牧者心聲
神把「黑暗」轉化為「夜晚」
周曉暉牧師
2023 年 8 月 26 日 / 27 日
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友人相聚，重提多年前一起在外旅行，住在郊區農莊。夜深漆黑時，站於屋外本有點陰深，但抬頭仰望，卻看見滿天星宿的銀河，從天這邊到天那邊，把人包圍著，壯觀非常。人在黑暗中的不安，頓時轉為豁然開朗之感。
神在創造之初，把光源、天地和水源區別開來。神又為它們命名、定立界限，祂對於自己所創造的時間、空間與物質有著主權。
「神把光稱為『日』；而黑暗，祂稱為『夜』⋯⋯。
神稱穹蒼為『天』⋯⋯
神稱陸地為『地』，而水的匯聚處，祂稱為『海』⋯⋯。」（創一 5-10，新漢語譯本）。
就連「黑暗」也因神所創造的光而受規限，神又把「黑暗」命名為「夜」。從此，可怖而無盡的黑暗，就變為人們可安睡的黑夜。
今天，倘若我們的生命正經歷著「黑暗」，請記得，神能把「黑暗」轉化為「夜晚」，我們還害怕甚麼呢？
以色列人在出埃及、到達紅海前，正被埃及強大的戰車、馬兵一路追趕。聖經記載：神的「雲柱也隨之移動，從他們前面轉去立在他們後方，進到埃及營和以色列營之間；於是，一面有雲和黑暗，一面有光照亮夜色，這邊和那邊終夜不相接近。」（出十四 19-20）神為驚惶不安的子民，以雲柱、黑暗阻隔追兵，又用光照亮他們，保護他們。
在非洲肯亞有個小村落，位處保護野生動物的國家公園外，村民以飼養牛隻維生。因村落與園區之間沒有欄柵，受保護的野生獅子，會趁著漆黑一片時，踏出園區，闖進村落吃掉牛隻。村民因蒙受損失，就憤而射殺入侵的獅子。
村裡有個八歲牧童留意到，這些獅子若見到牛棚裡有閃爍移動的火光，就不會靠近。於是，他和家人輪流在夜間拿著火把，在牛棚內走動戒備。可是，每晚徹夜不眠，實在不是辦法。牧童想到用家裡的一堆舊電線、電子零件和小燈泡，發明了一個能左右晃動、間歇發出閃光的小儀器放在牛棚內，在遠處看來，那正像有人拿著火把來回走動一樣。
結果，獅子不再走近。自此，在村落與園區之間，彷彿有了一道無形的欄柵，既保護村民的牛隻，使村民能安睡，也保護獅子不被射殺。人、牲口和野獸因有界限，都享有平安。
今天，我們確信「黑暗」不會阻擋神的大能作為，而祂仍會以光引領我們的人生。
When I was meeting with some friends, we shared memories about our trip years ago to the countryside where we spent the night at a farm. Deep at night when it was very dark, it got a little scary to stand outside the house. But as we looked up, we saw that the night sky was dotted with bright little stars. They were all across the sky from one end to the other, surrounding us. What a magnificent sight. The uneasiness of being in the darkness instantly became a sense of delight.
In the beginning, God separated the light, the sky, the dry ground and the waters. He named them and set boundaries. God has sovereignty over the time, space and matter that He creates.
"God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night" … God called the vault "sky"… God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas."" (Genesis 1:5-10)
Even "darkness" was regulated by the light that God created. And God called "darkness" "night." Upon naming, the scary, endless darkness turned into the night in which people can sleep in peace.Today, if we are going through "darkness" in our lives, please remember that God can turn "darkness" into "night." What, then, would you be afraid of?
Upon leaving Egypt and before reaching the Red Sea, the Israelites were pursued by an entire army of Egyptian horsemen and chariots. The Bible says: "The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long" (Exodus 14:19-20).
God brought the pillar of cloud and the darkness to separate the scared and anxious Israelites from the Egyptians. God also brought the Israelites light to protect them.
A small village in the African country of Kenya is situated just outside a national park which is also a wildlife reserve. The villagers were cattle farmers. But there was no fence between the reserve and the village. The protected wild lions from the reserve would enter the village at night to devour the cattle. Some villagers have shot the invading lions due to their loss.
An eight-year-old shepherd boy came to be aware that the lions would not approach the shed if they see some moving, flickering lights. So he and his family took turns to guard the shed with a torch. That was not a good idea because it would keep the family up throughout the night. The shepherd boy had another idea. He put together some old cables, a couple of electrical parts and a small light bulb and invented a small device with flickering light that could be put inside the shed. Seen from a distance, that would look like someone moving about with a torch.
The lions were kept off. There seems to be an unseen fence between the village and the reserve. That gave villagers good sleep as their cattle were protected. The lions in turn were also protected from gunshots. The villagers, the cattle and the lions were at peace due to the boundaries.
Today, we are convicted that “darkness” cannot stop the mighty hand of God. God will continue to guide us through life with His light.
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