DAILY TEXT, Thursday, September 4, 2025. There will be a path there, yes, a way called the Way of Holiness (Is. 35:8).

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Thursday, September 4, 2025

There will be a path there, yes, a way called the Way of Holiness (Is. 35:8).

The Jews who returned from Babylon were to become “a holy people” to their God (Deut. 7:6). Did that mean they were doing everything right? No. They would have to make changes to please Jehovah. Apparently, most of the Jews who had been born in Babylon had been influenced by the Babylonian way of thinking and moral values.

Decades after the first group of Jews returned to Israel, Governor Nehemiah was shocked to find that their children could not speak Hebrew. (Deut. 6:6, 7; Neh. 13:23, 24) How could they learn to love and worship Jehovah if they did not even understand the primary language in which God’s Word was written? (Ezra 10:3, 44) So these Jews had to make big changes, but they would find them much easier living in Israel, where pure worship was slowly being restored. (Neh. 8:8, 9) w23.05 15 pars. 6, 7.

Why was this path said to be holy?

The “Way of Holiness.” Isn’t that a beautiful name for a road? Why was this road called holy? Because no one impure would be allowed to live in Israel—that is, no Jew who pursued immorality, idolatry, or other serious sins. The returning Jews would have to become “a holy people” to their God (Deut. 7:6). Did that mean those who left Babylon were doing everything right? No. They would have to make changes to please Jehovah.

What changes did some Jews need to make? Give an example.

As mentioned earlier, most of the Jews were born in Babylon, and many were apparently influenced by the Babylonian way of thinking and moral values. Decades after the first group of Jews returned to Israel, Ezra learned that some of them had married women of other nations (Ex. 34:15, 16; Ezra 9:1, 2).

What relationship does the “Way of Holiness” have with us?

Some may be thinking, “What happened to the Jews is very interesting. But does it have any relevance to us today?” Of course it does. We too are, in a sense, walking the “Way of Holiness.” This way allows us now to worship Jehovah in the spiritual paradise. Furthermore, in the future it will allow us to enjoy the blessings of the Kingdom. Therefore, both the anointed ones and the “other sheep” must remain on it.—John 10:16. Since 1919, millions of men, women, and children have left Babylon the Great, the world empire of false religion, and have begun to walk this symbolic way. You are probably one of them. Although this way was opened about 100 years ago, preparations for it began hundreds of years earlier.

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