第十週•週五

w10d05-ch

晨興餧養

出三三14 ～ 15『耶和華說，我的同在必和你同去，我必使你得安息。摩西對祂說，你的同在若不和我們同去，就不要把我們從這裏領上去。』

   十三21『耶和華在他們前面行，日間在雲柱中領他們的路；夜間在火柱中光照他們，使他們日夜都可以行走。』

在出埃及三十三章十二至十七節，摩西與神討價還價，要求神的同在與他和百姓同去。神的同在就是祂的道路，是『地圖』，將祂的百姓當行的路指示他們。（參約十四6…，來十一8…。）（聖經恢復本，出三三14 註1。）

按豫表，雲表徵那靈；（林前十1 ～ 2 與1 註4…；）照亮的火表徵神的話。（詩一一九105。）因此，神所給卽時、活的帶領，乃是藉着靈或話臨到的。雲柱和火柱象徵神自己，因爲神是靈也是話。（約四24，一1。）不僅如此，話也是靈。（六63，弗六17。）因此，神、話、靈乃是一，日夜不斷的帶領並引導我們。在基督徒的生活中，白晝和黑夜並無兩樣，因爲火柱所發的光，使黑夜變爲白晝。（出十三21 註1。）

信息選讀

第一個管制的原則是在雲柱和火柱中神的同在。…在雲柱和火柱中有神的同在，這是第一個管制的原則。這一個因素是與神子民的聚集、活動或行動有關的。神的子民該甚麼時候行動，該如何行動，該往那裏行動，端賴那在雲柱和火柱中所啓示給他們神的同在。換句話說，我們若是要往前去得着那地，我們必須是憑着神的同在而去。若是神的同在和我們同去，我們就能進去並享受那地。你記得神如何應許摩西說，『我的同在必和你同去，我必使你得安息。』（出三三14。）這意思是說，祂要用祂的同在領以色列人去得着那地。所以摩西對神說，『你的同在若不和我們同去，就不要把我們從這裏領上去。』（15。）摩西要求神的同在必須和他同去，否則他就不去。

『我的同在必和你同去，』這是很奇特的一句話。這是說祂的同在要去，而不是說祂要去。祂要去是一件事，祂的同在要去是另一件事。你有否看見這裏的不同之處？

讓我用一個故事來說明。有一次我們四、五位一同服事主的人出門到某地去，我們都走在一起。那時有一位弟兄對我們不太高興，但他沒有選擇的餘地，只好與我們同行。我們都坐同一列火車，但是我們坐在第一車廂，惟獨這一位弟兄獨自坐在第二車廂。他是和我們同去，但是他的同在並沒有和我們同去。他與我們一同出門，與我們一同旅行，也與我們一同到達，但是他的同在不和我們在一起。

許多時候神會和你同去，但是祂的同在不和你同去。許多時候神真是幫助你，但是你確實知道，祂對你不高興。你會得着祂的幫助，但你要失去祂的同在。祂帶你到你的目的地，祂也祝福你，但在整個旅途中，你不覺得祂的同在。祂與你同去，但祂的同在卻不和你同去。（李常受文集一九六一至一九六二年第四册，三九二至三九三頁。）

耶和華的使者就是基督作爲神所差遣者。神所差遣者在以色列營前行走，這指明基督乃是帶領百姓的那一位。當神的使者行動時，柱子也動，表明使者和柱子乃是一。基督和帶領的靈是不能分開的。（約十四17 ～ 20，十六13，林後三17，啓五6。）（聖經恢復本，出十四19 註1。）

參讀：包羅萬有的基督，第十至十一章；出埃及記生命讀經，第二十八篇。

WEEK 10 — DAY 5

Morning Nourishment

Exo. 33:14-15 And He said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest. And he said to Him, If Your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.

       13:21 And Jehovah went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them on the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might go by day and by night.

In Exodus 33:12-17 Moses bargained with God for His presence to go with him and the people. God’s presence is His way, the “map” that shows His people the way they should take (cf. John 14:6…; Heb. 11:8…). (Exo. 33:14, footnote 1)

In typology the cloud signifies the Spirit (1 Cor. 10:1-2 and footnote 4 of v. 1…), and the fire, for enlightening, signifies the Word of God (Psa. 119:105). Hence, the instant, living leading from God comes through either the Spirit or the Word. The two pillars symbolize God Himself, for He is both the Spirit and the Word (John 4:24; 1:1). Furthermore, the Word is also the Spirit (John 6:63; Eph. 6:17). Thus, God, the Word, and the Spirit are one to lead and guide us continually, whether by day or by night. In the Christian life there is no difference between day and night, for the light from the pillar of fire causes the night to become day. (Exo. 13:21, footnote 1)

Today’s Reading

The first governing principle is the presence of the Lord in the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire…In these pillars, the presence of the Lord is the first governing principle. This factor relates to the gathering and to the activity or movement of the Lord’s people. When, how, and where the Lord’s people should move and act depend on the presence of the Lord revealed to them in the pillar of cloud and in the pillar of fire. In other words, if we would go on to possess the land, we must do so by the presence of the Lord. If the presence of the Lord goes with us, we can enter and enjoy the land. You remember how the Lord promised Moses, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exo. 33:14). This means that He would bring the people into the possession of the land by His presence. So Moses said to the Lord, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here” (v. 15). Moses demanded that the Lord’s presence must go with them; otherwise, he would not go.

“My presence shall go with you.” This is quite a peculiar word. The presence shall go. It does not mean that He will go. He will go is one thing, and His presence shall go is another. Do you realize the difference?

Let me illustrate with a story. One time four or five of us who were serving the Lord together were going to a certain place. We all traveled together. One brother at that time, however, was not happy with us, yet he had no choice but to go. We all traveled on the same train: all but this one brother sat in car number one, and he sat by himself in car number two. He went with us, but his presence did not go with us. He left with us, he traveled with us, and he arrived with us, but his presence was not with us.

Many times the Lord will go with you, but His presence will not. Many times the Lord will truly help you, but be assured, He is not happy with you. You will receive His help, but you will lose His presence. He will bring you to your destination and He will bless you, but throughout the whole trip you will not sense His presence. He will go with you, but His presence will not. (The All-inclusive Christ, pp. 120-121)

The Angel of Jehovah is Christ as God’s sent One. The fact that God’s sent One went before the camp of Israel indicates that Christ was the One who was leading the people. When the Angel of God moved, the pillar moved also, showing that the Angel and the pillar were one. Christ and the leading Spirit cannot be separated (John 14:17-20; 16:13; 2 Cor. 3:17; Rev. 5:6). (Exo. 14:19, footnote 1)

Further Reading: The All-inclusive Christ, chs. 10-11; Life-study of Exodus, msg. 28