Daily Devotion - Nov 22 - ¥q¥¬¯u¨C¤éÆF­×(¤é) Morning by Morning

司布真每日靈修(日) Morning by Morning

十一月二十二日

經文: 「從前雅各……為得妻，與人放羊。」（何西阿書十二：12）

雅各發怒，與拉班爭論，敍述他的辛勞：「我在你家這廿年，你的母綿羊、母山羊沒掉過胎，你群中的公羊，我沒有吃過；被野獸撕裂的，我沒有帶來給你，是我自己賠上。無論是白日，是黑夜，被偷去的你都向我索取。我白日受盡乾熱，黑夜受盡寒霜，不得合眼睡著，我常是這樣。」（創卅一：38∼40）

耶穌在地上的日子，比雅各更為憂患操勞，祂眷顧餵養祂的羊群，不遺餘力，直到離世前一刻。「您所賜給我的名保守他們，我也護衛了他們。」（約十七：12）耶穌常常滿頭汗水，到處奔波傳道；祂也常常整夜未眠，通宵禱告，為祂的羊群摔跤、守望。那樣的忠誠懇切，椎心瀝血的代求，是守著夜更的牧羊人，所難以望其項背的。而耶穌願意這麼做，是因祂為祂所揀選的新婦、甘心勞苦。

拉班對雅各的要求極為嚴苛，若羊少了，雅各要賠；若羊死了，也要保證不能再讓其他的羊隻發生類似的事。同樣的，耶穌對投靠祂的信徒，也要保守他們的平安，好向天父交帳。因此，雅各看顧羊群的勞苦，正可說明耶穌是如何費盡心思地來看顧屬祂的人。「祂必像牧人牧養自己的羊群。」（賽四十：11）


Morning, November 22

Scripture: "Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep."(Hosea 12:12)

Jacob, while expostulating with Laban, thus describes his own toil, "This twenty years have I been with thee. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee: I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes." Even more toilsome than this was the life of our Saviour here below. He watched over all his sheep till he gave in as his last account, "Of all those whom thou hast given me I have lost none." His hair was wet with dew, and his locks with the drops of the night. Sleep departed from his eyes, for all night he was in prayer wrestling for his people. One night Peter must be pleaded for; anon, another claims his tearful intercession. No shepherd sitting beneath the cold skies, looking up to the stars, could ever utter such complaints because of the hardness of his toil as Jesus Christ might have brought, if he had chosen to do so, because of the sternness of his service in order to procure his spouse—

"Cold mountains and the midnight air,

Witnessed the fervour of his prayer;

The desert his temptations knew,

His conflict and his victory too."

It is sweet to dwell upon the spiritual parallel of Laban having required all the sheep at Jacob's hand. If they were torn of beasts, Jacob must make it good; if any of them died, he must stand as surety for the whole. Was not the toil of Jesus for his Church the toil of one who was under suretiship obligations to bring every believing one safe to the hand of him who had committed them to his charge? Look upon toiling Jacob, and you see a representation of him of whom we read, "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd."


取消訂閱 Unsubscribe at http://www.glorypress.com/Devotional/unsubscribe.asp?email=okfloors.zxcv@blogger.com&code=2551&ddb=4