2020 has been an extraordinary and unforgettable year. With the spring blossoms, a new crown pneumonia pandemic came unexpectedly, endangering the world. Many innocent people were infected and some lost their lives, while families were affected.
With the approach of summer and the flourishing of creation, and as people breathe a sigh of relief, many days of continuous rainfall have led to serious flooding in many southern provinces. According to incomplete statistics, 30.2 million people and 2,667 hectares of land in Shanghai, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Henan, Anhui, Hubei and other places have been severely affected. As of July 14, direct losses totaled 61.71 million yuan.
Some people have used qigong to fight the flooding, staging a ridiculous farce. Some clay statues have been lost in the rising floods, and the water rushed into the Dragon King Temple. People found that it was difficult to protect themselves. How can people find support during a time like this? We can find the answer in Acts 14:17: “He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” God is the master of the world, and all creation is under the control of his all-powerful hand. And as it is written: The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever. (Psalms 29:10)
Sin has entered the world because of the disobedience and trespasses of men. So misery and misfortune have brought earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, etc. Although they are forces of nature, everything is in the hands of God.
The great flood in Noah's time was the first great catastrophe that mankind faced. The scope was so large that it spread all over the world, so much so that the records of the origins of various peoples later contained the legend of the great flood. In the Chinese classical book "Book of Documents", it was written that "the rushing flood raged on the earth and swept the mountains", which shows that the floods covered the earth. The reason is that "man’s wickedness on the earth was great and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time." "The earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways." As for "the Lord was grieved that he made man on earth, and his heart was filled with pain." (cf. Gen 6:5-11) God is righteous and holy, and he wants to judge and destroy the old world of mankind.
However, because of his mercy and compassion, God chose Noah, the righteous and innocent man of that era, to build an ark. It took a lot of time, a lot of money and a lot of energy to build a ship that was half the size of a football field and four stories high, in accordance with God’s instructions. Although there may be people who do not believe, but question and ridicule, he did everything just as God commanded him (Genesis 6:22). In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights. As the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth for a hundred and fifty days. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out. Men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. This is God's miraculous salvation from the great flood.
Nowadays, people’s sins are even more serious. Hidden sins, sins of lust, depravity of the flesh, depravity of the soul, depravity of luxury and corruption are worse than ever before, and all kinds of sensational cases occur repeatedly. And these arouse God's anger. God uses these disasters to remind people to repent as soon as possible. If they do not repent, they can’t escape from God's righteous judgment. God is not slow in keeping his promise. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. He hopes for us to turn away from our sins, repent and convert, follow Jesus, and become a new creation in Christ. So God's salvation guards us as the ark, and if you trust and accept Jesus, you will be saved.
Although the pandemic continues and the flooding has not stopped, we have peace in our hearts because we firmly believe that God is with us and we will receive God’s help. As it is written by the descendants of Korah in Psalm 46, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. (Psalms 46:1-3)"
- Translated by Abigail Wu
“洪水泛滥之时，耶和华坐着为王”——洪灾中的思索
2020年，注定是刻骨铭心不平凡的一年。当春暖花开之时，一场新冠肺炎疫情不期而至，危及全球，许多无辜性命染病甚至丧生，家庭经历生离死别。
夏日临近，生机勃发，人们正稍松一口气时，入汛以来连续多日降雨，导致南方许多省份洪水泛滥，发生严重洪涝灾害。据不完全统计，上海、重庆、四川、贵州、广东、浙江、江西、河南、安徽、湖北等地严重受灾，受灾人数3020万人次，受灾农作物2667公顷，截止7月9日14日直接损失617亿元。
面对洪灾，有人“发气功”抗洪，上演了荒唐闹剧；一些泥胎塑像沉没水中，大水冲了龙王庙，难以自保，洪灾中的依靠究竟在那里？在使徒行传14章17节中可以找到答案：“神常施恩惠，从天降雨，赏赐丰年。叫人饮食饱足，满心喜乐。”上帝是万有主宰，他所创造的一切都在他的全能圣手掌管之中。又如诗篇29篇10节所说“洪水泛滥之时，耶和华坐着为王。”
自从人类犯罪堕落后，罪就进入了世界，所以苦难和不幸的灾难等不测风云就频繁光顾：地震、洪水、飓风、台风等，虽说是自然之力的作用，但一切都在神的手中。
挪亚时代的大洪水，是人类面临的第一次大浩劫，范围之大，遍及全球，以至于后来各民族的起源多有大洪水的传说。中国上古典籍《书•尧典》曾有“汤汤洪水方割，浩浩怀山襄陵”，足见洪水泛滥，水势之盛。缘由就是“地上的人罪恶很大，心里所想的尽都是恶”，“世界在神面前败坏，地上满了强暴，见是败坏了，凡有血气的在地上都败坏了行为”，以至于“耶和华就后悔造人在地上，心中忧伤”（参创6：5-11）。神是公义圣洁的，要实行审判主权，毁灭人类的旧世界。
