DAILY TEXT, From today Wednesday Thursday January 26, 2023, For seven days you will celebrate the feast for Jehovah your God in the place that Jehovah chooses (Deut. 16:15).

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Thursday January 26

For seven days you will celebrate the feast for Jehovah your God in the place that Jehovah chooses (Deut. 16:15).

The ancient Israelites were told: “Three times a year all your males must appear before Jehovah your God in the place he chooses” (Deut. 16:16). They had to leave their home and fields unguarded. But Jehovah promised them: “No one will want to take your land when you go up to see the face of Jehovah your God” (Ex. 34:24). The Israelites attended the annual festivals with full faith in Jehovah. Thus they derived great benefits: they deepened their understanding of God's Law, meditated on its goodness, and enjoyed the encouraging fellowship of other servants of Jehovah. We too benefit when we make sacrifices to attend meetings. And how happy Jehovah must be when we come prepared to give brief, thoughtful comments. w22.03 22 par. 9.

Why is singing to Jehovah an important part of our worship?

We worship Jehovah when we sing to him with our brothers (Ps. 28:7). For the Israelites, singing was an important part of their worship. For example, King David arranged for 288 Levites to be temple singers (1 Chron. 25:1, 6-8). Today, we have the opportunity to express our love to God by singing songs of praise. The quality of our voice is not the most important thing. Consider this example: when we speak, “we all stumble many times,” but that doesn't stop us from speaking up in the congregation and in the ministry (Jas. 3:2). In the same way, we should not allow the defects in our voice to prevent us from singing praises to Jehovah.

As Psalm 48:13 shows, why should we set aside time for family Bible study?

We worship Jehovah when we study his Word and tell our children about him. Each Sabbath, the Israelites had the opportunity to put aside their daily routine and strengthen their friendship with Jehovah (Ex. 31:16, 17). Faithful Israelites taught their children about Jehovah and his goodness. In our case, we must set aside time in our schedule to read and study the Word of God. That is part of our worship of Jehovah and helps us draw closer to him (Ps. 73:28). Also, when we study together as a family, we can help a new generation—our children—cultivate a loving personal relationship with our loving heavenly Father (see Psalm 48:13).

How did Jehovah view the work of those who made the items in the tabernacle, and what does that teach us?

We worship Jehovah by building and maintaining places of worship. The Bible says that the work of making the tabernacle and all its objects was a “holy work” (Ex. 36:1, 4). Today, Jehovah also considers the construction of Kingdom Halls and other theocratic facilities to be sacred service. Some brothers dedicate a lot of time to this work. We certainly appreciate your valuable contribution to the work of the Kingdom. Of course, these brothers also take time to preach. Some of them may even want to pioneer. The elders show their support for the construction by allowing these hard-working brothers to be named pioneers if they qualify. Whether we have construction experience or not, we can all help keep these facilities clean and in good repair.

How should we view the donations we make to support Kingdom work?

We worship Jehovah when we support the work of the Kingdom with our donations. The Israelites were not to appear before Jehovah empty-handed (Deut. 16:16). They had to bring an offering according to their possibilities. Thus they showed gratitude for all the spiritual benefits they received. And how can we express our love for Jehovah and our gratitude for the spiritual blessings we receive? One way is by giving donations in our congregation and to the worldwide work as our circumstances allow. The apostle Paul explained it this way: “If there is a willingness, what a person gives is very pleasing, when he gives based on what he has and not on what he does not have” (2 Cor. 8:4, 12). Jehovah values ​​the donations we give from the heart, no matter how small (Mark 12:42-44; 2 Corinthians 9:7).

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