One Who Needs Love

Study Notes

What Is Your Name?  Loved by God

Genesis 29:15-35

     (After the reading of the passage) – There is so much about this story in the life of Jacob that is both troubling and confusing to us as 21^st C Southern California readers.  Those of us who have grown up reading stories like this one in the Bible might ignore these things that seem strange to us in our world.  But, I’m quite sure that those in our church family who are newer to reading the Old Testament will hear the reading of Genesis 29 and think, “What is going on in this Bible story?  There’s a lot of it I don’t understand and what I think I understand, I don’t like!” You may ask, “What can a Bible text like this one say to my life today?”

     So, let me start by calling out some of the things that modern readers might find disturbing:

• Polygamy – Jacob first marries Leah and then Rachel – and it just seems to be accepted as normal.
• Primogeniture – This system that the firstborn should have rights simply because of birth order.
• Purchasing Wives – A father sells his daughters and no one objects! Indeed, the place of women in general in the time is a problem.  Among them are that 1) a woman’s value is determined by physical appearance, 2) daughters have no voice in their future, and 3) maids are virtual slaves.
• Promiscuous Lives – the main character seems to get so drunk and out of control on his wedding night that he doesn’t even know who his wife is. It sounds like a fraternity party.

     So, I want you to learn something now about how to read the Bible.  When the Bible talks about these things that seem to be so wrong, it is not condoning them.  It’s merely describing the way things were in this fallen world at the time the story took place.  Indeed, when you read the whole of the Bible, you constantly see how systems like polygamy lead to disaster in families and in societies.  In fact, what you see in the Bible stories is how, as a scholar named Robert Alter has written, God subverts these institutions that are wrong and oppressive in the world.

     I think we see God undoing the effects of sinful institutions as we read the story of Jacob: e.g., how God intentionally chooses the 2^nd son instead of the first; how God knows and blesses the woman in the story who was viewed as unattractive and undesirable.  Ever since sin entered the world in Genesis 3, God has been on a mission to undo the effects of sin in this world he loves and to make all things right.  You need to learn to read the Bible with that ongoing mission of God, what we have called at LAC “God’s Biggest Story”, in mind.

     So, as you read the Bible, read it on two levels: 1) The description of what happened.  Simply because God’s Word tells us that something took place doesn’t mean that God approved of what happened.  2) The awareness of what God is doing -- God’s mission to complete his “biggest story”. God’s work in this world in a work in progress.  Know this: The kinds of things we read about in this story – as well as the kinds of evils that exist in our own society – will be judged and brought to an end.  What we see in this story one significant episode in the way God is at work, moving his creation from a time in which many, many things are wrong to a time when all things will be made right.

     And, as ancient as this story is and strange as it may seem, I believe that, at its heart, it has a powerful lesson for us now.  In fact, I think it addresses the weightiest issues you and I deal with in our lives here in SoCal. Can I find my reason for living in anything in this world -- or, where in this world can I find lasting happiness?

Setting the Stage for Reading Genesis 29

    Two generations before Jacob was born, God had spoken to his grandfather Abraham and said, “Abraham, look at the brokenness and evil that fills this world. I am going to do something about it. I am going to redeem this world through your family, through one of your descendants (cf, Gen 12:1-4). In every generation of your descendants, one child will bear the lineage through which the savior, a Messiah, will come. One child after another in each generation will bear the Messianic line until one day, one of your descendants will be the Savior himself, the one through whom all the peoples of the world will be blessed.

     So, Abraham was the first.  The next child in the line was Jacob’s father Isaac.  Then, even though Isaac’s first son, Esau, should have been the next child of the promise by the world’s standards, God said that Isaac’s 2^nd son, Jacob would be the one with that blessing.  It turned out that Jacob got it through deception.  As we saw in Pastor Tim’s message, near the end of his father’s life, Jacob dressed up as Esau and got the blessing.

     As you might expect, when Esau found out about this, he was angry -- and determined to kill Jacob.  Jacob had to flee into the wilderness – as his partner in crime, his mother, sent him to her brother, Laban.  When we meet Jacob in Gen 29, Jacob’s life seemed to be in ruins.  Not only did he no longer have a family to be the head of; he no longer had a family or an inheritance at all.  What was he going to live for now?

