Betrayal​—An Ominous Sign of the Times!

“How loyal and righteous and unblamable we proved to be.”​—1 THESSALONIANS 2:10.

FIND THESE IMPORTANT POINTS:

What lessons can we learn from how Delilah, Absalom, and Judas Iscariot betrayed others?

How can we imitate the loyalty that Jonathan and Peter showed?

How can we stay loyal to our marriage mate and to Jehovah?

1-3. (a) What is a sign that we are living in the last days? What does it include? (b) What three questions will we answer?

WHAT do Delilah, Absalom, and Judas Iscariot have in common? They were all disloyal. Delilah was disloyal to the man who loved her, Judge Samson. Absalom was disloyal to his father, King David. And Judas was disloyal to his Master, Christ Jesus. The horrible actions of each of these people caused much harm and distress to others! Why should this interest us?

² One writer lists betrayal as one of today’s most common human weaknesses. That should not surprise us. When Jesus prophesied about the sign of “the conclusion of the system of things,” he said: “Many . . . will betray one another.” (Matthew 24:3, 10) “To betray” means to give someone into the hands of an enemy by being disloyal. The disloyalty we see today shows that we are living in “the last days,” just as Paul prophesied. He said that people would be “disloyal, . . . betrayers.” (2 Timothy 3:1, 2, 4) Writers of books and films often make disloyal acts appear exciting or romantic. But the books and films do not tell us the truth. In real life, disloyalty and betrayal cause pain and suffering. Such acts are a sign that we are now living in the last days!

³ What lessons can we learn from the Bible about those who were disloyal in the past? What examples of people who proved their loyalty to others can we imitate? To whom must we be determined to remain loyal? Let us find the answers.

WARNING EXAMPLES FROM THE PAST

 4. How did Delilah betray Samson? Why was that so evil?

⁴ The first example is deceitful Delilah, with whom Judge Samson had fallen in love. Samson wanted to lead the fight against the Philistines for God’s people. The five Philistine lords may have known that Delilah had no loyal love for Samson. They offered her a lot of money to find out the secret of his unusual strength so that they could kill him. Greedy Delilah accepted their offer. But her efforts to find out Samson’s secret failed three times. She kept on trying “with her words all the time and kept urging him.” Finally, “his soul got to be impatient to the point of dying.” So he told her that his hair had never been cut and that if it was cut, he would lose his power.a (See footnote.) Now that she knew his secret, Delilah had someone shave Samson’s hair off while he was sleeping on her lap. Then she gave him to his enemies and let them do whatever they wanted with him. (Judges 16:4, 5, 15-21) What she did was evil! Because she was greedy, Delilah betrayed someone who loved her.

 5. (a) How was Absalom disloyal to David? What did this show about Absalom? (b) How did David feel about Ahithophel’s betrayal?

⁵ The next example is disloyal Absalom. He had a fire in his heart, a burning desire for power and authority. Absalom wanted to take the throne from his father, David, and be king himself. The first thing Absalom did was to keep “stealing the hearts of the men of Israel.” He pretended to love the people, and he made them false promises. He showed affection for them by hugging and kissing them, pretending to be interested in them and their needs. (2 Samuel 15:2-6) Absalom was even able to get David’s trusted friend Ahithophel to betray David and join the rebellion. (2 Samuel 15:31) In Psalms 3 and 55, David wrote about how such disloyalty hurt him. (Psalm 3:1-8; read Psalm 55:12-14.) Absalom’s evil plan was against Jehovah’s appointed king. This betrayal showed that he ignored God’s right to choose who would be king. (1 Chronicles 28:5) Absalom’s rebellion failed, and David continued to rule as Jehovah’s anointed king.

 6. How did Judas betray Jesus? How is the name Judas used today?

⁶ Now think about what the traitor Judas Iscariot did to the Christ. At the last Passover that Jesus celebrated with his 12 apostles, he told them: “Truly I say to you, One of you will betray me.” (Matthew 26:21) Later that night, Jesus announced to Peter, James, and John in the garden of Gethsemane: “Look! My betrayer has drawn near.” At that very moment, Judas came to the garden with a crowd, “and going straight up to Jesus he said: ‘Good day, Rabbi!’ and kissed him very tenderly.” (Matthew 26:46-50; Luke 22:47, 52) Judas “betrayed righteous blood” when he gave Jesus into the hands of those who wanted to kill him. And for how much money did greedy Judas betray Jesus? For only 30 pieces of silver! (Matthew 27:3-5) Ever since then, people use the name Judas to describe someone as a traitor, especially someone who betrays his friend.b​—See footnote.

