2025-03-13

March 13 ¶

Reading for Today:
今日读经：

Numbers 23:1–24:25
民数记 23:1–24:25
Psalm 33:18-22
诗篇 33:18-22
Proverbs 11:27
箴言 11:27
Mark 13:1-20
马可福音 13:1-20

Notes:
注解：

Numbers 23:5 the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth. Even though Balak and Balaam offered sacrifices on pagan altars, it was the Lord who gave Balaam his oracle.
民数记 23:5 耶和华将话传给巴兰的口中。 尽管巴勒和巴兰在异教祭坛献祭，但赐下神谕的仍是耶和华。

Numbers 24:2 the Spirit of God came upon him. This terminology was regularly used in the Old Testament for those whom God uniquely prepared to do His work (Judg. 3:10). Unlike the previous two oracles, Balaam does not involve himself in divination before giving this third oracle. He is empowered with the Holy Spirit to utter God’s word accurately.
民数记 24:2 神的灵临到他身上。 这种表述在旧约中特指神特别预备的人（士3:10）。与前两次神谕不同，巴兰在宣告第三次神谕前未行占卜，而是被圣灵充满准确传达神的话。

Mark 13:2 Jesus answered. In response to the disciples’ admiration, Jesus again predicted that the temple would be destroyed. About 40 years later, in A.D. 70, the Romans ransacked Jerusalem, killed a million Jews, and demolished the temple. Not one stone. The only stones left undisturbed were huge foundation stones that were not actually a part of the temple edifice but formed footings for the retaining wall under the entire temple mount. These can be viewed today in the “Rabbi’s Tunnel” which runs north and south along the western wall. It is a portion of the western side of the retaining wall that today is called the Wailing Wall. More of that retaining wall, including the steps used to ascend and descend from the temple mount, has also been uncovered on the southern side.
马可福音 13:2 耶稣回答说。 针对门徒对圣殿的赞叹，耶稣再次预言圣殿将被毁。约40年后（主后70年），罗马人洗劫耶路撒冷，屠杀百万犹太人并拆毁圣殿。没有一块石头。 唯一未被移动的巨石并非圣殿建筑本体，而是构成整个圣殿山下方护墙基础的基座部分。这些石头如今可在沿西墙南北延伸的"拉比隧道"中看到，即今日所称"哭墙"的西侧部分。南侧护墙及通往圣殿山的台阶近年也被发掘出土。

Mark 13:8 the beginnings of sorrows. The Greek word for “sorrows” means “birth pangs.” The Lord was referring to the pain a woman experiences in childbirth. Birth pains signal the end of pregnancy—they are infrequent at first and gradually increase just before the child is born. Likewise, the signs of vv. 6–8 will be infrequent, relatively speaking, in the beginning and will escalate to massive and tragic proportions just prior to Christ’s Second Coming (see 1 Thess. 5:3; Matt. 24:8).
马可福音 13:8 灾难的起头。 "灾难"希腊原文指"产难"。主借妇人分娩之痛作比喻：产痛预示孕期结束——初始轻微，临产前加剧。同样，6-8节预兆在基督再来前，初始相对零星，最终将升级为大规模悲剧（参帖前5:3；太24:8）。

DAY 13: How does one makes sense of Balaam and his talking donkey?
第十三天：如何理解巴兰和他会说话的驴？

Balaam, whose story is recorded in Numbers 22:2–24:25, does seem to receive special treatment in the biblical story. Even though Balaam claimed to know the Lord (Num. 22:18), Scripture consistently refers to him as a false prophet (2 Pet. 2:15,16; Jude 11). Apparently God placed such a priority on the message that the character of the messenger became a secondary consideration. The Lord used Balaam as His mouthpiece to speak the true words He put in his mouth. God had a purpose for Balaam despite the pagan prophet’s own plans.
巴兰的故事记载于民数记22:2–24:25，他在圣经叙事中似乎受到特殊对待。尽管巴兰自称认识耶和华（民22:18），圣经始终称他为假先知（彼后2:15,16；犹11）。显然神更看重信息本身，使传递者的品格成为次要考量。神使用巴兰作传声筒，借他口说出真理。尽管这位异教先知心怀私念，神仍对他有特定旨意。

When it comes to the talking donkey, several observations come to mind. First, this incident was not recorded as a commonplace occurrence but as something unusual and noteworthy. Second, one can just as easily wonder why God didn’t (or doesn’t) use talking animals more often—we’d all probably be better off. Third, why not recognize God’s sense of humor in this account? Fourth, God’s display of patience and persistence in these events ought to provoke in us a sense of humble worship. And, fifth, the incident, as unusual as it may be, should be accepted at face value.
关于会说话的驴，可作几点观察：第一，此事被记载为非常事件而非寻常现象；第二，我们或会疑惑神为何不更常使用会说话的动物——若如此世人或更蒙福；第三，何不体会神在此事中展现的幽默感？第四，神在此显明的忍耐与坚持，当激发我们谦卑敬拜；第五，这超常事件应按字面接受其真实性。

Additional Resources

2025-03-13

March 13¶

March 13 ¶