Jacob – Hoping to find his life in romantic love -- Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her (29:20).

     As he ran from his home in Canaan to Haran (headwatersresources.org/map-of-jacobs-journey-to-haran-and-back), about 650 miles away, Jacob was a man who had lost everything.  And, one of the first encounters he has is with… Rachel, Laban’s beautiful young daughter.  She came out into her father’s fields, and Jacob saw her.  It’s a fun part of the story.  Jacob wanted her to take him back to meet Laban – but she couldn’t because this huge stone first had to be rolled over the mouth of the well.  It took three strong men to do this – but, after seeing Rachel, Jacob did it himself!  Was this to impress her?  Maybe – because soon it becomes clear that Jacob is smitten with her.

     There are all sorts of signals in the text about how off-the-charts smitten Jacob is with Rachel.  And, there is the poignant but telling statement where the text says, “Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her (v.20).”

     It’s clear that Jacob was a man driven by and overwhelmed with emotional and sexual longing for one woman.  He had lost everything that he previously had lived for having no family, no inheritance, no nothing. And then he saw Rachel, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and he said to himself, “If I had her, finally, things would be right in my rotten life. If I had her, life would have meaning.”  All the longings of his human heart for significance, for security, for pleasure and for meaning -- he had no other object for them.  They were all fixed on Rachel. 

     But his passion and idealistic hope led him into a trap – into the way most of us function when we become desperate.  When Jacob me Laban, he encountered a man much like he had been.   Jacob’s Uncle Laban was a man who had figured out the system works.  He knew how to use his place of prominence to get done what he wanted to get done – even to deceive. When we look at what happens, we see the disillusionment and devastation that almost always accompanies a search for that one true love that will solve all our problems.

      Think about Laban’s plot. Laban knew that Jacob offered to serve seven years for Rachel. He could see how desperate Jacob was. In those days, when you wanted to marry someone, you paid the father a bride price, which was somewhere two to three years of a man’s wages. So, you can see that Jacob, right out of the box so absolutely lovesick that he is pawn in this deal – he offered 7 years!

     Then, notice the conversation between Jacob and Laban. Jacob says, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” (v.18). Have you noticed how Laban responded? He never said, “Yes! It’s a deal.” No! he said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me” (v.19). 

     You know how this is, don’t you?  When we are desperate for something, we hear what we want to hear!  Jacob wanted it to be a yes, so he heard a yes. But it was not a yes. Laban just said, “Okay, if you want to marry Rachel, it is a better idea than someone else getting her.

     So, the seven years passed. Then, Jacob says, “Give me my wife. I want her and I want her now!” As was customary, there was a huge wedding feast. In the middle of the feast, the bride was brought heavily veiled to the groom. The man would take her into the marriage tent. And, almost certainly, Jacob was drunk, as was also usual. So, in that dark tent, Jacob consummated the marriage with the woman he thought was Rachel. But, the Bible succinctly tells us, “When morning came, there was Leah!” (v. 25).

     Jacob, justly angry, jumped up and ran to Laban and said, “What is this you have done to me? I served you 7 years for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me (v. 25)? Laban only said, “It is our custom for the older girl to be married before the younger girl.  But, you can work another 7 years for Rachel!”  And, Jacob did it!  Does that baffle you?

     Is that what you would do?  Jacob is obviously furious and the situation is ridiculously unjust. Why doesn’t this strong man who had single-handedly rolled a huge stone over a well throttle Laban?   

     Here’s how I see it. This scene replays what Jacob had done to his older brother.  The word Jacob used for “deceive” was the very same word used when Jacob deceived Esau out of his blessing.  And, what Laban said was: “In this place, it’s not the way we do things to put the second born before the first.”

     I think that Jacob realized that Laban knew what he had done back in Canaan. Jacob knew that Laban had just done to him what he had done to his father and his brother.  So, his outrage dies on his lips. He sees what it is like to have someone deceive and manipulate him. He meekly picks up and works another seven years.

