Article #9 the series: You Are God’s Masterpiece: The Genesis Notes.
你是神的工作: 《创世记手记》系列第九篇
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Have you ever had to wait for something for a really long time, but you were patient and in the end you could see why that waiting period was so important? Noah waited for a long time in the ark. He didn’t complain, He only kept faith in God and when the time finally came to come forth, Noah worshipped God and God was pleased.
你是否曾为了某件事而不得不长久等待，但是你很有耐心，最终你明白了为何这段等待的时间如此重要？挪亚在方舟里等了很久，他并无抱怨，只是一如继往地信靠于神，当时机终于来临的时候，挪亚就敬拜神，神也悦纳他的敬拜。
Waiting in the ark
在方舟里等待着
Once inside the ark, all Noah and his family could do was wait. Wait and take care of the animals. For 150 days they floated on the water while the earth got a good cleaning. All of the wickedness of humanity was washed away and all that was left was one righteous man, Noah. And his family. And of course, the animals with them in the ark.
一旦进入方舟，挪亚和家人所能做的只有等待，一边等一边照顾动物！全地经历了一次大清洗，他们在水面上漂了一百五十天之久。所有罪恶的人类都被清除，最后只剩下了唯一的义人挪亚和他的家人，当然还有那些跟他一起待在方舟里的各种动物。
The significance of one man
一个人的意义
Because of one man – Noah – the animals and human race were saved. According to the Bible there was just one righteous man: Noah. But what about Noah’s three sons? We have to assume the only reason they were saved was because of their father. Because of Noah’s righteous life, three men and four women were saved, as were thousands of animals. They all found shelter in Noah’s ark. Noah’s sons were not described in the same righteous way Noah was described, yet they were with Noah and were saved.
因着一个人-挪亚，令到动物和人类得蒙拯救。根据圣经所述，那时只有一个义人，就是挪亚。可是挪亚的三个儿子是什么情况呢？我们只能假设这三个儿子得救全因他们的父亲。因为挪亚的义行，另外三个男人和四个女人以及数千只动物都被拯救了。方舟成了他们的避难所。挪亚的三个儿子并没有像挪亚那样被称作义人，但他们与挪亚在一起就得救了。
Have you ever felt like a Noah in this world? Maybe you feel alone among unbelieving family members, coworkers or friends. Consider the incredible opportunity you have to be a Noah to them. As you welcome them into your life, you can share the love of Christ with them. As God has blessed your life the blessings can flow to your family and friends, even if they do not know Jesus Christ. Pray for them to someday receive the gift of salvation through Christ and be saved.
你是否曾经觉得自己在这个世界上如同挪亚一般呢？也许身处不信主的家人、同事或朋友之中甚觉孤独？将其视为绝佳的机会，让你必须要成为他们的挪亚，欢迎他们进入你的生命，你就可以跟他们分享基督的爱。正如神已赐福你的生命，这些祝福会流向你的家人和朋友，即便他们并不认识耶稣基督。为他们祷告，希望他们有一天可以领受从基督而来的救恩得蒙救赎。
But God Remembered
惟神记念
But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.
Genesis 8:1-5 NIV
神记念挪亚和挪亚方舟里的一切走兽牲畜。神叫风吹地，水势渐落。渊源和天上的窗户都闭塞了，天上的大雨也止住了。水从地上渐退。过了一百五十天，水就渐消。七月十七日，方舟停在亚拉腊山上。水又渐消，到十月初一日，山顶都现出来了。
创世记8:1-5
All of Noah’s hard work building the ark, all of the terror of the rain and the underground water springing forth, all of the tossing on the waves, floating aimlessly for 150 days; these were not easy times for Noah. His main objective in life was survival. And then in the midst of the devastation comes this beautiful phrase, “But God remembered Noah … ”
挪亚建造方舟所付出的所有劳苦，对暴雨和地下水不断涌现的各种惊恐，在大浪中被抛来抛去，在海上漫无边际地漂流 一百五十天——这一切对挪亚来说并不容易。他人生的主要目标就是活下来。然后在这一切灾难中，出现了一个美妙的话语：“ 神记念挪亚…”
What a relief. Noah was not alone; God was with him and God was focusing His attention on him. There may be times in life where it seems we are all alone, surrounded by hardship and we feel like we are just trying to survive. What a comfort to know God remembers you.
