QT 09/03/2025 Sun. Isaiah 20. Misplaced trust in superpowers versus trust in God's commands. 错误地信任超级大国对应信任上帝的命令。
QT 09/03/2025 Sun. Isaiah 20. Misplaced trust in superpowers versus trust in God's commands.
READ http://www.esvbible.org/isaiah20
Who should the Ukrainians trust? USA under Biden, USA under Trump, NATO of today? Or nobody else but themselves?
Isaiah 20 is such a modern chapter—which powers, or which superpowers should a smaller or weaker nation trust in view of the big threat from Sargon king of Assyria (20:1). Isaiah's target audience were not superpowers nor anywhere near being identified as a big nation. Ashdod of Isaiah's time trusted in Egypt, but the text pointed to this as misplaced trust. This was because Cush and Egypt of Isaiah's time would themselves be subjected to defeat and capture just like any other nations. In this light, any trust in the protection of Cush and Egypt was delusionary.
Isaiah 20:5–6 [5] Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. [6] And the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’” (ESV)
Isaiah the prophet demonstrated to the audience vividly the consequence of this misplaced trust—loss of nationhood, dignity and freedom. The sackcloth (20:2) might have been a sign of mourning for the destruction of the Northern Kingdom or just the customary wardrobe for prophets of Isaiah's day. Scholars have interpreted the removal of this sackcloth as either nudity or partial nudity (leaving only the loin cloth after taking off the outer garment and inner tunic).
Whatever the interpretation, for Isaiah, once he was certain that this prophetic sign was God's command as part of Isaiah's call and prophetic duty, there was nothing to obstruct the command of God but to carry it out faithfully. In this scenario, judgments and condemnations that might be hurled upon Isaiah by peer pressure, fashion gurus or cultural guardians of wardrobe propriety take a secondary seat. The primary concern was to live in cheerful, willing and sacrificial response to the Holy One of Israel. It was this same God that had called Isaiah, cleansed Isaiah (see chapter 6) and sent him on a ministry that even though was doomed from the start (from the human perspective), was successful and faithful ultimately (from God's perspective).
REFLECTION: God's call today in the specific area for you to serve in might not be as difficult as Isaiah's. But the challenges of neglect, laziness, ill-discipline, non-commitment except commitment to self, are as powerful today too. Would you absorb the various discomforts and self-sacrifices to make God's promptings and directions in your heart into reality—something impactful in the real world?
The audience of Isaiah's time would do their own reflections of history. They would have to accept the hard truth that Ashod's attempts to trust Egypt ended in shame. The notions of trust in any particular human regime, temporal institutions and their fading grandeur would have to be smashed first before anyone would turn to seek God. Can readers of Isaiah 20 today quickly come to that conclusion of trusting God via a simpler and less painful route?
QT 09/03/2025 星期日. 以赛亚书 20. 错误地信任超级大国对应信任上帝的命令。
阅读 http://m.bbintl.org/bible/ncv/isa/20
乌克兰人应该相信谁？拜登领导下的美国、特朗普领导下的美国、当今的北约？还是别无他人，只靠自己？
《以赛亚书》第 20 章就是这样一个现代篇章--面对亚述王萨尔贡的巨大威胁（20:1），一个较小或较弱的国家应该相信哪些强国或超级大国。以赛亚的目标受众不是超级大国，也不可能被认定为大国。以赛亚时代的阿什杜德信任埃及，但经文指出这是错误的信任。这是因为，以赛亚所处时代的库什和埃及也会像其他国家一样被打败和俘虏。有鉴于此，任何对库什和埃及的保护的信任都是妄想。
以赛亚书 20:5-6 5 以色列人必因所仰望的古实，所夸耀的埃及，惊惶羞愧。6 那时这沿海一带的居民必说，看哪，我们素所仰望的，就是我们为脱离亚述王逃往求救的，不过是如此。我们怎能逃脱呢？
先知以赛亚向听众生动地展示了这种错误信任的后果--丧失国家、尊严和自由。以赛亚身上的麻布（20:2）可能是为北方王国的毁灭表示哀悼，也可能只是以赛亚时代先知们的习惯衣着。学者们将脱下麻布解释为裸体或部分裸体（脱下外衣和内衫后只留下腰布）。
无论如何解释，对以赛亚来说，一旦他确定这个预言性的记号是上帝的命令，是以赛亚的呼召和先知职责的一部分，就没有什么可以阻挡上帝的命令，只能忠实地执行。在这种情况下，同辈压力、时尚大师或衣着得体的文化守护者可能对以赛亚所作的评判和谴责都退居其次。首要的问题是要活得开朗、心甘情愿，并对以色列的圣者做出牺牲性的回应。正是这位上帝呼召了以赛亚，洁净了以赛亚（见第 6 章），并差遣他去传道，尽管从一开始就注定要失败（从人的角度看），但最终却成功并忠实（从上帝的角度看）。
反思：今天，神对你在特定领域服事的呼召可能没有以赛亚的呼召那么困难。但是，忽视、懒惰、不守纪律、不委身（除了对自己的委身）等挑战在今天也同样强大。你是否愿意承受各种不适和自我牺牲，使上帝在你心中的提示和指示成为现实--在现实世界中产生影响？
以赛亚所处时代的听众将对历史做出自己的反思。他们将不得不接受一个残酷的事实，即亚述曾试图信任埃及，但最终却以羞愧告终。在人们转而寻求上帝之前，信任任何特定的人类政权、世俗制度及其逐渐消逝的辉煌的观念必须首先被粉碎。今天，《以赛亚书》第 20 章的读者能否通过一条更简单、更少痛苦的途径迅速得出信靠上帝的结论呢？
