旧约 - 以赛亚书(Isaiah)第7章

When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.
Now the house of David was told, "Aram has allied itself with Ephraim"; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman's Field.
Say to him, 'Be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood--because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.
Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah's son have plotted your ruin, saying,
"Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it."
Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "'It will not take place, it will not happen,
for the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.
The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah's son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.'"
Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz,
"Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights."
But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test."
Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right.
But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah--he will bring the king of Assyria."
In that day the LORD will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.
They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, on all the thornbushes and at all the water holes.
In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the River--the king of Assyria--to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to take off your beards also.
In that day, a man will keep alive a young cow and two goats.
And because of the abundance of the milk they give, he will have curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.
In that day, in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be only briers and thorns.
Men will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns.
As for all the hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns; they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.
以赛亚书第七章   赛 7:1> 以色列也来攻打犹大?本是同根生,何以如此…… 

  7:1 公元前 734 年,北国以色列和亚兰国联合攻打犹大的耶路撒冷。犹大王亚哈斯害怕自己的统治到了尽头,也害怕那曾杀害和掳走许多人(参代下 28:5-21 )的敌军。但是,正像以赛亚预言的那样,犹大王国并没有到尽头。以马内利的兆头将是得解救的兆头。 

  赛 7:2> “大卫家”“以法莲”各有所指── 

  7:2 “大卫家”是指南部的犹大王国。“以法莲”是北部占主导地位的支族,指北国以色列。 

  7:3 “施亚雅述”的意思是“余民归回”。神给以赛亚的儿子起施亚雅述这个名字,是在提醒人们,神有怜悯,神对他们非常信实。 

  赛 7:3> “水沟头”指哪里? 

  7:3 “上池的水沟头”可能是位于耶路撒冷以东的基训泉。基训泉是耶路撒冷的主要水源,也是流入希西家的着名水道的水泉(参代下 32:30 )。漂布地是个有名的地方。人们在那里把衣服或新织的布放在太阳下晒干或漂白( 36:2 )。 

  赛 7:4-8:15> 神本来也要惩罚犹大,为何又保护他? 

  7:4-8:15 以赛亚预告了以色列同亚兰联盟的失败( 7:4-9 )。因为这个联盟,以色列将被毁灭。亚述成为神用来毁灭以色列( 7:8-25 )和惩罚犹大的工具,但神没有让亚述毁灭犹大( 8:1-15 )。他们得以存活是因为神的救恩计划不容人来破坏。 

  赛 7:8> 南国北国,各用其招,都想不被亚述灭掉…… 

  7:8 亚哈斯是犹大最差的国王之一。他不但拒绝神的帮助,而且还用圣殿中的金银去向亚述换取帮助(参王下 16:8 )。当亚述人来了后,他们带来的麻烦比给予的帮助还要多。以法莲(北国以色列的另一个名字)的首都撒马利亚,于公元前 722 年落入亚述军队的手中,北部的王国就此灭亡。 

  赛 7:12> 亚哈斯不求神的动机是否如他所言?我有没有类似的言行? 

  7:12 亚哈斯似乎显得很正义,说他不会用求兆头来试探神(“我不求,我不试探耶和华。”)。其实,是神告诉他去求的。只是亚哈斯并不真想知道神要说什么。我们通常也会用一些藉口,像什么不想打搅神啦,抽不出时间啦,来阻碍我们同神的交通。别让任何东西阻止我们听见和顺从神。 

  赛 7:14-16> 有童女怀孕生子,原来出自这里…… 

  7:14-16 “童女”是从希伯来文翻译过来的。希伯来文“童女”是指到了结婚的年龄而未婚、身体已经发育成熟了的女子(参创 24:43 ;出 2:8 ;诗 68:25 ;箴 30:19 ;歌 1:3 ; 6:8 )。有些人把这年青女子比作以赛亚的年轻妻子和新生儿( 8:1-4 ),这不太可信,因为她已经有了一个叫施亚雅述的孩子,而且她的第二个孩子也不叫以马内利。有些人认为以赛亚的结发妻子已经去世,所以这是他的第二位妻子。更有可能的是这个预言有双重的应验:( 1 )一位亚哈斯家中的年轻妇女没结婚,但就要结婚并生个儿子。三年过后(一年怀孕,二年孩子会说话)两个入侵之王就被毁灭了。( 2 )马太福音 1 章 23 节中引用了以赛亚书 7 章 14 节来说明这个预言的进一步实现。有个童女怀孕生子,人称为以马内利,也就是基督。 

  赛 7:18> 埃及、亚述都不甘示弱,犹大的命运如何? 

  7:18 苍蝇和蜂子是神的审判的象征(参出 23:28 )。埃及和亚述这一次并没有毁灭犹大。希西家继亚哈斯作王。他尊崇神,神因此收回了审判之手。在约西亚之前还有两个邪恶的国王。据说没有一个像约西亚那样全然归向神的国王(参王下 23:25 )。然而犹大的寿数,已被约西亚的父亲亚们这个邪恶透顶的国王给弄到了尽头。在约西亚执政期间,埃及征讨亚述。约西亚马上对埃及宣战,神告诉他不要这样做,但他还是做了。约西亚被杀后(参代下 35:20-27 ),只有软弱的国王在犹大执政了。埃及人三个月后掳走了约西亚的儿子约哈斯。接续的国王约雅敬被尼布甲尼撒王掳到了巴比伦。埃及和亚述给了犹大致命的一击。 

  赛 7:20> 认贼作父,犹大自招祸患── 

  7:20 犹大本来是雇请亚述来保护自己,却造成了自己的灭亡(参王下 16:7-8 )。给犹大“刮胡子”是羞辱他们的象征。民数记 6 章 9 节解释了一个人不洁之后,他要为主而隔离,并要剃头作为清洁过程的一部分。剃去体毛时要赤裸身体,这令人非常尴尬。而一个希伯来男人被剃去胡子是一种羞耻(参撒下 10:4-5 )。 

  赛 7:21-25> 流奶与蜜之地变成荒原……何故?