1. Hello, listening friends.
亲爱的朋友，你好，

2. Welcome to this broadcast on the life of Moses.
欢迎你收听这个有关摩西生平的节目。

3. In the last message, I told you that each of the plagues corresponds to one of the ancient Egyptian gods,
上次节目中我曾经讲过，降在埃及的十个灾祸，和古埃及所拜的十个假神，是互相对应的。

4. and, today, we are going to look at these.
今天我们就要一起来看看他们的关系，

5. Let’s look at the first plague.
首先看第一灾，

6. It was God’s judgment against the waters of Egypt.
这是神针对埃及河流的审判。

7. Aaron lifted his rod and smote the water, and the water turned into blood
亚伦举起手中的杖击打河里的水，河里的水都变作血了。

8. and the fish died, and the river stank.
河里的鱼死了，河也腥臭了。

9. Egypt owes its very life to the River Nile.
埃及人都是靠尼罗河维生的，

10. If the River Nile dries up, ninety-nine percent of the population of Egypt would die within days.
如果尼罗河的水干了，百分之九十九的埃及人在几天之内都会死亡。

11. From the Nile came the water for irrigation.
尼罗河是灌溉农田的水源；

12. The River Nile was the primary means of transportation.
尼罗河是主要的交通水道；

13. From the Nile came the fertile top soil.
尼罗河带来肥沃的土壤；

14. The Nile was the key to life.
尼罗河是他们的命脉，

15. You take it away, and there will be no life.
没有他，就没有生命。

16. Osiris, or the chief god of Egypt,
奥西里斯是埃及最重要的神，

17. he was first and foremost the god of the Nile.
也就是尼罗河神，是首要的神。

18. Offerings were made to the gods of the Nile.
人们献祭给尼罗河神，

19. Human sacrifices were offered to the gods of the Nile.
他们以人为祭物，献给尼罗河神，

20. Priests bowed and worshipped the gods of the Nile.
祭司向尼罗河神顶礼膜拜。

21. and, now, the divine Nile, which is the source of life, became the source of death.
神圣的尼罗河本是生命之源，现在却成为死亡之源。

22. This plague lasted for seven days,
这灾持续了七天，

23. but, in Exodus, Chapter 7, verse 22,
但出埃及记7章22节那里说：

24. that “the heart of Pharaoh was hardened,”
法老心里刚硬，

25. and he refused to let the people go
他不准以色列民离去，

26. so, secondly, comes the plague of the frogs.
于是降下第二灾，也就是青蛙之灾。

27. Aaron stretched his hand, and millions of frogs took over the country.
亚伦伸出手中的杖，千千万万只青蛙遮满了全埃及地。

28. Ancient Egyptians worshipped the goddess, Heket.
古代埃及人拜赫卡女神，

29. Heket was always pictured with a normal head and a body of a frog.
赫卡的神像是人头蛙身组合成的，

30. Heket the frog was considered to be the goddess of fertility.
据说蛙神赫卡是管生育的神。

31. God gave them frogs until frogs were literally coming out of their ears.
神叫许多青蛙出现，甚至爬到人的耳朵里。

32. They baked their bread with frogs in it.
他们烤面包的盆子里有青蛙，

33. They drank their water with frogs in it.
他们喝的水里有青蛙，

34. They slept in beds that were covered with frogs.
他们睡觉的床上布满了青蛙。

35. Here is the irony.
令人啼笑皆非的是，

36. Ancient Egyptians could not kill frogs.
古代埃及人不能杀死青蛙，

37. For how can they kill the goddess of fertility?
他们怎么能把掌管生育的女神给杀了呢？

38. But here is something really funny.
最可笑的是，

39. Pharaoh turns to his magicians and asked them, “Can you do this?”
法老问那些行法术的说，你们也能这么做吗？

40. “Oh, yes,” they said, they can make more frogs;
他们回答说，行，就叫了更多青蛙出现。

41. but one thing they did not need was more frogs;
但他们不需要更多青蛙，

42. but the magicians could not get rid of the frogs.
而这些行法术的却不能驱除青蛙，

43. Only God can.
唯有神能。

44. In Exodus 8:8, Pharaoh said to Moses,
出埃及记8章8节法老对摩西说：

45. “Entreat your god to get rid of the frogs, and I will let you go…”
请你们求耶和华，使这青蛙离开，我就容百姓去。

46. but, when God answered their request,
但当神答应了他们的要求，

47. Pharaoh refused to let them go;
法老却不肯让他们离开，

48. so came the third plague of the flies or the lice.
于是降下第三灾，就是虱子灾，或跳蚤灾。

49. The Bible indicates that this was a form of sand fly that dug deep beneath the skin and caused itching and pain.
圣经指出这是尘土里一种会飞的小昆虫，会钻入人的皮肤，引起发痒和疼痛。

