第五週■週六

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晨興餧養

創五十20『從前你們的意思是要害我，但神的意思原是好的，要使許多人存活，成就今日的光景。』

羅八28『還有，我們曉得萬有都互相効力，叫愛神的人得益處，就是按祂旨意被召的人。』

倘若我們曉得，我們在這裏是爲着主的定旨，爲着主的恢復，那麼我們就會知道，無論在我們身上發生甚麼事，都是爲着神的定旨。〔羅八28。〕…約瑟愛神，所以，無論在他身上發生甚麼事，都是叫他得益處。不願赦免得罪你的人，指明你近視。你若看透神所作之事的深處，就絕不會想報復。反之，你總是願意赦免得罪你的人。你會說，『讚美主！無論在我身上發生甚麼事，都是叫我得益處，不僅爲着我，也爲着神的子民。無論在我身上發生甚麼事，都是爲着神國的益處効力。』（創世記生命讀經，一八○三頁。）

信息選讀

約瑟…供養他的弟兄們，並且安慰他們。（創五十15 ～ 21。）約瑟的哥哥們不能忘記他們對約瑟所作的事，他們害怕父親死後，約瑟會作一些事情報復他們。約瑟聽見他哥哥們的請求就哭了，因爲他沒有以惡報復他們的思想。他說，『不要害怕，我豈能代替神呢？從前你們的意思是要害我，但神的意思原是好的，要使許多人存活，成就今日的光景。』（19 ～ 20。）約瑟也應許要供養他們和他們的孩子。約瑟安慰他們，對他們說親切的話。（21。）約瑟似乎對他的哥哥們說，『你們的意念是邪惡的，但神的意念是奇妙的。祂差我到這裏來，爲要拯救許多人的性命。請不要受到困擾。我感謝你們對我所作的。你們幫助神達成祂的目的。』在召會生活中，我們需要這樣的靈。卽使別人得罪你，你也需要認爲他們對你所作的是出於神。你若將每件事當作出於神的來接受，一切被人得罪的事都要過去。

約瑟安慰那些得罪過他的人。他有何等的恩典！因爲被得罪的能安慰得罪人的，他們就能在國度裏享受喜樂的生活。請記得，約瑟和他的弟兄們代表國度裏的人。因着約瑟超特的靈，他們能一同在國度裏享受美好的時光。但假定約瑟要以惡報復他的哥哥們，那國度就不可能有了。

百姓向約瑟付出了最後一種代價—他們自己，就得以有分於拔尖的分。當你付出第一、第二、第三種代價，你就享受第一、第二、第三種的分。但你付出最高的代價，就享受上好的分。最終，我們不僅得着糧食，使我們滿足；也得着種子，使我們繁衍。要得着糧食和種子，我們需要付出完全的代價。在交出我們自己以前，我們必須交出其他的一切。百姓將一切交給約瑟以後，就能說，『讚美主，我們得着釋放了！我們不在意我們的銀子、牲畜、田地、甚至我們自己。我們只享受豐富的供應。』留下的只有享受。爲着這種享受捨棄一切，是何等大的祝福！

當主耶穌來臨時，全地都要在一個地主，一個銀行家之下。所有的土地都要屬於基督。我們要將我們的所有和所是都交給祂。我們是享受者，不是主人。當時埃及的一切都在一個主人手下。約瑟叫百姓『從埃及境內的這邊直到那邊，都遷移到各城裏』，（創四七21，）好有均勻的分配。沒有富的，也沒有貧的。對於屬靈的供應，今天也是這樣。基督有豐富；但祂能供應我們多少豐富，在於我們願意付出甚麼。（創世記生命讀經，一八二四至一八二五、一八二二頁。）

參讀：創世記生命讀經，第一百二十、一百零四至一百零五、一百零八篇。

WEEK 5 — DAY 6

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Morning Nourishment

Gen. 50:20 Even though you intended evil against me, God intended it for good, to do as it is this day, to preserve alive a numerous people.

Rom. 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

If we realize that we are here for the Lord’s purpose, for the Lord’s recovery, then we shall know that whatever happens to us is for God’s purpose [Rom. 8:28]…Joseph loved God; therefore, whatever happened to him was for good. To be unwilling to forgive those who have offended you indicates that you are shortsighted. But if you see into the depth of what God has done, you will never seek revenge. Instead, you will always be willing to forgive those who have offended you. You will say, “Praise the Lord! Whatever happened to me was for good, not only for me, but for God’s people. Whatever happens to me works good for the kingdom of God.” (Life-study of Genesis, p. 1515)

Today’s Reading

Joseph also supported his brothers and comforted them (Gen. 50:15- 21). Joseph’s brothers could not forget what they had done to him, and they were afraid that after their father’s death Joseph would do something to get revenge. Joseph wept when he heard his brothers’ request, for he had no thought of rendering evil to them. Rather, he said, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? Even though you intended evil against me, God intended it for good, to do as it is this day, to preserve alive a numerous people” (50:19- 20). Joseph also promised to support them and their little ones. Then he comforted them and spoke kindly to them (50:21). Joseph seemed to be saying to his brothers, “Your intention was evil, but God’s intention was marvelous. He intended to send me here to save many lives. Please do not be bothered. I thank you for what you did to me. You helped God to fulfill His purpose.” In the church life we need this kind of spirit. Even if others offend you, you need
to consider that whatever they do to you is of God. If you take everything as of God, all the offenses will be over.

Joseph comforted those who had offended him. What grace he had! Because the offended one could comfort the offending ones, they could enjoy a pleasant life in the kingdom. Remember, Joseph and his brothers represented the people in the kingdom. Because of Joseph’s excellent spirit, they could enjoy a good time together in the kingdom. But suppose Joseph wanted to render evil to his brothers. If such had been the case, the kingdom would have been an impossibility.

By making the last payment, the payment of themselves, to Joseph, the people partook of the top portion. When you pay the first, second, and third price, you enjoy the first, second, and third portion. But when you pay the highest price, you enjoy the best portion. Eventually, we receive not only food for satisfaction, but also seed for reproduction. In order to get the food and the seed, we need to pay the full price. Before handing over ourselves, we must hand over everything else. After they gave everything to Joseph, the people could say, “Praise the Lord, we are released! We don’t care for our money, cattle, land, or even ourselves. We just enjoy the rich supply.” All that remained was the enjoyment. What a great blessing it is to give up everything for this enjoyment!

When the Lord Jesus comes, the whole earth will be under one landlord and one banker. All the land will belong to Christ, and we shall hand over whatever we have and whatever we are to Him. We are the enjoyers, not the lords. At that time in Egypt everything was under the hand of one lord. Joseph moved the people to cities “from one end of the border of Egypt even to the other end” (47:21) in order to have an even distribution. There were no rich and no poor. It is the same today regarding the spiritual supply. Christ has the riches. The amount of these riches that He is able to supply us depends on what we are willing to pay. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 1533, 1531)

Further Reading: Life-study of Genesis, msgs. 120, 104-105, 108