God—Our Sure Foundation 上帝——我们坚实的基础

[Dexu Xia]

He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge. Isaiah 33:6

Today’s Scripture: Isaiah 33:1-6

Today's Insights    The Hebrew word Yeshu’ah (“salvation,” “deliverance,” “rescue”) is a key word in the book of Isaiah. Noun and verb forms appear numerous times. This word occurs in the prayer in Isaiah 33:2: “Be . . . our salvation in time of distress.” It’s also used in verse 6 as a pronouncement about God: “He will be . . . a rich store of salvation.” In his commentary Isaiah: God Saves Sinners, Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. summarizes the book’s message with these words: “God is announcing to us through Isaiah: The Lord, for all that he is, saves, for all that’s worth, sinners, for all that we need. This truth is better than we give it credit for.” Isaiah 33:22 captures this truth well. “The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.”

Today's Devotional    With a crumbling kitchen and sagging floors, our house needed renovation. After large sections of it were demolished, builders began digging a new foundation. Then things got interesting.

As the builders dug, shovel loads of broken plates, 1850s-era soda bottles, even cutlery emerged. Were we built on an old garbage dump? Who knows, but as a result, our engineer said our foundations would need to be dug deeper or else cracks would appear in our walls.

    Good foundations make for strong houses. The same is true of our lives. When the Israelites were shaken by their enemies, Isaiah prayed for them to stay strong (Isaiah 33:2-4). But their strength wouldn’t come from bravery or weapons, but by building their lives on God‘s Word. “He will be the sure foundation for your times,” the prophet said, “a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge” (v. 6). Jesus said something similar, teaching that those who built their lives on His wisdom would withstand life’s storms (Matthew 7:24-25).    A sure sign our foundations need tending is when cracks like aggression, addiction, or marriage problems appear in our lives. When we seek security where it can’t be found or follow the wisdom of this age alone, we’ll be on shaky ground. But those who build their lives on God‘s word gain access to all His strength and treasures (Isaiah 33:6).

Reflect & Pray

What “cracks” in your life might reveal a faulty foundation? How is your foundation looking this week?

 Father God, I praise You for being the surest foundation for my life.

“你一生一世必得安稳，有丰盛的救恩，并智慧和知识。你以敬畏耶和华为至宝。”（以赛亚书 33:6 ）

    今日读经   以赛亚书 33章1-6 节

  今日心得   希伯来语 Yeshu’ah（“救赎”、“解救”、“拯救”）是以赛亚书中的关键词，它以名词和动词形式出现多次。这个词出现在以赛亚书33章2节的祷告中：“求祢在我们遭难的时候为我们的拯救。”它也在第6节中用作对上帝的宣告：“耶和华被尊崇，因祂居在高处，祂以公平公义充满锡安，你一生一世必得安稳，有丰盛的救恩…。”雷蒙 奥特冷在他的评论《以赛亚书：上帝拯救罪人》中，总结了这本书的信息：“上帝通过以赛亚向我们宣告：主，尽其所能地拯救罪人，满足我们的一切需要。这个真理比我们所以为的更好。”以赛亚书33章22节很好地概括了这个真理。“耶和华是我们的审判者，耶和华是我们的立法者，耶和华是我们的王；他必拯救我们。”

今日灵修  由于厨房破旧不堪，地板下陷，我们的房子需要翻修。房子的大部分被拆除后，建筑工人开始挖新的地基。然后事情变得有趣起来。建筑工人在挖地基时铲出大量碎盘子、1850 年代的汽水瓶，甚至餐具。我们的房子是建造在旧垃圾场上？谁知道呢！结果，我们的工程师说房子的地基需要挖得更深，否则墙壁就会出现裂缝。

良好的地基能建造坚固的房屋。我们的生活也是如此。当以色列人被敌人震撼时，以赛亚祈祷百姓能保持坚强（以赛亚书33:2-4）。但是他们的力量不是来自他们的勇气或武器，而是将生命建立在上帝话语上。先知说：“你一生一世必得安稳，有丰盛的救恩并智慧和知识”（6 节）。耶稣也说过类似的话，他教导说，那些将生命建立在他话语上的人将经受住生活的风暴（马太福音 7:24-25）。

当我们生活中出现罪的侵蚀、成瘾或婚姻危机等裂缝时，一个明确的信号就是需要加固我们的根基。当我们在不可能有平安的地方寻求安全感或只遵循这个时代的智慧时，我们就会处在摇摇欲坠的境地。但那些将生命建立在上帝话语之上的人，得到来自上帝的所有力量和宝藏（以赛亚书 33:6）。

反思和祈祷     你生活中的哪些“裂缝”揭示了你生命的根基有问题？这一周你的根基有问题吗？ 天父，我赞美你，因为你是我生命中最稳固的根基。