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STUDY ARTICLES:

October 24-30 PAGE 3

Jehovah Is My Share

SONGS TO BE USED: 38, 56

October 31November 6 PAGE 9

Are You Letting Jehovah

Be Your Share?


November 7-13 PAGE 15

Run the Race With Endurance



Run That You May Attain the Prize



Are You Known by Jehovah?


34567SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

S I M P L IF I E D E N G L IS H E D I T IO N


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The Watchtower (ISSN 0043-1087) is published semimonthly by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.; M. H. Larson, President; G. F. Simonis,

Secretary-Treasurer; 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, NY 11201-2483, and by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada, PO Box 4100, Georgetown, ON

L7G 4Y4. Periodicals Postage Paid at Brooklyn, NY, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Watchtower, 1000 Red Mills Road,

Wallkill, NY 12589-3299. 5 2011 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved. Printed in Canada.

Vol. 132, No. 18 Semimonthly ENGLISH

345676 SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

The purpose of this magazine, The Watchtower, is to honor Jehovah God, the SupremeRuler of the universe. Just as watchtowers in ancient times enabled a person to

observe developments from afar, so this magazine shows us the significance of worldevents in the light of Bible prophecies. It comforts people with the good news thatGods Kingdom, which is a real government in heaven, will soon bring an end toall wickedness and transform the earth into a paradise. It promotes faith in JesusChrist, who died so that we might gain everlasting life and who is now ruling asKing of Gods Kingdom. This magazine has been published by Jehovahs Witnessescontinuously since 1879 and is nonpolitical. It adheres to the Bible as its authority.

This publication is not for sale.It is provided as part of a worldwideBible educational work supportedby voluntary donations.

Unless otherwise indicated,Scripture quotations are fromthe modern-language New WorldTranslation of the Holy ScripturesWith References.

Some Words Explained arecontextual explanations of wordsused within an article.

PURPOSE OF STUDY ARTICLES

STUDY ARTICLES 1, 2 PAGES 3-14

When Jehovah told the Levites: I am your share, what did he

mean? (Numbers 18:20) Were the Levites the only ones who

had Jehovah as their share? Can we today have Jehovah as

our share? If we can, how? These two study articles will

answer these questions.

STUDY ARTICLES 3, 4 PAGES 15-26

These articles talk about the race that Christians run.

The prize is everlasting life. What examples can encourage

us to continue running in this race? What could stop us fromrunning? And what will help us to finish the race and win the

prize?

STUDY ARTICLE 5 PAGES 27-32

Jehovahs faithful servants are known and approved by

him. What qualities can help us to continue to be his friends?

This article will help each of us to think about his own

friendship with God.


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3

AFTER the Israelites had conqueredmuch of the Promised Land, Josh-ua, High Priest Eleazar, and the leadersof the tribes divided the land into por-tions, or parts. These portions were thetribes share of the land. (Numbers 34:13-29) Jehovah gave all the tribes a share

of the land, but the Levites did not geta share. (Joshua 14:1-5) Why did the Le-vites not receive a territory, or share, ofthe Promised Land? Were they forgot-ten?

2 The answer is in what Jehovah toldthe Levites. Jehovah promised not toabandon them. He said: I am yourshare and your inheritance in the midstof the sons of Israel. (Numbers 18:20)

When Jehovah said: I am your share,he made a wonderful promise to the Le- vites. How would you feel if Jehovahsaid that to you? At first, you might ask,Would Jehovah promise that to some-one like me? You might also ask, CanJehovah really be the share of any im-perfect Christian today? These are im-portant questions because they involveyou and the people you love. So we willlook at what it means for someone tohave Jehovah as his share. That will helpus understand how Jehovah can be theshare of Christians today. More specif-ically, we will understand how he can be

1, 2. (a) What was the situation of the Le-vites when Jehovah gave a share of the land toall the other tribes of Israel? (b) What was Je-hovahs promise to the Levites?

your share, whether youhope to live in heaven orin a paradise on earth.

JEHOVAH TOOK CARE

OF THE LEVITES

3 Before Jehovah gavethe Law to Israel, fami-

ly heads served as priestsfor their own families. But when Jehovah gave the Law to Israel,he chose some from the tribe of Levi toserve as priests and assistants. How didthis happen? Jehovah said that when hedestroyed the firstborn sons of the Egyp-tians, he sanctified for himself everyfirstborn son of the Israelites. Thismeans that they belonged to him for his

service. But then Jehovah decided thatin place of all the firstborn among thesons of Israel, he wanted to use the Le-vites for his service. Because the othertribes of Israel had more firstborn sonsthan there were Levites, Jehovah toldthe other Israelites to pay a price in ex-change for those who were in excess ofthe Levites. (Numbers 3:11-13, 41, 46,47) So the Levites could now start their

service to the God of Israel.4 When Jehovah chose the Levitesfor his service, how did he becometheir share? Instead of giving them

3. How did it happen that God chose the Le-vites for his service?4, 5. (a) What did it mean for the Levites tohave God as their share? (b) How did God takecare of the Levites?

Jehovah Is My ShareTHEME

SCRIPTURE

I am your share and your

inheritance in the midst of

the sons of Israel.

NUMBERS 18:20.


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THE WATCHTOWER SEPTEMBER 15, 20114

a land inheritance, Jeho-vah gave them somethingprecious, a very impor-

tant work to do. Thepriesthood of Jehovahwas their inheritance, orshare. (Joshua 18:7) Num-bers chapter 18 helps usto understand that they would still have the ma-terial things that theyneeded. (Read Numbers18:19, 21, 24.) The Levites

got every tenth part in Is-rael as an inheritance in return for theirservice. This means that they receiveda tithe, or one tenth, of what the land

produced and of the increase of the do-mestic animals. Then the Levites con-tributed a tenth part of what they re-

ceived, of the very best of it, for theneeds of the priests.1 (See footnote.)(Numbers 18:25-29) The priests also re-ceived all the holy contributions thatthe sons of Israel brought to God at hisplace of worship. So the priests couldtrust Jehovah to take care of their needs.

5 Some believe that the Israelites gavea second tithe. Israelite families used itfor food, drink, and enjoyment during

the holy conventions each year. (Deu-1 To learn more about how Jehovah took careof the needs of the priests, see Insight on theScriptures, Volume 2, page 684.

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

Material things:Things such as money,

food, and clothes

Sanctuary:

A place of worship

Assignment of work:

A specific work some-

one gives you to do

How was

Jehovah the

share of the

priests and

Levites?


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THE WATCHTOWER SEPTEMBER 15, 2011 5

teronomy 14:22-27) But there was anoth-er use for this tithe. The Israelites cele-brated a Sabbath year every seven years.

At the end of every third and sixth yearof this period of seven years, the Isra-elites used this tithe to help the poorand also the Levites. Why were the Le-vites included in this law? Because theyhad no share or inheritance in Israel.Deuteronomy 14:28, 29.

6 If the Levites had no share of theland, where did they live? God took careof them. He gave the Levites 48 cities

along with the fields around these cit-ies. These cities included the six citiesof refuge. (Numbers 35:6-8) So the Le-vites had a place to live when they werenot serving at the sanctuary of God. Je-hovah took very good care of the needs

of those who gave themselves to his ser-vice. So how could the Levites show that Jehovah was their share? By trustingthat Jehovah had the power to give themwhat they needed and that he wantedto take care of them.

7 There was no punishment in theLaw for an Israelite who did not givethe tithe. But when the people did notobey Jehovahs law about the tithe, thepriests and Levites suffered. That hap-

6. Even though the tribe of Levi did not have ashare of the land, where did they live?

7. What did the Levites need to have for Jeho-vah to be their share?

pened in the time of Nehemiah. As aresult, the Levites had to work in thefields and could not do their work as

ministers. (Read Nehemiah 13:10.) TheLevites could have what they neededto sustain them only when the nationobeyed Jehovahs Law. And the priestsand Levites needed faith in Jehovah andin the ways that Jehovah used to takecare of their needs.

