The Study Watchtower, «Article 28», Week of September 4 to 10, 2023, Fearing God will benefit us now and in the future, Answers.

The Study Watchtower, «Article 28», 4-10-September-2023, Fearing God will benefit us now and in the future,, Answers. 

"He who walks uprightly fears the Lord" (PROV. 14:2).

1, 2. How is our situation like Lot's?

Like each other we live in the world that has very little respect for God's moral standards. Despite everything, if we love God and learn to fear Him, we can keep ourselves morally clean.

FEARING GOD PROTECTS US

3. What reason does Proverbs 17:3 give us to guard our hearts? (See also pictures).

A very important reason to protect our symbolic heart is that Jehovah examines hearts. That is to say, he sees beyond what people see and knows everything that is inside us. If we strive to treasure his advice, the result will be that Jehovah will love us.

ILLUSTRATION

In the image we can see a brother who is taking a lunch break at his workplace and a colleague offers him coffee. In the second image we see that the same colleague invites the brother to go out to eat with her and other colleagues after work. Through this image, Jehovah wants to teach us that at work we do not seek the friendship of people who do not fear Jehovah and we do not accept invitations to activities that make them feel sad, on the contrary, it encourages us to choose our companies well, especially if they are people who do not love Jehovah.

4. How did the fear of God protect a sister?

Martha was tempted to do something immoral, but thanks to her fear of Jehovah and meditating on the negative consequences, she was able to resist that temptation, since the most important thing for her was not to sadden Jehovah and to be able to continue worshiping him forever.

5. What do you learn from what happened to Leo?

We can learn that we must be wise and careful with the friendships we choose and constantly remind ourselves of the teachings and principles we have learned. If we find ourselves in a similar situation, it is important to seek help and advice from the elders and return to Jehovah to restore our relationship with him.

6. What two symbolic women will we talk about in this article?

In the 9th chapter of Proverbs, two symbolic women are spoken of. One represents wisdom and the other foolishness. Both women address the inexperienced, those who lack good sense. But the two invitations have very different results.

WE REFUSE THE INVITATION OF “THE FOOLISH WOMAN”

7. According to Proverbs 9:13-18, how do the guests of “the foolish woman” end up? (See also image).

The foolish woman brazenly shouts: Everyone who is inexperienced to come here. So she invites the inexperienced to enjoy a good meal. But those who enter her house meet with death.

ILLUSTRATION

In the image we can see a prostitute from biblical times who is standing at the entrance of her house inviting a man to enter. Accepting the foolish woman's invitation would bring us serious consequences.

8. What decision do those who hear the voice of “the foolish woman” have to make?

They have a decision to make, they can accept or reject that invitation. Something similar happens when we are tempted to commit a sexual sin or if a pornographic image suddenly appears before us. That is why it is very important to ask ourselves what decisions we would make if we were in a situation like this.

9, 10. Why should we avoid immoral sexual conduct?

The Bible compares immoral sexual relations to stolen water. And while they may seem very sweet to those who think they are keeping their misconduct a secret. They deceive themselves because they do not deceive Jehovah. Many of those who fall into sexual immorality not only die spiritually, but also literally die.

11. Why is it so bad to watch pornography?

Pornography is harmful, demeaning and addictive. and we say this because immoral images are hard to get out of the mind. In addition, pornography fuels evil desires, which is why many of those who view pornography end up falling into sexual immorality.

12. If an image appears to us that could arouse immoral desires in us, what should we do?

We should stop looking at it immediately, because we don't want to ruin our friendship with Jehovah. Nor should we look at images, which although they are not pornographic can awaken immoral thoughts in us and we do not want to commit adultery in our hearts.

13. What will help us make good decisions?

If we cultivate a healthy fear of displeasing Jehovah, it will be easier for us to make good decisions. For this reason in Proverbs 9:10 it says that the fear of Jehovah is the beginning, or the basis of wisdom.

WE ACCEPT THE INVITATION OF “THE TRUE WISDOM”

14. What other invitation do we find in Proverbs 9:1-6?

It is an invitation that comes from Jehovah. On this occasion, Proverbs tells us about a big house that has seven columns. That makes us think of Jehovah's generosity. Since he is a God who welcomes everyone who wants to follow his wise advice.

15. What invitation does God give us?

The true wisdom of Proverbs 9 invites those who lack sense to eat and drink at its table. It is extremely important to accept this invitation, since Jehovah wants to protect us and give us wisdom, and he also wants us to avoid painful learning through regrets for past mistakes.

16. Because Alain fears Jehovah, what good decision did he make, and what was the result?

The good decision that Alain made was to flatly refuse to watch pornographic movies and explain the reason to his co-workers. The result was that some of his classmates were impressed by his position and began to study the Bible and attend meetings.

17, 18. What do those who accept the invitation of “true wisdom” already enjoy? And what awaits them in the future? (See also image).

They are happy because they enjoy a well-prepared spiritual banquet, with many delicious and healthy dishes. Both we and those who accept this invitation receive many benefits now, and in the future with eternal life.

ILLUSTRATION

In the image we can see a woman from Ancient Israel, inviting a married couple to enjoy a meal of healthy and delicious dishes at her home. From, Jehovah invites us to enjoy a healthy and nutritious spiritual banquet.

A woman from ancient Israel invites a married couple to enjoy a meal of healthy and delicious dishes at her home. Those who accept the invitation of "true wisdom" can be happy now and live forever. (See paragraphs 17 and 18).

19. According to Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14, what should we do? (See also the sidebar “Benefits of Fearing God.”)

As Ecclesiastes 12:13,14 mentions, we want to continue to fear Jehovah. That way we will protect our hearts, we will keep ourselves morally clean and close to Jehovah. And besides, we will continue to invite everyone we can to seek true wisdom to benefit from it.

Benefits of fearing God

It brings us closer to Jehovah (Ps. 25:14; Heb. 5:7).

It makes obeying Jehovah “a great pleasure” (Ps. 112:1).

It helps us to be humble and wise, and to hate evil (Job 28:28; Prov. 8:13).

It gives us the courage and strength to do what is right (Ex. 1:15-17, 21).

It motivates us to be good and trustworthy people (Neh. 5:15; 7:2).

WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?

How does fearing God protect us?

Thanks to that fear, we can meditate on the consequences of making a bad decision, because we do not want to make Jehovah sad and lose the opportunity to worship him forever.

What can we do to decline the invitation of “the foolish woman” and save ourselves a lot of trouble?

Protecting our hearts, avoiding immoral sexual conduct, pornography, or any image that may arouse immoral thoughts in us. Because we don't even want to commit adultery in our hearts.

In what ways does accepting the invitation of “true wisdom” benefit us?

It benefits us because we will be happy and enjoy a well-prepared spiritual banquet, with many delicious and healthy dishes. And most important of all, if we accept the invitation of true wisdom, we will have Jehovah's approval.