第十七章
4“到那日，雅各的榮耀必至枵薄，他肥胖的身體必漸瘦弱；
5就必像收割的人收斂禾稼，用手割取穗子，又像人在利乏音谷拾
取遺落的穗子。6其間所剩下的不多，好像人打橄欖樹，在儘上的
枝梢上只剩兩三個果子，在多果樹的旁枝上只剩四五個果子。”這
是耶和華以色列的神說的。7當那日，人必仰望造他們的主，眼目
重看以色列的聖者。8他們必不仰望祭壇，就是自己手所築的，也
不重看自己指頭所做的，無論是木偶是日像。9在那日，他們的堅
固城必像樹林中和山頂上所撇棄的地方，就是從前在以色列人面前
被人撇棄的。這樣，地就荒涼了。10因你忘記救你的神，不記念你
能力的磐石，所以，你栽上佳美的樹秧子，插上異樣的栽子。11栽
種的日子，你周圍圈上籬笆，又到早晨使你所種的開花，但在愁苦
極其傷痛的日子，所收割的都飛去了。
默想：
1.以賽亞預言敘利亞（亞蘭）與以色列聯盟來抗拒亞述帝國，但
卻要遭到毀滅，首府大馬色將被摧毀；以色列亦即將面對暴力
的蹂躪，被剝奪原有的尊貴榮耀，土地荒涼，百姓因飢荒困苦
而瘦骨嶙峋。然而，“當那日，人必仰望造他們的主，眼目重
看以色列的聖者”。
2.我們所看見的災難，很多時候都能被神用來成就更大更美的目
的。你有類似的經驗嗎？
3.在神面前安靜，回憶神如何在你的災難中，帶來更加美好的恩典。
禱告與筆錄：
繼續安靜在神面前，與神對話，並聆聽祂對我說的話。將心中
的思想（心得），或是與神的禱告，記錄在「靈程筆記簿」上面。
Chapter 17
4 “In that day the glory of Jacob will fade; the fat of his body will waste
away.5 It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain, gathering the
grain in their arms—as when someone gleans heads of grain in the Valley
of Rephaim. 6 Yet some gleanings will remain, as when an olive tree is
beaten, leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches, four or five
on the fruitful boughs,” declares the LORD, the God of Israel.7 In that
day people will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of
Israel.8 They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands, and they
will have no regard for the Asherah poles and the incense altars their fingers
have made.9 In that day their strong cities, which they left because of
the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth.
And all will be desolation.10 You have forgotten God your Savior; you
have not remembered the Rock, your fortress. Therefore, though you set
out the finest plants and plant imported vines, 11 though on the day you
set them out, you make them grow, and on the morning when you plant
them, you bring them to bud, yet the harvest will be as nothing in the day
of disease and incurable pain.
Meditation
1.The coalition of Syria and Israel, formed to resist Assyria, was
doomed to fail. Damascus, the capital of Syria, would fall, leaving
Israel exposed to the brutal invader. Stripped of national pride and
glory, destitute, and starving, “Men will look to their Maker and
turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.”
2.What we are likely to see as a disaster can often be used by God for
some greater good. Is this your experience? Recall the incident
and how God brought the great good out of your disaster.
Prayer & Journaling: Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse
with God and listen to what he wants to tell me. Then write down
any thought and/or prayer in the 2012 “Spiritual Journal” book.
Family: Scriptures in the Old and New Testaments point to the Lord as
our creator and maker. Verse 7 helps us know that one day all people will
recognize that God is holy, and themaker of all things. As you consider
this verse, sing the hymn, “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.”