INDIVIDUAL LEVITES WHO

HAD JEHOVAH AS THEIR SHARE

8 The Levites as a tribe had Jehovah

as their share. But some individual Le- vites also used the words Jehovah ismy share when they spoke about theirown friendship with God and their trustin him. (Lamentations 3:24) For exam-ple, the Bible talks about a Levite sing-er and composer who spoke of Jehovahas his share. We will call him Asaph,though he could have been a memberof the family of Asaph, the main singer

from the Levites in the time of King Da-vid. (1 Chronicles 6:31-43) We read inPsalm 73 that this Asaph became jeal-ous of the wicked and could not under-stand why they seemed to have a goodlife. He even said: Surely it is in vainthat I have cleansed my heart and thatI wash my hands in innocence itself. Itseems that Asaph forgot for a while thatthe work Jehovah had given him to dowas very special. He forgot that Jehovahwas his share. He was troubled until heproceeded to come into the grand sanc-tuary of God.Psalm 73:2, 3, 12, 13, 17.

9 At the sanctuary, Asaph began tochange his way of thinking. Maybe

8. What troubled the Levite Asaph?9, 10. Why could Asaph say that God was hisshare to time indefinite?

Jehovah

cared for the

needs of the Levites


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something like that has happened toyou. Maybe you too forgot for a whilehow special your service to Jehovah is

and began to think about the materi-al things you could have. But by study-ing the Bible and by going to Christianmeetings, you again started to think theway Jehovah thinks. Asaph understoodwhat would finally happen to the wick-ed. He thought about the good thingsthat he had as one of Gods servants. Hesaid that Jehovah would hold his righthand and lead him. And he could say

to Jehovah: Besides you I do have noother delight on the earth. (Psalm 73:23, 25) Then he said that Jehovah was

his share. (Read Psalm 73:26.) Asaphwrote: My organism and my heart havefailed. But he continued, saying that

God was his share to time indefinite.He knew that Jehovah would rememberhim as a friend forever and would notforget his faithful service. (Ecclesiastes7:1) This must have been very comfort-ing to Asaph. He sang: As for me, thedrawing near to God is good for me.In the Sovereign Lord Jehovah I haveplaced my refuge.Psalm 73:28.

10 So when Asaph said that God was

his share, he was not talking aboutjust the material things he received asa Levite. He was mainly talking about

What helped

Asaph to

continue to

have Jehovah

as his share?


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his service to Jehovah and the friend-ship that he had with the Most High.(James 2:21-23) To continue to be Jeho-

vahs friend, Asaph had to keep his faithin Jehovah and trust in him. He had tobe sure that Jehovah would reward himwith a happy future if he obeyed Jeho-vah. You can be sure that Jehovah willdo the same for you.

11 Another Levite who said that Jeho-vah was his share was the prophet Jer-emiah. Let us talk about what he meant when he said that. He lived in Ana-

thoth, a Levite city near Jerusalem. (Jer-emiah 1:1) There was a time when Jere-miah too asked Jehovah why the wickedhad a good life but those who didwhat was right suffered. (Jeremiah 12:1)When he saw what was happening inJerusalem and Judah, he made a com-plaint to Jehovah. Jeremiah knew thatJehovah is righteous. Jehovah answered Jeremiahs question by telling him to

preach a message of destruction, andthen Jehovah made this prophecy cometrue. Those who obeyed Jehovah sur-vived, but the wicked did not pay atten-tion to the warning and died.Jeremi-ah 21:9.

12 Later, when Jeremiah looked at hishomeland and saw how empty and ru-ined it was, he felt as if he were walk-ing in darkness. It was as if Jehovah

had made him sit like men dead for along time. (Lamentations 1:1, 16; 3:6)Jeremiah had told the Israelites to return

11. What question did Jeremiah ask Jehovah?How did Jehovah answer his question?

12, 13. (a) What made Jeremiah say: Jeho-vah is my share? What attitude did he show?(b) Why did all the tribes of Israel need to havethe same waiting attitude as Jeremiah?

to their heavenly Father, but they hadbecome so bad that Jehovah had to de-stroy Jerusalem and Judah. That made

Jeremiah feel hurt, even though he haddone what was right. Even in that time

of sadness, Jeremiah said: We have notcome to our finish. He said about Je-hovahs mercies: They are new eachmorning.It was then that Jeremiah saidthe words: Jehovah is my share. Hestill had something very special. It washis work as Jehovahs prophet.ReadLamentations 3:22-24.

13 For 70 years, the homeland of theIsraelites would be empty and ruined.(Jeremiah 25:11) But Jeremiahs wordsJehovah is my share showed that hetrusted in Jehovah. And his trust in Godgave him reason to show a waiting at-titude, that is, to wait patiently for Je-hovah to act. All the tribes of Israel hadlost their inheritance, so they neededto show the same attitude as Jeremiah.Jehovah was their only hope. After 70years, they returned to their homelandand had the opportunity of serving Je-

hovah there.2 Chronicles 36:20-23.

OTHERS COULD HAVE

JEHOVAH AS THEIR SHARE

14 Both Asaph and Jeremiah were ofthe tribe of Levi, but it was not only the

14, 15. Other than the Levites, who else hadJehovah as his share? Why?

Asaph and Jeremiah

trusted that Jehovah

would act


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Levites who could beprivileged to serve Jeho-vah. Young David, the fu-

ture king of Israel, calledGod his share in the landof the living ones. (ReadPsalm 142:1, 5.) WhenDavid wrote this psalm,he was not in a palace oreven in a house. He washiding from his enemiesin a cave. At least twotimes, David had to hide

in caves. One time it wasnear Adullam and theother time it was in thewilderness of En-gedi. It

is possible that he wrote Psalm 142 inone of those caves.

15 If David wrote this psalm in acave, it is because he was hiding fromKing Saul. Saul wanted to kill David, soDavid escaped to a cave that was hardto get to. (1 Samuel 22:1, 4) In that iso-lated place, David probably felt that hehad no friend to protect him. (Psalm142:4) That was when David asked Godfor help.

16 Before David wrote Psalm 142, hemight have heard about what had hap-pened to High Priest Ahimelech. With-out knowing that David was escapingfrom Saul, Ahimelech had helped Da-vid. Jealous King Saul ordered the death

of Ahimelech and his family. (1 Sam-uel 22:11, 18, 19) David felt responsi-ble for their deaths. It was as if hehad killed the priest who had helpedhim. If you had been in Davids situa-

16, 17. (a) Why could David have felt that hehad no one to help him? (b) Whom could Da-

vid ask for help?

tion, would you have felt responsible?To make things even more difficult, Da-vid had no rest because Saul continued

to chase him.17 Soon after what happened to Ahim-

elech, the prophet Samuel died. He wasthe one who had anointed David to bethe future king. (1 Samuel 25:1) Thatcould have made David feel alone, as ifhe had no one to help him. But he knew

that Jehovah would help him. He didnot have the same special work that theLevites had, but he had been anointedto do another kind of special service. Hewas going to become the king of Godspeople. (1 Samuel 16:1, 13) So Davidtalked to Jehovah about all his thoughts

and feelings and continued to trust in Je-hovah. You too can have Jehovah as yourshare. You can trust in him while youcontinue to do your best in his service.

18 For the servants of Jehovah whom we have talked about in this article, what did it mean to have Jehovah astheir share? It meant that they all re-ceived an assignment of work in hisservice. They also trusted that Jehovah would take care of them. The Levitesand those of other tribes, such as Da-vid, could have God as their share. Howcan we be like them and have Jehovahas our share? We will talk about that inour next article.

18. How did the ones we talked about in thisarticle show that they had Jehovah as theirshare?

David trusted

in God

WHAT IS

YOUR ANSWER?

In what way wasJehovah the share

of the Levites?

What did Asaph,

Jeremiah, and David

do that shows that

Jehovah was their

share?

What quality do you

need to have God as

your share?


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9

WHEN you read the name Israelin the Bible, what do you thinkof? Do you think of Isaacs son Jacob,

who was later named Israel? Or do youthink of his descendants, the ancientnation of Israel? The Bible also talksabout spiritual Israel, or the Israel of

God. They are the 144,000, who areanointed with holy spirit to becomekings and priests in heaven. (Galatians6:16; Revelation 7:4; 21:12) But there isanother special use of the name Isra-el. We read about it at Matthew 19:28.

