Let's look for hidden pearls (10 mins.)
1Sa 7:3. What does this text teach us about conversion and repentance? (w02 4/1 12 ¶13)
It is a free and voluntary act on the part of one who has wholeheartedly resolved to follow Christ Jesus. It implies the rejection of his previous wrongdoing and the decision to do what is good in the eyes of God. In the Scriptures, the Hebrew and Greek verbs associated with conversion have the sense of going back, turning around, that is, an action that denotes turning from the evil path and turning to God (1 Kings 8:33, 34). For there to be conversion, there must be “works proper to repentance” (Acts 26:20). It is necessary to abandon false religion, act in harmony with God's commandments, and give exclusive devotion to Jehovah.—Deuteronomy 30:2, 8-10; 1 Samuel 7:3. Conversion changes our way of thinking, goals and way of being (Ezekiel 18:31).
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Conversion is a free and voluntary act on the part of someone who has decided from the heart to follow God and this implies the rejection of their previous wrongdoing and the decision to do what is good in the eyes of God and this is related to repentance. , since we must demonstrate with our own works that we are sorry because we have decided to abandon everything that has to do with false religion and act in harmony with the commandments of God, thus showing that our way of thinking has changed and we have dressed in the new personality.
It teaches us that to serve Jehovah bone conversion is important, the voluntary act of leaving the evil path and being firmly determined to do what is good in his eyes, but for that there must first be repentance. This means that a person must give up false religion and act in harmony with Jehovah's principles, regulations and laws and give him exclusive devotion. Thus we replace ungodly characteristics with “the new personality” that Jehovah likes.
Conversion is a free and voluntary act that implies the rejection of all the bad behavior that was committed before knowing Jehovah, to demonstrate such conversion it is necessary to show repentance and for this the false religion must be abandoned, act in harmony with the commandments of God and giving exclusive devotion to Jehovah, thus the conversation is demonstrated by a change in our way of thinking, objectives and way of being.
This text teaches us that in order for the conversation to take place there must be works of repentance, and the reference explains that the conversation implies the rejection of previous wrongdoing and the decision to do what is good in the eyes of Jehovah, and to show that repentance we must, for example, give up false religion, act in harmony with God's commandments, and give Him exclusive devotion.
What spiritual gems have you found about Jehovah, the ministry, and other topics in this week's Bible reading?
1 Samuel 6:2, 3. The Philistines quickly realized that it had been a bad idea to take the ark of Jehovah's covenant as booty, since to any city where it was taken the inhabitants of said cities suffered in various ways and ended up recognizing that this was a Divine punishment, with this it is demonstrated that those who come to attack the servants of Jehovah in the great tribulation will not be able to celebrate their victory for a long time since they will immediately suffer the consequences of having attacked the people of Jehovah.
1 Samuel 6:4. Jehovah punished with "the same scourge" the entire nation of Philistines. The rulers and the people in general suffered a common calamity. This teaches me: that Jehovah is a "lover of justice", He does not favor anyone because of their social level or other external factors, rather, he rewards or punishes according to the person's deeds. In particular, those in positions of oversight "should not do anything according to a partial inclination" or cover up for sinners who have a certain position or money. In this way they imitate Jehovah who judges with "true justice and impartiality"
1 Samuel 6:6. He mentions that the Philistines were experiencing plagues, even so they were intelligent, they acted sensibly and they realized that there was no point in being proud and stubborn as the Egyptians were, in other words, there was no point in being against God, they who were not worshipers of the true God recognized this, how much more reason we want to be humble, and obedient in serving Jehovah, instead of being foolish and proud, which would bring us problems.
1 Samuel 6:8. The Israelites asked Samuel not to stop praying to Jehovah for help this teaches us to seek Jehovah when we go through similar situations we know that sooner or later we will face pressure from our enemies but if we turn to Jehovah we can be sure that He will help us and will not leave us alone.
1 Samuel 6:9. Samuel made a burnt offering when he asked Jehovah for help, this teaches us to use our abilities to please Jehovah if we ask God for help we must also offer our offerings and sacrifices, that is, through preaching and our valuable comments so we can say that we give to Jehovah quality offerings.
1 Samuel 6:9,10. Jehovah listened and acted in favor of the Israelites, this teaches us about Jehovah, his loyalty is always to act in favor of his servants. This encourages me to continue showing faith and trust in him because we remember that God will never let us suffer insurmountable trials.