     Let me ask you: What is it that we want when we elevate the love partner to the position of God? We want that person to fill up in our hearts all the things that only God can fill.  But, we will find that the person will not be able to be everything we thought that person would be.  To have a person to commit ourselves to, to love and to cherish until death parts us – that’s good.  To think that person will be able to take the place of God in our lives will only lead to disillusionment.  When you put any kind of Rachel into the place of God, someday you will wake up and find that she is Leah.  That person or thing can never be God – it will always be Leah.

     So, now let’s turn our attention to Leah.

Leah – Hoping to find life her life in her family – “Surely my husband will love me now (29:32).”

     I think most of us should be able to empathize with Leah.  The only description we have of her is that she had “weak eyes”. But, that’s probably not a good translation.  The Bible is telling us there was something unattractive about Leah because of her eyes.  The way we should read 29:17 is “Leah had ugly eyes but everything about Rachel was beautiful.”  So, think about her life: Leah was particularly unattractive to people in her society, and she had to live all of her life in the same home as her sister who was absolutely stunning.

     I’m sure all the women here today are thinking right now, “Thank goodness I don’t live in a culture in which a woman’s value is based on her looks. I’m thankful I don’t think I have to look like the models in magazine ads in order to be loved and appreciated.  Hundreds of years ago, people used to think like that but we don’t do that here in SoCal!”  Of course, you’re not thinking that!  Right?  No, you know the truth: Judging people based on external things is one of the central features of our society too, isn’t it?

     So, Leah had grown up her entire life in the shadow of her beautiful sister, Rachel.  And, even in her marriage, her husband had to be tricked into marrying her.  Unhappy with her, he’s going to have to work 7 more years because he really loved her sister.  V. 30 summarizes the situation: “Jacob’s love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah.”  That means that Leah lived every day feeling rejected and unloved.  Every single day she was condemned to see the man she most longed for in the arms of the one in whose shadow she had lived all her life. So, Leah thought, “If I give birth to a son, the thing most valued by men in our society, then my husband will love me.  Then, finally things will be good in my life.  I’ll be seen and heard as valuable.”

     The way the Bible describes what then happens in Leah’s life is deeply moving.  In the four brief but poignant verses in 29:31-34, we learn a lot about who God is and what he is like.  In v. 31, the Bible tells us that God enabled Leah to have a son. Then, he did the same three more times.  I want you to look carefully at how Leah progressed in her life of faith from a point of thinking that life is to be found only if her husband loves her to a point in which she simply lives a life of trust in and gratitude toward God:

• Son #1: Reuben – “because the Lord has seen my misery.” Reuben means “God has seen.”  No one else even seemed to see this girl who felt so unattractive – but God sees.  God saw her and loved her and blessed her.  He sees you too, you know.  But, still, Leah could only say, “Surely, my husband will love me now.”  But, he didn’t. Her life remained unfulfilled.
• Son #2: Simeon – “because the Lord heard that I am not loved.” Simeon means “the Lord has heard.”  No one else heard her crying, her inner pain – but God heard.  And, he hears when we cry out to him in our pain.  He wants us to bring our pain to him when we pray.
• Son #3: Levi – “Now at last my husband will become attached to me.” Levi means “attached”.  Leah was expressing, in her 3rd child’s name, her deep longing for a place of belonging, of refuge. The longing is a good one.  And children are certainly a blessing.  But, her heart needed something more.
• Son #4: Judah – “This time I will praise the Lord.” Judah means “to praise” -- or to thank.  It has taken a lot of time – at least enough time for 4 pregnancies and births.  But, at last, Leah gets it.  The love of a spouse is good – having a child is good too.  But, those things are not God. She needed to rest in God.  And, the amazing blessing is this – Judah, Leah’s child became the child of promise, the one through whom Messiah would be born.

     Our souls find rest in God alone.  The deepest longing of a human heart is not for a spouse, a child, a new job, or anything else in this world.  All those things are wonderful things and it is not bad to long for them and even to pray for them.  But, they cannot be the deepest longing of our hearts.  As David would say, “It is only when we delight ourselves in the Lord that we begin to discover the deepest desire of our human hearts (Ps 37:4), i.e., God himself.