2 Jesus said: In the re-creation,when the Son of man sits down uponhis glorious throne, you who have fol-lowed me will also yourselves sit upon

twelve thrones, judging the twelvetribes of Israel. In this verse, thetwelve tribes of Israel are those who

will live forever in Paradise on earth.The 144,000 will serve as judges andpriests for them.

3 Like the priests and Levites in thepast, the anointed today think of theirservice to Jehovah as very precious.(Numbers 18:20) The anointed do not

expect to get some territory or placeon earth. Instead, Revelation 4:10, 11shows that they will continue their ser-

1, 2. (a) Who are the Israel of God whomwe read about at Galatians 6:16? (b) Who arethe twelve tribes of Israel whom we readabout at Matthew 19:28?3, 4. What fine example have faithful anoint-ed ones set?

vice to Jehovah in heav-en, where they will bekings and priests with

Jesus Christ.Ezekiel44:28.

4 While on earth, theanointed live in a way

that shows that Jehovahis their share. Their ser-

vice to God is the mostimportant thing to them.The apostle Peter said: Do your ut-most to make the calling and choosingof you sure for yourselves. (2 Peter 1:10) Those anointed do this by puttingfaith in Christs ransom sacrifice andfollowing him continually. They have

different abilities and different situa-tions in life, but they do not use theirlimitations as an excuse to do little inGods service. Just the opposite, theyput Gods service first in their livesand do all they can. Clearly, they arean example for those who hope to liveon earth.

5 Jesus said that every Christian,whether he hopes to live in heaven or

on earth, must disown himself andpick up his torture stake and followhim continually. (Matthew 16:24) Mil-lions of people who hope to live in Par-adise on earth are worshipping Godand following Christ in that way. They

5. How can all Christians have Jehovah astheir share? Why may that be difficult?

Are You Letting

Jehovah Be Your Share?THEME

SCRIPTURE

If anyone wants to

come after me, let him

disown himself and pick

up his torture stake and

continually follow me.

MATTHEW 16:24.


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are not content to do justa little in Gods serviceif they know that they

can do more. Many havemade their life simplerand have become regularpioneers. Others makethe effort to pioneersome months each year.Still others, not able topioneer, work hard in

the ministry. They are like Mary, whopoured perfumed oil on Jesus. Jesus

said: She did a fine deed toward me.. . . She did what she could. (Mark 14:6-8) We live in a world controlled bySatan, so it may be difficult to do all

we can. We need to work hard and putour trust in Jehovah. We will now lookat four ways in which we can do that.

SEEK FIRST

GODS KINGDOM

6Jesus taught his followers to seekfirst the Kingdom and Gods righ-teousness. People in the world usuallyseek what is best for themselves. TheBible speaks of them as men of thissystem of things, whose share is in thislife. (Read Psalm 17:1, 13-15.) Thesepeople do not care about Jehovah.Many care only about having a com-fortable life, raising a family, and leav-

ing an inheritance for their children.Their share is in this life only. David

was different. He wanted to have agood name with Jehovah. His son Sol-omon later said that we should all do

6. (a) How do people in the world show thattheir share is in this life only? (b) Why is it bet-ter to imitate David?

the same. (Ecclesiastes 7:1, footnote.) Just like Asaph, David knew that be-ing a friend of Jehovah was the most

important thing in life. It made Davidhappy. In our time, many Christianshave shown that their service to Jeho-

vah is more important to them thantheir secular work. They show that Je-hovah is their share.

7 Jean-Claude, in the Central Afri-can Republic, is a married elder withthree children. It is hard to find a jobin that land, and most people will do

almost anything to keep their job. Oneday, the production manager told Jean-Claude to begin working nights. Work

would start at 6:30 in the evening, sev-en days a week. Jean-Claude told himthat he not only had to care for the ma-terial needs of his family but also hadto help them have a good relationship

with God. He also said that he had

to help the congregation. The man-ager told him: If you are fortunate

enough to have a job, you must forgetall other things, including your wife,

your children, and your problems. Youmust devote your life to nothing but

your work. Make your choice: your re-ligion or your work. What would you

7. What blessing did one brother receive forputting the Kingdom first?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

Secular work:A job or employment

Literal:

Something that you

can see and touch

is literal

Jehovah becomesour share when

we put his service

first in our life


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trusted in God and looked for a job.Now when they think about that time,Andrew and his family can say that

these words are true: The hand of Je-hovah has not become too short. (Isa-iah 59:1) Because they kept their lifesimple, Andrew and his wife have

even been able to pioneer. He says thatat times they have been anxious aboutmoney, a place to live, their health,and just the fact that they are gettingolder. But Jehovah has always helpedthem. They can say without any doubtthat serving Jehovah is rewarding andthat it is the greatest honor a hu-man can have.1 (See footnote.)Eccle-siastes 12:13.

12 Jesus told his disciples: If youhave faith the size of a mustard grain,

you will say to this mountain, Transferfrom here to there, and it will trans-fer, and nothing will be impossible for

you. (Matthew 17:20) Would you stillseek first Gods righteousness if thatwould cause you difficulties? If you arenot sure whether you could do that,

1 See Awake! November 2009, pages 12-14.

12. What quality do we need to seek firstGods righteousness? Give examples from thearea where you live.

speak with others in the congregation.Their experiences about how Jehovahhelped them will certainly make your

faith stronger.

BE THANKFUL FOR

JEHOVAHS PROVISIONS

13 If you treasure serving Jehovah,you can be sure that he will give youeverything you need, just as he did forthe Levites. Think about David. Eventhough he was hiding in a cave, he

was sure that God would help him.

We too can trust in Jehovah even whenit seems that no one can help us. Re-member that when Asaph came intothe grand sanctuary of God, he wasbetter able to understand what trou-bled him. (Psalm 73:17) In the same

way, we must trust in Jehovah to giveus what we need to keep our friend-ship with him. This will show that we

value our service to Jehovah no matter

what our situation may be. We will letJehovah be our share.14 Do you trust in Jehovah when

he helps us to understand the deepthings of God that are in the Bi-ble? (1 Corinthians 2:10-13) The apos-tle Peter was an excellent example ofsomeone who did that. Jesus told the

Jews: Unless you eat the flesh ofthe Son of man and drink his blood,

you have no life in yourselves. Manydisciples thought that Jesus was talk-ing about literal flesh and blood. Theysaid: This speech is shocking; who

13. When we work hard in serving Jehovah,what trust must we have?14, 15. What should we do when there isa change in the way we understand certainscriptures? Why?

Do you trust in

Jehovah when there

is a change in the

way we understanda Bible truth?


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can listen to it? They went off to thethings behind. But Peter said: Lord,

whom shall we go away to? You havesayings of everlasting life.John 6:53,60, 66, 68.

15 Peter did not completely under-stand Jesus words. But he trusted that

Jehovah was using Jesus to help peo-ple understand the truth. When thereis a change in the way we understand

a Bible truth today, do you try to un-derstand the reasons for the change?

(Proverbs 4:18) The Beroeans in thefirst century received the word withthe greatest eagerness of mind, care-fully examining the Scriptures daily.(Acts 17:11) If you follow their exam-ple, you will value your service to Godeven more. You will be truly grateful tohave Jehovah as your share.

Jeremiahs

example

encourages

Gods people


14/32


MARRY ONLY

IN THE LORD

16 A not he r way in

which Christians keepGods purposes in mindis by obeying the Biblescommand to marry onlyin the Lord. (1 Corinthi-ans 7:39) Many decide tostay single rather than todisobey this command.God takes good care ofthose who do that. What

did David do when hefelt lonely and as if hehad no one to help him?He asked Jehovah forhelp. David said: Beforehim I kept pouring outmy concern; before him

I continued to tell about my own dis-tress, when my spirit fainted away

within me. (Psalm 142:1-3) Jeremiah

served God faithfully for many years asa single person. He too may have feltlonely. You can study his example inchapter 8 of the book Gods Word forUs Through Jeremiah.

