Watchtower Study, Week of October 31 to November 6, 2022, Jehovah's servants love his righteousness, Answers Underlined.

Watchtower Study, 31-October to 6-November 2022, Jehovah's servants love his righteousness, Answers Underlined.

“Happy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (MAT. 5:6).

Yellow: Direct Response.

Dark Yellow: Additional Response.

Celeste: Additional Points.

1. What test did Joseph face, and how did he act?

JOSEPH, the son of Jacob, faced a very difficult test. A woman said to him: “Lie down with me”. Although this woman was the wife of his master, Potiphar, Joseph ignored her. Someone may wonder why José didn't sleep with her. Potiphar was not there, and Joseph was a household slave. Besides, she could make his life miserable if he rejected her. Even so, José never gave in to her constant pressure. Why? He said it himself: “How could I do such a bad thing and actually sin against God?” (Gen. 39:7-12).

2. Why did Joseph know that adultery is a sin under God?

2 Why did Joseph know that adultery is “such a bad thing” to God? Let's think that there were still about 200 years left before the Law of Moses was written, which clearly said: "Do not commit adultery" (Ex. 20:14). But what Joseph knew about Jehovah was enough to discern what he thinks of sexual immorality. For example, he sure knew that God created marriage for one man and one woman. And most likely he had heard that Jehovah had to intervene on two occasions to protect the honor of her great-grandmother Sarah from her when two kings wanted to sleep with her. And he would remember that God did the same thing to protect Rebekah, Isaac's wife (Gen. 2:24; 12:14-20; 20:2-7; 26:6-11).By thinking about all this, Joseph was able to see what is right and what is wrong from God's point of view. Because he loved Jehovah so much, he also loved his righteous standards and was determined to uphold them.

3. What will we see in this article?

3 Do you love the righteousness of God? Surely yes. But we are all imperfect, and if we are not careful, we can easily be swayed by this world's judgment of what is good and what is bad (Isa. 5:20; Rom. 12:2). Therefore, we will see what God's justice is and why it does us good to love it. Then we will discuss three things we can do to love Jehovah's standards more.

WHAT IS THE JUSTICE OF GOD?

4. What way of being does not reflect the justice of God?

4 When Jesus was on earth, religious leaders considered themselves just and righteous. But Jesus strongly condemned them because they were harsh with others and set their own standards about what is right and what is wrong (Eccl. 7:16; Luke 16:15). Today there are people who look like them. By their own judgment, they do nothing wrong. They generally believe they are superior to others and are very critical. This way of being greatly displeases Jehovah and has nothing to do with his justice.

5. According to the Bible, what does it mean to be righteous? Mention some examples.

5 Justice is a precious quality. Simply put, it involves doing what is right from God's point of view. In the Bible, words translated “righteousness” convey the idea of ​​living by the highest standard there is—Jehovah's . For example, Jehovah commanded that merchants must use “an exact and just weight” (Deut. 25:15). Therefore, a Christian who wants to be just in the sight of God will be honest in all his dealings with him. Furthermore, a person who loves Jehovah's justice hates to see others treated unjustly. And, to please God in everything, he always takes it into account in his decisions (Col. 1:10).

6. Why can we trust Jehovah's standards of right and wrong? (Isaiah 55:8, 9).

6 The Bible says that Jehovah is “the abode of justice.” That means that true righteousness comes from him (Jer. 50:7). Since he is our Creator, he is the only one who has the right to set the rules about what is right and what is wrong. And, because he is perfect, his standard is far above our own, which is limited by imperfection and sin (Prov. 14:12; read Isa. 55:8, 9). But can we live by his standards of justice? Yes, because we were created “in his image” (Gen. 1:27). Plus, we love doing it. Our love for our Father prompts us to imitate him as best we can (Eph. 5:1).

7. Why do standards need to be in place? Give some example.

7 When we faithfully follow Jehovah's rules about right and wrong, we do well in life. Let's see why. For example, what would happen if each bank decided the value of the coins or if each construction company had its own measurement system? It would be chaos. And, if every doctor or nurse in a hospital cared for patients her way, some might die. It is clear that following the established rules protects us. And the same thing happens with God's rules, they are for our good.

