Congregation Bible Study (30 min.): rr chap. 19 paras. 7-15.
7. What did the image of the trees on the river bank guarantee the exiled Jews?
The image guaranteed many things to the exiled Jews, one of them was to be able to taste the fruit of the trees every month, but Jehovah did not only refer to that, but also guaranteed that Jehovah would also feed them spiritually.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
As we see in Ezekiel 47:12, it guaranteed them a new harvest every month and that Jehovah would also feed them in a spiritual sense. Jehovah knew that the exiles who returned to their land would need spiritual healing and that was what he promised them since the leaves of those trees would serve to heal.
Well, both Ezequiel and the other Jews surely loved the idea of savoring the fruit of those trees, a new harvest every month. In addition, this beautiful image guaranteed them that Jehovah was also going to feed them in a spiritual sense and the story says that those leaves would serve to cure, to heal. We know that a healing is not only physical, there is also an emotional healing, a mental and even spiritual healing. So when Jehovah blesses, he does so in every way. Jehovah knew that above all those exiles who were going to return, they would need a spiritual healing and that was just what he promised them.
8. Why can we say that Ezekiel's vision would have a greater fulfillment?
Because as it says in chapter 9, the exiled Jews would return to Jerusalem, Jehovah fulfilled that promise and would keep it with one condition: that the people continue to be obedient and faithful to him. Sadly, some time later, the Jews became disobedient and rebellious again. But, Jehovah's words always come true. So those promises would have a greater fulfillment and with lasting effects in the final part of the days.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Ezekiel's vision with Jehovah's blessings and his perfect and everlasting promises has a greater fulfillment for all of Jehovah's faithful servants then and now. At that time those blessings were limited because they kept disobeying Jehovah again and again, with pure worship restored, Ezekiel's vision would have a greater fulfillment.
Because we already know that this was not fully fulfilled at that time, the exiles who returned to Jerusalem were only for a time enjoying these blessings and the guilty ones were many of them, that we are not judging them since they once again obeyed Jehovah, they went back to their old ways to underestimate pure worship and return to idolatry, rituals, practices that led to misconduct because they demoralized and disappointed those who were faithful. Yet true worshipers of Jehovah knew that his promises never fail and are always fulfilled. So how was this going to be if it says that the word of the Lord is always fulfilled, without a doubt that this was going to have a greater fulfillment. The word of Jehovah does not stop halfway at the start,if it is not fulfilled and has more veracity like saying that the sun is going to rise tomorrow, we can trust more in the word of Jehovah than in the sunrise tomorrow.
The river is flowing now
9. When would Ezekiel's vision of the temple have a greater fulfillment?
When the end is near, the greatest fulfillment of Ezekiel's vision of the temple will take place. It will be when we are in a time, that pure worship will stand out.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Ezekiel's vision would be fulfilled to a greater degree in the final part of our days, where pure worship is restored and raised as never before as mentioned in Isaiah 2:2.
This vision of Ezekiel's temple has a major fulfillment in the final part of the days, a time when pure worship was going to come to the fore and be lifted up, as never before, and who believe we are living in that time in the part end of days.
10, 11. (a) What river of blessings do we now have?
The most important blessing we have now is the sacrifice of Jesus. This sacrifice cleanses us, makes Jehovah able to forgive our sins.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
We have a river of blessings, your current servants can be spiritually healthy and well fed. We have the great blessing that God has done for us out of love, giving the life of his son in sacrifice so that we can cleanse ourselves from our sins and be saved for eternal life.
The most important blessing of all is the sacrifice of Christ. This sacrifice has the power to cleanse us, that is, it makes it possible for our sins to be forgiven.
(b) How has the flow of blessings increased to meet spiritual needs during the last days?