   “This time!” Leah said when her 4^th son was born.  It is totally different from her earlier responses. There is no mention of husband; no mention of a child. I think she had a breakthrough when she said, “This time I will praise the LORD.”  At that point, Leah had finally taken her heart’s deepest hopes off of anything in this world – even things as good and important as her husband and her children -- and she has put them in the Lord

     My Question for You Today: What good thing in your life are you tempted to treat as an ultimate thing?  What do you think you have to have today if you are going to find your life – if you will be happy?  I confess that I cannot know everything about all of us who are gathered here in this service, but I am quite certain about this: Most of us in this room have something that we think God just has to give us if we will be satisfied.  Do you know what it is?

     Something happened to Leah; God did something in her. There was a breakthrough. She began to understand what you are supposed to do with your desire for one true love. She turned her heart toward the only real beauty, the only real lover who can satisfy.

Look at the words of C.S. Lewis, a man who had spent his life looking for that thing that brings lasting joy:

     Most people, if they have really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be found in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise. The longings which arise in us when we first fall in love, or first think of some foreign country, or first take up some subject that excites us, are longings which no marriage, no travel, no learning, can really satisfy…

     If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

     This all points us to Jesus and says, “He is one you need to make your Lord if you will have a fulfilled life.”  Hear his words, spoken to all who would follow him:

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will find their lives.”

                                                                        Mark 8:34-35

Lord Jesus, for our sake you were condemned as a criminal: Visit our jails and places of incarceration with your pity and judgment.  Remember all prisoners and their families -- bring the guilty to repentance and amendment of life according to your will and give them hope for their future.  When any are held unjustly, bring them release, forgive us, and teach us to improve our justice.  Remember those who work in these institutions; keep them humane and compassionate; and save them from becoming brutal or callous.   We pray for those to whom the responsibility has been given to make decisions about the larger issues related to incarceration, security and our justice system – that they will have wisdom, grace and courage. And since you told us that what we do for those in prison, we do for you, constrain us to improve their lot.  All this we ask in light of your mercy to us and in your name.  

Amen

Chinese Study Notes

你叫什麼名字？蒙神所愛

創29：15-35

      雅各的生平故事對生活在21世紀南加州的讀者來說實在是既擾心又困惑。我們中間那些讀著類似聖經故事長大的人也許會忽略聖經中與當今文化不協調的事；然而，我很確定我們教會那些沒怎麼讀過舊約聖經的人聽到創世紀29章的故事會想，“這是什麼聖經故事？我本以為知道的事現在反而搞不明白了，不爽！” 你也許會問， “這段聖經今天到底要對我說什麼？”

      那麼，就讓我們把那些使當代人困惑的事拿出來看看吧：

• 多妻制—雅各娶了利亞之後又娶了拉結—似乎當時是習以為常的事。
• 長子繼承權—由出生秩序決定的長子優先權的制度。
• 買賣妻子—父親賣女兒竟無人反對！事實上，婦女地位底下是普遍存在問題。其中1）婦女價值由外表決定，2）女孩對自己的未來無發言權，3）女僕就是奴隸。
• 濫交的生活—酒後失控，新婚夜認不出妻子，聽起來像是兄弟會派對。

我希望你們瞭解一些讀經方法。原來當聖經講到明顯不對的事時並不是在縱容這些做法。事實上，你讀整部聖經時會不斷看到多妻制，男性霸權和長子繼承權問題給家庭和社會帶來的災難。正如羅伯特阿爾特學者所言，你在聖經中讀到的正是上帝顛覆了那些世俗中錯誤和帶剝削性質的體制。

     我認為雅各故事講到了上帝如何解構犯罪體制的，比如上帝是如何故意地揀選次子代替長子；上帝如何祝福故事中沒什麼吸引力的和不受青睞的婦女。自創世紀3章記載罪進入世界之後，上帝一直在做工除去犯罪惡果來更新他所愛的這個世界。你需要從上帝持續工作的角度，也就是我們教會所謂的“上帝的大故事”的角度讀聖經。