这是何等的安慰！挪亚并不孤单，因为 神与他同在，且一直在注视他。或许人生中有很多次我们似乎孤立无援，四面楚歌，要挣扎着活下去。当我们知道神会记念，这是何等大的安慰！
“I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip – He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”
Psalm 121:1-4 NIV
我要向山举目，我的帮助从何而来？我的帮助从造天地的耶和华而来。他必不叫你的脚摇动．保护你的必不打盹。保护以色列的，也不打盹也不睡觉。
诗篇 121:1-4
When God remembered Noah, what did He do? He sent a wind.
神记念挪亚时，衪会怎么做呢？衪叫来一阵风。
“But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and He sent a wind (ruwach) רוּחַ over the earth, and the waters receded.”
Genesis 8:1 NIV
神记念挪亚和挪亚方舟里的一切走兽牲畜。神叫风吹地，水势渐落。
创世记8:1
I have to think God was remembering another time a wind blew over the waters.
我觉得神想起了另一次风吹过水面的情景。
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God (ruwach רוּחַ) was hovering over the waters.”
Genesis 1:1-2 NIV
起初神创造天地。地是空虚混沌。渊面黑暗。神的灵运行在水面上。
创世记 1:1-2
The Hebrew word for wind is ruwach רוּחַ which also is translated: Spirit. After the flood, we once again see the Spirit of God hovering over the water where there was no life. God was preparing to bring new life to the earth just as He had done at the dawn of creation. The wickedness of the world had been washed away by the waters of the flood and now a new life was about to come forth.
希伯来语中“风”的意思是ruwach רוּחַ ，也译为：灵。洪水过后，我们再一次看到神的灵运行在没有生命的水面上。就如神在创世之初所行的那样，衪正在为全地预备新生命。世上的邪恶已被大洪水冲走，现在一个新的生命即将诞生。
For believers in Jesus Christ the waters of our baptism are a symbol of the washing away of our old sinful life. And as we come out of the baptism waters we begin our new life with Christ. In the New Testament, Peter compared the flood waters of Noah’s time with our baptism water:
对于信靠耶稣基督的人而言，受洗礼的水就是洗去我们过去有罪的生命的象征。当我们从受洗的水里出来时，就与基督一同开始新的生命。新约记载，彼得将挪亚时代的洪水与洗礼的水作了对比。
…In it [the ark] only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand – with angels, authorities and powers in submission to Him.
1 Peter 3:20-22 NIV
藉着水得救的不多，只有八个人。这水所表明的洗礼，现在藉着耶稣基督复活也拯救你们。这洗礼本不在乎除掉肉体的污秽，只求在神面前有无亏的良心。耶稣已经进入天堂，在神的右边。众天使和有权柄的，并有能力的，都服从了他。
彼得前书3:20-22
Through the flood the earth was purged of wickedness and sinful humanity died, but Noah and his family were saved. Baptism is a symbol of our spiritual death and the cleansing of our heart by Jesus Christ. When we come up and out of the baptism water, we are raised to a new life with Christ. Our heart is washed clean and we are born again new and clean.
洪水洗净了大地的罪恶，犯罪的人类都死了，惟有挪亚和他的家人得救。洗礼象征着我们灵性的死亡，而且耶稣基督洁净了我们的心。我们既受了水洗，就与基督一同复活得着新生命。我们的心被洗净，现在我们重生了，是新造而洁净的人。
Life In The Ark
方舟里的生活
Before Noah could come out of the ark and enjoy the new life God was creating for him and his family there was a lot of waiting to do. How long was Noah in the ark? Can you figure it out?
在挪亚出方舟开始享受 神为他和家人创造的新生活之前，还有很多事情等着他去做！挪亚在方舟里呆了多久呢？你能算出来吗?
After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him. By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry. Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.”