50. This was a judgment upon the earth god, Gib.
这是针对土地神基伯的审判，

51. Their fertile land of Egypt that was worshipped was now producing insects and swarms of flies.
他们所崇拜埃及肥沃的土地，如今生出成群的虱子跳蚤，

52. This defiled their bodies and prevented the priests from practicing their pagan rituals.
污染了他们的身体，以致于那些祭司不能主持偶像崇拜的仪式。

53. Still, Pharaoh refused to let them go;
然而，法老仍然硬心，不容他们离去，

54. so comes the fourth plague.
就带来了第四灾。

55. This plague is another insect that was very special to the Egyptians in their worship.
这灾跟另一种昆虫有关，在埃及人所拜的神中是很特殊的。

56. The ancient Egyptians worshipped the beetle
古代埃及人拜一种甲虫，在中文里就翻译为苍蝇。

57. and God said, “I’ll give you enough beetle to make you sick.”
神说，我就给你们够多的苍蝇，直到你们感到恶心。

58. But when they got over the supply of beetles, still Pharaoh refused to surrender,
但当他们度过了苍蝇之灾，法老还是拒绝降服，

59. which brought about the fifth plague.
这就带来了第五灾，

60. This was against the cattle of the land.
这是针对牲畜之灾。

61. Ancient Egyptians venerated animals.
古代埃及人崇拜动物，

62. One of the most popular religious cults was the cult of Apis, the bull god.
最流行的邪教之一，就是拜牛神阿比斯。

63. In many shrines, you would find a sacred bull.
在很多庙里都有一只圣牛，

64. In fact, dead bulls were given elaborate burials in a vault at Segara near Memphis.
这些牛死后，都有风光隆重的葬礼，牠们都被埋在曼菲斯附近的瑟加拉墓穴里。

65. Many of the people of God in Egypt belonged to that cult
埃及许多拜神的人都属于这一派的邪教。

66. and that is why, when Moses went up to the mountains in Sinai desert
所以当摩西上西乃山时，

67. and most of his people thought he would never come back,
大部分人都认为他回不来了，

68. so they asked Aaron to make a golden calf in the image of Apis.
因此他们要求亚伦制造一只金牛犊，代表阿比斯牛神。

69. They said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.”
他们说，以色列啊，这是领你们出埃及的神。

70. It’s against this depraved religious system that God’s judgment came.
神要对付这败坏的宗教，于是降下灾祸审判他们，

71. Still, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened,
然而法老的心依然刚硬。

72. which brings us to the sixth plague.
让我们来看第六灾，

73. The sixth plague was the plague of boils and ulcers.
第六灾就是生疮和溃烂。

74. Exodus, Chapter 9, verses 10 to 12, tells us,
出埃及记第九章10-12节告诉我们，

75. that Moses and Aaron took ashes of a furnace and stood before Pharaoh.
摩西亚伦取了炉灰，站在法老面前，

76. They sprinkled the ashes toward Heaven and they became boils.
向天扬起来，就在人身上和牲畜身上成了起泡的疮。

77. Nothing would cure these boils in the skin of ancient Egyptians.
在古埃及人身上的疮无药可医，

78. Boils covered their faces and their whole bodies
他们脸上身上都长满了疮，

79. so much so that the magicians could not appear before Moses because of the boils.
连那些行法术的术士都有这疮，不能站在摩西面前。

80. The irony is this:
令人感到讽刺的是，

81. it was customary in ancient Egypt for the ashes of sacrifices to be sprinkled into the air above the worshipper
按照古埃及的习俗，把香灰撒向那些拜菩萨的人，

82. and all who have ashes fall upon them counted that a blessing;
香灰落在谁身上，他就认为自己得到菩萨赐福了。

83. but, now, in the hands of Moses, the ashes of blessings have become the ashes of a curse.
但在摩西的手中，祈福的香灰，成了带来咒诅的炉灰。

84. Egyptians and Egyptian gods were known for being skilled in medicine,
埃及人和埃及的神都是以高明的医术著称的，

85. but these gods are impotent before Jehovah God;
但这些假神在耶和华神面前都毫无能力，

86. but Pharaoh still hardened his heart,
但法老仍然硬心。

87. which brings me to the seventh plague which was an extraordinary phenomenon.
现在我要讲第七灾，这是一个很奇特的自然现象。

88. It rarely rains in Egypt
埃及很少下雨，

89. so to get lightning and hail sends horror in the hearts of both people and beasts.
所以闪电打雷下冰雹，使百姓和牲畜都很惊恐，