1 Samuel 6:13,15,19. The recovery of the Ark was an occasion for great rejoicing, but it did not prevent Jehovah from "striking down the people with a great slaughter", "because they had looked at the ark of Jehovah", this was a clear violation of his command. This teaches me: that "the radiant eyes of the Lord" examine us all. So, let us not make the mistake of thinking that by continuing to serve Jehovah and managing to hide our sins, they will go unpunished. Jehovah knows our deepest motives and will bring hidden sins to light. So we don't violate his commands because it is "terrifying to fall into the hands of the living God."
1 Samuel 6:19. The Israelites had to learn that merely retrieving the ark was no excuse for disobeying Jehovah's command to look at the ark, although it was a joyous occasion to abide by Jehovah's standards above all else today, There may also be situations in which we can enjoy great joy among the members of the congregation, however, they are not excuses to disobey Jehovah by violating his rules and commands.
1 Samuel 7:1. He mentions that they sanctified Eleazar for an important assignment, to take care of the Ark of God, the word saint means clean, separated, in this case, he was separated for this assignment, and without a doubt, he did it with diligence and responsibility, this encourages us and it shows us that whatever assignment we receive in the congregation we must value it and fulfill it with diligence and responsibility.
1 Samuel 7:2,3. Samuel was a faithful servant who promoted true worship, encouraged the Israelites to abandon idolatrous worship and serve only Jehovah. This teaches me: that we, too, today have the opportunity to support and promote true worship in a variety of ways. These include participating in the construction of Kingdom Halls, in relief efforts, and others. But, the most important is the preaching of the Kingdom, through this work we invite and encourage people to get out of false worship and serve only the true God Jehovah.
1 Samuel 7:3. The bad example of the sons of Eli, corrupt and immoral men, had eroded the faith of the people. As a result, many gave themselves over to idolatry. This was not a valid excuse, but it was one of the reasons why many moved away from true worship, in our case something similar could happen if we allow it, realistically the organization is made up of imperfect people, and surely we will meet with people like Eli, his children, and who knows, but the decision of whether we will abandon Jehovah and go to the world to sin is ours.
1 Samuel 7:3. It teaches me that Jehovah is a God of love because we see that even though the Israelites had become idolaters, he once again gave them the opportunity to change, and that is what he continues to do today when someone commits a serious sin.
1 Samuel 7:2,4. There we see that Samuel, already very advanced in years, helped some of the people of his time to avoid or abandon the bad path, this teaches us that without a doubt the elders of the congregation can exert a positive influence on each one of us, it is because Therefore, we must highly value your advice.
1 Samuel 7:9. Jehovah heard Samuel's prayers, and answered them, this because Samuel was his servant, but not only in name, but in deeds and conduct he had built a history of faithful conduct and service, this teaches us that Jehovah blesses and helps to his faithful servants, saints, separated from sin, who do not allow themselves to be corrupted by the bad influences that are inherent in our passage through this system, without a doubt, we want to imitate Samuel in our ministry.
1 Samuel 7:10. We are shown how Jehovah listened to the pleas of Samuel, since he immediately acted in favor of the Israelites and the books of the Philistines. This teaches us that when we are going through a difficult situation we should pray to Jehovah fervently, because he is always willing to listen to the prayers of his faithful servants and in due time will give us the help and endurance we need to move forward. .
1Samuel 7:9, 10. When the Philistines attacked the city, Jehovah caused a great roar to thunder in the sky that frightened the Philistines, who were experienced warriors, the confusion took possession of them since the intensity of the noise they heard rumbled in the hills or perhaps it was because it came from a clear sky, in any case, that supernatural act turned predators into prey, that same reaction we can expect from the enemies that attack Jehovah's people during the Great Tribulation.
1 Samuel 7:12. Ebenézer means stone of help, without a doubt Samuel was an eyewitness of how Jehovah was a Stone or Rock of help for him and the people, Jehovah is our Rock of help, we seek him and lean on him.
1 Samuel 7:13,14. It says that when the Israelites began to obey what Jehovah had told them, they defeated the Philistines and recovered what had been taken from them, which teaches us that the key for us to do well in our lives is to trust in Jehovah. and obey to the letter what the bible tells us in its word and also through its organization.
1 Samuel 7:15. Here we see that Samuel continued to judge Israel the rest of his life and that denotes that even in his old age he continued to faithfully serve Jehovah since he was a child who barely served in the tabernacle, that is a good example for all Jehovah's servants of Today, those who dedicate their whole lives to the service of God, even from the days of their youth, will be able to see in their old age what satisfaction it is and was to serve Jehovah wholeheartedly.
