Article #44 the series: You Are God’s Masterpiece: The Genesis Notes.
你是神的杰作:《创世记手记》系列第四十四
中文和英文版本语音
Listen to the Chinese or English Audio
All of the brothers are in Egypt, they just had a feast with Joseph. Benjamin was honored. In the meantime, Jacob is at home worried Benjamin will be killed. Now it is time to return home. Early in the morning they leave the city and they are probably so relieved they got the food and are finally on the way home. But just as they are feeling relaxed, their friend the steward shows up.
所有的兄弟们都在埃及，他们刚刚和约瑟一起享用完筵席。 便雅悯很荣幸。 与此同时，雅各却在家里担心便雅悯会被杀害。 现在是时候回家了，他们一大早就离开了这个城市，他们可能会觉得很释然，拿到了食物，终于可以回家了。 但正当他们感到轻松时，他们的朋友家宰出现了。
Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack. Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said. As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.’ ” When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that! We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.” “Very well, then,” he said, “let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame.” Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.
Genesis 44:1-13 NIV
约瑟吩咐家宰说：“把粮食装满这些人的口袋，尽着他们的驴所能驮的，又把各人的银子放在各人的口袋里，并将我的银杯和那少年人籴粮的银子，一同装在他的口袋里。”家宰就照约瑟所说的话行了。天一亮就打发那些人带着驴走了。他们出城走了不远，约瑟对家宰说：“起来！追那些人去，追上了就对他们说：‘你们为什么以恶报善呢？这不是我主人饮酒的杯吗？岂不是他占卜用的吗？你们这样行是作恶了。’”家宰追上他们，将这些话对他们说了。他们回答说：“我主为什么说这样的话呢？你仆人断不能做这样的事。你看，我们从前在口袋里所见的银子，尚且从迦南地带来还你，我们怎能从你主人家里偷窃金银呢？你仆人中，无论在谁那里搜出来，就叫他死，我们也作我主的奴仆。”家宰说：“现在就照你们的话行吧！在谁那里搜出来，谁就作我的奴仆，其余的都没有罪。”于是他们各人急忙把口袋卸在地下，各人打开口袋。家宰就搜查，从年长的起，到年幼的为止，那杯竟在便雅悯的口袋里搜出来。他们就撕裂衣服，各人把驮子抬在驴上，回城去了。
创世记44:1-13
This sure seems like a test. How will the brothers handle this trial? What was the consequence they were going to have to face for stealing the cup? It is very interesting that Benjamin was going to become a slave. This is exactly what happened to Joseph. Maybe Joseph is giving them a taste of what he suffered. Maybe he wants to see if his brothers have changed at all. Would they let Benjamin become a slave? The brothers have changed. They all turn around and go back to the city to face the problem.
这看起来肯定像是一个考验。 兄弟们将如何处理这次试探？ 他们将如何面对偷酒杯带来的后果？有趣的是，便雅悯将成为奴隶。这正是发生在约瑟身上的事。也许约瑟正在让他们体验他遭受的痛苦。也许他想知道他的哥哥们是否已经改变了，他们会让便雅悯成为奴隶吗？他的哥哥们改变了。他们都转身回到城里，来直面这个问题。
Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in and threw themselves to the ground before Joseph. The group is now called, “Judah and his brothers.” Judah is leading this group as they all bow before Joseph fulfilling his dream for a second time.
约瑟还在屋里，犹大和他的弟兄们进来，在他面前俯伏于地。这群人现在被称为“犹大和他的弟兄们。”犹大领导着这群人，在约瑟面前俯伏于地，又一次应验了约瑟的异梦。
Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?” “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.” But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.” Then Judah went up to him and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, let me speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself. My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’ “Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.’ And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.’ But you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’ When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said. “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy a little more food.’ But we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ “Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since. If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.’ “So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’ “Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.”
Genesis 44:14-34 NIV
犹大和他弟兄们来到约瑟的屋中，约瑟还在那里，他们就在他面前俯伏于地。约瑟对他们说：“你们做的是什么事呢？你们岂不知像我这样的人必能占卜吗？”犹大说：“我们对我主说什么呢？还有什么话可说呢？我们怎能自己表白出来呢？神已经查出仆人的罪孽了，我们与那在他手中搜出杯来的都是我主的奴仆。”约瑟说：“我断不能这样行，在谁的手中搜出杯来，谁就作我的奴仆；至于你们，可以平平安安地上你们父亲那里去。”犹大挨近他，说：“我主啊，求你容仆人说一句话给我主听，不要向仆人发烈怒，因为你如同法老一样。我主曾问仆人们说：”你们有父亲、有兄弟没有？‘我们对我主说：“我们有父亲，已经年老，还有他老年所生的一个小孩子。他哥哥死了，他母亲只撇下他一人，他父亲疼爱他。’你对仆人说：‘把他带到我这里来，叫我亲眼看看他。’我们对我主说：‘童子不能离开他父亲，若是离开，他父亲必死。’你对仆人说：‘你们的小兄弟若不与你们一同下来，你们就不得再见我的面。’我们上到你仆人我们父亲那里，就把我主的话告诉了他。”我们的父亲说：‘你们再去给我籴些粮来。’我们就说：‘我们不能下去，我们的小兄弟若和我们同往，我们就可以下去，因为小兄弟若不与我们同往，我们必不得见那人的面。’你仆人我父亲对我们说：‘你们知道我的妻子给我生了两个儿子，一个离开我出去了。我说：他必是被撕碎了，直到如今我也没有见他。现在你们又要把这个带去离开我，倘若他遭害，那便是你们使我白发苍苍，悲悲惨惨地下阴间去了。‘我父亲的命与这童子的命相连。如今我回到你仆人我父亲那里，若没有童子与我们同在，我们的父亲见没有童子，他就必死。这便是我们使你仆人我们的父亲，白发苍苍，悲悲惨惨地下阴间去了。因为仆人曾向我父亲为这童子作保，说：“我若不带他回来交给父亲，我便在父亲面前永远担罪。’现在求你容仆人住下，替这童子作我主的奴仆，叫童子和他哥哥们一同上去。若童子不和我同去，我怎能上去见我父亲呢？恐怕我看见灾祸临到我父亲身上。”
创世记44:14-34
Judah’s Moment
犹大的时刻
Now is Judah’s moment. Bowing before Joseph, Judah makes a passionate speech, 18 verses long, asking for mercy. This is Judah, the man who mistreated his daughter-in-law, repented, eventually did the right thing and is now a changed man. Now Judah is standing in humility before Joseph asking for mercy. He carefully explains the entire story again to Joseph. He is willing to bear the consequences,he will give himself as a slave. Judah admits their guilt. He doesn’t say they are guilty for taking the cup, but he does admit they are guilty. He is no longer saying, “We are honest men. ” How do you think Judah’s own personal experience with his sons and Tamar has prepared him for this moment in front of Joseph?
