“日头正落的时候,亚伯兰沉沉的睡了,忽然有惊人的大黑暗落在他身上。” – 创 15:12
今天早上,我从一个怪诞混乱的梦境中醒来。科学家称睡眠中这个做梦阶段为“快速眼动”(REM)睡眠。在这个REM阶段中,我们的脑袋消化和融入来自每天的经历的资料。从圣经的记载中,我们知道有时神也会用REM的睡眠阶段来与人沟通的。
在今天这段经文中,我们看到神传给亚伯兰的两个信息。首先,神在异象中赐给亚伯兰一个惊人的应许:神要使亚伯兰成为众多后裔之父 – 多如天上无数的众星(1-6节)!后来,在日落时,亚伯兰“沉沉的睡了” – 在大黑暗中他做了梦,梦中神应许他将会继承他当时居住的地土。
尽管亚伯兰或许会因这些信息感到困惑,然而他仍然深信神的话,神因此“就以此为他的义。”之后,作为衪的应许的记号,神更把亚伯兰的名字改为亚伯拉罕,意思是“多国的父”(创世记 17:5)。
我们的梦境顶多只会令我们感到困惑,然而在这个故事中,梦境在神赐给亚伯拉罕和全人类的福份中 扮演了一个特别重要的角色。神使用一个伟大的计划来显明衪的大爱,而这个计划最终指向那位“为我们信心创始成终”(希伯来书 12:2)的耶稣。不是每一个梦都带着一个信息的,然而我们的梦却可以提醒我们,去信靠那位造我们时赐我们有做梦能力的创造者。
祷告
父神啊,纵使在睡着时,我们仍然可以确信你在我们生活中与我们同在和对我们的应许。求你帮助我们信靠你和在你里面安息。阿们。
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创世记 15
1这事以后,耶和华在异象中有话对亚伯兰说:“亚伯兰,你不要惧怕!我是你的盾牌,必大大地赏赐你。”
2亚伯兰说:“主耶和华啊,我既无子,你还赐我什么呢?并且要承受我家业的是大马士革人以利以谢。”
3亚伯兰又说:“你没有给我儿子,那生在我家中的人就是我的后嗣。”
4耶和华又有话对他说:“这人必不成为你的后嗣,你本身所生的才成为你的后嗣。”
5于是领他走到外边,说:“你向天观看,数算众星,能数得过来吗?”又对他说:“你的后裔将要如此。”
6亚伯兰信耶和华,耶和华就以此为他的义。
7耶和华又对他说:“我是耶和华,曾领你出了迦勒底的吾珥,为要将这地赐你为业。”
8亚伯兰说:“主耶和华啊,我怎能知道必得这地为业呢?”
9他说:“你为我取一只三年的母牛,一只三年的母山羊,一只三年的公绵羊,一只斑鸠,一只雏鸽。”
10亚伯兰就取了这些来,每样劈开分成两半,一半对着一半地摆列,只有鸟没有劈开。
11有鸷鸟下来落在那死畜的肉上,亚伯兰就把它吓飞了。
12日头正落的时候,亚伯兰沉沉地睡了,忽然有惊人的大黑暗落在他身上。
13耶和华对亚伯兰说:“你要的确知道,你的后裔必寄居别人的地,又服侍那地的人,那地的人要苦待他们四百年。
14并且他们所要服侍的那国,我要惩罚,后来他们必带着许多财物从那里出来。
15但你要享大寿数,平平安安地归到你列祖那里,被人埋葬。
16到了第四代,他们必回到此地,因为亚摩利人的罪孽还没有满盈。”
17日落天黑,不料有冒烟的炉并烧着的火把从那些肉块中经过。
18当那日,耶和华与亚伯兰立约,说:“我已赐给你的后裔,从埃及河直到伯拉大河之地,
19就是基尼人、基尼洗人、甲摩尼人、
20赫人、比利洗人、利乏音人、
21亚摩利人、迦南人、革迦撒人、耶布斯人之地。”
Dreams Of Promise
“As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.” – Genesis 15:12
I awoke this morning from a weirdly confusing dream. Scientists call the dreaming phase of sleep “rapid eye movement” (REM) sleep. In REM sleep our minds process and assimilate information from our day-to-day experiences. Sometimes, as we learn in the Bible, God uses REM sleep to communicate with people.
Our Bible reading today tells us about two of God’s messages to Abram. First, in a vision, God gives an astounding promise: he will make Abram the father of many descendants—as many as the stars in the sky (vv. 1-6)! Then, at sunset, Abram falls into “a deep sleep”—a dark hole of dreams in which God promises that he will inherit the land he is living in.
Though Abram may have been perplexed by these messages, he took God at his word, and God “credited it to him as righteousness.” Later, as a sign of his promises, God also renamed Abram as Abraham, which means “father of multitudes” (Genesis 17:5).
Most of our dreams just leave us confused, but in this story sleep plays an outsized role in God’s promise to bless Abraham and all of humankind. God reveals his great love in a grand design that ultimately points to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Not every dream carries a message. But our dreams can remind us to trust the one who created us with the ability to dream.
Prayer
Father God, even when we are asleep, we can be assured of your presence and promise in our lives. Help us to trust and rest in you. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
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