DAILY TEXT, Today Wednesday, November 15, 2023, Jehovah never commits injustice (Deut. 32:4).

Let us examine the scriptures every day 2023

Wednesday, November 15

Jehovah never commits injustice (Deut. 32:4).

In the book of Numbers we read that Jehovah sentenced an Israelite to death for gathering firewood on the Sabbath. But in the Second Book of Samuel we read that, centuries later, Jehovah forgave King David even though he had committed adultery and murder (Num. 15:32, 35; 2 Sam. 12:9, 13). We may wonder: “Why did Jehovah forgive David such serious sins but condemn the other man for a fault that does not seem so serious?” The Bible does not always give all the details. For example, we know that David truly repented of everything he did (Ps. 51:2-4). But what kind of person was the man who disobeyed the Sabbath law? Was he sorry for what he had done? Had he disobeyed Jehovah on other occasions? Had he received warnings, but had he ignored them or even rejected them? The Bible doesn't say it. However, what we know about Jehovah is more than enough to trust that he “is righteous in all his ways” (Ps. 145:17). w22.02 2, 3 paras. 3. 4.

What effect does imperfection have on our sense of justice? (See the sidebar “Imperfection clouds our sense of justice.”)

Imperfection clouds our sense of justice. Since God made us in his image, we do not like injustice (Gen. 1:26). But, because we are imperfect, we can make mistakes in our judgment, even when we think we have all the information. Let us remember, for example, what happened to Jonah. He became very angry when Jehovah decided to show mercy to the inhabitants of Nineveh (Jon. 3:10-4:1). However, thanks to Jehovah's decision, more than 120,000 Ninevites were saved. In the end, it was Jonah who was wrong, not Jehovah.

Why is Jehovah not obliged to give us explanations?

Jehovah does not owe us human beings explanations. It is true that in the past Jehovah allowed some of his servants to weigh in on decisions he had made or was going to make (Gen. 18:25; Jon. 4:2, 3). And sometimes he explained why he had made a certain decision (Jon. 4:10, 11). But he has no obligation to explain to us why he does things. He is our Creator and he does not need our approval to do anything, either before or after doing it (Is. 40:13, 14; 55:9).

Who may be difficult for us to trust, and why?

Surely we are convinced that Jehovah always does what is right. But we may find it difficult to trust his representatives here on Earth. We may wonder if they are doing things Jehovah's way or their own way. That may have happened to some people in biblical times. Consider the examples in paragraph 3. A relative of the man who violated the Sabbath law may have wondered whether Moses consulted Jehovah before the sentence was pronounced. Something similar may have happened to a friend of Uriah the Hittite. David had committed adultery with Uriah's wife, and that friend may have wondered if David had taken advantage of his position as king to escape the punishment he deserved. The reality is this: we cannot say that we trust Jehovah if we do not trust his representatives on Earth, whom he trusts.

What similarity is there between what is mentioned in Acts 16:4, 5 and the way the congregation functions today?

Today, Jehovah uses the “faithful and wise slave” to direct the land portion of his organization.​—Matt. 24:45. Like the governing body of the first century, this slave directs the world work and gives instructions to the elders of the congregations (read Acts 16:4, 5). And the elders ensure that these instructions are followed in the congregations. By following the instructions of the organization and the elders, we will show that we trust Jehovah’s way of doing things.

All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2023 Watch T ower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania JW.ORG.