Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. 1 John 5:21

小子们哪，你们要自守，远避偶像！–约翰一书5章21节

You shall have no other gods before me. . . . You shall not bow down to them or worship them. Exodus 20:3, 5

除了我以外，你不可有别的神。……不可跪拜那些像；也不可事奉它。-出埃及记20章3、5节

As he awaited his baptism in Togo’s Mono River, Kossi stooped to pick up a worn wooden carving. His family had worshiped the object for generations. Now they watched as he tossed the grotesque figure into a fire prepared for the occasion. No longer would their choicest chickens be sacrificed to this god.

在西非多哥的莫诺河边，科西正预备接受洗礼。他弯腰拾起一尊磨损的木雕，这是他的家族世代膜拜的雕像。现在科西的家人看着他将这奇形怪状的雕像丢进为这场合所准备的火堆中，从此，他们再也不必用鸡来祭拜这神像了。

In the West, most Christians think of idols as metaphors for what they put in place of God. In Togo, West Africa, idols represent literal gods that must be appeased with sacrifice. Idol burning and baptism make a courageous statement about a new believer’s allegiance to the one true God.

在西方文化中，多数的基督徒认为“偶像”只是象征取代上帝的人事物。然而在西非，“偶像”就是代表神明的雕像，人们要献祭来取悦它。所以对于西非的初信者来说，接受洗礼和焚烧偶像，是对独一真神表达忠心的勇敢表现。

As an eight-year-old, King Josiah came to power in an idol-worshiping, sex-obsessed culture. His father and grandfather had been two of the worst kings in all of Judah’s sordid history. Then the high priest discovered the book of the law. When the young king heard its words, he took them to heart (2 Kings 22:8–13). Josiah destroyed the pagan altars, burned the vile items dedicated to the goddess Asherah, and stopped the ritual prostitution (ch. 23). In place of these practices, he celebrated the Passover (23:21–23).

当约西亚八岁登基做王时，犹大国充斥着偶像崇拜、沉迷情色的文化。他的父亲和祖父，更是犹大历史黑暗时代中最糟糕的君主。后来大祭司发现了律法书，这位少年君王听见上帝的话，就将这些话放在心上（列王纪下22章8-13节）。约西亚毁坏了异教的祭坛、焚烧所有献给异教女神亚舍拉的物品、停止庙妓制度（23章），而且还遵守逾越节，取代这些仪式（23章21-23节）。

Whenever we look for answers apart from God—consciously or subconsciously—we pursue a false god. It would be wise to ask ourselves: What idols, literal or figurative, do we need to throw on the fire?

每当我们有意或无意地撇开上帝，寻求其他的解决方式，就是在寻求假神。或许我们应该扪心自问：不论是有形或无形的偶像，哪个是我们生命中最需要丢进火堆里的呢？

Lord, forgive us for those things we turn to that 

show our hearts are not focused on You.

 Show us what we need to give up, and replace it 

with the presence of Your Holy Spirit.

亲爱的主，求祢赦免我们，
因我们的心常偏离祢，转向其他事物。
求祢向我们显明应当抛弃的事物，并以圣灵充满我们。

2 Kings 23:12-14New International Version (NIV)

12 He pulled down the altars the kings of Judah had erected on the roofnear the upper room of Ahaz, and the altars Manasseh had built in the two courts of the temple of the Lord. He removed them from there, smashed them to pieces and threw the rubble into the Kidron Valley.13 The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption—the ones Solomonking of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the people of Ammon. 14 Josiah smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles and covered the sites with human bones.

列王纪下 23:12-14Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Simplified) (CUVMPS)

12 犹大列王在亚哈斯楼顶上所筑的坛和玛拿西在耶和华殿两院中所筑的坛，王都拆毁，打碎了，就把灰倒在汲沦溪中。 13 从前以色列王所罗门在耶路撒冷前、邪僻山右边，为西顿人可憎的神亚斯她录、摩押人可憎的神基抹、亚扪人可憎的神米勒公所筑的丘坛，王都污秽了。 14 又打碎柱像，砍下木偶，将人的骨头充满了那地方。

整理：于姊妹