 7. What lessons have we learned from the lives of (a) Absalom and Judas and (b) Delilah?

⁷ What have we learned from these warning examples? Absalom and Judas both died in shame because they became traitors against the anointed of Jehovah. (2 Samuel 18:9, 14-17; Acts 1:18-20) Whenever people hear Delilah’s name, they think of how she was disloyal and pretended to love someone. (Psalm 119:158) It is important that we reject greed or any wrong desire toward seeking authority, which would cause us to lose Jehovah’s friendship! These are powerful lessons to help us reject anything that could make us disloyal.

IMITATE THOSE WHO WERE LOYAL

8, 9. (a) Why did Jonathan promise to be loyal to David? (b) How can we imitate Jonathan?

⁸ The Bible also has many examples of people who were loyal. We will discuss what we can learn from two of them. We will start with a man who showed his loyalty to David. Jonathan, King Saul’s eldest son, would probably have been the next king of Israel. But Jehovah chose David instead. Jonathan respected God’s decision and was not jealous of David. Jonathan’s “soul became bound up with the soul of David,” and Jonathan promised to be loyal to him. He even showed David royal honor when he gave him his clothes, sword, bow, and belt. (1 Samuel 18:1-4) Jonathan did all he could to support David. He even put his own life in danger when he protected David from Saul. Jonathan was loyal and told David: “You yourself will be king over Israel, and I myself shall become second to you.” (1 Samuel 20:30-34; 23:16, 17) It is not surprising that after Jonathan’s death, David expressed his sadness and his love for him in a song.​—2 Samuel 1:17, 26.

⁹ Jonathan knew whom he should be loyal to. He was completely loyal to the Sovereign, Jehovah, and he supported David as the anointed of God. It is similar for us today. Even if we have not been given a special responsibility in the congregation, we should be willing to support the brothers who have been appointed to take the lead among us.​—1 Thessalonians 5:12, 13; Hebrews 13:17, 24.

10, 11. (a) Why did Peter stay with Jesus and remain loyal? (b) How can we imitate Peter? What should that encourage us to do?

¹⁰ The other good example we can learn from is the apostle Peter, who promised to be loyal to Jesus. Christ used an illustration to help his disciples understand how important it would be for them to have faith in his body and blood that would soon be sacrificed. The illustration was not literal, but many of his disciples found it shocking, and they left him. (John 6:53-60, 66) So Jesus asked his 12 apostles: “You do not want to go also, do you?” It was Peter who answered: “Lord, whom shall we go away to? You have sayings of everlasting life; and we have believed and come to know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:67-69) Did this mean that Peter completely understood everything Jesus had just said about the sacrifice that Jesus himself would make? Probably not. But Peter made a decision to be loyal to God’s anointed Son, Jesus.

¹¹ Peter did not think that Jesus must have had the wrong idea and that Jesus would later realize this and change what He had said. Peter was humble, and he knew that Jesus had “sayings of everlasting life.” It is similar for us today. How do we react when we read something in our Christian publications from “the faithful steward” that is hard to understand or that is different from the way we think personally? We should try hard to understand it. We should not just wait and expect a change that agrees with our personal thinking.​—Read Luke 12:42.

STAY LOYAL TO YOUR MARRIAGE MATE

12, 13. Why might a person betray his marriage mate? Why is a person’s age not an excuse for that to happen?

¹² To betray someone in any way is a wicked act. Betrayal must not be allowed to affect the peace and unity of Christian families and the congregation. Let us learn how we can strengthen our loyalty to our marriage mate and to our God.