然而神因着怜悯和慈悲，拣选了那个时代的义人和完全人挪亚，建造方舟，按着神所指示的样式，费钱费力，耗费时间精力，完成了一个有半个足球场大，四层楼高的巨船，也许有人不信、质疑、嘲讽、讥诮，但他凡事照神的吩咐，他都照样行了（创6：22）。当挪亚六百岁的那年二月十七日，大渊之泉源都裂开了，天上的窗户都裂开了，神降雨在地上四十昼夜，水往上涨，把方舟漂起，共一百五十天，凡在旱地上鼻孔有气息的生灵都死了，凡地上各类活物，连人带牲畜，以及空中的飞鸟，都从地上除灭了。只留下诺亚和那些同在方舟里的凡有血气、有气息的活物各从其类存活下来，这是神在大洪水中的奇妙拯救。
而今人们在世上的罪恶更加变本加利，与生俱来的罪，邪情私欲的罪，肉体堕落，灵魂堕落，奢华腐化比起初有过之而无不及，各种耸人听闻的奇案屡屡发生，时时惹动神的怒气，神藉着这些灾难不断提醒人们尽快悔改，若不悔改，神的公义审判必难逃脱。神不是耽延，乃是宽容我们，他的心意是愿意万人得救，不愿一人沉沦，他盼望我们，离弃罪孽，悔改归正，跟随耶稣，在基督里成为一个新造的人。所以神的救恩就是方舟，信靠接纳耶稣，就必得救。
虽然疫情仍在持续，洪水没有止住，但我们心里有平安，因为我们坚信有神与我们同在，我们满有从神而来的帮助，正如诗篇46篇可拉后裔所写的诗歌所说：“神是我们的避难所，是我们的力量，是我们在患难中随时的帮助，所以地虽摇动到海心，其中的水虽砰訇翻腾。山虽因海涨而战抖，我们也不害怕。”
http://www.gospeltimes.cn/portal/article/index/id/53099
2020 has been an extraordinary and unforgettable year. With the spring blossoms, a new crown pneumonia pandemic came unexpectedly, endangering the world. Many innocent people were infected and some lost their lives, while families were affected.
With the approach of summer and the flourishing of creation, and as people breathe a sigh of relief, many days of continuous rainfall have led to serious flooding in many southern provinces. According to incomplete statistics, 30.2 million people and 2,667 hectares of land in Shanghai, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Henan, Anhui, Hubei and other places have been severely affected. As of July 14, direct losses totaled 61.71 million yuan.
Some people have used qigong to fight the flooding, staging a ridiculous farce. Some clay statues have been lost in the rising floods, and the water rushed into the Dragon King Temple. People found that it was difficult to protect themselves. How can people find support during a time like this? We can find the answer in Acts 14:17: “He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” God is the master of the world, and all creation is under the control of his all-powerful hand. And as it is written: The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever. (Psalms 29:10)
Sin has entered the world because of the disobedience and trespasses of men. So misery and misfortune have brought earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, etc. Although they are forces of nature, everything is in the hands of God.
The great flood in Noah's time was the first great catastrophe that mankind faced. The scope was so large that it spread all over the world, so much so that the records of the origins of various peoples later contained the legend of the great flood. In the Chinese classical book "Book of Documents", it was written that "the rushing flood raged on the earth and swept the mountains", which shows that the floods covered the earth. The reason is that "man’s wickedness on the earth was great and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time." "The earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways." As for "the Lord was grieved that he made man on earth, and his heart was filled with pain." (cf. Gen 6:5-11) God is righteous and holy, and he wants to judge and destroy the old world of mankind.
However, because of his mercy and compassion, God chose Noah, the righteous and innocent man of that era, to build an ark. It took a lot of time, a lot of money and a lot of energy to build a ship that was half the size of a football field and four stories high, in accordance with God’s instructions. Although there may be people who do not believe, but question and ridicule, he did everything just as God commanded him (Genesis 6:22). In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights. As the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth for a hundred and fifty days. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out. Men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. This is God's miraculous salvation from the great flood.
Nowadays, people’s sins are even more serious. Hidden sins, sins of lust, depravity of the flesh, depravity of the soul, depravity of luxury and corruption are worse than ever before, and all kinds of sensational cases occur repeatedly. And these arouse God's anger. God uses these disasters to remind people to repent as soon as possible. If they do not repent, they can’t escape from God's righteous judgment. God is not slow in keeping his promise. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. He hopes for us to turn away from our sins, repent and convert, follow Jesus, and become a new creation in Christ. So God's salvation guards us as the ark, and if you trust and accept Jesus, you will be saved.
Although the pandemic continues and the flooding has not stopped, we have peace in our hearts because we firmly believe that God is with us and we will receive God’s help. As it is written by the descendants of Korah in Psalm 46, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. (Psalms 46:1-3)"
- Translated by Abigail Wu
The Lord Sits Enthroned over the Flood
