一月十三日

約沙法製造他施船隻，要往俄斐去，將金子運來；只是沒有去，因為船在以旬迦別破壞了。（王上22:48）

所羅門的船隻平安地回來了，但約沙法的卻不曾到出金子的地方。神叫這一個人興盛，而卻攔阻另一個人的欲望，同樣的事，同一個地點，大君王和另一位一樣的善良聰明。願我們今天能從這節經文得到恩典，船在以旬迦別破了，或是從海外滿載屬世的寶物歸來，我們要一樣地讚美主。讓我們不要妒忌那大得成功的人，也不要為自己的失敗而垂頭喪氣，怨言百出，好像只有我們特別經受苦難一樣。我們和約沙法一樣，雖或我們的計劃終歸失敗，但我們仍在神的眼中看為寶貴。

約沙法失敗的原因是值得注意的，因為那也是神的子民受苦的根源；因為他與一個有罪的家聯合，他與罪人來往。歷代志下第二章三十七節說：“因你與亞哈謝交好，耶和華必破壞你所造的。”這好像慈父的責備一樣，對他是有好處的；因為照列王紀上第二十二章四十九節所說，他拒絕使自己的僕人和惡王的僕人坐船同去。在神看來，約沙法的經驗很可警戒主的一切子民，使他們避免和不信的人同負一軛。那是很不相稱的！許多悲殘的生活常是因為在婚姻上或其他事上自行選擇與屬世的人合夥的結果。為了愛耶穌，為了像他，我們要聖潔，無邪，無汙，與罪人分別出來；因為若不如此，我們必常聽到說：“耶和華必破壞你所造的。”

January 13

"Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber." --1 Kings 22:48

Solomon's ships had returned in safety, but Jehoshaphat's vessels never reached the land of gold. Providence prospers one, and frustrates the desires of another, in the same business and at the same spot, yet the Great Ruler is as good and wise at one time as another. May we have grace to-day, in the remembrance of this text, to bless the Lord for ships broken at Ezion-geber, as well as for vessels freighted with temporal blessings; let us not envy the more successful, nor murmur at our losses as though we were singularly and specially tried. Like Jehoshaphat, we may be precious in the Lord's sight, although our schemes end in disappointment.

The secret cause of Jehoshaphat's loss is well worthy of notice, for it is the root of very much of the suffering of the Lord's people; it was his alliance with a sinful family, his fellowship with sinners. In 2 Chron. 20:37, we are told that the Lord sent a prophet to declare, "Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the Lord hath broken thy works." This was a fatherly chastisement, which appears to have been blest to him; for in the verse which succeeds our morning's text we find him refusing to allow his servants to sail in the same vessels with those of the wicked king. Would to God that Jehoshaphat's experience might be a warning to the rest of the Lord's people, to avoid being unequally yoked together with unbelievers! A life of misery is usually the lot of those who are united in marriage, or in any other way of their own choosing, with the men of the world. O for such love to Jesus that, like Him, we may be holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners; for if it be not so with us, we may expect to hear it often said, "The Lord hath broken thy works."