Watchtower Study, Week 1 to April 7, 2024, Jehovah is very affectionate and loves us very much, Underlined Answers.

Watchtower Study, April 1-7, 2024, Jehovah is very affectionate and loves us very much, Underlined Answers.

Yellow: Direct Response.

Dark Yellow: Additional Response.

Light Blue: Additional Points.

“The Lord is very loving” (JAMES 5:11).

1. How do you imagine Jehovah?

 HAVE YOU EVER TRIED to imagine Jehovah? When he prays to you, what image comes to mind? Although he is invisible, the Bible describes him in many ways. For example, he calls it “a sun and a shield,” and “a raging fire” (Ps. 84:11; Heb. 12:29). In a vision, the prophet Ezekiel said that Jehovah was like the sapphire stone, a shining metal and the brightness of a rainbow (Ezek. 1:26-28). Thinking about him like this may fill us with amazement or even intimidate us.

2. Why is it difficult for some to approach God?

2 Because we do not see Jehovah, it may be difficult for us to believe that he loves us. Or perhaps the things that have happened to us in life—like not having a father who loved us—lead us to think that God could never love us. The good thing is that Jehovah understands how we feel and how what we have experienced affects us. To help us understand that he loves us, he gives us details in his Word about his beautiful personality.

3. Why will we talk in detail about Jehovah and his love?

3 The word that best describes Jehovah is love (1 John 4:8). This quality defines him; He does everything for love. His love is so great and strong that it reaches even those who do not love him (Matt. 5:44, 45). In this article, we will talk in detail about Jehovah and his love. The more we know him, the more we will love him .

JEHOVAH LOVES US VERY MUCH

4. How do you feel when you think that Jehovah is loving? (See also the image).

4 “The Lord is very loving” (James 5:11). In the Bible, he is compared to a very tender mother (Isa. 66:12, 13). Think of a mother who lovingly cares for her little son. Very tenderly, she puts him on her lap and speaks to him in a sweet, soft voice. When the baby cries or something hurts, she runs to give him what he needs. Similarly, Jehovah will be at our side when we are sad. No wonder the psalmist wrote: “When worries overwhelmed me, you comforted me and reassured me” (Ps. 94:19).

ILLUSTRATION

A mother lovingly holds her baby against her chest. “As a mother comforts her child, so I will be comforting you.” (See paragraph 4).

5. What does Jehovah's loyal love mean to you?

5 Jehovah is loyal (Ps. 103:8). He doesn't stop loving us even if we make mistakes. Time after time, the Israelites disappointed Jehovah; But, when they repented, he made them see that he still loved them. On one occasion he told his people: “You became valuable in my sight, you received honor, and I love you” (Isa. 43:4, 5). And Jehovah has not changed. We can be sure that he has that same kind of love for us. Even if we commit a serious sin, he does not abandon us. If we repent and turn to him, his love for us will remain intact. He promises us that he will “forgive us generously” (Is. 55:7). The Bible says that when Jehovah forgives us, he brings upon us “times of relief” (Acts 3:19).

6. What does Zechariah 2:8 teach us about Jehovah?

6 (Read Zechariah 2:8). Jehovah compares us to the apple of his eye, that is, to his pupil. The eye is a very sensitive and important part of the body. Therefore, it is as if Jehovah is saying: “When someone harms you, he is harming something that is very important to me.” Because Jehovah loves us, he is affected by what we feel, and he wants to protect us. When we suffer, he suffers. So we can say to him: “Protect me as the apple of your eye” (Ps. 17:8).

7. Why should we convince ourselves that Jehovah loves us?

7 Jehovah wants you to be convinced that he loves you. Of course, he understands that some experiences or problems you are going through now may make you doubt that he loves you. That is why it is important for him to convince himself that he does love him. What can help you? Discuss how Jehovah demonstrates that he loves Jesus, the anointed, and all of us. That's what we're going to do now.