1 Samuel 7:15,17. Every year Samuel left his house in Ramah and traveled to various cities to judge the Israelites and help them spiritually, because of that he earned the trust, respect and love of the people. This teaches me: that in a similar way, many of our brothers have left home to serve full time and visit different places and countries to help and strengthen others spiritually. Jehovah values his service and so do we. So let us show appreciation by giving them all of our trust, respect, and Christian love that they deserve.
1 Samuel 7:15,17. It reveals to us the key to remain faithful to Jehovah and that is to keep ourselves fully occupied in his service, for example, from Samuel we read that he used to visit the same three cities every year to resolve the dispositions of its inhabitants and give them instructions, so we see that for always He was, as always, very busy.
1 Samuel 8:1,3. Joel and Abijah did not want to follow the good example of their father Samuel, they were dishonest men who abused his authority, committed injustice and accepted bribes. This surely caused the faithful prophet great sadness and disappointment. This teaches me: that many Christian parents have gone through the disappointment and pain of seeing how some of their children do not respond to divine teachings. These parents can find comfort in analyzing Samuel's attitude, he remained constant in his service to Jehovah. So go ahead and keep in mind that Jehovah is proud of you because you are loyal as Samuel was.
1 Samuel 8:3. It shows that Samuel, who was a great servant, a great man of faith, had children who did not follow his good example, this occurs in modern times, and vice versa, with all that Samuel did not leave Jehovah nor did he stop serving him, without a doubt a excellent example for us also if in case we have to live something similar.
1 Samuel 8:3. Despite the good example they had from their father, the sons of Samuel did not follow in his footsteps, although they were Levites, they dishonestly sought riches, accepted bribes and judged unfairly, this shows that despite everything among the congregations unfortunately there are children who do not follow the good example of their parents and decide to appear to serve Jehovah or not to serve him at all.
1 Samuel 8:4, 5. The story also does not say what Samuel felt when he learned of his children's bad behavior, but many parents know how embarrassing, disappointing and painful that can be and today it is common for children to rebel against their children. parents, in the case of parents who are going through this situation, they will be able to find comfort and guidance by analyzing Samuel's attitude, despite the misconduct of his children, he remained constant in his service to God, in addition, his Father in the heavens, Jehovah, will be proud of you for being loyal to him like Samuel.
1 Samuel 8:6. Although Samuel disliked the people's request, he did not decide for himself what should be done, this verse says that he prayed to Jehovah to know what he thought and follow his guidance. This teaches me: that in the congregation, we may hear from our brothers certain requests or suggestions that make us feel disturbed or even upset, but instead of wanting to solve things our own way, in imitation of Samuel, we should pray to Jehovah for the wisdom from above and ask that his holy spirit guide us to do what pleases him.
1 Samuel 8:6-9. At this moment in history, the Israelites were already wanting to have a human and visible king, the problem was not the request itself since they knew that God would establish a kingdom in accordance with the promises given to Abraham and Jacob as well as the words that Jehovah addressed to Israel after the exodus, the terms of the Law covenant, and even part of the message that God had the prophet Balaam speak, the problem was that Jehovah had not yet indicated when the right time would come to establish it, nor the structure and the components of that government, or whether it would be earthly or heavenly. Therefore, it was audacity for the people to demand a human king then.
1 Samuel 8:7. Jehovah reminds us who we are really rejecting when we do not listen to the advice or guidance given to us by those who take the lead in the congregation, so let us never be rebellious like the Israelites but rather humble and listen to our God through his appointed servants.
1 Samuel 8:9,18. We read that through Samuel the Israelites came to ask for a visible head, Jehovah, who agreed to their request, but warned them that they would have to pay a very high price and in reality history showed how correct that warning had been, since the monarchy caused serious problems in Israel, because if a ruler does not recognize God, does not achieve permanent achievements, it is still the same today, therefore we should not offer our support to any human ruler.
1 Samuel 8:10,20. We are shown that Jehovah through Samuel warns the Israelites how much they will suffer under the rule of a human king; however, they did not heed the warning and had to suffer the dire consequences. This teaches us that as servants of Jehovah we must reinforce our faith in Jehovah's promises, since only through the kingdom of God can we have a just and loving ruler who cares for all his servants.
1 Samuel 8:19,20. In the time of the prophet Samuel, the nation of Israel again fell into the trap of "walking by sight" and wanted to have a visible king like all other nations. This teaches me: that we, too, are in danger of “walking by sight,” the Devil uses the things of this world to exert undue influence on our point of view, which could weaken us or even cause us to lose our faith in Jehovah. So, let us not be guided by the mere appearance of things and let us resolve that our "faith in Jehovah" moves us to walk in the direction that he points.
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