¹³ Adultery is one of the most hurtful kinds of betrayal. A person who has been unfaithful to his marriage mate has broken his loyalty and has given his attention and affection to another person. The mate who has been betrayed is suddenly alone. His or her life has completely changed, as if it has been turned upside down. How does that happen to two people who once loved each other? Often it begins when marriage mates lose interest in each other’s feelings. Professor of Sociology Gabriella Turnaturi explains that a betrayal could happen because a couple stop doing everything they can to strengthen their relationship. This can even happen to older couples who have been married for a long time. For example, a 50-year-old man who had been married for 25 years divorced his faithful wife so that he could be with another woman to whom he was attracted. Some say that this is normal conduct for someone his age. But age does not excuse this kind of conduct. To be unfaithful to a mate is not normal. It is betrayal.c​—See footnote.

14. (a) How does Jehovah feel about those who are disloyal to their marriage mates? (b) What did Jesus say about disloyalty in a marriage?

¹⁴ How does Jehovah feel about those who leave their mates without a Scriptural reason? Our God hates divorce, and he has used strong words against those who treat their marriage mates badly and abandon them. (Read Malachi 2:13-16.) Jesus feels the same way as his Father about disloyalty in a marriage. He taught that a person cannot reject or abandon his mate and act as if nothing has happened.​—Read Matthew 19:3-6, 9.

15. How can those who are married strengthen their loyalty to their mates?

¹⁵ How can those who are married strengthen their loyalty to their marriage mates? God’s Word says: “Rejoice with the wife [or husband] of your youth” and, “See life with the wife [or husband] whom you love.” (Proverbs 5:18; Ecclesiastes 9:9) As both mates grow older, they must do everything they can to keep their relationship strong, both physically and emotionally. What does this mean? A couple need to stay close to each other by being kind, taking care of each other’s needs, and spending time with each other. They have to work hard to protect their marriage and their relationship with Jehovah. To do this, couples need to study the Bible together, regularly work in the ministry together, and pray together for Jehovah’s blessing.

STAY LOYAL TO JEHOVAH

16, 17. (a) How might our loyalty to God be tested in the family and in the congregation? (b) What example shows that good results can come when we obey God’s command not to associate with disfellowshipped relatives?

¹⁶ There are those in the congregation who committed serious sins and were disciplined “with severity, that they may be healthy in the faith.” (Titus 1:13) Because of their conduct, some had to be disfellowshipped. For “those who have been trained by it,” the discipline has helped them to repair their relationship with God. (Hebrews 12:11) What if we have a relative or a close friend who is disfellowshipped? What we do in this situation is a test of whether we are loyal to that person or to God. Our loyalty should be to Jehovah. He is watching us to see whether we follow his command not to have association with anyone who is disfellowshipped.​—Read 1 Corinthians 5:11-13.

¹⁷ One example shows us the good results that can come when a family remains loyal to Jehovah by following his command not to associate with disfellowshipped relatives. A young man had been disfellowshipped for over ten years. During that time, his father, mother, and four brothers “quit mixing in company” with him. Sometimes he would try to spend time with them, but each member of the family stayed loyal. They did not have any contact with him. After he was reinstated, or accepted back into the congregation, he said that he always missed being with his family, especially at night when he was alone. He said that if his family had spent even a little time with him, it would have satisfied his need to be with them. But they did not communicate with him in any way. So the strong desire to be with them was one reason why he wanted to repair his relationship with Jehovah. Remember this example if ever you are tempted to break God’s command not to associate with your disfellowshipped relatives.

18. Now that we have learned about the examples of loyalty and disloyalty, what will you do?

¹⁸ We live in a world where people are disloyal and betray one another. But in the congregation, we have many examples of people who are loyal and whom we can imitate. The way they live shows “how loyal and righteous and unblamable” they are. (1 Thessalonians 2:10) Let us do everything we can to stay loyal to God and to one another.

[Footnotes]

SOME EXPRESSIONS EXPLAINED

Betrayal: To be disloyal and unfaithful to someone who loves and trusts you

Adultery: A married person has sex with someone he or she is not married to

Disfellowshipped: To be removed from the congregation and no longer be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses

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In real life, disloyalty and betrayal cause pain and suffering

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In the congregation, there are many examples of people who are loyal

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Even though others rejected Jesus, Peter was loyal to Jesus as God’s anointed Son