Since 1919 the number of Jehovah's servants has been growing. Since that year, the number of Jehovah's Witnesses has not stopped growing. Thanks to this, the information on spiritual issues has been growing. As Ezekiel's vision says, the flow of water was growing fast, this is how the spiritual thirst of servants around the world can be satisfied.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
It has grown very rapidly, from a few thousand Jehovah's servants in 1919 to more than eight million today. And each of them has the spiritual nourishment they need thanks to the millions of print and now digital publications with jw.org. Both spiritual information and faithful servants of Jehovah have grown rapidly like the flow of the river in Ezekiel's vision.
We can say that we have an avalanche of information on spiritual issues. Just like the river in Ezekiel's vision, the flow of pure water of truth has grown very fast to satisfy the ever-increasing spiritual thirst felt by sincere people all over the world.
12. a) From what you have seen, how have Bible teachings benefited people?
They benefit all people, giving us life and spiritual health, they are only the people who have accepted the truth and Jehovah.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
The Word of God has helped many people who have opened their hearts to receive biblical teachings and whose lives have completely changed for the better, even giving them back their life and the desire to live and fight for the promises that Jehovah gives us.
The teachings of the Bible have given life and spiritual health to millions of hearts, people who have gladly accepted the truth.
(b) What timely warning does the vision convey to us today? (See note).
There are many warnings, like there are people who leave Jehovah. At some point they close their hearts, and they no longer want to accept the truths. Those people become like the “swamps and muddy pools” that they say in the vision.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
There is also a warning, and that is that some people who have opened their hearts can close them at any time and deny the word of God. These people would be like one of the areas of the Dead Sea that had no life. Or the fishing net of the parable of Jesus, that there were many fish, but not all of them were good and they are discarded because they deviate from the pure worship of God.
The vision also conveys something that serves as a warning to us today: some stop accepting biblical truths. At one point they close their hearts and refuse to accept those truths and to put them into practice. These people are like the “marshes and miry pools” of the Dead Sea that Ezekiel saw in the vision.
13. What lessons do the vision trees teach us today?
These trees teach us many things, for example, in the vision they say that the fruits of the trees are delicious and bear fruit every month and the leaves of the trees had healing powers. This vision reminds us that we serve Jehovah, and he feeds us, he also heals us spiritually.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
This reminds us that we serve a generous God, who feeds and heals us in the most important way there is: spiritually. The sound advice we receive—solidly based on the Bible—helps us combat sexual immorality, greed, and lack of faith, among other enemies of spirituality. In addition, Jehovah provides us with what is necessary to heal us when, due to serious sin, we become spiritually ill.
The trees in the vision teach us that Jehovah always keeps us well fed with abundant fruit like these trees. In fact, we feel elated with all the spiritual food we have: magazines, songs, assemblies, broadcasting, etc. Our spiritual health is solid with all these resources and their advice to combat the evils of this system.
14, 15. (a) What lesson can we learn from the muddy places that Ezekiel saw?
One of the lessons we learn would be not to be like the muddy places that the water did not heal. Because we do not want to be like some people who are sick and full of evil in this world, these people do not want Jehovah to help them and heal them. We must not do that, because Jehovah would stop showering blessings on us.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
We do not want to be like the people of this sick world, who do not allow God to heal them. Let us never do that, because Jehovah would stop showering his blessings on us.
We learn and it reminds us that we do not want to be in these places, we do not want to be people who do not allow themselves to be taught or shaped by Jehovah, because in this way we would be denying the truth and moving away from the blessings that Jehovah pours out on his faithful servants.
(b) How does the river of blessings in the vision benefit us now?
It benefits us in many ways, such as when we preach and can share this water with other brothers, or when they help us, comfort us, when we need it. and also when the elders, who have experience, give us advice. We will know that no matter where it goes, that river gives life and heals anyone.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
We may remember this river when we eagerly drink the pure water of Bible truth, when we go out to preach and share this water with others, the comfort and advice lovingly given to us by the elders. No matter where it goes, that river gives life and heals.
We feel very good and this river of blessings from Ezekiel's vision gives us life and heals because we are edified by the service of God, whether in the ministry, in meetings, with the help, comfort and advice of the elders. When we drink of the pure water of truth, we forget all the evils of this system and happily serve Jehovah.
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