8. What blessings will come to those who love God's righteousness?

 8 Jehovah blesses those who strive to abide by his standards. He promises: “The righteous will inherit the earth and live in it forever” (Ps. 37:29). Can you imagine what life will be like when everyone follows Jehovah's standards? We will live happily and enjoy peace and unity. Jehovah wants you to receive these blessings. Surely we have compelling reasons to love his justice. What should we do to love this quality more? Let's look at three things that will help us achieve this.

WHAT WE CAN DO TO LOVE JEHOVAH'S STANDARDS MORE

9. What will help us to love justice?

9 First: Love the person who sets the rules. If we want to love justice, we must love more the one who sets the rules about what is right and what is wrong. The more we love Jehovah, the more we will want to live by his righteous standards. Let's think about Adam and Eve. If they had loved Jehovah, they would never have disobeyed him (Gen. 3:1-6, 16-19).

10. What did Abraham do to better understand Jehovah?

10 Do we not want to look like Adam and Eve? In order not to make the same mistake as them, we must get to know Jehovah better and better, appreciate his qualities, and strive to understand his way of thinking. If we do, surely our love for him will grow. Let's look at Abraham, who deeply loved his God. Even when it was difficult for him to understand Jehovah's decisions, he did not rebel. On the contrary, he went out of his way to get to know him better. For example, how did he react when he learned that Jehovah had decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah ? At first he feared that "the Judge of all the earth" would kill the righteous along with the wicked.It seemed impossible to him that God would do something like that, so he asked him some questions with great humility. And Jehovah was patient and answered him. At the end of the conversation, Abraham understood that Jehovah examines the hearts of all human beings and that he never punishes the innocent along with the guilty (Gen. 18: 20-32).

11. How did Abraham show that he loved and trusted Jehovah?

11 Abraham's conversation with Jehovah about Sodom and Gomorrah left a deep impression on him. He certainly contributed to her loving and respecting his Father more than ever before. Years later, Abraham faced a very difficult situation that tested his trust in God. Jehovah asked him to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. By then, since Abraham knew his God better, he did not ask any questions. He simply prepared himself to do what Jehovah had asked him to do . Still, making those preparations must have been very hard. He surely he meditated on what he had learned from Jehovah. He knew that he would never do anything unfair or cruel. As the apostle Paul explained, Abraham concluded that Jehovah could resurrect his beloved Isaac(Hebrews 11:17-19). And that made sense, since Jehovah had promised him that Isaac would be the ancestor of a nation, and at that time he still had no children. Since Abraham loved Jehovah, he was sure that he would act justly. With a heart full of faith he obeyed his Father, no matter how difficult it was (Gen. 22: 1-12).

12. How can we imitate Abraham? (Psalm 73:28).

12 How can we imitate Abraham? We need to know Jehovah better and better. If we do, we will draw closer to him and love him even more (read Psalm 73:28). Furthermore, we will train our conscience according to God's way of thinking (Heb. 5:14). Thus, when someone puts a temptation before us, we will say no. It will not even cross our minds to do something that hurts our Father's feelings and damages our friendship with him. What more can we do to show that we love the righteousness of God?

13. What do we have to do to earnestly seek justice? (Proverbs 15:9).

13 Second: Make an effort daily to love justice more. Strengthening our love for Jehovah's righteous standards is like strengthening a muscle—it takes constant effort. It is something we can do every day. We know that Jehovah is reasonable and that he never expects us to do more than we can do (Ps. 103:14). He assures us that he “loves one who diligently seeks righteousness” (read Proverbs 15:9). Isn't it true that if we have a spiritual goal we keep striving until we reach it? Well, with the same determination we seek justice. And Jehovah will patiently help us to continue to progress, to improve over time. —Ps. 84:5, 7.

14. What does “the breastplate of righteousness” represent, and why do we need it?

14 Jehovah lovingly reminds us that doing what he says is right is not a burden.—1 John 5:3. On the contrary, he protects us, and we need that protection every day. Consider the spiritual armor that the apostle Paul spoke of (Eph. 6:14-18). What part protects the heart of the Christian? “The breastplate of righteousness , ” representing Jehovah's righteous standards. Just as a breastplate protects the physical heart, Jehovah's standards protect our symbolic heart, that is, what we are inside. This is why it is so important that our spiritual armor always wear the breastplate of righteousness (Prov. 4:23).