8. Why was Jesus so convinced that his Father loved him?

8 Jehovah and his beloved son have spent countless years together. That's why they are so close and love each other so much. Their relationship is the oldest in the universe. In Matthew 17:5, Jehovah openly said that he loved Jesus. He did not just say, “This is the one who has my approval,” but because he wanted us to know how much he loved him and how proud he was of Jesus and what he would soon do, he said, “This is my beloved Son” ( Eph. 1:7). Jesus was totally sure of how Jehovah felt about him. He was so convinced that his Father loved him that he said it again and again (John 3:35; 10:17; 17:24).

9. What word describes Jehovah's love for those anointed? (Romans 5:5).

9 Jehovah also expresses his love for the anointed (read Romans 5:5). A Bible dictionary says that the word “poured out” conveys the idea of ​​a river coming upon us. What a striking image to describe how much Jehovah loves the anointed! The anointed know that “they are loved by God” (Jude 1). They all feel identified with what the apostle John said: “Look what great love the Father has for us that we are called children of God!” (1 John 3:1). Does Jehovah love only the anointed? No, as we will see, he has shown that he loves all his servants.

10. What is the greatest proof that Jehovah loves you?

10 What is the greatest proof we have that Jehovah loves us? The rescue. That act shows that he loves us more than anyone else (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8). Jehovah gave up his beloved Son and let him die for all of us so that we could be forgiven for our sins and be his friends (1 John 4:10). The more we meditate on the high price that Jehovah and Jesus paid, the better we will understand how much they love each of us.​—Gal. 2:20. Jehovah did not pay the ransom to comply with a cold law, but he did it because he loved us. He showed us his love by sacrificing his Son—the most valuable thing he had—and letting her suffer and die for us.

11. What do we learn in Jeremiah 31:3?

11 As we have seen, Jehovah not only loves us, but also expresses it. (Read Jeremiah 31:3.) He has drawn us to Him because He loves us (compare Deuteronomy 7:7, 8). Nothing and no one can separate us from the love he has for us (Rom. 8:38, 39). How do you feel when you think about this? Next we will read Psalm 23. As we do so, consider the effect that Jehovah's love had on David and what he can have on you.

HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH JEHOVAH LOVES YOU?

12. How would you summarize Psalm 23?

12 (Read Psalm 23:1-6). In Psalm 23, David expressed his confidence that Jehovah loved him and cared for him. There he said that Jehovah was his Shepherd, and described his friendship with him. David felt safe because he knew that Jehovah was guiding him. And he relied completely on him. He knew that Jehovah's love would accompany him every day of his life. Let's see what led him to express so much confidence in God.

13. Why did David know that Jehovah cared for him?

13 “I will lack nothing.” David felt that Jehovah took good care of him because he had always given him everything he needed. He also knew that he had her friendship and approval. Therefore, David was sure that, no matter what happened, Jehovah would ensure that he did not lack anything he needed. He trusted that Jehovah's love was greater than all his worries and that made him feel happy and satisfied (Ps. 16:11).

14. How does Jehovah show love to us?

14 Jehovah takes loving care of us, especially when bad things happen to us. Let's look at the case of Claire, who has been at Bethel for more than 20 years. She says that she felt helpless when her family began to suffer one blow after another: her father suffered a stroke, one of her sisters was expelled, her family's business collapsed and they lost home. How did Jehovah show that he was caring for them? Claire says: “ Jehovah made sure my family had everything they needed each day. Time after time he gave them more than I could have imagined. I keep in my heart the moments in which Jehovah has shown me his love, and I often think of them. “They help me keep going when things go wrong.”

15. How did David regain his strength? (See also the image).

15 “Renew my strength.” David was going through so many difficulties that he sometimes felt distressed (Ps. 18:4-6). But seeing Jehovah's love and tenderness helped him regain his energy. He felt that his friend Jehovah led him to “grassy meadows” and “resting places where water abounds . ” Thus he was able to regain his strength and continue serving Him with joy (Ps. 18: 28-32).

ILLUSTRATION

David praises Jehovah as he and some of his men drink from a river. When David felt distressed, seeing Jehovah's love and tenderness helped renew his strength. (See paragraph 15).