17 A sister in the United States saidthat she has never made the decisionto stay single. She wants to get mar-ried when she meets the right person.Her mother, who is not a Witness, didnot care whom her daughter married.She just really wanted her to get mar-ried. The sister asked her mother ifshe wanted to be responsible for a badmarriage. But when the mother saw

16. How can single Christians let God be theirshare, according to 1 Corinthians 7:39?17. What does one single sister do when shefeels lonely?

that her daughter had a good job, wastaking care of herself, and was happy,she stopped talking so much about it.

This sister feels lonely sometimes. Shesays: I try to make Jehovah my con-fidence. He never forsakes me. Whathas helped her to trust in Jehovah? Sheanswers: Prayer helps me sense thatGod is real and that I am never alone.The Most High of the universe is lis-tening, so how could I not feel digni-fied and joyful? She trusts what theBible says: There is more happiness

in giving than there is in receiving. So

she tries to help others without expect-ing anything in return. She continues:When I am thinking, What can I doto help this person? I have joy. (Acts20:35) She has Jehovah as her share,and she is happy in his service.

18 No matter what your situation is,you can let God be your share. If youdo, you can be among his happy peo-ple. (2 Corinthians 6:16, 17) You can

then become Jehovahs share, as oth-er servants of God did in the past.(Read Deuteronomy 32:9, 10.) Just asIsrael became Gods share among thenations, he can choose you to be hisshare and lovingly care for you.Psalm17:8.

18. How can you become Jehovahs share?

We obey the

Bibles command

to marry only

in the Lord

WHAT IS YOUR

ANSWER?

How can you showthat you trust in

Jehovah by seeking

first Gods Kingdom

and his righteousness?

How can you show

that you are grateful

for what Jehovah

gives you?

How can you prove

that you trustin God by obeying

his command

to marry only

in the Lord?


15/32

15

EACH year many people aroundthe world run in marathon races.Some who run in these races are verygood runners, and they want to win.But most of the other runners knowthat they cannot win the race. The

most important thing to them is just to

finish the race.2 The Bible also talks about a race.

It explains that the life of true Chris-tians is like a race that has a prize.Those who make the effort to live likeChristians and to remain loyal to Jeho-

vah are like runners who want to finishthe race. The apostle Paul wrote aboutthis type of race in his first letter to

the Christians in ancient Corinth. He

wrote: Do you not know that the run-ners in a race all run, but only one re-ceives the prize? Run in such a waythat you may attain it.1 Corinthians9:24.

1, 2. What does the Bible say is similar to thelife of true Christians?

3 So when Paul saidthat only one receivesthe prize, did he meanthat only one Christian

would receive the prizeof life? No. He was talk-ing about the reason why

the runners in races ran.The Christians in Corinth knew thatall the runners in a race were deter-mined to win, even though only onerunner received the prize. That is whyall runners trained very well and ran inthe best way they could. They all madegreat efforts to win. Paul wanted hisbrothers to make every effort to remainloyal to Jehovah and finish the race.All Christians who do this can win theprize of everlasting life.

4 Those words are encouraging to us,but they also make us think serious-ly about how we are living. If we livein a way that pleases Jehovah, we havea wonderful hope of living forever ei-ther in heaven or in Paradise on earth.But life as a Christian is like runninga very long race on a road with manydangers. There are many things thatcould slow us down in Jehovahs ser-

vice or even stop us from serving Je-hovah. (Matthew 7:13, 14) This hasalready happened to some servants

3. What did Paul mean when he said that onlyone receives the prize?

4. What do we need to know about the racethat Christians run?

Run the Race With EnduranceTHEME

SCRIPTURE

Let us run with endurance

the race that is set before

us.HEBREWS 12:1.

Christians who

remain loyal

to Jehovah are

like runners who

finish a race


16/32


of Jehovah. What trapsand dangers are there inthe race for life? How can

you avoid them? Whatcan you do to finish and

win the race?

TO WIN

WE MUST ENDURE

5 When Paul wrote tothe Hebrew Christiansin Jerusalem and Ju-de a, he a ga in ta lked

about runners in a race.(Read Hebrews 12:1.)He explained why Chris-tians should continue torun their race and also

what they must do to fin-ish the race. First we will

talk about why Paul wrote this letterto the Hebrews and what he wantedthem to do. Then we will talk about

what we can learn from what he wroteto them.

6 The Christians in the first centu-ry lived during a very difficult time.This was especially true of the HebrewChristians in Jerusalem and Judea be-cause the Jewish religious leaders triedto force people to obey them. Earli-er, they had even made people believethat Jesus Christ was against the gov-ernment and was a criminal who de-

served to die. These religious leadershad killed Jesus Christ, and now they

wanted to stop those who were preach-ing about him. In the book of Acts, wecan read what happened after Pente-

5. What did Paul explain at Hebrews 12:1?6. What did the religious leaders try to do toChristians?

cost of the year 33. These leaders at-tacked the Christians many times totry to stop them from preaching. So

life was very difficult for faithful Chris-tians.Acts 4:1-3; 5:17, 18; 6:8-12; 7:59;8:1, 3.

7 Another reason why those Chris-tians lived in a very difficult time wasthat the destruction of Jerusalem wasnear. Jesus had warned them that Je-rusalem was going to be destroyed. Hetold them what would happen just be-fore this destruction, and he also told

them exactly what they should do tostay alive. (Read Luke 21:20-22.) Jesus

warned them: Pay attention to your-selves that your hearts never become

weighed down with overeating andheavy drinking and anxieties of life,and suddenly that day be instantlyupon you.Luke 21:34.

8 Paul wrote to the Hebrew Chris-tians nearly 30 years after Jesus said

those words. What happened to theseChristians during those 30 years? Be-cause of problems or because they be-came worried about their daily needs,some did not continue to learn about

Jehovah and keep their friendship withhim strong. (Hebrews 5:11-14) SomeChristians probably thought that it

would be easier to live like the Jewsaround them. They might have thought

that this was not wrong because theJews still believed in God and obeyedmost of the Law of Moses. Also, there

were some people in the congregations

7. What made the time that those Christianslived in very difficult?

8. What might have caused some Christiansto slow down in serving Jehovah or even stop?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

Cloud of witnesses:The many servants

of God in the past

who showed faith.

Paul said that they

were a large cloud.

There were so many

that they could not

be counted

Endurance:

When someone has

endurance, he re-

mains loyal to God

even in difficult

situations


17/32


who were trying to force others to obeythe Law of Moses and Jewish tradi-tions. Some Christians believed them,

and others listened to them becausethey were afraid. What did Paul sayto encourage his Christian brothers tocontinue living like Christians and toremain loyal to Jehovah?

9Jehovah inspired Paul to write thisletter of encouragement to the HebrewChristians. In chapter 10, he first ex-plained to them that the Law of Moses

was a shadow of the good things to

come and that only through the sacri-fice of Jesus could their sins be forgiv-en. At the end of chapter 10, Paul toldthem that to benefit from this sacrifice,they needed endurance. He said: Youhave need of endurance, in order that,after you have done the will of God,

you may receive the fulfillment of thepromise. For yet a very little while,and he who is coming will arrive and

will not delay.Hebrews 10:1, 36, 37.10 In Hebrews chapter 11, Paul ex-

plained what true faith in God is. Hedid so by writing about the things thatpeople with true faith did. In chap-ter 12, he again encouraged Christiansto endure and told them to run withendurance the race that was beforethem. Why did he talk about faith be-fore he again talked about endurance?Because he wanted those Christians toknow that to show true faith in Jeho-

vah, they needed endurance and cour-

9, 10. (a) At the end of Hebrews chapter 10,what did Paul say the Hebrew Christiansneeded to do? (b) Why did Paul write aboutthe acts of faith of servants of Jehovah in thepast?

age. He mentioned many men andwomen who in the past had remainedloyal to Jehovah even in very dif-

ficult situations. Their example wouldhelp the Hebrew Christians to endurein difficult situations. After mention-ing the acts of faith of all these ser-

vants of Jehovah, Paul told the HebrewChristians: Because we have so great acloud of witnesses surrounding us, letus also put off every weight and the sinthat easily entangles us, and let us run

with endurance the race that is set be-

fore us.Hebrews 12:1.

