【双语灵修】黑暗中的盼望HOPE IN THE DARKNESS

「唯有以色列人家中都有亮光。」-出 10:23
你是否遇到过可以摸得着的黑暗？我记得在树林里徒步时，头顶上突然乌云密布，狂风从四面八方呼啸而来，气温迅速下降，紧接着雷电交加。那一刻，我知道自己无法掌控环境。

我们今天所读的经文讲述的是神通过摩西与法老对抗故事的一部份。法老曾多次拒绝让神的子民脱离奴役，而神则以越来越强烈的灾难作为回应，这一切都在挑战法老的权威和辖制。这一次，神带来了「摸得着的黑暗」，笼罩了整个埃及地。与暴风雨过后的黑暗不同，这场黑暗持续了三天！神仿佛在对法老说：「不要再反抗我了。你不是主宰。我甚至可以消除光明与黑暗、黑夜与白昼之间的界限！」但法老仍然不听。

在面对法老时，神让以色列人放心，在非自然的黑暗中给了他们亮光和希望，神在其中说：「你们是属我的，法老不能使你们与我分离。」在将临期，我们也要倚靠这一充满希望的保证：在基督里，神挪动了天与地、日与夜，从奴役我们的一切事物中将我们释放出来。

祷告

神啊，感谢祢在耶稣基督里赐给我们盼望。请帮助我们相信祢的力量，使我们脱离一切奴役。阿们。

出埃及记 10:21-29
21 耶和华对摩西说：「你向天伸杖，使埃及地黑暗，这黑暗似乎摸得着。」22摩西向天伸杖，埃及遍地就乌黑了三天。 23 三天之久，人不能相见，谁也不敢起来离开本处，唯有以色列人家中都有亮光。 24 法老就召摩西来，说：「你们去侍奉耶和华，只是你们的羊群牛群要留下，你们的妇人孩子可以和你们同去。」 25摩西说：「你总要把祭物和燔祭牲交给我们，使我们可以祭祀耶和华我们的神。 26 我们的牲畜也要带去，连一蹄也不留下，因为我们要从其中取出来，侍奉耶和华我们的神。我们未到那里，还不知道用什么侍奉耶和华。」 27 但耶和华使法老的心刚硬，不肯容他们去。28法老对摩西说：「你离开我去吧！你要小心，不要再见我的面，因为你见我面的那日，你就必死！」 29 摩西说：「你说得好，我必不再见你的面了。」

HOPE IN THE DARKNESS

“Yet all the Israelites had light in the places they lived.” - Exodus 10:23

Have you ever encountered a darkness that can be felt? I recall hiking in the woods when dark storm clouds suddenly billowed overhead. The wind whipped around in all directions, and the temperature dropped quickly, followed by blasts of thunder and lightning. In that moment, I knew I wasn’t in control.

Our Bible reading today tells part of the story of God’s confrontation with Pharaoh through Moses. Pharaoh had repeatedly resisted letting God’s people go free from slavery, and God had responded with increasingly intense plagues, all of which challenged Pharaoh’s authority and control. This time, God brought a “darkness that [could] be felt” over the whole land of Egypt. Unlike the darkness of a passing storm, this darkness stayed for three days! It’s as if God was saying to Pharoah: “Stop resisting me. You are not in charge. I can even remove the creational boundaries between light and dark, night and day!” But Pharoah would not listen.

While confronting Pharaoh, God reassured Israel by giving them light and hope in the midst of the unnatural darkness, and in this God was saying, “You are mine, and Pharaoh cannot separate you from me.” In Advent, we lean into this same hope-filled assurance: in Christ, God will move heaven and earth, night and day, to set us free from all that enslaves us.

Prayer
God, thank you for the hope you give us in Jesus Christ. Help us to believe in your power to free us from all that can enslave us. Amen.

诵读: 楚云
片头: 张妙阳