Genesis 8:6-17 NIV
过了四十天，挪亚开了方舟的窗户，放出一只乌鸦去。那乌鸦飞来飞去，直到地上的水都干了。他又放出一只鸽子去，要看看水从地上退了没有。但遍地上都是水，鸽子找不着落脚之地，就回到方舟挪亚那里，挪亚伸手把鸽子接进方舟来。他又等了七天，再把鸽子从方舟出去了。到了晚上，鸽子回到他那里，嘴里叼着一个新拧下来的橄榄叶子，挪亚就知道地上的水退了。他又等了七天，放出鸽子去，鸽子就不再回来了。到挪亚六百零一岁，正月初一日，地上的水都干了。挪亚撤去方舟的盖观看，便见地面上干了。到了二月二十七日，地就都干了。神对挪亚说：”你和你的妻子、儿子、儿妇都可以出方舟。在你那里凡有血肉的活物，就是飞鸟、牲畜，和一切爬在地上的昆虫，都要带出来，叫它在地上多多滋生，大大兴旺。“
创世记8:6-17
Noah recorded a meticulous timeline of events. The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar and each month is 29-30 days long depending on the cycle of the moon. Biblical scholars have considered Noah’s timeline and have come up with differing numbers of days. But most agree the number of days Noah was in the ark was 364-370 days. One year according to our modern calendar.
挪亚详细地记录下所有事情发生的时间。犹太人的历法是农历的计算方式，每个月根据月亮的运行周期，有二十九到三十天。圣经学者们曾考查挪亚记录的时间表，得出了不同的天数。但大多数人都认可挪亚待在方舟里的时间是三百六十四到三百七十天之间。根据现代历法，就是一整年。
When the floodwaters began to recede – after 150 days – the ark came to rest on a mountain. But it was a long time before other mountain tops were visible and an even longer time before the earth was dry. While Noah was waiting, he opened a window and surveyed the world. What a sight that scene must have been.
当洪水开始退去，也就是 一百五十天后，方舟停在了一座山上。但是过了很久才看到其它山的山顶，地面变干则需等得更久。挪亚在等的时候，他打开一扇窗户，环视这个世界。眼前该是何等壮观的画面！
After some time, Noah decided to begin to check the conditions of the earth. He first sent out a raven. The raven flew back and forth and then returned to the ark. Then Noah sent out a dove. The dove also returned having found no place to rest. One week later Noah sent out the dove again. This time the dove returned with an olive branch. This must have been very encouraging. One more week later Noah sent out the dove again and this time the dove never returned.
过了一些日子，挪亚决定检验一下陆地的状况。他首先放出一只乌鸦。乌鸦飞来飞去，然后又飞回了方舟。挪亚又放出一只鸽子，鸽子同样找不到安歇的地方就飞回来了。一周后，挪亚又放出鸽子，这次鸽子衔着一枝橄榄枝回来了，这一定非常让人振奋。又过了一周，挪亚再次放出鸽子，这次鸽子再也没有回来。
Finally! The earth was ready. Or was it? Noah lifted off the covering off the ark to survey the world. The surface of the earth was dry. But he did not leave the ark until God Himself finally commanded him to come out of the ark.
终于，陆地都准备好，挪亚撤去方舟的盖子观看外面的世界，地面终于干了！但是他并没有离开方舟，直等到神亲自吩咐他走出方舟。
Noah was in the ark for at least one year and he waited for God to directly tell him it was time to leave. The earth was not ready before this moment. Noah had to wait for God’s perfect timing. Noah could not depend on his own good judgment. He did check on the condition of things – he sent out the raven, the dove and he himself looked out to see the dry land. However, he did not move until God said, “GO.”
挪亚在方舟里呆了至少一年，而且一直等 神亲自告诉他可以离开了。在这之前，地上还没有准备就绪。挪亚必须等待 神的最佳时机。他并没有依靠自己的正确判断。他确实检查了外界情况–放出乌鸦和鸽子，他亲自往外查看陆地。但是，直到 神说”出去“，他才走出方舟。
Would you have as much patience? Have you ever had to wait for something? I find the hardest part about waiting is not knowing how long I have to wait. Noah had no idea how long he would stay in the ark. But he waited. What held him inside? Why didn’t he just break out, stretch his legs and breath the fresh air? He knew it was not God’s time and Noah had the fear of the Lord. He had learned to only do what God told him to do.