A CLOUD OF WITNESSES

11 Paul said that the servants of Je-hovah who lived before the Christiantime were a great cloud of witnessessurrounding us. They had remainedloyal to Jehovah to the end of theirlives, and their example shows that it

is possible for Christians to remain loy-

al to Jehovah even in very difficult sit-uations. The cloud of witnesses werelike experienced runners who had fin-ished their race. Their example wouldencourage others to continue to run

11. When we think of the example of thegreat cloud of witnesses, what should we re-member?

Noah had faithin what Jehovah

promised to do and

endured in the work

that he had to do


18/32


the race. If we were in a race and knewthat very good runners were watch-ing us and encouraging us to continue

running, then we would do our best tofinish the race. So the Hebrew Chris-tians needed to think about the exam-ple of those servants of Jehovah in thepast. Their example could give themcourage and remind them that it waspossible for them to run with endur-ance and finish their race. And it ispossible for us too.

12 We can learn from the faith of thepeople that Paul talked about becausemany of them were in situations likeours. For example, Noah lived just be-fore Jehovah destroyed the world ofthat time in a flood. And we are liv-ing just before Jehovah destroys Sa-tans world. Jehovah asked Abrahamand Sarah to leave their home. Hepromised to make from them a nation

to serve him, and they waited for himto fulfill that promise. Jehovah asks usto stop living for ourselves and to livefor him. He promises us that if we dothat, he will be our friend and willreward us. Moses walked a long waythrough a dangerous land to go to thePromised Land. We live in a wicked

world and wait for the new world thatJehovah has promised us. It is impor-

tant for us to think about the life ofthese faithful people. We can imitatethe things they did to please Jehovahand learn from the things that did notplease him.Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthi-ans 10:11.

12. What can we learn from the faith of thepeople Paul talked about?

WHAT HELPED THEM TO

FINISH THE RACE?

13 What helped these servants of Je-

hovah to endure in the race and finishit? Note what Paul wrote about Noah.(Read Hebrews 11:7.) Noah had nev-er seen a flood that destroyed all peo-ple and animals. (Genesis 6:17) A floodhad never happened before. But Noahdid not think that a flood was impos-sible. Why? Because he had faith that

Jehovah always does what he says. SoNoah did not think that it was too dif-ficult to obey Jehovah. He did exact-ly what Jehovah commanded him. TheBible says: He did just so. (Gene-sis 6:22) Noah had many things to do.He needed to build the ark, gather theanimals, store food for his family andfor the animals, warn the people aboutthe Flood, and help his family to havestrong faith in Jehovah. It was not al-

ways easy for Noah to do everything

that Jehovah commanded him. But hehad faith in Jehovah, so he endured inthe work that he had to do. And Jeho-

vah saved him and his family and gavethem many blessings.

13. Why was Noahs situation difficult? Whathelped him to do everything that Jehovah toldhim to do?

Abraham and Sarah

had strong faith

in God and obeyed

him even in difficult

situations


19/32

14 Paul mentioned Abraham and Sa-rah as part of the cloud of witness-es surrounding us. Their life changed

when God told them to leave theirhome in Ur. They did not know what

would happen to them. But they hadstrong faith in Jehovah and obeyedhim even in difficult situations. TheBible calls Abraham the father of allthose having faith because he made

14. In what situations did Abraham and Sarahshow faith in God? What can we learn fromtheir example?

many sacrifices for Jehovah. (Romans4:11) The Hebrew Christians alreadyknew about the life of Abraham andhis family, so Paul mentioned onlysome of their acts of faith. But these

were enough to show how strong theirfaith was. Paul said about them: Infaith all these died, although they didnot get the fulfillment of the promis-es, but they saw them afar off and

welcomed them and publicly declaredthat they were strangers and tempo-rary residents in the land. (Hebrews

Abraham and

Sarah were

willing to leave

behind the

comforts of Ur



20/32


11:13) Their faith in Godand their friendship withhim helped them to en-

dure in the race.15 Moses is another

servant of Jehovah whois part of the cloud of

witnesses. Moses lefthis home just as Abra-ham did. Moses left theglory and the riches ofthe kings palace. Hechose to be ill-treated

with the people of God.Why did he choose todo this? Paul answered:He looked intently to-

ward the payment of thereward. Paul also saidabout Moses: He con-

tinued steadfast as seeing the One whois invisible. (Read Hebrews 11:24-27.)Moses knew that there was some-

thing more important than the tempo-rary enjoyment of sin. God was realto him, and he knew that all of Godspromises would come true. That is

what helped him to act with greatcourage and to endure in difficult situ-ations. And it helped him to work hardto lead the Israelites out of Egypt to thePromised Land.

16 Abraham and Moses died before

Gods promises to them came true. Just before the Israelites enteredthe Promised Land, God told Moses:From a distance you will see the land,

15. Why did Moses choose to live the way hedid?16. How do we know that Moses did not giveup because he could not enter the PromisedLand?

but you will not go there into the landthat I am giving to the sons of Israel.Because they acted improperly at the

waters of Meribah, Moses and Aarondid not enter the Promised Land. Theyallowed the rebellious people to makethem very angry, so they acted in a waythat did not honor God. (Deuterono-my 32:51, 52) Moses did not give upbecause he could not enter the Prom-ised Land. He did not think that whatGod decided was unjust. We know thisbecause he asked Jehovah to bless the

people of Israel. His last words to themwere: Happy you are, O Israel! Whois there like you, a people enjoying sal-

vation in Jehovah, the shield of yourhelp, and the One who is your eminentsword?Deuteronomy 33:29.

SOME LESSONS FOR US

17 We learned from the life of someof those who are part of the cloud of

witnesses surrounding us that to fin-ish the race, we must have strong faithin God and in his promises. (Hebrews11:6) This faith must affect the way welive our life now. We know that there isa better future that God has promisedus. We are able to see the One who isinvisible. God is real to us, so we runthe race with endurance.2 Corinthi-ans 5:7.

18 The race that Christians run is noteasy. But we can finish the race. In thenext article, we will talk about someother things that can help us to finishthe race.

17, 18. (a) What can we learn from the cloudof witnesses? (b) What will we talk about inthe next article?

CAN YOU

EXPLAIN?

Why did Paul writeabout the acts of faith

of witnesses in the

past?

How does the ex-

ample of the great

cloud of witnesses

surrounding us help

us to endure in the

race?

What have youlearned from the

examples of Noah,

Abraham, Sarah,

and Moses?


21/32

21

THE apostle Paul used an illustra-tion of a race to encourage the He-brew Christians. In the letter he wroteto them, he said that they were like run-ners in a race. But he reminded themthat they were not alone in that race.There were many loyal servants of Je-hovah in the past who had already fin-ished the race. Paul said that these oneswere like a great cloud of witnessessurrounding them. If the Hebrew Chris-tians always remembered the acts offaith and the efforts of those loyal ones,

1, 2. (a) What did Paul use to encourage theHebrew Christians? (b) What did Paul say that

we must do?

they would be deter-mined to finish the race.

2 In the previous arti-cle, we talked about theexample of some of thoseloyal servants of Jehovah.Their strong faith in God

helped them to remainloyal to him to the end of their life. Theycontinued running the race to the end.How can we too finish the race, just asthey did? Paul said: Let us also put offevery weight and the sin that easily en-tangles us, and let us run with endur-ance the race that is set before us.He-brews 12:1.

Run That You

May Attain the PrizeTHEME

SCRIPTURE

Run in such a way

that you may attain it.

