33. Ruins
But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. II Chronicles 28:23
Narrate the actual circumstances. Ahaz turned away from Jehovah to serve the gods of Damascus, because Syria enjoyed prosperity. "For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of, him, and of all Israel."
The consequent introduction of false deities and defilement of the worship of God became the ruin of Ahaz and his kingdom.
We fear lest this should be the ruin of England; for the idols of the Papists and the doctrines of Rome are again being set up in our land. Though no country prospers in which these prevail, yet besotted minds are laboring to restore the gods of the Vatican. This subject deserves many faithful sermons.
At this time we shall turn the text to more general use.
I. THE MAN RUINING HIMSELF Ahaz is the type of many selfdestroyers. "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself" (Hos. 13:9).
- He would be his own master. This ruined the prodigal, and will ruin millions more.
- He was high-handed in sin. "He walked in the way of the kings of Israel" (2 Kings 16:3-4). This is a race to ruin.
- He lavished treasure upon it. He spent much but gained little. Profligacy and many other wrong ways are expensive and ruinous.
- He defied chastisement. "In the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the Lord" (2 Chron. 28:22). This defiance of correction leads to sure ruin.
- He was exceedingly clever, and curried favor with the great. He made a copy of a classic altar, and sent it home. More men perish through being too clever than by being simple.
- He was a man of taste. He admired the antique, and the esthetic in religion.
- He had officials to back him. "Urijah, the priest, built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus" (2 Kings 16:11 ). Bad ministers are terrible destroyers.
- He imitated prosperous sinners. The king of Assyria became his type. This is ruinous conduct.
- He abandoned all worship of God." "He shut up the doors of the house of the Lord" (verse 24). This is the climax of rebellion, and the seal of ruin.
But he did not prosper; the false gods were the ruin of him.
II. THE MAN IN RUINS. We leave Ahaz to think of some around us.
- The man becomes eaten up with secret vice. A rotting ruin haunted by bats and owls, and foul creatures of the night.
- The man of drinking habits, not fit for society, a brute, a fiend.
- The man of evil company and foul speech: likely to be soon in prison, or an outcast.
- The man of unbelieving notions and blasphemous conversation, lost to God, to goodness, and moral sense.
- All around us we see such spiritual ruins.
- Turned from holy uses to be moldering wastes.
The man is ruined in:
- Peace, character, usefulness, prospects. Worst of all, he is himself a ruin, and will be so for ever.
- A ruin suggests many reflections.
- What it was! What it might have been!
- What it is! What it will be!
- Meditations among ruins may be useful to those who are inclined to repeat the experiment of Ahaz.
III. OTHERS RUINED WITH HIM. "They were the ruin of him, and of all Israel."
- Designedly. Some men by example create drunkards, by teaching make infidels, by seduction ruin virtue, by their very presence destroy all that is good in their associates.
- Incidentally; even without intent they spread the contagion of sin. Their irreligion ruins the young, their conduct influences the unsettled, their language inflames the wicked.
- Sin will ruin you, if persisted in.
- Your downfall will drag down others.
- Will you not endeavor to escape from ruin?
- Jesus is the Restorer of the wastes.
Relics
There is an Australian missile called the boomerang, which is thrown so as to describe singular curves, and to return at last to the hand of the thrower. Sin is a kind of boomerang, which goes off into space curiously, but turns again upon its author, and with tenfold force strikes the guilty soul that launched it.
We might illustrate the evil of sin by the following comparison:— "Suppose I were going along a street, and were to dash my hand through a large pane of glass, what harm would I receiver?" You would be punished for breaking the glass: "Would that be all the harm I should receive?" "Your hand would be cut by the glass." "Yes; and so it is with sin. If you break God's laws, you shall be punished for breaking them; and your soul is hurt by the very act of breaking them." — J. Inglis
I have heard that a shepherd once stood and watched an eagle soar out from a cliff. The bird flew far up into the air, and presently became unsteady, and reeled in its flight. First one wing dropped, and then the other; presently, with accelerated speed, the poor bird fell rapidly to the ground. The shepherd was curious to know the secret of its fall. He went and picked it up. He saw that when the eagle lighted last on a cliff, a little serpent had fastened itself upon him; and as the serpent gnawed in farther and farther, the eagle in its agony reeled in the air. When the serpent touched its heart, the eagle fell. Have you never seen a man or woman in the church, or in society, rising and rising; the man becoming more and more influential, apparently strong, widely known, asserting power far and near; but, by and by, growing unsteady, uncertain, reeling, as it were, in uncertainty and inconsistency, and at last falling to the earth, and lying there in hopeless disgrace, a spectacle for angels to weep over, and scoffers and devils to jeer at. You do not know the secret of the fall, but the omniscient eye of God saw it. That neglect of prayer, that secret dishonesty in business, that stealthy indulgence in the intoxicating cup, that licentiousness and profligacy unseen of men, that secret tampering with unbelief and error, was the serpent at the heart that brought the eagle down. — T. Curler.