现在是犹大的时刻。在约瑟面前俯伏在地，犹大发表了一篇长达十八节的激情洋溢的演说，请求约瑟的怜悯。这就是犹大，他曾经错待他的儿媳他玛，现在他忏悔，弥补过失，改过自新了。现在犹大谦卑地站在约瑟面前，请求怜悯。他再次向约瑟小心翼翼地解释了整个故事，他愿意承担后果，愿意自己变成奴隶。犹大承认了他们的罪。他并没有说他们因拿杯子而感到愧疚 ，但他的确承认他们是有罪的。他不再说，“我们是诚实的人！” 你是如何看待犹大与儿子和他玛的亲身经历，让他准备好了面对约瑟的这一刻？
Guilt: Judgment or Mercy
愧疚：审判或怜悯
All of us have been in the same situation as Judah. Faced with our guilt, there is no way out, there is nothing we can do to fix our guilty situation, we must accept the consequences. Judah and his brothers should have been punished for selling Joseph into slavery. But now Judah is standing before Joseph offering himself up as a slave to pay the price of his sin. Judah has no idea he is appealing to Joseph, the only one who could offer forgiveness and release from guilt, the one he sinned against. In this situation Judah and his brothers know they are guilty. They face two options: punishment or mercy.
我们所有人都曾经处于和犹大一样的困境里。 对于我们的罪责，无路可行，我们无力解决自己的困境，且必须接受事情的后果。 犹大和他的兄弟应当为将约瑟卖作奴隶而受到惩罚。 但是现在犹大站在约瑟面前把自己献为奴隶，为之前的罪行付上代价。 犹大没有意识到他正在哀求约瑟，就是唯一可以饶恕他、将他从愧疚中释放的那个人，也是他得罪了的人。 在这种情形下，犹大和他的弟兄们知道自己是有罪的。 他们面临两种结果：惩罚或怜悯。
Merciful God
怜悯的 神
Mercy is not getting a punishment you deserve.
怜悯就是不受那应得的惩罚。
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions.”
Psalm 51:1 NIV
“ 神阿，求你按你的慈爱怜恤我，按你丰盛的慈悲涂抹我的过犯。”
诗篇51:1
Our God is a great God. He has created the universe, He is holy, He is all powerful. He has the right to judge each one of us and punish us for our wrongdoing. But one of God’s characteristics is mercy. I am so glad He is merciful.
我们的 神是伟大的 神。 祂创造了整个宇宙世界，祂是圣洁的，是全能的。 祂有权判断我们每个人并惩罚我们所行的错事。 但 神有怜悯的本性，我很高兴祂是满有怜悯的 神。
“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.”
Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV
“然而 神既有丰富的怜悯。因他爱我们的大爱，当我们死在过犯中的时候，便叫我们与基督一同活过来（你们得救是本乎恩）。“
以弗所书2:4-5
Because of God’s great love for us and the sacrificial death of Jesus on our behalf, with confidence we can come to Him and ask for mercy. When Judah asked Joseph for mercy, he was unsure of the outcome. When we ask God for mercy, we know He loves us, desires to forgive us and grant us mercy.
因着 神对我们伟大的爱和耶稣为我们舍命，我们可以坦然无惧地来到祂面前，寻求怜悯。 当犹大向约瑟请求怜悯时，他并不确定结果是怎样的。 但当我们寻求 神的怜悯时，我们知道祂爱我们而且渴望原谅我们，给予我们怜悯。
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16 NIV
“所以我们只管坦然无惧的来到施恩的宝座前，为要得怜恤，蒙恩惠，作随时的帮助。”
希伯来书4:16
Since we have God’s incredible great mercy, we are to also extend mercy to others.
既然我们拥有 神不可思议的怜悯，我们也要把怜悯施与别人。
“ … because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
James 2:13 NIV
“因为那不怜悯人的，也要受无怜悯的审判。怜悯原是向审判夸胜。”
雅各书2:13
Judah and the brothers’ guilt was a fact. They had hidden this guilt for most of their lives. But now it was exposed and they were in Joseph’s hand. He could do whatever he wanted with them because of his position of power and authority. Knowing their predicament, all they could do was bow down in front of him, admit their guilt and ask for mercy.
犹大和他弟兄们的愧疚是事实。 他们一生中的大部分时间都隐藏着这种愧疚感。 但现在它暴露出来了，他们落在了约瑟的手中。约瑟可以因着自己的权力和地位，随心所欲地做任何事。他们知道自己处于困境中，所能做的就是在约瑟面前俯伏，承认他们的愧疚并请求怜悯。