你有那么大的耐心吗？你是否也曾等待某事呢？我发现等待最难的部分就是不知道还要等多久。挪亚完全不知道他还要在方舟中呆多久。但是他仍旧在等。是什么使他留在里面呢?他为什么不直接破门而出，去外面伸展一下身体、呼吸外面的新鲜空气呢？因为他知道神计划的时间还没到，而他敬畏主。他已经学会了只做 神要他去做的事。
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
你要专心仰赖耶和华，不可倚靠自己的聪明， 在你一切所行的事上，都要认定他，他必指引你的路。
箴言3:5-6
Sometimes we want to get out of the ark too soon. We take a look and make a decision on our own good judgment. We don’t wait for God’s clear direction. What if Noah had just broken the door down and gotten on with life? There would have been a big, muddy mess. God knew best and He kept Noah in the ark until the right time. If you find yourself waiting for something, do not get out of the ark before God tells you to go.
有时我们希望快点离开方舟。我们四围观看，根据自己的正确判断来做决定。我们没有等候 神明确的方向。如果挪亚只是破门而出，然后继续生活的话会是什么状况呢？那肯定会混乱不堪！神知道什么是最好的，衪让挪亚留在方舟里一直等到适当的时机。如果你发现自己也正在等待之中，在 神告诉你离开之前不要擅自出方舟。
Noah’s First Act in The New World: Worship
挪亚在新世界做的第一件事：敬拜
So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, one kind after another. Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”
Genesis 8:18-22 NIV
于是，挪亚和他的妻子、儿子、儿妇都出来了。一切走兽、昆虫、飞鸟，和地上所有的动物，各从其类，也都出了方舟。挪亚为耶和华筑了一座坛，拿各类洁净的牲畜、飞鸟献在坛上为燔祭。耶和华闻那馨香之气，就心里说：”我不再因人的缘故咒诅地（人从小时心里怀着恶念），也不再按着我才行的，灭各种的活物了。地还存留的时候，稼穑、寒暑、冬夏、昼夜就永不停息了。
创世记8:18-22
Finally, Noah his family and all of the animals emerged from the ark to the new world. At this moment Noah is still completely focused on the Lord. His first action after surviving a catastrophic flood and then living in an ark for one year: He built an altar of worship.
最后挪亚和家人以及所有的动物出了方舟，来到这个全新的世界。此时，挪亚仍旧完全定睛仰望 神，从大洪水幸存下来，在方舟里住了一年之后，他做的第一件事就是筑一座祭坛。
On the altar Noah built for worship he sacrificed some of the clean animals. These were the first fruits of his new life – the first thing and best thing he could offer.
挪亚在祭坛上拿一些洁净的动物献祭。这是他在新生命里初结的果子-他为神所做的第一件事也是最好的事。
God’s Response
神的回应
God was pleased. He would not curse the ground and He would not destroy all living creatures. He responded to Noah’s offering with a promise to preserve life.
神悦纳挪亚的献祭。祂不再因人的行为咒诅地，也不会灭绝一切的活物。他承诺会存留生命，以此作为对挪亚献祭的回应。
A Warning
一个警告
This chapter ends with a somber warning: the human heart was still evil. Every inclination of a man’s heart is evil. Even from childhood. What hope is there for humankind? What could change this evil heart? Only Jesus can change our evil hearts. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves clean. We must come to Jesus and He will clean us just as the flood waters cleaned the earth.
这一章以一个沉重的警告结束：人心依旧邪恶。人从小就心怀着恶念。那么人类的盼望在哪里呢？什么可以改变我们这邪恶的心呢？只有耶稣基督可以改变邪恶的心。我们做什么都无法洁净自己。我们必须来到耶稣面前，他必洁净我们，如同洪水洁净了大地一般。
We Are Cleansed
我们得洁净
Has your heart been washed by the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ? Without Jesus Christ our hearts are wicked like the people of Noah’s day. God wants to clean your heart like He cleaned the earth. Our baptism symbolizes this cleansing and we are continuously washed by the Word of God. After we have been cleansed by Christ our response should be the same as Noah’s response. We should offer a sacrifice of worship to the Lord and we should offer Him our lives.
你的心是否已经被耶稣基督洁净的宝血洗净了呢？若没有耶稣基督，我们的心也会如挪亚时代的世人一样败坏。神想要洁净我们的心，正如他洁净了这个世界一样。我们的洗礼象征着洁净，我们也不断被 神的话语洗净。当我们被基督洁净后，我们的回应要像挪亚一般，就是向主献上敬拜的祭，将自己的生命献给衪。
