你 知道 现 在是什 么 时 候 吗 ？ [ 罗马书 13:11–14] 你 认为现 在是什 么 时 候？ 我的 韩语 水平有限，所以常 会 出 错 。有一次在准 备 棕枝主日（ Palm Sunday ）的崇拜程序 单时 ，我就犯 过这样 的 错 ：我把“棕 榈树 ”一 词 （ 韩语发 音 为 *jong-ryeo* ） 误写 成了意 为 “ 结 束”或“ 终 局”的 词 （ 韩语发 音 为 *jong-ryo* ）。然而， 尽 管用 错 了 词 ，每逢棕枝主日，我 还 是不禁 会 想到耶 稣 的“ 终 局”——也就是 祂 在十字架上的死。 毕 竟，棕枝主日 标 志着受 难 周（ Passion Week ）的 开 始。今天是棕枝主日，明天受 难 周就 开 始了，而周五 则 是受 难 日（ Good Friday ）， 纪 念耶 稣 在十字架上的死……每年迎接棕枝主日 时 ， 你 的 脑 海中 会 浮 现怎样 的思 绪 呢？ 在周三的 祷 告 会 上，我 们围绕 “使万事各按其 时 成 为 美好” 这 一主 题 ，默想了《 传 道 书 》——特 别 是《 传 道 书 》 3 章 1 至 14 节 的 内 容。在《 传 道 书 》 3 章 1 节 中，我 们 看到智慧的所 罗门 王宣告 说 ：“凡事都有定期，天下万 务 都有定 时 。”我 们 必 须 思考，在神成就 祂 旨意的 过 程中， 当 下究竟 处 于什 么 样 的 时 刻。 在今天的 经 文《 罗马书 》 13 章 11 节 中，使徒保 罗写 信 给罗马 的 圣 徒 说 ：“ 你 们晓 得 现 今就是 该 趁早睡醒的 时 候，因 为 我 们 得救， 现 今比初信的 时 候更近了。”使徒保 罗 所 说 的 这个 “ 时 候”或“ 时 期”究竟是指什 么 呢？保 罗为 我 们 指出了 这 一 时 期的 关 键 之 处 。首先， 这个时 刻指的正是主第二次降 临 的 时 候（朴允善 语 ）。 换 言之， 你 我目前所 处 的 时 代，正是主再 来 的日子日益 临 近的 时 刻。使徒保 罗 在告 诉罗马圣 徒的同 时 ，也在告 诉 今天听到 这 篇信...
What a wonderful scene
from God's redemptive
turnaround drama this
is!
After attending the
first banquet
hosted by Queen Esther
with King Ahasuerus,
Haman left feeling very
pleased.
However, his mood
quickly turned to rage
when he saw Mordecai
sitting at the king's gate,
not rising or showing
any fear.
That day, Haman's wife,
Zeresh, and all his friends advised him
to build a gallows about
23 meters high
and to ask King
Ahasuerus the next morning
to have Mordecai hanged
on it.
Then, they suggested, he
could go to the second banquet
hosted by Queen Esther
with a joyful heart.
Haman liked the idea and
ordered the gallows to be built
(Esther 5:9-14).
But why, on that very
night, could King Ahasuerus not sleep? (6:1)
Why did he command his
servants
to bring the royal
chronicles and read them to him? (v. 1)
And why, while reading
the royal chronicles,
did the servants happen
to read to the king the account of
how Mordecai had
reported the conspiracy of Bigthana and Teresh,
the two eunuchs who guarded the king's
entrance
and had plotted to
assassinate him? (v. 2)
Was this all a
coincidence? Absolutely not!
In God's redemptive
turnaround drama,
although Haman intended
to annihilate all the Jewish people,
God overturned his
plans.
God kept King Ahasuerus
awake "that night" and made him aware of the record
in the royal chronicles
where Mordecai had exposed the assassination plot.
This prompted the king
to want to reward Mordecai.
Even more intriguing is
that "that night" (v.1), "at that moment,"
"just as"
Haman entered the outer court of the palace,
it was undoubtedly God's
doing (v. 4).
So, King Ahasuerus
ordered his servants to bring Haman in and asked him,
"What should be
done for the man the king delights to honor?"
(Naturally, the king had
Mordecai in mind) (vv. 5-6).
The funny thing is, at
that moment, Haman thought to himself
that there was no one
else the king would want to honor more than him (v. 6).
From Haman's
perspective,
it's understandable that
he would make this mistake.
The reason is that King
Ahasuerus had elevated him to a high position,
appointing him as the
prime minister (3:1).
Additionally, Haman had
been the only one invited to Queen Esther's banquet,
along with the king, and
he was invited again to her second banquet (5:5, 8).
So, under this
misconception, Haman answered King Ahasuerus,
"For the man the
king delights to honor, have them bring a royal robe
the king has worn and a
horse the king has ridden,
one with a royal crest
placed on its head.
Then let the robe and
horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes.
Let them robe the man
the king delights to honor
and lead him on the
horse through the city streets,
proclaiming before him,
'This is what is done
for the man the king delights to honor!'" (6:7-9).
Then the king commanded
Haman,
"Go at once, get
the robe and the horse,
and do just as you have
suggested for the Jew Mordecai,
who sits at the king’s
gate. Do not neglect anything you have
recommended" (v. 10).
How shocked must Haman
have been to hear those words?
He was surely expecting
that the king would honor him,
but instead, he found
out that it was Mordecai—
the very man he was
planning to ask
the king for permission
to hang on the gallows.
How great must his shock
have been at that moment!
What a wonderful scene
from God's redemptive turnaround drama this is!
Haha.
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