the first feast of all the feasts ordained by God for His people, typifies that Christ is the beginning of our enjoyment of Him that originates our spiritual life. The entire Christian life should be a feast…The Christian life is a suffering life, but we suffer so that we can feast more. Our suffering helps us to enjoy the Lord. Eventually, our suffering becomes our feasting. This is why Psalm 23:5 says that the Lord has prepared a table before us in the presence of our enemies. Enemies indicates fighting and suffering, but the Lord makes our fighting a feasting and our suffering a table. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John,” p. 388)

Today’s Reading

In this Feast [of the Passover] the main enjoyments were the passover lamb with its blood for redeeming and its flesh for fighting and walking, and the unleavened bread, signifying a sinless living (Exo. 12:5-8)…The blood redeemed the children of Israel judicially, and the flesh of the lamb was for God’s elect to eat so that they could be nourished and strengthened to walk out of Egypt organically. Christ today is the Lamb with His blood for redemption and with Himself for strengthening and nourishing us so that we can walk on God’s way out of Egypt. At the same time, we also eat Christ as  the unleavened bread, signifying that we are living a sinless life.

In the enjoyment of Christ we must eat His flesh and drink His blood so that we may have His eternal life (John 6:54) and eat Him as the heavenly bread so that we may live forever (v. 58) through His word, which is spirit and life to us (v. 63). In John 3 we see that Christ as the Bridegroom, who is above all things (vv. 29-31), speaks the words of God to spread God. Following the spreading of God, He gives the Spirit without measure (v. 34). Then He gives the eternal life (v. 36).

John in his Gospel refers to first the Feast of the Passover as the beginning of our enjoyment of Christ for the initiation of God’s redemption judicially. Then he also refers to the Feast of Tabernacles, signifying the consummation of God’s full salvation organically. After the full harvest of their crops from the good land, the Jewish people observed the Feast of Tabernacles to worship God and enjoy what they had reaped (Deut. 16:13-15). Actually, their coming together was a real picture of blending. All the people of Israel were required to go to Jerusalem three times a year for this blending. The last time was in the fall after the harvest to enjoy their produce from the harvest of the good land in their praise to God with adoration, to bless God and speak well of God.

God ordained the Feast of Tabernacles so that the children of Israel would remember how their fathers, while wandering in the wilderness, had lived in tents (Lev. 23:39-43), expecting to enter into the rest of the good land. Everyone had a tent, and God had a tabernacle among these tents, so the Feast of Tabernacles was a remembrance of God’s story. This points to what the Lord said when He established His table. He told us to eat the bread and drink the wine in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19-20). The Lord’s table is a remembrance just as the Feast of Tabernacles was a remembrance. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John,” pp. 388-389)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John,” ch. 6