Judges 6:12-13 (NKJV)And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour!”Gideon said to Him, “O my Lord if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
At the time of the opening passage, Israel was being attacked by the Midianites, and going through possibly the most humiliating time in their nation’s history due to their departure from God. God had allowed the Midianites to attack and torment them because Israel had violated the conditional Mosaic covenant. These people were God’s chosen people who were in covenant with Him, but they were not living their best lives. Likewise, we may not be living up to the fullness of what the abundant life offers because our identity isn’t in Christ.
Very often, we will only be teachable and mouldable when we are humbled and brought to a low point in our lives because we are constantly puffed up by pride and our self-ego. Praise be to God that He will always respond to the cries of His covenant partners. Just like God responded to the cry of the Israelites when they were oppressed by the Egyptians, God responded to their cry and delivered them from the Midianites by raising up a man—Gideon.
There were many occasions in the Bible where angels were dispatched to bring forth the answers to people’s prayers. However, on this occasion, God Himself came and sat beside Gideon under the terebinth tree. The Lord was present when Israel and Gideon were at the lowest point despite their rebelliousness. He will never leave or forsake His people despite their faithlessness. Therefore, just like He remained faithful to the Israelites, He will remain faithful to us too, because He doesn’t forget His covenant obligation, which is to face every adversity together with His covenant partners.
Nonetheless, like Gideon, sometimes we feel abandoned and forsaken by God when we are down and miserable. God came down to Gideon just like Jesus came down to us. While God took the effort to journey with Gideon, He has also allowed the Holy Spirit to reside in us as our comforter when we are downtrodden and oppressed by our circumstances. It showed forth the character of God—He is faithful, willing, and available.
Hebrews 13:5-6 (NKJV) Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
Sermon Series: How to Do Well in Your New Identity?
永不被弃
士 師 記 6:12-13 耶 和 华 的 使 者 向 基 甸 显 现 ， 对 他 说 ： 大 能 的 勇 士 啊 ， 耶 和 华 与 你 同 在 ！13 基 甸 说 ： 主 啊 ， 耶 和 华 若 与 我 们 同 在 ， 我 们 何 至 遭 遇 这 一 切 事 呢 ？ 我 们 的 列 祖 不 是 向 我 们 说 耶 和 华 领 我 们 从 埃 及 上 来 麽 ？ 祂 那 样 奇 妙 的 作 为 在 哪 里 呢 ？ 现 在 祂 却 丢 弃 我 们 ， 将 我 们 交 在 米 甸 人 手 里 。
在开篇经文所说的时期，以色列人正受到米甸人的攻击，由于背离了上帝，他们经历了可能是他们国家历史上有史以来最屈辱的时期。神允许米甸人攻击和折磨他们，因为以色列违反了有条件的摩西之盟约。这些人是上帝的选民，他们与祂立约，但他们并没有活出最好的生命样式。同样的，我们也可能没有活出丰盛生命所提供的丰盛，因为我们的身份不在基督里。
很多时候，只有当我们谦卑并被带到生命的低谷时，我们才会变得受教和可塑，因为我们经常被骄傲和自负弄得飘飘然。赞美上帝，因为祂将永远回应祂圣约伙伴的呼求。就像神回应以色列人被埃及人压迫时的呼求一样，神回应了他们的呼求，兴起了一个人、基甸，将他们从米甸人手中拯救出来。
在圣经中有很多场合，天使奉差传达对人们的祷告的回复。然而，这一次，神亲自来了，坐在基甸旁边的橡树下。当以色列和基甸处于最低点时，尽管他们悖逆，上帝却依旧显现。祂永远不会离开或抛弃祂的子民，尽管他们不忠。因此，就像祂对以色列人始终信实一样，对于我们祂也会同样信实，因为祂不会忘记祂的盟约义务，那就是与祂的圣约伙伴一起面对每一个逆境。
然而，像基甸一样，有时候当我们沮丧和痛苦时，我们会感到被上帝遗弃和弃绝。神降临到基甸身旁，就像耶稣降临到我们身旁一样。上帝主动与基甸同行，当我们被环境压迫和受到欺压时，祂也允许圣灵住在我们里面，作为我们的安慰者。这显明了神的品格——祂是信实的、愿意的、随时可及的。
希 伯 來 書 13:5-6 你 们 存 心 不 可 贪 爱 钱 财 ， 要 以 自 己 所 有 的 为 足 ； 因 为 主 曾 说 ： 我 总 不 撇 下 你 ， 也 不 丢 弃 你 。6 所 以 我 们 可 以 放 胆 说 ： 主 是 帮 助 我 的 ， 我 必 不 惧 怕 ； 人 能 把 我 怎 麽 样 呢 ？me?”
讲章系列：如何演绎好你的新身份?
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