第五週 • 週一

晨興餧養

出三2　    耶和華的使者從荊棘中火焰裏向摩西顯現。摩西觀看，不料，荊棘被火燒着，卻沒有燒毀。

創三17~18  …地必因你的緣故受咒詛；你必終身勞苦，纔能從地裏得喫的。地必給你長出荊棘和蒺藜來…。

在聖經裏，神呼召摩西的記載比呼召其他人的記載都長。…在歷史上，摩西是頭一個完全、合格且得着成全的神的僕人。神使用挪亞建造方舟，但他不是摩西那樣的僕人。甚至信心之父亞伯拉罕，也不像摩西那樣受成全為神的僕人。他是聖經中頭一個完全合格的神的僕人，因此他是神僕人的標準模型，並且神對他的呼召，乃是祂呼召眾僕人的標準。在原則上，我們都需要像摩西一樣蒙召。…按照出埃及三至四章，這個呼召包括五點：燒着的荊棘、神是誰以及神之所是的啟示、神呼召的目的、三個神蹟、亞倫的配合以及西坡拉的切割（出埃及記生命讀經，六一至六二、一二九頁）。

信息選讀

我們需要看見創世記三章和出埃及三章之間的關聯。兩章都有荊棘與火。創世記三章的荊棘指明人在咒詛之下（17~18），火焰指明人與作生命樹的神隔絕（22~24）。按照三章，荊棘是來自因着罪而有的咒詛。因此，荊棘象徵在咒詛之下墮落的人。咒詛宣佈以後，伊甸園的東邊馬上安設了發火焰的劍，『把守生命樹的道路』（24）。故此，罪帶來咒詛，咒詛帶來火焰。在三章，火的功用是使罪人與生命樹隔絕，也就是與作生命源頭的神隔絕。

人的光景在出埃及三章與在創世記三章的大不相同。在出埃及三章，被咒詛的荊棘成了神的器皿，而火焰與荊棘成為一。藉着救贖（由羔羊為着墮落的人被殺並獻給神所表徵—創四4），咒詛被除去，現今火已經與荊棘成為一。

這幅圖畫的實際，可見於加拉太三章十三至十四節。十三節說，『基督既為我們成了咒詛，就贖出我們脫離律法的咒詛。』這意思是說，藉着基督在十字架上的死，咒詛已被除去。十四節繼續說，『為叫亞伯拉罕的福，在基督耶穌裏可以臨到外邦人，使我們藉着信，可以接受所應許的那靈。』所以，按照這些經節，咒詛已被除去，而靈，就是火，已經賜給我們。

行傳二章三至四節指明，澆灌的靈由火焰的舌頭所象徵。那靈的澆灌像火一樣；主耶穌在路加十二章四十九節曾豫言這事：『我來要把火丟在地上，若是已經着起來，那是我所願意的。』五旬節那天，藉着基督除去咒詛的救贖所賜下之應許的那靈，以火焰的形狀降在門徒身上。這火不再使我們與神隔絕；反之，這火乃是神眷臨的火焰。

神對摩西說話以前，給他看見燒着之荊棘的異象。神『從荊棘中火焰裏向摩西顯現』（出三2），荊棘被火燒着，卻沒有燒毀。摩西看見這燒着的荊棘，就說，『我要過去看這大異象，這荊棘為何沒有燒掉呢？』（3）荊棘代表摩西自己。這指明每一個神所呼召的人，必須認識自己不過是荊棘，裏面有火燒着，這火就是神自己。雖然神要在我們裏面並在我們身上焚燒，卻不燒毀我們；也就是說，祂不用我們作燃料（出埃及記生命讀經，九○至九一、八四頁）。

參讀：出埃及記生命讀經，第五、七篇。

WEEK 5--DAY 1

Morning Nourishment

Exo. 3:2 "And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a thornbush. And when he looked, there was the thornbush, burning with fire; but the thornbush was not consumed."

Gen. 3:17-18 "...Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil will you eat of it all the days of your life. And thorns and thistles will it bring forth for you..."

     The record of God’s calling of Moses is longer than the record of His calling of any other person in the Bible....Moses was the first complete, qualified, and perfected servant of God in history. Noah was used by God to build the ark, but he was not the kind of servant Moses was. Not even Abraham, the father of faith, was perfected as a servant of God in the way Moses was. Because he was the first fully qualified servant of God in the Bible, Moses is the standard model of God’s servant, and God’s calling of him is the standard for His calling of all His servants. In principle, we all need to be called the way Moses was....According to chapters 3 and 4 of Exodus, this call covers five points: the burning thorn-bush, the revelation of who God is and of what God is, the purpose of God’s calling, the three signs, and Aaron’s matching and Zipporah’s cutting. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 52, 109)

Today's Reading

    There is a connection between Genesis 3 and Exodus 3. In both chapters we have the thorn and the fire. The thorn in Genesis 3 indicates that man is under a curse (vv. 17-18), and the flame of fire indicates that man is excluded from God as the tree of life (vv. 22-24). According to Genesis 3, thorns came from the curse due to sin. Hence, thorns are a symbol of fallen man under the curse. Immediately after the curse was pronounced, a flaming sword was placed at the east of the garden “to guard the way to the tree of life” (v. 24). Thus, sin brought in the curse, and the curse brought in the flame of fire. The function of fire in Genesis 3 is to exclude sinners from the tree of life, that is, from God as the source of life.

    Man’s situation in Exodus 3 is much different from that in Genesis 3. In Exodus 3 the cursed thorn becomes the vessel of God, and the flame of fire becomes one with the thornbush. Through redemption, signified by the lamb slain and offered to God for fallen man (Gen. 4:4), the curse has been taken away, and the fire has become one with the thorn.

    The reality of this picture is seen in Galatians 3:13 and 14. Verse 13 says, “Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf.” This means that through the death of Christ on the cross the curse has been taken away. Verse 14 continues, “In order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Therefore, according to these verses the curse has been taken away, and the Spirit, the fire, has been given to us.

    Acts 2:3 and 4 indicate that the outpoured Spirit is symbolized by tongues of fire. This outpouring of the Spirit as fire was predicted by the Lord Jesus in Luke 12:49: “ I have come to cast fire on the earth, and how I wish that it were already kindled!” On the DAY of Pentecost the promised Spirit, given through the redemption of Christ which took away the curse, came upon the disciples in the form of fire. This fire no longer excludes us from God; instead, it is the flame of God’s visitation.

    Before God spoke to Moses, He showed him the sign of a burning thornbush,...a bush that burned with fire without being consumed. Seeing this burning thornbush, Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this great sight, why the thornbush does not burn up” (Exo. 3:3). The thornbush represented Moses himself. This indicates that everyone who is called of God must realize that he is just a thornbush with a fire burning within him and that this fire is God Himself. Although God desires to burn within us and upon us, He will not burn us; that is, He will not use us as fuel. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 74-76, 69-70)

    Further Reading: Life-study of Exodus, msgs. 5, 7