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哈巴谷书第1章 - 两个问题

即便我们无法理解神对我们的旨意,我们仍要相信祂仍然掌管万有。

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与其他直接向人民传达信息的先知书不同,《哈巴谷书》独树一帜,它以哈巴谷与神之间的对话形式展开。

这本书的背景推测是在约西亚王去世之后。当时,巴比伦人的威胁已经显现,并迫在眉睫。这些事件使哈巴谷向神提出了两个质问。

哈巴谷的这两个质问与我们的现实并不遥远。我们也在目睹世界变得越来越邪恶、扭曲,我们或许也曾向神提出过类似的问题。

神的公义在哪里?

哈巴谷的第一个质问出现在《哈巴谷书》1:2-4。

当时,土地上似乎已没有公正可言。义人遭受恶人的欺压,法律失去了权威,无法治理人民、维持秩序。甚至连神似乎也不再关心这世上的不公义,面对哈巴谷的呼求保持沉默。

这种困惑在今天同样存在,我们眼看着世界越来越邪恶,公正被颠倒。

穷人被剥削,工作条件极其恶劣;弱者被鄙视、被轻看;义人被认为是愚昧的,受到恶人的嘲笑。

有时,我们也会疑问:神在哪里?祂难道没有看见世上的不公吗?

当我们试图理解世界上的一切邪恶时,往往感到痛苦不堪(诗篇 73:16)。唯有像哈巴谷一样进入神的圣所,我们才能更好地理解世界的败坏。

神在《哈巴谷书》1:5-11中的回答表明,巴比伦的威胁是祂计划的一部分。事实上,是神“兴起迦勒底人”(哈巴1:5),祂完全知道巴比伦人是多么“威武可畏”(哈巴1:7)。

神仍然掌管一切,即便祂允许恶人施行祂的计划,祂仍然知道自己在做什么。

这正是我们作为基督徒今天可以得到的安慰。

神仍然掌管世界。即便掌权者和世界领袖可能不合神的标准,我们仍然要相信神知道自己在做什么。

这是否意味着恶人可以逍遥法外?

不,这与神的本性相违背。

恶人的惩罚必定会到来(诗篇 37:38)。或许不是今天,也不是明天,甚至可能不会在他们有生之年。然而,当世界终结时,无论是生者还是死者,所有人都要站在神的面前,“照他们所行的受审判”(启示录 20:12)。任何 “不洁净的并那行可憎与虚谎之事的” 都不能被记录在生命册上(启示录 21:27),他们将被 “扔在火湖里”(启示录 20:15)。

为什么要使用恶人?

哈巴谷在《哈巴谷书》1:13中对神的回答提出了进一步的质问:

为什么要使用恶人?

我们今天或许也会问类似的问题。如果我们站在哈巴谷的角度,我们可能会认为神只会惩罚恶人。那么,为什么义人也要受苦呢?

但在这种情况下,如果神的答案并不是我们想要的,我们会如何回应?如果神告诉我们,原因在于我们自己也犯了罪,在祂眼中成为可憎的呢?或者,祂要我们经历火的试炼,使我们的信心得到熬炼呢?

然而,尽管哈巴谷面对困境,他并没有失去信心,也没有埋怨神。相反,他在《哈巴谷书》2:1中表现出坚定和谦卑。他没有假设自己的观点是正确的,而是认为或许是自己理解有误。他选择警醒等候,让神纠正他的误解。

今天的我们,也要向哈巴谷学习,学习他的谦卑和对神的信心。即便我们无法理解神对我们的旨意,我们仍要相信,神的道路高过我们的道路(以赛 55:8-9),祂仍然掌管万有。

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