16. How have you felt that Jehovah has renewed your strength?

16 When we face difficulties, we too can say: “It is thanks to Jehovah's loyal love that our end has not come” (Lam. 3:22; Col. 1:11). Let's see what happened to Rachel. She was devastated when her husband decided to abandon her and Jehovah during the COVID-19 pandemic . What did Jehovah do to help her? She explains: “He made sure I felt loved. She gave me a lot of friends who spent time with me, brought me food, sent me nice messages and encouraging texts, gave me a smile and reminded me that Jehovah was watching over me. “I thank Jehovah again and again for this great and loving family.”

17. Why could David say, “I will fear no evil”?

17 “I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” David had terrible enemies and his life was in danger many times. However, Jehovah's love made him feel safe and protected. He felt as if Jehovah was always at his side. That's why he could sing: “He delivered Me from all my fears” (Ps. 34:4). The dangers that threatened David were real, but Jehovah's love was stronger than his worst fears.

18. When we face frightening situations, how does it help us to know that Jehovah loves us?

18 When we face frightening situations, how does it help us to know that Jehovah loves us? A pioneer named Susi explains how she and her husband felt when her son decided to end her life: “When something so horrible happens to you, it affects you greatly and makes you feel helpless and helpless. But Jehovah's affection has made us feel cared for and protected .” Rachel, discussed in paragraph 16, says: “One night when I was especially sad and scared, and felt like I couldn't take it anymore , I prayed to Jehovah, crying and moaning in pain. I immediately felt as if Jehovah had put me in his arms to calm me, just like a mother does with his baby. And then I could sleep. I will never forget that moment.” An old man named Tasos spent four years in prison for refusing to go to the army. He explains that Jehovah cared for him lovingly: “He gave me more than I needed and that strengthened my trust in him. Furthermore, he gave me his spirit to feel content despite being in such a depressing environment . This confirmed to me that the more I trusted him, the more I would feel his love. So while I was in prison I decided to be a regular pioneer.”

LET US COME CLOSER TO OUR LOVING GOD

19. a) What will our prayers be like if we know that Jehovah loves us? b) What texts about Jehovah's love touch your heart most? (See the box “Verses that help us feel the love of Jehovah.”)

19 The experiences we discussed demonstrate that Jehovah is “the God of love” (2 Cor. 13:11). He cares about each one of us. We are convinced that “His loyal love surrounds us” (Ps. 32:10). The more we meditate on how he has shown us that he loves us, the more real it will be to us and the closer we will feel to him. So  a)  we can pray to him and open our hearts to him to tell him that we need his love very much. We can tell him everything that concerns us and be sure that he understands us and that he wants to help us (Ps. 145: 18, 19).

Verses that help us feel the love of Jehovah

b) Psalm 32:10: “He who trusts in Jehovah is surrounded by loyal love.”

Jeremiah 31:3: “I have loved you with an everlasting love. That is why I drew you to me with loyal love.”

John 16:27: “The Father Himself loves you.”

James 5:11: “The Lord is very loving.”

20. Why does Jehovah's love bring us closer to him?

20 The love of Jehovah is as pleasant as the warmth of a campfire on a cold night. We always want to be close to him. His love is very powerful, but at the same time it is very tender. We feel very happy that Jehovah loves us so much! We all want to exclaim, “I love the Lord” (Ps. 116:1).

WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?

How would you describe Jehovah's love?

Jehovah's love is like a mother, when she cares for and protects her child, comforts him, caresses him, Jehovah demonstrates that kind of love with us.

How can you be sure that Jehovah loves you very much?

We can be sure that Jehovah loves us very much, because he was willing to give his son for all humanity, so that they could be reconciled to him. Furthermore, his love protects us in times of trial, Jehovah is always there to protect us.

How does Jehovah's love make you feel?

Jehovah's love makes me feel protected, confident, renews my strength and I feel more love for him. His love makes me place my trust in him in every aspect of my life.