（创18）造物主的显现（Genesis18）The Appearance of the Creator

(ChatGPT translation from Chinese, edited by Mijiale, 中文在后面）

Those unfamiliar with Christianity might ask, “Does the Creator truly exist? If He exists, why doesn’t He appear to us?”

This week’s reading portion is called “Appearance,” covering Genesis 18–22, five chapters in total. It begins by saying, “The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre” (Genesis 18:1). The Bible then records the Creator appearing to Abraham as three visitors who eat a meal and foretell that he will have a son the following year. If the Bible’s account is reliable, why doesn’t the Creator appear to humanity now?

I guess that for those who aren’t holy enough, seeing the Lord might be dangerous. Genesis 22 tells us that Abraham’s timely and precise understanding of the Lord’s words was a matter of life and death when he was about to sacrifice Isaac. So, if people today blindly pursue seeing or hearing the Lord for vanity or other reasons, they might be misled by their personal desires, leading to misunderstandings and even losses. Moreover, in Genesis 18, the Creator appeared in the form of three men, possibly foreshadowing the Christian doctrines of incarnation and the Trinity. Now that the New Testament has clearly realized and explained these concepts, such appearances are generally unnecessary until the future kingdom during the millennium.

Nonetheless, the Creator still manifests His presence to humanity, often in more general ways. The Hebrew term for “appearance” means “to be seen” (source). My interpretation of this passive form is as follows: the truth is, the Creator’s works are everywhere; He is omnipresent and omnitemporal. It’s simply that our “sight” is usually unfocused on seeking Him, so we don’t see Him. When He removes the obstacles to our “sight,” He can then “be seen” by us.

This “seeing” usually doesn’t involve observing a luminous or reflective form, but rather recognizing His presence through His broader works. Additionally, He often reveals His actions when we genuinely need them or when we are helpless. For instance, my wife often finds something she’s been looking for after praying. This summer, before my trip abroad, I was frantically packing and couldn’t find something essential, like a SIM card or hand sanitizer, which was worrying as I didn’t want to miss my flight. I was upset and might have blamed others for misplacing my things, but after I prayed as my wife suggested, I quickly found it, and similarly I found several other items, one of which even in a place I had previously searched. My daughter saw this unfold firsthand. It was clear to us that the Lord is a living God. Unfortunately, my focus was on catching the flight at that time, so I didn’t “see” the Lord Himself.

Yesterday, my wife mentioned that the Bible records the Creator appearing to Abraham ten times. When we reviewed the scriptures, we found only three instances explicitly mentioning “appearing,” while the other seven involve the Creator “speaking” to Abraham without any recorded appearance. Yet my wife believes that “speaking” is also a kind of manifestation since it reveals the existence of the one speaking. She said that she had at least three instances of the Lord speaking to her, using Bible verses to comfort her. One was related to finding a partner, another to her mother’s passing, and the third to her illness. I, too, have had experiences of “seeing” the Lord—not His form but signs on the ground that conveyed His intent to save me in times of trouble.

Reflecting on this, we also noticed that the Lord usually speaks to us when we are alone. We speculate this might be because when we are together, we’re focused on each other and so “don’t see” the Lord; or only listen to each other, not paying attention to the Lord’s words. Even when we mention the Lord, it’s often in the third person. In the Bible, nine out of ten times that the Lord speaks to Abraham, He speaks to him alone. Of course, there are exceptions; for instance, the Creator often speaks to multiple people through a pastor’s sermon. Unfortunately, when people’s hearts are distracted by other things, they may miss the Lord’s words, and fail to “see” the Lord Himself.

Let’s encourage one another with the words of the Creator recorded in Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

（创18）造物主的显现

不了解基督教的人很可能会问，造物主真的存在吗？如果存在，怎么不显现给我们看见呢？

本周的读经进度叫“显现”，是圣经创世记18-22，共五章。一开始（创18:1）就说造物主“在幔利橡树那里，向亚伯拉罕显现出来。” 然后圣经记载造物主以三个访客的形式向亚伯拉罕显现，在他家吃饭，并预告他明年会得一个儿子。如果圣经的记载是可信的，那么造物主现在为什么不向人类显现呢？

我猜测，对不够圣洁的人来说，主的显现可能是很危险的。创世记22章告诉我们，当年亚伯拉罕在献以撒时，他对主的话及时和准确的理解是性命攸关的。所以现在的人如果为了虚荣或其它原因盲目追求看见主或听见主的话，很可能会受自己的私心影响而产生错觉，遭受损失。另外，在创世记18章，造物主以三个人的形式显现，可能是为了预表基督教的道成肉身和三位一体的神学思想。现在新约已经更明确地实现和阐述了这些思想，就一般来说不需要以人的形象显现了，直到将来千禧年的国度来临。

即便如此，造物主现在仍向人类显现祂的存在，只不过常常用更广泛的方式。希伯来语的“显现”，是“被看见”的意思https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/483457?lang=bi

对这个被动时态，我的解释是这样的：事情的真相是，到处都是造物主的作为，祂本来就无处不在，无时不在，只是我们的“视线”因为通常不能专注于寻求祂自己，才看不见祂。当祂移去我们“视线”的障碍，祂就能被我们“看见”了。

这个“看见”，通常不是看见一个发光或反射光的形象，而是通过认识祂更广泛的的作为而知道祂的存在。而且，通常是在我们真有需要时，在我们自己没办法时，主才彰显祂的作为。比如说我太太经常找东西找不到，向主祷告，就找到了。我今年夏天回国前临时打包，找东西，细节记不清了，大概是找电话卡或口罩消毒液之类的东西，到处找不到，怕赶不上飞机，很着急，可能还发脾气怪别人乱放我的东西，后来听我太太的在心里祷告了，就真的很快找到了，而且好像好几样东西都这样及时找到了，有的好像还是在以前找过的地方找到的，我女儿也亲眼看到了这个过程。这样的事很明显告诉我们，主是活的主，可惜这时候，我的注意力在赶飞机上，没有去“看”主自己。

昨天我太太告诉我，圣经里造物主向亚伯拉罕显现了十次。我们一起翻看圣经验证一下，结果发现其中只有三次明确提到“显现”，而其他七次是造物主对亚伯拉罕“说话”，并没有记载出现形象。但我太太认为“说话”也是一种显现，因为能显示出说话者的存在。她说她自己也曾经至少经历过三次主对她说话，都是用圣经上的话安慰她。一次是与找对象有关，一次与她母亲去世有关，还有一次在她生病时主的话安慰她。我自己也有过“看见”主的经历，不是看见造物主的形象，而是在困境中通过看见一些地上的记号，体会到祂要拯救我，参见 http://mijiale.mypressonline.com/2022/11/01/（创16）拉海莱－关于活的看顾我的那一位/

我们回忆时，还发现主对我们说话一般都是在我们一个人独处的时候，我们猜想是这因为我们两人在一起时就会眼光在对方身上，就“看不见”主，或者就互相听对方说话，而不注意听主的话，即使说话时提到主也会用第三人称。圣经里主对亚伯拉罕说话，十次有九次也是对他一个人说的。当然也有例外，比如说造物主可以常常通过牧师讲道，同时和多人说话。可惜当人心被其他的东西所干扰时，很多人就听不到主对他说的话，更没有“看见”主自己。

让我们以耶利米书29:13里所记载的造物主的话语互勉: “你们寻求我，若专心寻求我，就必寻见。”