     因此，你讀經時要從兩個層面入手：1）對事情經過的描述。上帝的話告訴我們發生的事情不意味著上帝認可這件事情。2）意識到上帝正在完成“大故事”的工作。上帝在這個世界的工作在持續進行。要記得，我們讀到的這些事件，以及我們社會中存在的邪惡事最終都要被審判、被處理。我們讀到的這一故事的意義使我們認識到上帝正在工作，引導他所造的從各個破碎的世代進入一個萬有都將被更新的世代。

     並且，無論這個故事聽起來多麼古舊，多麼古怪，我相信它的核心信息對我們都是一個帶有能力的信息。事實上，我認為它也針對南加州生活的你我所面對的一個舉足輕重的問題說話：我到底為什麼活在這個世界上—或者，在這個世界上我從哪裡可以找到永遠的快樂？

創29章的背景

雅各出生前兩代，上帝曾對他的爺爺亞伯拉罕說：亞伯拉罕，看看這個充滿破碎和邪惡的世界。我要有所作為。我要通過你的家庭，你的一位後裔來拯救這個世界 (參創 12:1-4)。 你後代中的每一代都將有一個孩子延續救主的支派，直到彌賽亞來臨。就是說，每一代都將有一個孩子延續彌賽亞支派，直到有一天，你後代中的一位，就是救主要降生，世上的萬民要因他得福。

     因此，亞伯拉罕成為這支派的第一人，下一位就是雅各的父親以撒。接下來按世界的標準以撒的長子以掃本應成為下一位傳人，但上帝卻說以撒的次子雅各要承受那福氣。不過後來雅各通過欺騙手段得到這一祝福。正如提姆牧師的信息所言，在他父親臨終之際，雅各裝扮成以掃得到了祝福。

     如你所預料，當以掃發現這一真相後，他很憤怒，想要殺死雅各。雅各不得不逃到曠野，而他的同謀犯，就是他的母親要他逃到舅舅拉班那裡去。當我們在創世紀29章遇到雅各時，正是雅各的生活分崩離析之時。他不僅無家可歸，也無處可投奔，並且身無分文，他現在要靠什麼生活呢？

雅各 –渴望找到浪漫愛情—“雅各就為拉結服事了七年。他因為深愛拉結，就看這七年如同幾天。”創29：20

      雅各差不多走了650英里的路從迦南逃到哈蘭 (headwatersresources.org/map-of-jacobs-journey-to-haran-and-back), 當時身無分文。他遇到的第一個人就是拉結---拉班漂亮的小女兒。她當時來到她父親的田間，雅各一眼便看到了她。這是故事的有趣部分。雅各請她帶他去見拉班，不過她還要等到井上大石頭被挪開先飲羊群---通常要三個壯漢才能搬動。但是，看上拉結的雅各竟然獨自將石頭移開了！是為了取悅她嗎？也許，事實上雅各很快就迷上她了。

     接著我們讀到雅各怎樣迷戀拉結。有一節淒美卻直白的經文說 “雅各就為拉結服事了七年。他因為深愛拉結，就看這七年如同幾天。（20節）”

     雅各顯然對這個女孩抱有炙熱感情和興趣。在此之前，雅各喪失了家庭、遺產和一切。如今，當他看到生平見過最美麗的女子拉結後，他對自己說，“只要我擁有了她，我的破敗人生就會好起來。只要我擁有了她，人生就有了意義。” 他心中關於安全，快樂和人生意義的全部嚮往---在此之前從未得到過的一切，如今都賭在拉結身上。

     然而，他的激情和理想卻將他推向一個陷阱---就像我們絕望時通常會遇到的那種情形。雅各遇到舅舅拉班，就像遇到了之前的自己。拉班早已心有打算，知道如何利用他的地位優勢得到他想要的---即使欺騙也在所不惜。我們回顧所發生的一切時知道，幻滅和重創驅使雅各想以追逐真愛來解決問題，這正中了拉班的計謀。拉班明知道雅各是為拉結勤勤懇懇工作7年，他更看得出雅各的迫切。當時人娶妻需要給未來丈人一筆彩禮，通常是一個人2-3年的工資。雅各竟答應出7年工資做彩禮，可見他當時為愛是何等瘋狂！

