第三十一週■週六

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晨興餧養

出三三9『摩西進會幕的時候，雲柱就降下來，停在會幕的門口，耶和華便與摩西說話。』

      11『耶和華與摩西面對面說話，好像人與同伴說話一般…。』

      14『耶和華說，我的同在必和你同去，我必使你得安息。』

製造並敬拜金牛犢以前，整體以色列民乃是主
同在的惟一範圍和領域。（出十九5 ～ 6。）但他們製造並敬拜金牛犢之後，開始有了分別。出埃及三十三章七節說，『摩西將帳棚支搭在營外，離營一段距離，他稱這帳棚爲會幕。凡求問耶和華的，就出到營外的會幕那裏去。』這節的帳棚是指摩西的帳棚。在這之前，摩西的帳棚總是在營內，因爲主的同在是在以色列百姓中間。但摩西因爲曉得主的同在不再在百姓中間，就把他的帳棚遷移，（這帳棚於是成了神的帳棚，）支搭在離營一段距離的地方。這意思是說，神所在的帳棚和營之間有了分別。…在帳棚那裏，有主的同在以及與主的交通。（李常受文集一九六三年第一册，一○四至一○五頁。）

信息選讀

〔在出埃及三十三章十一節〕裏譯爲『同伴』的希伯來字與『朋友』不同；『朋友』這辭在代下二十章七節、以賽亞四十一章八節是用來說到亞伯拉罕。亞伯拉罕是神的朋友，從拜偶像的民中被分別出來，（書二四2 ～3，）並且爲羅得代求。（創十八16 ～ 33。）使徒雅各也告訴我們，亞伯拉罕是神的朋友。（雅二23。）…神認爲亞伯拉罕是個可愛的人，是祂所愛的。然而，摩西不僅和亞伯拉罕一樣是神的朋友，他更是神的同伴。

『同伴』這辭包含了友誼的成分，但它更進一步包含了親密夥伴的思想。希伯來字的『同伴』有一個意義就是夥伴。…你若和某人是夥伴，你們就有共同的權益、共同的企業、共同的事業。…神與摩西在偉大事業中是同夥到極點。…摩西與主不僅是親密的朋友，他們也是夥伴、同夥、同伴。…他們之間的談話不僅是朋友之間的談話，更是同伴之間、同夥之間的談話。神和摩西都關心他們的『公司』、關心他們的『企業』與『事業』。

摩西將他的帳棚支搭在營外以後，神的榮耀就在會幕的門口，而不在營內。這指明神的同在是在摩西帳棚的門口，而不在營內。然而，我們不該說，神完全不在營內與以色列人同在。這個原則今天可以應用在我們身上。我們可以說，基督徒中間有拜偶像的事，神的榮耀就不在這樣的環境裏。然而，我們不能絕對的說，神不在這些基督徒中間。我們已經指出，這是程度的問題。

我們必須懂得神的心，也必須是一個照着神心的人。然後我們就會和摩西一樣有神的同在。摩西有神的同在，到了完滿的地步。但對以色列人來說，神的同在卻非常有限，因爲他們遠離神的心。然而，摩西是個非常接近神的心，並照着神心的人。這就是他有神同在到了完滿地步的原因。我們都必須學習，惟有像摩西這樣的人，纔能作神的同伴。惟有這樣的人，纔能與神有共同的權益，並且被神使用，執行祂在地上的事業。（出埃及記生命讀經，二一四五至二一四七、二一六二頁。）

參讀：帳幕的屬靈應用，第二章。

WEEK 31 — DAY 6

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Morning Nourishment

Exo. 33:9 And whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stay at the entrance of the tent, and Jehovah would speak with Moses.

         11 And Jehovah would speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his companion…

        14 And He said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.

Before they made and worshipped the golden calf, the people of Israel as a whole were the unique realm and circle related to the Lord’s presence (Exo. 19:5- 6). But after they made and worshipped the golden calf, a separation came into being. Exodus 33:7 says, “Now Moses would take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, some distance from the camp; and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought Jehovah went out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.” The tent in this verse refers to the tent of Moses. Before this time the tent of Moses was always within the camp because the presence of the Lord was in the midst of the people of Israel. But because Moses realized that the Lord’s presence would no longer be in the midst of the people, he removed his tent, which then became the tent of God, and pitched it outside the camp. This means that there was a separation between the tent where God was and the camp…At the tent there was not only the presence of the Lord but also the fellowship of the Lord. (CWWL, 1963, vol. 1, “Spiritual Applications of the Tabernacle,” pp. 77-78)

Todays Reading

The Hebrew word rendered “companion” [in Exodus 33:11] is different from the word for friend used with respect to Abraham in 2 Chronicles 20:7 and Isaiah 41:8. As a friend of God, Abraham had been separated from idolatrous people (Josh. 24:2-3), and he interceded for Lot (Gen. 18:16-33). The apostle James also tells us that Abraham was God’s friend (James 2:23)… God regarded Abraham as a beloved one, a person held in affection. However, Moses was not only a friend of God like Abraham; he was also a companion of God.

The word companion includes the elements of friendship, but it goes much further to include the thought of intimate association. One meaning of the Hebrew word for companion is “associate”…If you and someone else are associates, you have a common interest, a common enterprise, in a common career…To the uttermost, God and Moses were partners in a great enterprise… Moses and the Lord were not only intimate friends; they were associates, partners, companions. The conversation between them was not only that between friends but that between companions, partners. God and Moses were both concerned with their “corporation,” with their “enterprise” and “career.”

After Moses pitched his tent outside the camp, God’s glory was at the door of the tent, but it was not within the camp. This indicates that God’s presence was at the door of Moses’ tent, not in the camp. However, we should not say that God was not at all in the camp with the children of Israel. This principle applies to us today. We may say that God’s glory is not present in a situation where there is idolatry among Christians. However, we cannot say absolutely that God is not among these Christians. As we have pointed out, this is a matter of degree.

We need to know God’s heart and also be a person according to God’s heart. Then we shall have God’s presence as Moses did. Moses had God’s presence to the full extent. But the children of Israel had God’s presence in a very limited way, for they were far from God’s heart. Moses, however, was a person very near to God’s heart, a person according to His heart. This was the reason he could have God’s presence to the full extent. We all need to learn that only a person like Moses can be a companion of God. Only this kind of person can share a common interest with God and be used by God to carry out His enterprise on earth. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1869-1871, 1882- 1883)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1963, vol. 1, “Spiritual Applications of the Tabernacle,” ch. 2