#9──月亮和她的榮光──The Moon and Her Glory

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第一部分：創世記的記載

三、第四天：第九章 月亮和她的榮光

正如太陽在創世記1:16中被設定為運作 (motion)，它的小夥伴：月亮也是如此。她（在此我寬泛地使用這個性別代詞）是一個偉大而奇妙的東西，在天空中漂浮著，告訴你現在是哪個月的哪一天。她散發出自己的光芒，她為飛機降溫。她統治著黑夜，就像太陽統治著白天一樣，然而我們經常可以在白天看到她，被她自己照亮（不是反射） 臘月變成滿月，或臘月變成新月。滿月是明亮的，新月是黑暗的。新月也會升起，就像滿月一樣，然而它仍然是黑暗的，不管太陽在它發光的時候會做什麼。月亮很少（如果有的話）反射太陽的光。月亮的獨特之處在於，她對我們的曆法有所不同。作為對計時的紀念，上帝命令以色列人民每逢新月都要向他獻祭。¹¹⁰月朔是上帝的專屬。它是作為一個非常具體的指示，只敬拜上帝，而不是敬拜他所創造的東西（如月亮）。申命記4:19寫道：「又恐怕你向天舉目觀看、見耶和華你的　神為天下萬民所擺列的日月星、就是天上的萬象．自己便被勾引敬拜事奉它。」 ¹¹¹

轉離耶和華，崇拜祂所造的東西，是一件危險的事。是的，月亮是強大而可愛的，但她不應該被視為聖潔，或值得讚美。 ¹¹²

所以我們只敬拜上帝，而不是敬拜祂的創造物。確實是祂創造了太陽和月亮，正如《創世記》所說。詩篇作者在136:7中向我們保證了這一點──「稱謝那造成大光的、因他的慈愛永遠長存。」上帝還為四季而造。詩篇作者在104:19 中也向我們保證了這一點──「祂指定月亮為季節。太陽知道何時回家」(和合本翻譯：「你安置月亮為定節令．日頭自知沉落」）。上帝創造月亮是為了發光，提供光線，並告訴我們今天是什麼日子。這很簡單。聖經追隨者越早把它記在心裡，就越沒有「月亮」像繞著「太陽」轉一樣繞著「地球」轉。只有通過聖言之水的洗滌¹¹³，這才會在他們的心中生效。因為信是聽來的，而聽是靠神的道。¹¹⁴在我們對神的敬拜中，讓我們「你當竭力、在　神面前得蒙喜悅、作無愧的工人、按著正意分解真理的道。」 115

我們敬拜上帝，而不是敬拜月亮。我們知道上帝創造了它，因為它是一種較小的物質，正如所有的東西一樣，是由祂的手創造的。所有的東西都是由祂創造的。凡是被造的，沒有一樣不是祂造的。¹¹⁶因此，祂創造了月亮，讓它在夜晚發出光亮，並讓它自己保持時間。它發揮著自己的功能，因為它像上帝世界中的任何事物一樣移動，按照祂設定的預設程序運行。月亮很好地完成了她的工作，人類在整個生存過程中獲得了它的好處。¹¹⁷ 月亮發出她自己的光。上帝創造它就是為了這樣做。事實上，《聖經》中的許多經文都專門談到了月亮和它自己的光。基督在教導末世時，談到了月亮和它的光將如何停止：「月亮也不放光」¹¹⁸。這也出現在《以賽亞書》13:10 中：「天上的眾星群宿、都不發光．日頭一出、就變黑暗、月亮也不放光。」¹¹⁹ 以賽亞，永遠的先知，在他的書中提到了月亮和太陽做了許多有趣的事情：「當耶和華纏裹他百姓的損處、醫治他民鞭傷的日子、月光必像日光、日光必加七倍、像七日的光一樣。」¹²⁰ 以及。「你的日頭不再下落、你的月亮也不退縮．因為耶和華必作你永遠的光、你悲哀的日子也完畢了。」 ¹²¹

但是基督和以賽亞並不是唯一談論月亮之光的人。《詩篇》、《創世記》中都提到了這一點，甚至先知以西結在《以西結書》32:7中說：「我將你撲滅的時候、要把天遮蔽、使眾星昏暗、以密雲遮掩太陽、月亮也不放光。」¹²² 月亮發出它的光，當它不發出自己的光時，周圍的人就有禍了。在預言中每次提到月亮不發出自己的光時，都會有絕望的感覺。

註

¹¹⁰ 民數記 28:11 CEV 「每個月的第一天，要把兩隻公牛，一隻成年的公羊，和七隻一歲沒有毛病的公羊帶到壇前。然後把這些獻上，作為取悅我的祭物。」歷代志上23:31CEV 「每逢安息日獻祭時，以及新月節和其他宗教節期，他們也必須感謝和唱贊美。必須有足夠的利未人在聖殿值班，以完成一切需要做的事。」以賽亞書66:23 「每個月的第一天和每個安息日，大家要敬拜我。我，耶和華，已經說了。」

111 英文標準版聖經（ESV）「你們要小心，免得你們舉目望天，看見日月星辰和天上的萬物，就被吸引，向它們下拜，事奉它們，就是耶和華你們神分給天下萬民的東西。」

¹¹² 我以前上三班的時候，會抬頭看著月亮說：”月亮，你好”。我這樣做並不是期望得到答案，也不是在向它祈禱。這只是一種問候。我經常對我的房子、汽車或寵物這樣做。作為一種問候，我祝福，但我只崇拜創造者 。我不崇拜創造物。