     接著我們來看看雅各和拉班的這段對話。雅各說，“我願為你小女兒拉結服事你七年。”（18節）。你注意到拉班是如何回答的嗎？他沒說，“好吧，那就講好了！”才不是，他說的是，“我把她給你，勝似給別人，你與我同住吧。”（19節）。

     你知道這是怎麼回事，對嗎？當我們迫切想要某件東西時，我們只會聽到想聽到的！雅各想聽到對方說行，他聽到的就是行----但對方說的不是“行”！拉班只是說，“好吧，如果你想和拉結結婚，那比我把她嫁給別人好。”

     於是，七年過去後，雅各說，“現在把我的妻子給我吧。我要她，我現在就要！”於是他們按當地習俗辦了一個盛大婚宴。在婚宴席間，新娘帶著厚重的婚紗被帶到新郎面前。新郎把新娘帶進婚帳。我們可以肯定雅各當時一定是醉了，那也是情理中事。接著在昏暗的帳篷內，雅各和他以為是拉結的女人共用婚姻快樂。之後聖經只簡潔地記了一筆“到了早晨，雅各一看是利亞！”（25節）。

     雅各當然很氣憤，跳起來跑去找拉班，說，“你向我作的是什麼事呢？我服事你，不是為拉結嗎？你為什麼欺哄我呢？”（25節）。拉班只簡單答覆他說，“我們這兒的規矩就是先嫁長女才能嫁次女。你可以為拉結再給我工作7年！” 雅各竟然又答應了！你對此是不是很驚訝？

     你會這樣做嗎？雅各如此氣憤，形勢又是極度不公。這位能獨自將石頭從井邊挪開的強壯男人怎麼不掐死拉班呢？

     我是這樣理解的。這一幕完全是雅各當初對待他哥哥事件的重播。雅各用的詞“欺哄”正是他從哥哥手中搶來長子祝福的手段，並且正應對了拉班所說的 “大女兒還沒有給人，先把小女兒給人，在我們這地方沒有這規矩。”

     我認為雅各意識到拉班已經知道他當年在迦南犯的事。雅各也知道拉班對他做的正是以其人之道還治其人之身。所以，他的怒氣只能止於口。他體會到了被人欺騙和玩弄的滋味，只能老老實實地再做7年苦力。

     我請問你一個問題：當我們將所愛之人的重要性提升到上帝的位置時會怎樣？我們也許會期待那人能滿足只有上帝才能滿足我們的一切心願。但是，我們很快會發現那人並非像我們所期待的那樣。能有一個人讓我們至死委身去愛、去珍惜當然好，但期望那個人能在我們生命中取代上帝的夢想卻終必幻滅。當你以任何形式的拉結取代上帝時，終有一天你醒來後會發現竟是利亞。那個人或事不可能成為上帝—永遠都只是利亞。

     現在，讓我們來看看利亞吧。

利亞--希望在家庭中找到生命意義 – “我的丈夫現在一定會愛我 (29:32).”

      我想我們中大多數人都該會同情利亞，聖經中只有一句有關她長相的描述，是說她的眼睛無神--但這個用詞也許不准，聖經說利亞不吸引人是因為她的眼睛，其實29：17是這樣描述的：“利亞的眼睛難看，而拉結盡都美麗。” 想想利亞的生命：她在社會中不吸引人，而她必須與她那絕對迷人的妹妹生活在同一屋簷下。

      我確信今天在這裡的所有姊妹都想：“謝天謝地，我沒有生活在一個憑外貌看人的文化中；我不必要像廣告雜誌上的美女才被愛和欣賞。幾百年前，人們的確如此看人，但今天在南加州不是這樣！” 當然你不會如此，但事實上，根據一個人外在的東西判斷人難道不是我們社會的一個核心內涵嗎？

     利亞一生都在她那美麗的妹妹拉結的陰影之下，就是自己的婚姻，也是她丈夫被蒙蔽之後才與她成親的。不幸的是，雅各還願意再工作7年來與拉結成婚。30節總結說：“雅各愛拉結勝過利亞。” 這意味著，利亞每天都經受著被拒絕和失寵；每天她都不得不看見她最愛的男人在她的妹妹的臂彎裡。所以利亞想：“若我生一個男孩，那就是社會中最被人看重的事了，我的丈夫必愛我，於是事情就會有利於我，我就會被看為是有價值的人了。”    