1 CORINTHIANS 9:24.


22/32


3 Why did Paul say toput off every weight?A book that talks about

Christians in the timeof Paul explains the waythe runners of his timeran. (Backgrounds of EarlyChristianity) It says: TheGreeks exercised andcompeted in the nude.1(See footnote.) To run inthis way may not seemright today. But the run-

ners ran without clothesbecause they did not want anything to stopthem from winning theprize. So when Paul toldthe Hebrew Christians toput off every weight, he

meant that they should try to removeanything from their lives that could stopthem from winning the prize of everlast-ing life. This was good advice for the He-brew Christians, and it is good advicefor us too. What things in our lives couldbe like a weight and make it difficult forus to finish the race?

PUT OFF EVERY WEIGHT

4 Paul said to put off every weight.This weight includes anything thatcould stop us from giving our full atten-

1The ancient Jews thought that this was veryshocking. The apocryphal book of 2 Macca-

bees says that many Jews were angry whenapostate High Priest Jason wanted to have agymnasium in Jerusalem just as the Greekshad.2 Maccabees 4:7-17.

3. What can Christians learn from what Paulsaid about running in the Greek games?

4. What were the people in Noahs time do-ing?

tion to the race and from doing every-thing we can to finish it. What aresome of those things that could be like

a weight? Jesus helps us to understandthis. He spoke about the time of Noah.

Jesus explained: Just as it occurred inthe days of Noah, so it will be also inthe days of the Son of man. (Luke 17:26) It is true that the world of our timewill end just as the world of Noahs timeended. But Jesus was explaining thatthe way people live now would be sim-ilar to the way people lived before theFlood of Noahs time. (Read Matthew

24:37-39.) Most people in Noahs timedid not want to learn about God, andthey did not want to live in a way thatpleased him. What were they doing?Eating, drinking, and marrying. Thesewere just the normal things of life. Butdoing these things was more importantto the people than listening to Godsmessage. Jesus said that they took nonote.

5 Like Noah and his family, we havemuch to do every day. We need towork to earn money, and we need totake care of ourselves and our family.This can use a lot of our time and ener-gy. And if we have money problems, we

5. What can help us to run the race to theend?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

Attain:To work hard to get

something. To attain

the prize means to

win the prize

Entangle:

Clothing that entan-

gles a runner wraps

around his legs and

makes him fall. If we

allow the thinking of

the world to make us

lose faith, we will fall

and we will not be

able to finish our race

We should remove

anything from our life

that could stop us from

finishing the race


23/32


could become anxious about how to getthe things we need every day. Also, be-cause we have dedicated our lives to Je-

hovah, we have other important respon-sibilities. We preach, we prepare forour meetings and attend them, and westudy the Bible with our family and doour personal study. Noah also had muchto do to serve God, but he did just so.He did everything Jehovah asked himto do. (Genesis 6:22) It is very impor-tant that we do not carryany weight thatwould make it difficult for us to run the

race to the end.6 What did Paul mean when he said to

put off everyweight? He did not meanto remove every responsibility from ourlives. Some responsibilities are neces-sary. But remember what Jesus saidabout the necessary things of life: Nev-er be anxious and say, What are weto eat? or, What are we to drink? or,What are we to put on? Forall these are

the things the nations are eagerly pursu-ing. For your heavenly Father knows youneed all these things. (Matthew 6:31,32) Jesus was helping us to understandthat even the necessary things of life,like food and clothing, could becomelike a weight if they are the most impor-tant things in our lives. They could stopus from running the race.

7 Do not forget that Jesus said: Your

heavenly Father knows you need allthese things. These words show us thatour Father, Jehovah, will take care ofour needs. Of course, to have all thesethings does not mean that we haveeverything that we would like to have.

6, 7. What words of Jesus should we alwaysremember?

So Jesus told us not to be anxious evenabout the things we need. Otherwise,we would be like the nations who are

eagerly pursuing these things. Why isit dangerous to become anxious aboutour needs? Jesus said: Pay attentionto yourselves that your hearts never be-come weighed down with overeatingand heavy drinking and anxieties of life,and suddenly that day be instantly uponyou as a snare.Luke 21:34, 35.

8 It is as if we can see the finish line.So we do not want to allow anything

to make it difficult for us to finish therace. That is why we must put off every weight. We must be content to havethe things we need. This was the advicethe apostle Paul gave when he told usto have godly devotion along with self-sufficiency. (1 Timothy 6:6) If we listento Pauls advice, it will be easier to con-tinue running and win the prize.

THE SIN THAT EASILY

ENTANGLES US

9 Paul mentioned something else thatwe must put off. He said that we mustput off the sin that easilyentangles us.The Greek word that is translated eas-ily entangles appears only once in theBible, in this verse. One Bible scholarnamed Albert Barnes said that a run-ner of that time was careful not to wearclothing that could wrap around his legsand make it difficult for him to run. Andhe said that in the same way, a Christianshould not allow anything to make it dif-ficult for him to run his race. A Christian

8. Why should we put off every weight now?9, 10. (a) What is the sin that could easily en-tangle us? (b) What can happen to the faith ofa Christian?


24/32


should not allow anything to entanglehim, that is, to weaken his faith or evencause him to lose his faith. How does a

Christian lose his faith?10 A Christian does not lose his faith

suddenly. This might happen gradual-ly, and he may not even realize that hisfaith is becoming weaker and weaker.Earlier in his letter to the Hebrew Chris-tians, Paul warned them about this dan-ger. He said that they should be care-ful never to drift away from the faithand never to develop a wicked heart

lacking faith. (Hebrews 2:1; 3:12) Ifthe clothing of a runner wraps aroundhis legs, he usually falls. So a runnermust realize that if he chooses to runin the wrong kind of clothing, he couldfall. What might cause a runner to ig-nore this danger? Maybe he is careless,that is, he does not pay attention whensomeone warns him. Maybe he is over-confident, that is, he thinks that he isstrong and could never fall. Or may-be he is distracted, that is, he is busythinking about other things. What canwe learn from all of Pauls advice?

11 We must remember that if a Chris-tian loses his faith, it is because ofthings he has chosen to do. Anotherscholar talked about the sin that easi-ly entangles us. He explained that thecircumstances we are in, the people weassociate with, and our wrong desires

can all have a very powerful effect onus. These things could weaken our faithor even cause us to lose our faith.Mat-thew 13:3-9.

12 The faithful and discreet slave has

11. What might cause us to lose our faith?12. What warnings are important to obey if

we do not want to lose our faith?

often warned us to choose carefullywhat we watch and what we listen to be-cause these things affect how we think

and what we desire. The faithful anddiscreet slave has also warned us aboutthe danger of always wanting moremoney and more things. If we lovethe entertainment of this world or wantto have every new gadget, we could beso busy with these things that we do nothave time for more important things. Itcould be dangerous to reject these warn-ings because we think that they are too

strict. And we should not think that be-cause we have strong faith, these warn-ings are for others and not for us. Sa-tan uses the thinking and desires of theworld to make us ignore the warnings.He does not want us to finish the race.Some have lost their faith because they

became careless, overconfident, or dis-

tracted by things in the world. If this

happens to us, we are in danger of los-ing the prize of everlasting life.1 John

2:15-17.13 Every day, people in Satans world

try to make us think like them. They

want us to consider important the

things they consider important. And

they want us to want to do the same

13. What must we do to avoid thinking likethe people in the world?

We have a choice.

We can decide if we will

allow the thinking of the

world to affect us


25/32

things that they do. (Read Ephesians2:1, 2.) But we have a choice. We candecide if we will allow the thinking ofthe world to affect us. Paul said thatthe thinking of people in the world islike the air that is all around us. But thisthinking is like poisonous air. So just as we would not want to breathe poison-ous air, we must never allow the waypeople in the world think to affect theway we think. What can help us to con-tinue running in the race? The exam-ple of Jesus. He is the best example ofsomeone who ran the race to the end,and we can imitate him. (Hebrews 12:2)And we also have the example of theapostle Paul. He ran the race, and he en-couraged his brothers to imitate his ex-ample.1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians

3:14.