90. With this plague comes a turning of people against Pharaoh.
这灾祸引起了老百姓对法老的抗议。

91. Moses warned the people that every animal left in the field would be killed by the hail,
摩西警告百姓，如果把牲畜留在田地里，都会被冰雹打死。

92. but those who believed the words of the Lord, even among the Egyptians, their animals would survive;
凡相信神的话的，即使是埃及人，他们的牲畜都安全了；

93. but those who had faith in the sky gods, they were devastated,
但那些相信天神的，都极其悲惨。

94. and, when hope is shattered and expectations are not met, anger would follow.
当一切的希望都破灭了，愤怒也就跟着而来。

95. Horus, the god of the atmosphere,
天空之神何鲁斯，

96. Anut, the sky goddess,
女天神阿嫩特，

97. proved ineffective in the face of the power of Jehovah;
在耶和华的大能面前毫无作为。

98. then, comes the eighth plague, the invasion of the locusts.
第八灾是蝗虫之灾，

99. The locusts devoured everything left in the field after the devastation caused by hail.
蝗虫把冰雹之灾所剩下的农作物都吃光了。

100. In Exodus, Chapter 10 and verse 7,
出埃及记第十章第七节，

101. the country’s leaders pleaded with Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go;
国中的长官都来请求法老，让希伯来人离开，

102. but, when Pharaoh attempted to bargain with Moses, he discovered that God does not bargain.
但当法老想要跟摩西谈条件时，他发现神不跟他讨价还价。

103. Moses left the palace while the locusts consumed everything in sight.
当摩西离开皇宫时，蝗虫把所有可吃的都吃光了。

104. Nepra, the god of the grains,
埃及的稻谷神尼普拉，

105. Annibas, the guardian god of the fields,
田地的守护神阿尼巴斯，

106. Min, the deity of the harvest and crops,
掌管农作物的敏尼，

107. all these gods had now joined the list of false gods that were defeated and destroyed by Yahweh.
这些个菩萨，都列入那些被耶和华击败的假神行列中。

108. Finally, the ninth plague comes swiftly and unexpectedly
接着第九灾迅雷不及掩耳般来临，

109. and this was the most significant of all in terms of the Egyptian false gods.
在对付埃及所有的假神中，这一灾所对付的神最显著。

110. For three days, a dense darkness fell upon the land.
埃及遍地黑暗无光，三天之久，

111. The stars were gone and the moon did not shine
月光与星光都消逝了。

112. and, in Exodus, Chapter 10, verses 21 to 23,
出埃及记10章21-23节，

113. we read of the most devastating plague of all, the disappearance of Ra.
我们看到，令埃及人最难受的灾祸，也就是日神的消失。

114. Ra, the beloved sun god, had been obliterated.
他们所爱戴的日神，竟然销声匿迹了，

115. The noon hour was blacker than midnight.
正午时刻比午夜更加漆黑。

116. The people were forced to sit still for three days.
有三天之久，人们被迫坐在自己的地方，

117. They could not move.
他们不能行动，

118. They could not eat.
不能吃喝，

119. They could not see each other
彼此看不见对方。

120. and Pharaoh, the sun worshipper, discovered that the sun is no match for the sun-Maker.
敬拜日神的法老发现，太阳不能跟太阳的创造主抗争。

121. Finally, Pharaoh said to Moses,
最后法老对摩西说，

122. “Get out of here. If you see my face again, you will be a dead man.”
你离开我去吧，不要再见我的面，因为你见我面的那日，你就必死。

123. Exodus, Chapter 10, verse 29, Moses said,
出埃及记10章29节，摩西说，

124. “You said it well. I will not see your face again.”
你说得好，我必不再见你的面了。

125. First, it was the river;
先是河水，

126. then, the land;
然后是土地，

127. then, finally, the sky.
最后是天空。

128. Again and again, God reminded them that He is the Maker of all things
一而再，再而三，神提醒他们，祂才是万物的创造主，

129. and He is the One to be worshipped and adored,
应该唯独尊崇敬拜祂。

130. not His creation.
不是拜那些受造物，

131. Not His blessings.
不是拜祂所赐的福分，

132. Not His gifts.
不是拜祂赐的恩典。

133. My listening friends, please listen carefully to what I am going to tell you.
亲爱的朋友，请你仔细地听我说，

134. There are two lessons here that I pray that will be imprinted indelibly upon your heart.
我祈求神，让我们学习两个功课，并在你心中留下不可磨灭的印象。

135. First of all,
第一，

136. God detests cheap repentance.
神厌恶廉价的悔改；

137. God detests temporary change of heart.
神痛恨短暂的回心转意；

138. God detests transitory change of character.
神讨厌朝三暮四，心志不坚。

139. After each plague, from the frogs to the darkness, Pharaoh promised to repent
从蛙灾到黑暗之灾，每一个灾祸之后，法老都答应要悔改，

140. and, yet, as soon as God answered Moses’ prayer, Pharaoh went back to his old ways.
但每当神应允摩西的祷告，解除灾难后，法老立刻故态复萌。

