Jesus Our King 君王耶稣

[Dexu Xia]

See, a king will reign in righteousness . . . like streams of water in the desert. Isaiah 32:1–2

While drilling for oil in one of the sunniest and driest countries in the world, teams were shocked to uncover a huge underground system of water. So, in 1983 the “great man-made river” project was begun, placing a system of pipes to carry the high-quality fresh water to cities where it was sorely needed. A plaque near the project’s inception states, “From here flows the artery of life.”

The prophet Isaiah used the image of water in a desert to describe a future righteous king (Isaiah 32). As kings and rulers reigned with justice and righteousness, they would be like “streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land” (v. 2). Some rulers choose to take instead of give. The mark of a God-honoring leader, however, is someone who brings shelter, refuge, refreshment, and protection. Isaiah said that “the fruit of [God’s] righteousness will be peace” for His people, and “its effect will be quietness and confidence forever” (v. 17).

Isaiah’s words of hope would later find fullness of meaning in Jesus, who “himself will come down from heaven . . . . And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). “The great man-made river” is just that—made by human hands. Someday that water reservoir will be depleted. But our righteous King brings refreshment and water of life that will never run dry.

By:  Karen Pimpo

Where do you need Jesus to bring the water of life? How can you follow His example of bringing refreshment to others?

Dear Jesus, thank You for bringing peace through Your perfectly righteous rule

看哪，必有一王凭公义行政，……又像河流在干旱之地。—以赛亚书32章1-2节

在气候极其炎热和干燥的利比亚钻探石油时，钻探小组竟意外发现世界最大的古地下水系统。于是，在1983年利比亚政府开展了“人工大河”的工程，建立输水管线，将优质的淡水输送到急需水资源的城市。在这工程的发源地附近有一个告示牌，上面写着﹕“生命的动脉源于此地。”

先知以赛亚用干旱之地的溪水来描述未来公义的君王（以赛亚书32章）。当君王和统治者以公平和公义来治理国家时，他们就像“如干旱地的溪流，又如干燥地巨石的阴影”（2节，和合本修订版）。有些统治者会选择压榨百姓而不是爱民如子。然而，一个敬畏上帝的领袖会维护民众人身安全，让百姓安居乐业。以赛亚说，对上帝的子民而言，上帝“公义的果实是平安，公义的效果是平静和安稳，直到永远”（17节，和合本修订版）。

以赛亚那充满盼望的预言，多年后应验在耶稣身上。将来有一天，主耶稣“必亲自从天降临，……这样，我们就要和主永远同在”（帖撒罗尼迦前书4章16-17节）。人手所造的“人工大河”总有一天会枯竭，但这位公义的君王能使我们重新得力，并赐给你我永不枯竭的生命活水。

作者：  平凯灵

你在哪方面需要耶稣注入生命的活水？
你要如何效法祂的榜样，帮助别人重新得力？

亲爱的耶稣，感谢祢藉着全然公义的统治，带给我们平安。