New Revelations 新的启示
As far as the record is concerned, God waited thirteen years before He revealed Himself again to Abram. During those quiet intervening years, Abram continued to walk with God and serve Him. He did not need constant special revelations to do God’s will, nor do we. God reaffirmed His covenant and then gave Abram the sign of circumcision as the mark of that covenant. How unfortunate that many of the Jews trusted in the sign rather than in the Lord (Acts 15:5; Rom. 4:10; Gal. 5:6)! God wanted an inward change of the heart, not just surgery on the body (Deut. 10:16; Jer. 4:4).
从圣经的记录来看，神等了13年后才向亚伯兰再次显现。在沉默的这段期间，亚伯兰仍然与神同行并事奉祂。他不需要神不间断的特殊启示才行神的旨意，我们也一样。后来，神与亚伯兰重申所立的约，并给予亚伯兰割礼的记号作此约的标记。可悲的是，许多犹太人却选择相信这约的记号而是相主（徒15:5；罗4:10；加5:6）！神想要的是心里内在的变化，不仅是外科手术带来的改变（申10:16，耶4:4）。
New Names 新的名称
In Bible history, a new name means a new beginning, a step forward in faith. (See Gen. 32:28; John 1:40–42.) Abram means “exalted father”; it became Abraham, “father of a multitude.” Sarai (“contentious”) became Sarah, “a princess.” God even revealed a new name for Himself: God Almighty. The only name that did not change was Ishmael, for what is born of the flesh remains flesh and cannot be changed (John 3:6).
在圣经中，新的名字意味着新的开始，是在信仰上前进的一步（见创32:28；约1:40-42）。亚伯兰的意思是“崇高的父亲”，改为亚伯拉罕，即“多国的父”之意；撒莱（“争议”）则改为撒拉，即“多国之母”之意。神更是为自己揭示了一个新的名称：全能的神。唯一没有更改名字的是以实玛利，因为从肉身生的就是肉身，这是改变不了的（约3:6）。
At last, the long-awaited son would be born, and his name would be “Isaac—laughter.” No wonder Abraham laughed (John 8:56). Abraham wanted to cling to his past mistake (v. 18) instead of looking to the future miracle that God would perform. Abraham and Sarah’s impatient act of unbelief had brought sorrow and division into the home, but God’s miracle of faith brought joy and peace (Rom. 15:13). It pays to trust God’s way and wait for God’s time.最后，期待已久的儿子将诞生，其 名是“以撒”（笑声之意）。难怪亚伯拉罕笑了起来（约8:56）。亚伯拉罕执着于过往的错误（18节），并不展望神未来将要行的奇迹。亚伯拉罕和撒拉因急躁不信，为家里带来了悲伤和分争，但信心的奇迹带来的是喜悦和平安（罗15:13）。相信神和祂的时间必然带来祝福。
Praying the Scripture 用经文祷告
- It is very difficult for us to wait on the Lord. Yet God’s way is not our way (Isa 55:9). Why would God want Abraham to wait for thirteen years? Because the Lord wanted Abraham to know that God is all-sufficient and all-powerful, and that nothing is impossible for Him. After Abraham’s battle with the four kings, God came to him as a warrior and told him He was Abraham’s “shield.” When Abraham wondered about Sodom’s wealth, God told him He was his “exceedingly great reward” (Gen. 15:1). Now when Abraham and Sarah were “as good as dead,” God assured them that He was more than sufficient to bring about the miracle birth. Yes, God is going to bless us but the obstacle is that we still rely on our own way and not his way. A father will not give his son his fortune unless the son knows how to handle it. Let’s pray that we grow in Christ to know Him and His way quickly.
等候主是一件非常困难的事。然而，我们要明白神的道路并不是我们的道路（赛55:9）。为什么神要亚伯拉罕等待十三年呢？因为神要亚伯拉罕知道祂是全备和全能的神，在神没有难成的事。亚伯拉罕与四个国王争战后，神以一个战士的身份来到他的面前告诉他，神就是他的“盾牌”。当亚伯拉罕思念所多玛的财富时，神告诉他，神才是他“大大的赏赐”（创15:1）。现在，当亚伯拉罕和撒拉“如同死了”，神向他们保证，祂必能带来那奇迹的诞生。是的，神要祝福我们，但问题是我们仍然靠的是自己的方法，不是祂的。除非孩子知道如何管理财富，不然父亲是不会把财产交给儿子的。让我们祈祷，叫我们能在基督里成长，尽快认识主和祂的道路。
- New name means new character. After 13 years Abram finally learned the lesson and now his name is changed to Abraham. Sarai’s name also changed to Sarah. If we claim to know God and yet there is no change in our lives, we don’t really know Him at all. If theology cannot change you, you have no theology at all. Pray that our theology is not head knowledge but coming face to face with the living God.
新的名字意味着新的品格。过了13年，亚伯兰终于吸取了教训，所以名字如今改为亚伯拉罕。撒莱的名也改为撒拉。如果我们声称认识神，但生命却丝毫没有改变，那就证明我们完全不认识神。如果神学没能改变你，你实际上就不知道什么是神学。让我们祈祷，使我们的神学并不只是头脑的知识，而是与永活之神面对面。