¹¹³ 以弗所書5:26 BSB 「要使她成聖，藉著話語用水洗淨。」

¹¹⁴ 羅馬書10:17

¹¹⁵ 提摩太後書 2:15

¹¹⁶ 約翰福音1:3 BLB「萬物都是藉著他而生的，沒有他就沒有現在的一件事。」

¹¹⁷ 詩篇104:19a ESV 「他造了月亮來標記季節。」

¹¹⁸ 馬太福音24:29，馬可福音13:24-25

119 英文標準版聖經（ESV）- 「因為天上眾星群宿不會發光； 太陽升起時將是黑暗的，月亮也不放光。」

¹²⁰ 以賽亞書 30:26

¹²¹ 以賽亞書 60:20

122 CEV – 「我會用厚厚的雲遮住整個天空和每顆星星，讓太陽和月亮停止發光。」

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Part One: The Genesis Account

III: Fourth Day──Chapter 9: The Moon and Her Glory

Just as the Sun is set in motion in Genesis 1:16, so is its little buddy: the Moon. She (and here I use this gender-pronoun loosely) is a great and wonderful thing that floats along in the sky and tells you what day of the month it is. She gives off her own light and she cools the plane. She rules over the night, just as the Sun rules over the day, yet we can often see her during the daytime, illuminated (not reflectively) by herself… Waxing into a full, or waning into a new. The full moon is bright and the new moon is dark. The new moon also rises, just like the full, yet it remains dark, no matter what the sun may be doing during its time of shining. The moon rarely (if ever) reflects the light of the sun. The moon is unique in that she varies her calendar over us. As a matter of remembrance of time-keeping, God commanded the people of Israel to sacrifice to Him every new moon.¹ The new moon festival was God’s alone. It was given as a very specific instruction to worship God alone and not the things that He had created (like the moon). Deuteronomy 4:19 reads: “And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.”²

It is a dangerous thing to turn from YHVH and worship the things that He has made. Yes, the Moon is powerful and lovely, but she is not to be regarded as holy, or worthy of praise.³ So we worship God alone, and not His creation. It is indeed He who made the Sun and Moon, as Genesis states. The Psalmist assures us of this in 136:7 – “To Him who made the great lights, His love endures forever.” And God made it for the seasons. The Psalmist assures us of this as well in 104:19 – “He appointed the moon for seasons. The Sun knows when to go home.” God made the moon to shine, and give light, and to tell us what day it is. It’s very simple. The sooner that Bible followers get it into their hearts that there is no “Luna” who orbits around “Terra” as it orbits around “Sol.” It is only by the washing of the water of the Word⁴ that this will become effective in their hearts. For faith comes by hearing, and hearing, by the Word of God.⁵ In our worship of God, let us “Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth.”⁶

We worship God, not the moon. We know that God created it, for it is a lesser substance, as are all things, that was created by His hand. All things were made by Him. Nothing that was made was not made by Him.⁷ So He made the moon to give light at night, of its own accord, and to keep time of its own accord. It serves its function, for it moves as anything moves in God’s world, according to the pre-programmed routines that He set into motion.⁸ The moon does her job well, and mankind has reaped the benefits of it for our whole existence.

The moon gives her own light. God created it to do so. As a matter of fact, many verses in the Bible talk specifically about the Moon and its own light. Christ, when teaching of the end times, talked of the Moon and how its light will cease: “The moon will not give its light.”⁹ This also occurs in Isaiah 13:10: “For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.”¹⁰ Isaiah, ever the prophet, mentions the moon and sun doing many interesting things throughout his book. “The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the LORD binds up the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted.”¹¹ As well as: “Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will not fade; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your sorrow will be over.”¹²

But Christ and Isaiah were not the only ones who talked about the light of the moon. It is mentioned in the Psalms, in Genesis, and even the Prophet Ezekiel says in Ezekiel 32:7: “I will cover the whole sky and every star with thick clouds, so that the sun and moon will stop shining.”¹³ The moon gives its light, and woe to those who are around when it does not give its own light.

Every time in prophecy where it is mentioned that the moon does not give off its own light, there is despair.

Footnotes

¹ Numbers 28:11 CEV “On the first day of each month, bring to the altar two bulls, one full-grown ram, and seven rams a year old that have nothing wrong with them. Then offer these as sacrifices to please me.” 1 Chronicles 23:31 CEV “They must also give thanks and sing praises when sacrifices are offered on each Sabbath, as well as during New Moon Festivals and other religious feasts. There must always be enough Levites on duty at the temple to do everything that needs to be done.” Isaiah 66:23 “On the first day of each month and on each Sabbath, everyone will worship me. I, YHVH, have spoken.”

² ESV

³ When I used to work third shift, I would look up at the Moon and say: “Hello Moon.” I did not do this in expectation of an answer, nor was I praying to it. It was simply a greeting. I do this often to my house or my car or my pets. As a greeting, I bless, yet I worship the creator only… I do not worship the creation.

⁴ Ephesians 5:26 BSB “to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,”

⁵ Romans 10:17

⁶ 2 Timothy 2:15 BSB

⁷ John 1:3 BLB “All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.”

⁸ Psalm 104:19a ESV “He made the moon to mark the seasons…”

⁹ Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:24-25

¹⁰ ESV

¹¹ Isaiah 30:26 NASB

¹² Isaiah 60:20 CSB

¹³ CEV

──Biblical Cosmology by Pauly Hart
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