（民03）摩西的后代
(Numbers 3) The Descendants of Moses
(ChatGPT translation from Chinese, edited by Mijiale, 中文在后面）
One of my elderly relatives passed away this year. He was over ninety years old but had no children. This is considered a regret in China. It is an inborn instinct to hope for descendants because, according to atheistic logic, once a person leaves this world, whether he has descendants or not, and what happens afterward, is already irrelevant to him. The desire for descendants is essentially an instinct placed in human hearts by the Creator. It allows certain genes of an individual to be passed down through their offspring so that these genes can continue to influence the world even after the individual has passed away.
If a man has no male descendants, his male genes cannot continue to influence the world. If a person has no children at all, then none of his biological genes can continue to influence the world. However, the Bible implies a type of gene inheritance that transcends biological meaning, which is the inheritance of “faith genes.” This is achieved through teaching and learning the words of the Creator, allowing the Lord’s teachings to transcend the limitations of individual life and continually influence the world through generations.
In this sense, the Creator allowed Abraham to be called the father of many nations(Genesis17:4), beyond just his own race. The faith genes passed down by the great figures of faith are as rich and colorful as the genetic map of human biology. The faith gene passed down by Abraham included the willingness to offer his beloved son to the Lord (Genesis 22). The faith gene passed down by Isaac included staying in the promised land despite famine (Genesis 26). The faith gene passed down by Jacob included valuing the birthright to be sanctified to the Lord (Genesis 25, Exodus 13:2). The faith gene passed down by Moses included praying wholeheartedly for the Lord’s forgiveness for the Israelites, regardless of his own interests (Deuteronomy 9).
The inheritance of faith genes transcends biological inheritance. Numbers 3:1 records, “These are the descendants of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.” However, the subsequent verses do not list Moses’ two biological sons but only Aaron’s sons. Unbelievers might say this is a careless omission by the biblical authors. But for believers, “All Scripture is God-breathed…” (2 Timothy 3:16). Even if this was a careless omission by human authors, since the Creator allowed it to happen, it must be intentional and beneficial for us (2 Timothy 3:16).
Jewish exegesis suggests, as noted in [Rashi’s commentary on Numbers 3:1](https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Numbers.3.1?lang=bi), that because Moses taught Aaron’s sons the Scriptures, the Bible considers Aaron’s sons also as Moses’ descendants. The Hebrew consonants of the phrase “the word of the Lord” (דבר השם) are hidden within “the Lord spoke.” Therefore, in the transmission of “the word of the Lord,” Aaron’s sons are considered Moses’ descendants, while Moses’ own sons are not mentioned. Additionally, Moses’ sons lived farther away: according to Exodus 6, Moses’ sons were descendants of Kohath, and Numbers 3:29 states, “The Kohathite clans were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle.” In contrast, Moses himself, along with Aaron’s sons, lived on the east side: “Moses, Aaron, and his sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise…” (Numbers 3:38). Living in the same camp, Aaron’s sons could learn more about the Scriptures closely through Moses’ words and deeds.
Therefore, a believer in the Bible who is unable to have children should not despair like those without faith. By evangelizing and teaching the Bible, they can still bear fruit in the transmission of the Scriptures, and these fruits will last forever. Many apostles in the New Testament, and even Jesus himself, did not have physical descendants. However, over the past two thousand years, they have borne billions of spiritual fruits, and this process continues.
（民3）摩西的后代
我的一个长辈亲戚今年去世了，已经九十多了，但是无儿无女。这在中国被认为是一种遗憾。人希望有后代，应该是一种天性，因为本来按无神论的逻辑，人离开了这个世界，有没有后代，后面发生什么事，已经与己无关了。人想有后代，从本质上来说，这其实是造物主安在人心中的一种本能，可以把个体身上的某些基因通过后代传下去，在个体离世以后能够通过后代让这些基因继续影响世界。
一个男人如果没有男性后代，那他的男性基因就无法不断地影响世界。一个人如果无儿无女，那他的任何生物学基因都无法继续影响世界。但是，在圣经里，隐含着一种超越生物意义的基因传承，那就是“信仰基因”的传承，其途径是通过教导和学习造物主的话语，让主的教导超越个体生命的限制，能够历世历代不断地影响世界。
从这个意义上，造物主让亚伯拉罕称为超越种族的多国之父(创17:4）。信心的伟人们所传下的信心基因，就像人类生物学的基因谱那样丰富多彩。亚伯拉罕传下的的信心基因，有让他愿意为主献上爱子的信心基因（创22）。以撒传下的信心基因，有让他遭遇饥荒仍然留在应许之地的信心基因（创26）。雅各传下的信心基因，有让他重视归主为圣的长子名份的信心基因（创25，出13:2）。摩西传下的信心基因，有不顾自己的利益为以色利人尽心祈求得主赦免的信心基因（申9）。
信心基因的遗传是超越生物学的遗传的。民数记3:1记载，“耶 和 华 在 西 乃 山 晓 谕 摩 西 的 日 子 ， 亚 伦 和 摩 西 的 后 代 如 下 ，” 然而接着的经文没有列出摩西亲生的两个儿子，而只是列出了亚伦的儿子们。不信的人会说这是圣经作者不小心的遗漏。但对信徒来说，（提后3:16）“圣 经 都 是 神 所 默 示 的…”，即便这是人类作者不小心的遗漏，但既然造物主允许它发生，在造物主那里这就一定是有意的，而且一定是为了对我们“…有 益 的 。”（提后3:16）
犹太解经认为https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Numbers.3.1?lang=bi
，因为摩西教导了亚伦的儿子们圣经，圣经就把亚伦的儿子们也算作摩西的后代。而经文里的“耶 和 华…晓 谕” ，藏着“主的话语דבר השם”的希伯来文的辅音字母。所以正是在“主的话语”的传承上，亚伦的儿子们被圣经认为也是摩西的后代，而摩西自己的儿子们则没有被提到。摩西自己的儿子们住的地方也离摩西更远：根据（出6）， 摩西的儿子们是祖先哥辖的后代，而（民3:29）“哥 辖 儿 子 的 诸 族 要 在 帐 幕 的 南 边 安 营 。” 摩西自己却与亚伦的儿子们住在东边：（ 民3:38）“在 帐 幕 前 东 边 ， 向 日 出 之 地 安 营 的 是 摩 西 ， 亚 伦 ， 和 亚 伦 的 儿 子 。…” 住在同一个营地，亚伦的儿子们可以通过摩西的言传身教就近学到更多的圣经。
所以，如果一个相信圣经的人如果没法生育，他应该不用像没有信仰的人那样绝望。通过传福音教导圣经，他在圣经传承方面仍然可以多结果子，而且是存到永远的那种果子。很多新约的使徒们，甚至耶稣自己，都没有自己的肉身后代。但是他们两千年来已经结了几十亿属灵的果子，而且现在还在进行当中。