15. How do we put on the breastplate of righteousness?

15 How do we put on the breastplate of righteousness? Taking God's standards into account in our daily decisions. Before we choose the topics we will talk about, the music we will listen to, the entertainment we will watch or the books we will read , let us ask ourselves: “What will enter my heart? Is it something that pleases Jehovah? Or does he encourage things that he considers unfair, such as sexual immorality, violence, greed and selfishness? (Phil. 4:8). If our decisions are in accordance with Jehovah's will, his righteous standards will protect our hearts from evil influences.

16, 17. How does Isaiah 48:18 assure us that it is possible to obey Jehovah’s standards forever?

16 What if we worry that we will not be able to continue to live up to Jehovah's righteous standards day after day, year after year? Consider a comparison Jehovah uses that we find at Isaiah 48:18 (read it). Jehovah promises that our righteousness can be “like the waves of the sea.” Imagine that we are on the seashore quietly observing how the waves come nonstop, one after another. Isn't it true that at that moment we didn't think that perhaps one day the waves would stop coming? Of course not. We know that the waves have been reaching that beach for thousands of years, and surely they will continue to do so.

17 So what must we do so that our righteousness may be like the waves of the sea? When we have to make a decision, let us first think about what Jehovah wants us to do, and then do it. No matter how difficult a decision may be, our loving Father will always be there to help us be consistent and continue to obey his righteous standards day after day (Is. 40: 29-31).

ILLUSTRATION

A sister walks along a beach at sunset and watches the waves come and go.

Our righteousness can be "like the waves of the sea." (See paragraphs 16 and 17).

18. Why should we not judge others by our own standards?

18 Third: Let Jehovah be the one who judges. Although we strive to live up to Jehovah's righteous standards, we should not judge others or think that we are more righteous than them. We do not look at others with an air of superiority, as if we have the right to judge them according to our own standards. Rather, we keep in mind that Jehovah is “the Judge of all the earth” (Gen. 18:25). He has not appointed us judges. In fact, Jesus gave this command: “Stop judging, lest you be judged” (Matt. 7:1). *

19. How did Joseph show his trust in Jehovah's righteousness?

19 Let us return to the example of Joseph, who was a righteous man. He did not judge others, even when they treated him badly. His own brothers mistreated him, sold him into slavery, and made his father believe that he was dead. Years later, José was reunited with them. Now that he was a powerful ruler, he could have judged them harshly and gotten revenge. That is just what his brothers feared that he would do, although they were very sorry for what they had done. But José assured them: “Don't be afraid. Am I in God's place? (Gen. 37:18-20, 27, 28, 31-35; 50:15-21). Joseph was humble and thought that only Jehovah had the right to judge his brothers.

20, 21. What will help us not to believe that we are more righteous than others?

20 Like Joseph, we too let Jehovah be the judge. For example, we do not take it for granted that we know why our brothers do what they do. We cannot see what is in his heart; only “Jehovah examines motives” (Prov. 16:2). He loves all kinds of people, no matter where they come from or their culture. And he gives us this command: “Open your hearts wide” (2 Cor. 6:13). Our goal is to love all members of our spiritual family, not judge them.

21 Nor do we judge those who are not part of the congregation (1 Tim. 2:3, 4). For example, we do not judge our relatives who are not in the truth, nor do we think that they will never become Witnesses. If we did, we would be arrogant and we would be believing ourselves to be more just than others. Jehovah is still giving “everyone everywhere” a chance to repent (Acts 17:30). Let us never forget that Jehovah considers unjust those who think they are more just than others.

22. What drives you to love justice?

22 If we love Jehovah's righteousness, we will be happy and set a good example for those around us. And that will make them love us and our God more. Let us never stop “hungering and thirsting for righteousness” (Matt. 5:6). We are convinced that Jehovah notices the efforts we make each day to obey his righteous standards and that this makes him very happy. Although there is more and more injustice in the world, let us not lose heart. Let us always remember that “the Lord loves the righteous” (Ps. 146:8).

WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?

What is the justice of God?

Justice is a precious quality. Simply put, it involves doing what is right from God's point of view. In the Bible, words translated “righteousness” convey the idea of ​​living by the highest standard there is—Jehovah's.

Why is it good for us to follow Jehovah's righteous standards?

If our decisions are in accordance with Jehovah's will, his righteous standards will protect our hearts from evil influences.

It is good because if we do, Jehovah will patiently help us to follow his righteous standards, progress and improve over time.

What can we do to love Jehovah's standards more?

First: Love the person who sets the rules.

Second: Make an effort daily to love justice more.

Third: Let Jehovah be the one who judges.