5月6日

標　　題：安于奴隸的現狀

經　　節：就向他們說：「願耶和華鑒察你們，施行判斷；因你們使我們在法老和他臣僕面前有了臭名，把刀遞在他們手中殺我們。」（出埃及記五章21節）

人可能安于奴隸的處境，一點也不想為自由付出任何努力。希伯來人作埃及人的奴隸，已有四百年之久。奴隸的身分代表他們沒有自由做神要他們做的事，也沒有行動自由。摩西已經告訴以色列人如何得到自由，但比起討神的歡喜，他們更關心工頭的反應。對他們來說，得到自由意味著激怒他們所事奉的法老王！也就是，他們一生所事奉的埃及人，可能會攻擊他們。由奴役中被釋放得到的自由，似乎不值得他們耐心忍受那不可避免的艱苦。

當神釋放我們得自由時，我們通常得付出代價。哀傷可以是捆綁的另一個形式，然而，我們可能愈來愈安于奴隸的現狀。我們可能安於恐懼的生活，卻不曉得如何安心度日。照著毀滅性的惡習與罪惡的生活方式，我們可能比較喜歡熟悉的環境，而不願去經歷被釋放後的未知。我們可能已明白地認出朋友的壞影響，卻情願拒絕神的心意，不願得罪我們的朋友。

這個情形實在令人難以相信，以色列人居然因為摩西改變他們從小的奴隸生活，而心生不滿。你是否安于被某項惡習捆綁？你是否懼怕改變多過懼怕神？你是否願意讓神在你身上動工，好能夠釋放你？

Comfortable in Our Bondage

And they said to them, "Let the LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us." (Exodus 5:21)

"It is possible for people to become so accustomed to their bondage that they resist efforts to free them. The Hebrews had been slaves in Egypt for four hundred years. Slavery meant that they were not free to do God's will or to go where they wanted. Moses had come to tell the Israelites how they could experience freedom, yet they were more concerned about the reaction of their taskmasters than they were about pleasing God. For them to be free would mean that the pharaoh they were serving would be angry! It would mean that the Egyptians they had served all their lives might attack them. Freedom from their slavery did not seem to be worth the hardships they would inevitably endure.

When God sets out to free us there will often be a price we will have to pay. Grief can be a terrible form of bondage, yet we can become comfortable with it. We can grow so comfortable with fear that we don't know how to live without it. As destructive as our sinful habits and lifestyle might be, we may prefer living with the familiar, rather than being freed to experience the unknown. We may recognize the harmful influence of a friend but choose to reject God's will rather than offend our friend.

As incredible as it seems, the Israelites were angry at Moses for disrupting the life of slavery to which they had grown accustomed. Have you been lulled into a comfortable relationship with your bondage? Do you fear change more than you fear God? Are you willing to allow God to do what is necessary in order to free you?"