HOW YOU MAY

ATTAIN THE PRIZE

14 How important was it for Paul tofinish the race? When he spoke to the

14. How important was it for Paul to finish therace?

elders from Ephesus for the last time,he said: I do not make my soul of anyaccount as dear to me, if only I may fin-ish my course and the ministry that I re-ceived of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 20:24)So Paul was willing to sacrifice every-thing, even his life, to finish the race.Paul had worked very hard to preach thegood news. But he said that all that ef-fort would have been for nothing if hedid not finish the race. He knew thathe had to continue working hard to theend. He did not think that he had al-ready won the prize. (Read Philippians3:12, 13.) However, not long before hedied, he was able to say: I have foughtthe fine fight, I have run the course tothe finish, I have observed the faith.2 Timothy 4:7.

15 Paul wanted his brothers to finishthe race. He encouraged the Christiansin Philippi to work hard for their ownsalvation. He reminded them to keepa tight grip on the word of life. Healso told them why this was important

15. What did Paul encourage his brothersto do?

What is the

sin that easily

entangles us?

How might it

entangle us?


26/32


to him: That I may havecause for exultation inChrists day, that I did

not run in vain or workhard in vain. (Philippi-ans 2:16) He also encour-aged the Christians inCorinth to continue run-ning to win the prize. Hesaid: Run in such a waythat you may attain it.1 Corinthians 9:24.

16 A runner in a long

race does not see the finish line un-til the end. But he is always thinkingabout the finish line and knows that itis getting closer. And when he knowsthat the end of the race is near, he iseven more determined to finish. Therace that Christians run is similar. Theprize must be real to us. This will help

us to be determined to finish the raceand win the prize.

17 Paul wrote: Faith is the assured

expectation of things hoped for, the ev-ident demonstration of realities thoughnot beheld. (Hebrews 11:1) Abrahamand Sarah were willing to leave a com-fortable home and live as strangersand temporary residents in the land.

16. Why should the prize be real to us?

17. How does faith make the prize real to us?

How were they able to do this? Thethings that God had promised werereal to them. They saw them afar

off. Moses rejected the temporary en-joyment of sin and the treasures ofEgypt. How did he have the faith andstrength to do this? He looked intent-ly toward the payment of the reward.(Hebrews 11:8-13, 24-26) Paul said thateach of these people acted by faith.They had strong faith, so the prize wasalways real to them. They did not allowany difficult situation to make them for-

get the prize. They knew that God washelping them then, and they knew thathis promises for the future would cometrue.

18 We can think deeply about thefaithful men and women of Hebrewschapter 11, and we can imitate theirexample. This can help us to build upour faith and put off the sin that eas-ily entangles us. (Hebrews 12:1) Also,

by meeting together with our brothers who are trying to build up their ownfaith, we can consider one anotherto incite to love and fine works.He-brews 10:24.

19 We are near the end of our race,and it is as if we can see the fin-ish line. Because Jehovah will help usand because we have strong faith inhim, it is possible for us to put off

every weight and the sin that easily en-tangles us. We can continue runningand attain the prize that our Father, Je-hovah, promises us.

18. What should we do to avoid not finishingthe race?

19. Why is it important to continue runningthe race now?

If we have strong faith,

the prize will be real

to us even in difficult

situations

DO YOU

REMEMBER?

How can we put offevery weight?

What might cause a

Christian to lose his

faith?

Why must the prize

be real to us?


27/32

27

ONE day a Pharisee asked Jesus:Which is the greatest command-ment in the Law? Jesus answered: Youmust love Jehovah your God with yourwhole heart and with your whole souland with your whole mind. (Matthew22:35-37) Jesus had great love for Jeho-vah. The way he lived showed that hereally cared about what Jehovah thoughtof him. That is why Jesus, just before hedied, could talk about his faithful obe-dience to God, saying: I have observedthe commandments of the Father andremain in his love.John 15:10.

2 Many people today say that they loveGod. Of course, we say that too. Butthere are some important questions thatwe need to think about: What does Je-

hovah think of me? Can I say that Jeho-vah knows me or that I have Jehovahsapproval? Does Jehovah think of me assomeone who belongs to him? (2 Timo-thy 2:19) It is wonderful to think that wecan have such a close friendship with themost important person in the universe!

3 But it is hard even for some wholove Jehovah to think that they can befriends with God. Some believe that

they are not worth anything. Becauseof that, they think that they cannot be-long to Jehovah. It is so good to knowthat Jehovah sees us in a different way.

1, 2. (a) What did Jesus care about? (b) Whatquestions should we think about?3. Why is it hard for some to believe that theycan belong to Jehovah? What can help themchange this way of thinking?

(1 Samuel 16:7) Thinkabout this: Why are youreading this magazine?Why are you trying hardto serve Jehovah with your whole heart, soul,mind, and strength? If

you dedicated your life toJehovah and got baptized, why did youdo it? The Bible says that Jehovah knowshearts and that he finds the people whoare desirable to him. He then drawsthem, or invites them, to be his friends.(Read Haggai 2:7; John 6:44.) So youcan be sure that you are serving Jehovahbecause he wants you to. He will neverleave those he invited to be his friends if

they continue to be faithful to him. Theyare precious to God, and he loves themvery much.Psalm 94:14.

4 Now that Jehovah has drawn us,we need to keep ourselves in the loveof God. (Read Jude 20, 21.) Remem-ber, the Bible shows that it is possibleto drift away or draw away from Godand no longer be his friend. (Hebrews

4. Why should we always think about howprecious our friendship with Jehovah is?

Are You Known by Jehovah?THEME

SCRIPTURE

Jehovah knows those

who belong to him.

2 TIMOTHY 2:19.

We need faith

and humility to

be friends of God


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2:1; 3:12, 13) For exam-ple, just before the wordsat 2 Timothy 2:19, the

apostle Paul talked aboutHymenaeus and Philetus.It seems that these twomen served Jehovah atone time, but they laterleft the truth. (2 Timothy2:16-18) Some in the con-gregations in Galatia alsoleft the truth. They didnot stay in the truth. (Ga-

latians 4:9) We should al-ways remember how pre-cious our friendship withJehovah is.

5 There are some qual-ities we need if we wantto be known by Jeho-vah. (Psalm 15:1-5; 1 Pe-ter 3:4) Two of them arefaith and humility. Wewill talk about the exam-ples of two men who wereloved by Jehovah becausethey showed these quali-ties. We will also look ata man who was proud and

because of that was rejected by God. Wecan learn important lessons from theseexamples.

THE FATHER

OF THOSE HAVING FAITH

6 Abraham was a man who put faithin Jehovah. He is called the father of

5. (a) To be known by God, what qualities dowe need? (b) What examples will we now talkabout?6. (a) Because he had faith in Jehovahs prom-ises, what did Abraham do? (b) In what waydid Jehovah really know Abraham?

all those having faith. (Genesis 15:6;Romans 4:11) Because he had faith,Abraham was willing to leave his home,

his friends, his work, and things heowned to go to a distant land. (Gen-esis 12:1-4; Hebrews 11:8-10) Abrahamkept his faith strong. One proof ofthat was that many years later he was

ready to obey Jehovahs command andoffer his son Isaac as a sacrifice to Jehovah. (Hebrews 11:17-19) Abrahamshowed faith in Jehovahs promises,and that made him special to God. Je-hovah really knew Abraham. (ReadGenesis 18:19.) This means that Jeho-vah not only knew that Abraham exist-ed but also loved him as a friend.James 2:22, 23.

7Jehovah promised Abraham that hisdescendants would take possession ofthe gate of their enemies and be-come like the grains of sand thatare on the seashore. (Genesis 22:17,18) Even though these promises did notcome true during Abrahams life, hecontinued to have strong faith in Jeho-

vah. He knew that Gods promises always come true, and he showed thisfaith in the way he lived his life. (ReadHebrews 11:13.) Does Jehovah knowus as people who have faith like Abra-hams?