Sages of old contended that no sin was ever committed whose consequences rested on the head of the sinner alone; that no man could do ill and his fellows not suffer. They illustrated it thus: "A vessel, sailing from Joppa, carried a passenger, who, beneath his berth, cut a hole through the ship's side. When the men of the watch expostulated with him, saying, 'What doest thou, O miserable man?' the offender calmly replied, 'What matters it to your The hole I have made lies under my own berth.'" This ancient parable is worthy of the utmost consideration. No man perishes alone in his iniquity; no man can guess the full consequences of his transgression.
Charles Hadden Spurgeon |
33．成為廢墟
「但那些神使他和以色列眾人敗亡。」
——歷代志下 28:23
先敘述實際背景：
亞哈斯因看見大馬士革（亞蘭）亨通，就離棄耶和華，去事奉大馬士革的神。
「因為他向擊敗他的亞蘭諸王的神獻祭，說：『這些神幫助亞蘭諸王，我向他們獻祭，他們也必幫助我。』但那些神使他和以色列眾人敗亡。」
假神的引入，以及對真神敬拜的玷污，最終成了亞哈斯和他國家的毀滅。
我們不禁憂慮：這是否也會成為英國的敗亡？因為羅馬教廷的偶像與教義正在再度被引進我們的國土。雖然沒有一個國家在這些勢力掌權時真正興盛，然而被迷惑的心思仍竭力想恢復梵蒂岡的諸神。這個題目實在值得多篇忠心的信息來警戒。
此處，我們將這節經文作更普遍的應用。
一、自我毀滅的人
亞哈斯是許多「自毀之人」的典型。
「以色列啊，你自取敗壞。」（何 13:9）
- 他要作自己的主人
這毀了浪子，也將毀滅千萬人。
- 他放膽犯罪
「行以色列諸王的道。」（王下 16:3–4）
這是一條直奔滅亡的道路。
- 他在罪上大肆揮霍
花費巨大，卻毫無所得。放蕩與各樣邪路都昂貴而致命。
- 他抗拒管教
「在急難的時候，越發得罪耶和華。」（代下 28:22）
藐視責備，必然走向敗亡。
- 他自以為聰明，討好權勢者
他仿製一座異教祭壇寄回國內。
太聰明而不敬畏神的人，比愚拙者更容易滅亡。
- 他是講究品味的人
他欣賞古老、審美化的宗教形式。
- 他有官員支持
「祭司烏利亞照亞哈斯王從大馬士革送來的樣式築壇。」（王下 16:11）
壞牧者是極可怕的毀壞者。
- 他效法亨通的惡人
以亞述王為榜樣，這是致命的模仿。
- 他完全廢棄對神的敬拜
「他將耶和華殿的門都關了。」（28:24）
這是悖逆的高峰，也是敗亡的封印。
然而，他並未因此亨通；假神最終成了他的毀滅。
二、成為廢墟的人
離開亞哈斯，我們看看身邊的人。
- 有人被隱密的惡習侵蝕，
像荒廢的遺址，成了蝙蝠、貓頭鷹和夜行污穢之物的居所。
- 有人沉溺酒精，
不再適合社會，像禽獸、像魔鬼。
- 有人沉迷惡友與污穢言語，
很快就會進監獄，或被社會棄絕。
- 有人抱持不信與褻瀆的思想，
對神、對善、對道德全然麻木。
我們四周充滿這樣的屬靈廢墟——
原本為聖潔用途，卻淪為荒涼敗壞之地。
人被毀在：
最可怕的是：
他自己成了廢墟，而且可能永遠如此。
廢墟引人深思：
- 它曾是什麼
- 它本可成為什麼
- 它現在是什麼
- 它將來會是什麼
在廢墟中默想，對那些想重蹈亞哈斯覆轍的人極有益處。
三、連累他人一同敗亡
「那些神使他和以色列眾人敗亡。」
- 出於故意
有些人藉榜樣製造酒鬼，
藉教導培養不信者，
藉引誘毀壞貞潔，
甚至單單因其存在，就摧毀身邊一切美善。
- 出於間接影響
即便無心，他們仍散播罪的瘟疫：
- 他們的不敬虔毀壞年輕人
- 他們的行為動搖不定者
- 他們的言語煽動惡人
若持續在罪中，罪必毀滅你；
你的墮落，也會拖累他人。
你不願逃離敗亡嗎？
耶穌是荒場的修復者。
片段省思（Relics）
罪像回力鏢
澳洲有一種武器叫回力鏢，拋出後會繞行，最終擊回投擲者。
罪也是如此——看似飛遠，最後卻以十倍之力擊中犯罪的人。
罪不只帶來刑罰，也帶來傷害
若你打破神的律法，不但要受懲罰，你的靈魂也會被罪本身割傷。
——J. Inglis
被蛇咬心的鷹
有牧人見一隻雄鷹高飛，忽然搖晃墜落。原來一條小蛇咬住牠的心臟。
我們也常見人原本興盛、影響廣泛，卻忽然崩潰；
原因可能是：
忽略禱告、暗中的不誠實、隱秘的酒癮、放縱、或對不信的試探。
那正是「咬住心臟的蛇」。
——T. Curler
船底鑿洞的寓言
古人說：沒有一個罪只害自己。
船上一人鑿洞，說：「洞在我床下，關你何事？」
然而船沉，眾人同亡。
沒有人單獨滅亡；
也沒有人能估計自己犯罪的全部後果。
查爾斯．哈登．司布真 |