      聖經描述了利亞生命中後來發生的事，非常感人；在29：31-34四個濃縮經節裡，我們看見了神是誰，以及神所喜悅的是什麼？我盼望你們仔細看利亞信心生活的轉變，即如何從只求丈夫的愛過渡到信靠神、讚美神的生命：

• 兒子 #1: 魯本 – “因為耶和華看見我的苦情” 。 魯本的意思是“神看見“。 除了神以外，沒人看到這女人的失寵感受，但神看到了；神看到了，神愛她並祝福她。神也看到了你，你懂得。但利亞還是只說：“現在我丈夫會愛我了”，事實上並非如此，她的生活依然沒有滿足。
• 兒子 #2: 西緬– “因為耶和華聽見我失寵” 。西緬的意思是 “神聽見”。 沒人聽到她的哭聲和她內心的痛苦，但神聽到了；神在我們痛苦呼求的時候也聽到了。他願意我們藉著禱告把我們的痛苦帶到他面前。
• 兒子 #3: 利未– “現在我丈夫必與我聯合”。 利未的意思是 “聯合”。  透過第三個兒子的名字，利亞深深渴望一個歸屬，一個避難所，這盼望是好的，孩子們也實在是祝福，但她的心需要更多。
• 兒子 #4: 猶大 – “這次我要讚美耶和華.” 猶大的意思是“讚美“ –--或感謝。這 4次生育要有相當長的時間，但利亞做到了。配偶的愛固然好，有孩子也是福氣，但這些都不是神本身。她需要的是在神裡面的安息。

      我們的靈魂只有在神裡面才能安息。人類心中最深的渴望不是配偶、孩子、新工作或世上別的什麼。雖然這些都不是壞事，應該去追求並好好禱告；但不應該讓它們成為我們心中最深的渴望。大衛說最深的渴望是神自己：“又 要 以 耶 和 華 為 樂 ， 他 就 將 你 心 裡 所 求 的 賜 給 你  ”（詩37：4）   

      “這一次!” 當她第4個兒子出生時，利亞這樣說；這與她之前完全不同。這裡沒有提丈夫、孩子，我想當她說：“這一次， 我要讚美主”時，她實現了一個突破。此時，利亞終於將內心裡面最深的渴望，從她所看重和以為最好的丈夫和孩子身上轉移到神這裡。

       今天我給你們的問題是: 你生命中有什麼以為美的事可以讓你當作終極渴望麼？若你要找到人生的幸福，你今天必須擁有什麼？我承認我不瞭解今天在座的每一位，但我很確信：我們這裡大多數人都需要神給我們什麼才能讓我們的生命得滿足，你們知道是什麼嗎？

     這樣的事臨到了利亞，神在她身上做了事，實現了一個突破，她開始明白她應該為真愛做什麼，她將她的心意轉向唯一真實的、美麗的、可以滿足自己的真正的情人。   

看看C.S. 路易士的話，他是用一生來尋求終極喜樂的人：

      大多數人，如果真地看自己的內心，就會發現他最想要的不在這個世界上。這世上雖然有各種各樣的東西要給你，但那些不會讓你有終極滿足；就像我們裡面的那些渴望諸如初戀、第一次想出國，或第一次有某種新鮮經驗，不是婚姻、旅行或是學習能滿足我們的。。。

      如果我在這世上找不到可以滿足我的渴望，最可能的解釋是我們不是為這個世界而生的。

      這都將我們指向耶穌：“若你要一個完美的人生，你需要耶穌成為你的主。” 聽他的話，向要跟隨他的人述說：“於是 叫 眾 人 和 門 徒 來 ， 對 他 們 說 ： 若 有 人 要 跟 從 我 ， 就 當 舍 己 ， 背 起 他 的 十 字 架 來 跟 從 我 。 因 為 ， 凡 要 救 自 己 生 命 的 ， 必 喪 掉 生 命 ； 凡 為 我 和 福 音 喪 掉 生 命 的 ， 必 救 了 生 命”。

                                                                  馬可福音8:34-35

荣耀归给神，

Greg Waybright 博士

主任牧师