7. What did Abraham know about Jehovahspromises? How did he show his faith?

SOME WORDS

EXPLAINED

Kohathite Levite:Levite who served at

the tabernacle. The

Kohathites had the

responsibility of carry-

ing the ark of the

covenant

Meek:

A meek person is gen-

tle and patient. He

accepts instructions

and waits for Jehovah

to act. He does not

get angry easily

Being known by

Jehovah: Having

Jehovahs approval

Tabernacle:

The tent used for wor-

ship in Israel. It was

taken from place toplace when the nation

moved

If we wait for

Jehovah to act,

he will reward us


29/32

SHOW YOUR FAITH

BY WAITING FOR

JEHOVAH TO ACT

8 There may be thingsthat we want very much,such as getting married,having children, and hav-ing good health. Thereis nothing wrong withwanting these things. Butmany of us may not getwhat we want. If there issomething that we want

very much but that wecannot have now, whatwill we do? The way weact in this situation mayshow how strong ourfaith is.

9 It would be foolish togo against Gods guidanceto try to get what we want.This could damage ourfriendship with Jehovah.

For example, some havechosen forms of healthcare that go against Bible principles.Others have accepted work that leavesthem no time for their families or forcongregation meetings. Some start a ro-mantic relationship with someone whodoes not serve Jehovah. If a Christiandoes that, is he really trying to be knownby Jehovah? Imagine if Abraham had be-

come impatient about Gods promises.How would Jehovah have felt? What ifAbraham had done things his own wayand had tried to have a very comfortable

8. What are some things that most peoplewant very much?9, 10. (a) What have some done to get whatthey want? (b) What do you think about Jeho-

vahs promises coming true in your life?

life? What if he had decided to make a

famous name for himself instead of wait-

ing for Jehovah to act? (Compare Gene-

sis 11:4.) Would Jehovah have continued

to think of him as his friend?10 What are the things that you want

very much? Do you have enough faith towait for Jehovah to give them to you? He

promises to satisfy the desire of everyliving thing. (Psalm 145:16) Some of Je-

hovahs promises may not come true as

soon as we would like. But if we contin-

ue to live in a way that shows that we

have faith like Abrahams, Jehovah will

not forget about us. He will reward us.

Hebrews 11:6.

Like Abraham,

do we have faith

that Jehovahs

promises alwayscome true?



30/32

ONE EXAMPLE OF HUMILITY

AND ONE EXAMPLE OF PRIDE

11 We will look at the examples of two

men who acted in opposite ways, Mo-ses and Korah. What they did helps usunderstand that what Jehovah thinks ofus depends on how much respect weshow for his decisions and way of do-ing things. Korah was a Kohathite Le- vite. Probably he had the opportunityto see what Jehovah had done to freethe Israelites through the Red Sea. Hemay also have had a part in Jehovahs

judgment against disobedient Israelitesat Mount Sinai, and he may have helpedto carry the ark of the covenant. (Exodus32:26-29; Numbers 3:30, 31) It seems

11. What had Korah done for many years?

that he had been loyal to Jehovah formany years, and because of that, manyin Israel respected him.

12 But on the way to the PromisedLand, Korah thought that there wassomething wrong with the way Jehovah was leading the nation. He wanted tomake changes. Then 250 other men inthe nation joined Korah. They were surethat Jehovah knew them and that theyhad his approval. They told Moses: Thatis enough of you, because the whole as-sembly are all of them holy and Jehovahis in their midst. (Numbers 16:1-3) Thiswas a very proud way of thinking andacting. They trusted too much in theirown way of doing things. Moses told

12. What happened to Korahs friendshipwith God because of his pride?

Korah was not

humble and

willing to follow

directions



31/32


them: Jehovah will make known whobelongs to him. (Read Numbers 16:5.)By the end of the next day, Korah and

all those who had joined him were dead.Numbers 16:31-35.

13 Moses was the opposite of Korah.He was by far the meekest of all themen who were upon the surface of theground. (Numbers 12:3) He showedthat he was meek and humble by do-ing exactly what Jehovah had command-ed him. (Exodus 7:6; 40:16) We do notread in the Bible that Moses was alwaysdisagreeing with Jehovahs way of doingthings or that he got angry because hehad to follow instructions from Jehovah.For example, Jehovah gave very specif-ic instructions about how to build thetabernacle. These instructions includedthe color of the thread and the num-ber of loops the Israelites should use tomake the tent cloths. (Exodus 26:1-6) Ifan overseer in Gods organization gives you very specific instructions about

things, you may sometimes feel discour-aged. But Jehovah is a perfect overseer.He gives his servants work to do, and hetrusts that they will do it well. When hegives many details, there is a good rea-son for it. Moses did not get angry withJehovah or think that Jehovah was notshowing him respect because he gavehim many detailed instructions. Mosesdid not think that Jehovah was takingaway his freedom. Moses told the work-

ers to do exactly as Jehovah had com-manded them. (Exodus 39:32) This wasa humble way of thinking and acting.Moses knew that it was Jehovahs workand that Jehovah was simply using himto do it.

13, 14. In what ways did Moses show that hewas humble?

14 Moses showed that he was humbleeven when he had reasons to be dis-appointed. For example, when the peo-

ple complained that they had no wa-ter, Moses got very angry with themand did not give glory to Jehovah. Be-cause of that, Jehovah told Moses thathe would not be allowed to lead the peo-ple into the Promised Land. (Numbers20:2-12) Moses and Aaron had sufferedfor many years, listening to the Israel-ites complaining. And now, because of

that one mistake, Moses was not goingto get what he had expected for so long!What did Moses do? He was of coursedisappointed. But he was humble andaccepted Jehovahs decision. He knewthat Jehovah is a righteous God withwhom there is no injustice. (Deuteron-omy 3:25-27; 32:4) Today, when we thinkof Moses, we think of someone who wasknown by Jehovah.Read Exodus 33:12, 13.

OBEDIENCE TO JEHOVAH

REQUIRES HUMILITY

15 We can have Jehovahs approv-al only if we accept adjustments thatare made. And we need to show re-spect for those Jehovah uses to leadthe congregation. What do we do whenthese men make decisions or change

15. What can we learn from what proud Ko-rah did?

Like Moses,we should humbly

accept instructions


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the way we do things inthe congregation? Be-cause they trusted their

own way of doing things,Korah and his followerscould no longer be Godsfriends. They were proudand showed little faith.Korah thought that Moseswas just an old man mak-ing his own decisions, buthe forgot that it was real-ly Jehovah who was guid-ing the nation. As a re-

sult, Korah did not show loyalty to thoseGod was using. Korah should have wait-ed for Jehovah to act. Jehovah couldhave helped him understand why thingswere the way they were or could havechanged things if needed. Because Ko-rah acted like that, today we never thinkof Korahs years of loyal service to Jeho-vah. We usually think of him as some-one who disobeyed Jehovah because of

his pride.16 What happened to Korah is a warn-

ing for elders and others in the congre-

16. How can Moses humble example help us?

gation. To wait for Jehovah to act and toobey those Jehovah uses to lead the con-gregation, we must be humble. Do we

show that we are as humble and meekas Moses was? Do we understand andaccept that Jehovah uses those who leadthe congregation? Do we obey their in-structions? Do we control our feelings when we get disappointed? If we dothese things, we will have Jehovahs ap-proval. If we are humble and obedient,we will be precious to him.

JEHOVAH KNOWS

THOSE WHO BELONG TO HIM

17 It is good for us to think about theexamples of those whom Jehovah lovedand invited to be his friends. Abra-ham and Moses were imperfect andhad problems, just like us. But Jehovahthought of them as friends, as peoplewho belonged to him. The opposite iswhat happened to Korah. His exampleshows how it could be possible for us to

draw away from Jehovah and no longerbe his friends. Each of us should thinkabout questions like: What does Jeho-vah think of me? What can I learn fromthese Bible examples?

18 Jehovah thinks of his faithful ser-vants as people who belong to him. Thisis a great comfort to us. So continueto make an effort to show such quali-ties as faith and humility. They will make

you even more precious to our wonder-ful God. It is an honor to be knownby Jehovah. Those who have his ap-proval have a happy life now and willhave wonderful blessings in the future.Psalm 37:18.

17, 18. What can help us to continue to haveJehovahs approval?

DO YOU

REMEMBER?

What does it meanto be known by

Jehovah?

How can you imitate

the faith of Abraham?

What lessons can we

learn from Korah and

Moses?

Are you knownby Jehovah as

someone who

is humble and

obedient?

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