141. True repentance is not just out of fear of the consequences of sin.
真诚的悔改不是出于害怕犯罪的后果，

142. It is out of love for the One Who has been offended.
而是因为我们对所得罪的那一位的爱。

143. So much of our repentance is like that of Pharaoh.
很多时候，我们的悔改就像法老的悔改一样，

144. We only do it when we want something from God.
只因为我们对神有所求才这么做。

145. So many of our cries to God are like that of Pharaoh’s.
很多时候，我们的呼求就像法老的呼求一样，

146. “Get me out of this and I’ll be good.
救我脱离这困境，我就乖乖听话。

147. Bless me and I’ll change my ways.
赐福给我，我就改过自新。

148. Do this and I’ll do that.”
你先做这样，我就做那样。

149. This is a very dangerous thing to do.
这是极其危险的。

150. When you are truly in love with God, you want to please Him
如果你真正爱神，你会想讨神的喜悦，

151. and, when you have become aware that you have offended Him and displeased Him, you grieve over offending Him.
一旦你觉察到自己得罪了神，做了祂不喜悦的事，你会忧伤痛悔。

152. The second thing I want to tell you is this:
我要告诉你的第二件事，

153. Moses was given a variety of options,
摩西有各样的选择，

154. but he insisted on what God wanted, instead of what he could have settled for.
但他坚持神的意愿，而不是照他自己的方式处理。

155. It is a well-known fact in negotiation
大家都知道一种谈判的手法，

156. that you start by asking for the whole loaf
开始时先提出加倍的要求，

157. so, at the end of the day, you will settle for the half, which really is what you wanted to begin with.
最后，你让步一半，但其实那才是你真正的目的。

158. This may be okay in negotiation,
这在谈判时也许行得通，

159. but negotiation is not part of God’s vocabulary.
但神却不跟人谈判妥协。

160. In Exodus, Chapter 8, verse 25, Pharaoh said, “Sacrifice to your God here in Egypt…”
出埃及记8章25节那里，法老说，你们去，在这地祭祀你们的神吧。

161. but Moses said,
但摩西说，

162. “God said to go for three days’ and three nights’ journey and there we sacrifice.”
我们要往旷野去走三天的路程，照着耶和华我们神所要吩咐我们的祭祀祂。

163. In Exodus 8:28, Pharaoh answered,
出埃及记8章28节，法老回答说，

164. “Go, but not too far...”
我容你们去，只是不要走得很远。

165. but Moses remembered God’s instructions,
但摩西谨记神的吩咐，

166. and he told Pharaoh, “No, three days and three nights, that’s what God said.”
他对法老说，不，神说过，要走三天三夜的路程。

167. No bargaining.
一口价！

168. My listening friends, listen carefully as we are getting ready to conclude.
亲爱的朋友，我就要结束今天的信息了，请留心听我说。

169. Negotiation with God is an indication of a hard heart
跟神讨价还价，就表示心里仍然刚硬，

170. and that is why Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.
因此法老的心一直是刚硬的。

171. We read that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.
我们看见圣经说，神使法老的心刚硬。

172. What does that mean?
这是什么意思呢？

173. As if God is saying, “You worship frogs? Here are more frogs you worship.”
神的意思是，你要拜青蛙吗？好，就给你许多青蛙，让你拜个够。

174. In the same way, God would say to each of us,
同样的，神对我们每一个人说，

175. “You have decided to renege on your promises.
你决定对我背信食言吗？

176. You decided to ignore My commands.
你决定漠视我的诫命吗？

177. You decided to be in control of your life.
你决定以自我掌控你的人生吗？

178. You have decided to do things your way
你决定我行我素吗？

179. and I will now help you fulfill your desire.
好，我就成全你吧！

180. I’ll give you what you want in abundance.”
我十足地给你所要的一切！

181. Be careful, my listening friends, in the area of your obedience to God.
亲爱的朋友，当你要顺服神时，务必谨慎。

182. A smorgasbord obedience, or a temporary obedience, will not honor God.
大杂烩式的顺服，或暂时的顺服，都不荣耀神。

183. That is why Paul tells us, in Romans 2:4,
所以，保罗在罗马书2章4节那里告诉我们，

184. do not take God’s mercy for granted.
不要藐视神丰富的恩慈。

185. Do not let God’s patience with you send you to an ego trip of thinking that you can get away with things.
不要以为神宽容你，就可以自高自大，任意妄为，

186. No one can get away from God.
没有人能逃得过神的审判。

187. Until we meet again, I wish you God’s richest blessing.
愿神大大地赐福给你，我们下次节目再会。