TREASURES OF THE BIBLE, Week of December 12 to 18, "The patience of Jehovah has a limit", Prepared Speech.

TREASURES OF THE BIBLE, December 12-18, 2022, "The patience of Jehovah has a limit", Prepared Speech.

“The patience of Jehovah has a limit” (10 min.)

Let's talk about patience brothers, let's make a comparison between the patience that we have with the patience of Jehovah, if we put it on a scale so to speak, I think it's obvious, right? The scale of Jehovah's patience weighs much more, right? Because if we realize it, almost the majority of us are impatient, we don't have much patience. And we recognize that, but perhaps someone seeing Jehovah's patience, we might want to take advantage of it since he is very patient.

In ancient times the people of Israel did something similar but let's see what happened to them. So let's see this situation, this happened on an occasion when Assyria was conquering Israel, but let's see what happens please read our Bibles Second Kings chapter 17 verses 5 and 6 let's see what happens it says:

WE ARE GOING TO READ 2 KINGS 17:5,6.

The king of Assyria invaded the whole country. He came to Samaria and kept it besieged for three years. 6 And in the ninth year of Hosea, the king of Assyria conquered Samaria. Then he took the people of Israel into exile in Assyria and made them live in Halah and in Habor, by the river Gozan, and in the cities of the medes.

As we note here, Assyria invades the country. What a sad truth for the Israelites? Apart from that, near the city, many surely died, because they had no way out, how to look for food for three years, apart from invading it to conquer it, they also took it into exile, and surely many also died. So we wonder if it was Jehovah's people. Why did Jehovah allow that to happen to him? We find the answer to his people in Second Kings chapter 17: 9 to 12, which again I invite you to read, says this and there we the Israelites have the answer:

WE ARE GOING TO READ 2 KINGS 17:9-12.

The Israelites got involved in things that Jehovah his God did not see well. They built high places in all their cities, both in watchtowers and in fortified cities. 10 And sacred pillars and sacred posts were made on all the high hills and under all the leafy trees; 11 And in all the high places they made sacrificial smoke, just like the nations that Jehovah had driven out before them into exile. They did bad things to provoke Jehovah.12 They served disgusting idols even though Jehovah had told them “Don't do that!”

We note why Jehovah allowed the Assyrians to invade that country, his country. In other words Jehovah used Syria to discipline his people, because his people had turned their backs on him. If we notice here in the reading we saw the bad things that they were doing they made tall posts they made sacred columns they made sacrifice, but not to worship Jehovah, but to worship disgusting idols, says the Bible. How would Jehovah have felt that his people who loved so much did that to him? truth, and apart from that Jehovah in verse 12 tells him don't do that! maybe those who are dads, moms, do you know that word right?

When parents tell their child Don't do! that son don't do it! Do not do! Nope!. Or maybe you, who are a son, have been told "Don't do that! Why do the parents do it? Why do they tell you that to protect you? Right? to take care of them, because they know that something bad can happen, right? The same thing did Jehovah warned them Do not do that! because he did not want something bad to happen to them, because Jehovah loved his people, but brothers, is this the first time that Jehovah had warned his people? Or has this happened before? how many times he warned him, we also have the answer in Second Kings that I would like us to read together chapter 17:13 and 14 says:

WE ARE GOING TO READ 2 KINGS 17:13,14.

Jehovah gave warnings to Israel and Judah through all his prophets and all the men of visions. He told them: “Leave your evil ways and come back! Obey my commandments and my statutes, everything that is written in the law that I gave to your ancestors and that I sent you through my servants the prophets. 14 But they paid no attention. They were just as stubborn as their ancestors, who had not shown faith in Jehovah his God.

As we noted, it was not the first time that Jehovah warned them, if not, he did it several times for generations, because here he says that his ancestors were stubborn for many years. Jehovah was sending prophets, he says to all his prophets. Why did he do it? Because he loved his people, he loved them, but they said, they didn't listen.

Remember the comparison of patience at the beginning of the speech when we talked about our patience and Jehovah's, perhaps if we had been in that situation so to speak, we would not have endured as much, no doubt. For so many years they continued to be unfaithful and Jehovah continued sending prophets, but Jehovah was very patient, but as we noted Jehovah's patience has a limit, that is why he used that nation to discipline them.

What can we now learn from this story? We know that Jehovah, our loving loving father, is a God of love, patient, today he is also with this whole planet, with this whole world, also with us. But why does he do it? Let's read 2 Peter 3:9 please says:

LET'S READ 2 PETER 3:9.

Jehovah is not slow to fulfill his promise as some people believe. Rather, He is patient with you, because He does not want any of you to be destroyed, but rather that all come to repentance.

Jehovah knows that Armageddon, the end of this system, is soon to come. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, that is why he is so patient because he loves humanity, but the verse says he is not slow, in other words he has to fulfill his promise very soon he will destroy all the bad people and those who stopped serving Jehovah, and they turned their backs on him, that's why I would like us to see the image to ask the question at the end of the paragraph.

In our activity guide for this week we can see the image, there it says the question: What effect should this have on the way we react to discipline and the urgency with which we preach? What effect should this have? For example, when you see this image we are going to answer the second part talking about preaching, if you know, for example, what is going to happen, we know well what is going to happen very soon, when you know what is going to happen, what is what immediately does? warn informs right? In the same way, preaching is urgent, we want to notify people while there is still time, so that they can be saved, that is why urgent preaching is emphasized in all its facets.

 Now what effect should it also have on the way we react to discipline, right? that the people did not react well, each time to the advice that he gave them each time after time. We also receive advice, speeches, perhaps discipline so to speak, through instruction from the elders, how do we react? We don't want to be like the Israelites, right? We must accept any suggestion, any discipline in the best way, true, that's why brothers, as we saw in this speech, Jehovah has great patience, but patience also has its limit.