（申22）日 子 得 以 长 久 (Deuteronomy 22) Prolonging Life
(ChatGPT translation from Chinese, edited by Mijiale, 中文在后面）
Deuteronomy 22:7-8 says, “If you come across a bird’s nest along the road, in any tree or on the ground, with chicks or eggs, and the mother bird sitting on the chicks or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. You shall let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long.”
Regarding the promise that releasing the mother bird and taking only the young leads to a long life, Jewish tradition presents an example that seems contrary to this teaching. In the story, a son, obeying his father’s instruction, climbs a ladder to take eggs from a bird’s nest after sending away the mother bird. However, as he descends, he tragically falls and dies. This accident, which occurred when the son was obeying his father, also appears to contradict the biblical commandment that honoring one’s parents results in long life (Deuteronomy 5:16).
Through this incident, the **Talmud** teaches two important principles:
(https://www.sefaria.org/Kiddushin.39b.8?lang=bi)
**Principle 1**: One cannot overly rely on miracles.
The problem was with the ladder—it was a faulty ladder. Before climbing, one must do their due diligence to ensure the ladder is stable, rather than relying on the promises of Scripture without fulfilling one’s own responsibilities.
(https://rabbi360.com/2023/09/28/the-world-is-a-rickety-ladder-and-we-can-not-rely-on-miracles-yom-kippur-5784)
**Principle 2**: The promises of Scripture can only be fully realized in the world to come.
In this world, while most people who honor their parents and obey the commandments might live longer, there are exceptions. The **Talmud** explains that “long life” can refer to the next life. Additionally, Deuteronomy 11:21, when encouraging the Israelites to keep the commandments, states, “so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.”
**Rashi’s** commentary adds that the promise of extended days in the land given to the ancestors refers to the time after the resurrection of the dead, rather than now, since the ancestors have not yet been resurrected to receive the promised land.
(https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Deuteronomy.11.22.1?lang=bi)
Regarding this, my personal understanding is as follows: For those who die early while obeying the Creator’s commandments, their lifespan in this world may be shorter than most by several decades, but in the next world, they can be resurrected earlier on earth and thus have up to a thousand additional years of life. In this way, the total lifespan— in this world AND the next—will be extended because they obeyed the Lord’s commandments. I think this concept is reflected in Revelation 20, which speaks of the millennium on earth, where the dead are not resurrected all at once, but some before others (Revelation 20:5). Those resurrected earlier are called blessed (Revelation 20:6), and whether one is resurrected earlier is related to their deeds in this life (Revelation 20:4).
During the millennium, there will be two types of people on earth: one group will be the large number of natural human descendants who have not experienced death and resurrection, and the other group will be the resurrected saints who will reign and serve as priests alongside the Lord, teaching and governing the large human population. Revelation 21 and 22 teach that after the millennium, eventually all Christians will live in the eternal New Jerusalem between heaven and earth. However, could it be that Christians who follow the Lord’s commandments less diligently in this life might be resurrected later during the millennium, or even totally miss the opportunity to work for the Lord on earth during the millennium, only being resurrected before the New Jerusalem descends? I don’t want to pretend I know the exact answer, nor do I need to know all the details right now.
But I am certain of this: if a person obeys the Creator’s commandments in this life, then in the complete span of their life, in this world AND the world to come, they will surely be blessed.
（申22）日 子 得 以 长 久
申命记22:7-8 “你 若 路 上 遇 见 鸟 窝 ， 或 在 树 上 或 在 地 上 ， 里 头 有 雏 或 有 蛋 ， 母 鸟 伏 在 雏 上 或 在 蛋 上 ， 你 不 可 连 母 带 雏 一 并 取 去 。
总 要 放 母 ， 只 可 取 雏 ， 这 样 你 就 可 以 享 福 ， 日 子 得 以 长 久 。”
关于这个取雏放母得以日子长久的应许，犹太人讲到一个看似反面的例子，说一个儿子听父亲的话搭梯子上树取鸟蛋，把母鸟放走了，结果下来时摔死了。同时，因为这事故是儿子听了父亲的话才发生，看起来也成了孝敬父母得以长寿的圣经教导（申5:16）的反例。
通过这个事故，talmud教导两个重要的原则： https://www.sefaria.org/Kiddushin.39b.8?lang=bi
原则1。 不能过份依赖神迹。问题出在梯子上，那是个坏了的梯子，人在爬高之前，需要尽本分预先检查梯子稳当不稳当，不能依赖圣经的应许而不尽本分。
https://rabbi360.com/2023/09/28/the-world-is-a-rickety-ladder-and-we-can-not-rely-on-miracles-yom-kippur-5784/
原则2。圣经的应许在来世才能完美兑现。在今世，虽然大部分孝顺父母，遵守诫命的人可能活得更长，但也有例外。talmud解释这种例外，说日子长久可以指的是来世。另外，申命记11:21在鼓励以色列人守诫命时说，“使 你 们 和 你 们 子 孙 的 日 子 在 耶 和 华 向 你 们 列 祖 起 誓 ， 应 许 给 他 们 的 地 上 得 以 增 多 ， 如 天 覆 地 的 日 子 那 样 多 。” Rashi解经提到，https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Deuteronomy.11.22.1?lang=bi
在给以色利的列祖的地上日子增多，应该是指的是在死人复活之后，而不是现在，因为现在列祖还没有复活，还没有得到应许之地。
关于这些，我个人现在的理解是这样的：为行造物主诫命而早死的人，今生比一般人死得早，短了几十年寿命，但来世在地上也可以复活得更早，比一般人多出上千年地上的生命。这样，今生加来世的生命总和就因为遵主诫命而变长了。这种观念，我觉得在新约启示录20章说到地上的千禧年时有所反应，那里讲到，死人不是同时复活，而是有先有后（启20:5），较早复活的被称为有福（启20:6），而且是否较早复活与今生的行为有关（启20:4）。在千禧年地上有两种人，一种是没有经历过死里复活的自然繁衍出来的大批的人类后代，另一种是死里复活之后的圣徒，他们与主一同作王作祭司，管理和教导地上大批的人类后代。启示录21，22教导，千禧年过后，最终，所有的基督徒复活后都要生活在天地之间的永恒的新耶路撒冷，但是，今生遵守主诫命越差的基督徒，会不会在地上的千禧年复活得越晚，以至于有的人是仅仅得救，完全错过了地上千禧年为主做工的机会，到新耶路撒冷降临前才复活？对这些，我不想假装已经知道了准确的答案，也不需要现在就知道所有的细节。但是我确信：一个人如果今生遵守造物主的诫命，那么在今世加来世的完整生命里，他一定是蒙福的。