How Jesus Was Protected

JEHOVAH sometimes does things in a wonderful way to protect those who are young and who are unable to protect themselves. If you go walking in the country, you may see one way that Jehovah does this. But at first you may not really understand what is happening.

You see a bird land on the ground near you. It seems to be hurt. It drags one of its wings and moves away when you try to approach it. As you follow the bird, it keeps just ahead of you. Then, suddenly, the bird flies away. Its wing was not hurt at all! Do you know what the bird was doing?—

Well, close to where the bird landed near you, its babies were hidden in the bushes. The mother bird was afraid that you might find them and hurt them. So she pretended to be hurt and led you away. Do you know who can protect us as a mother bird does her babies?— In the Bible, Jehovah is compared to a bird called an eagle, which helps its little ones.​—Deuteronomy 32:11, 12.

The most precious child of Jehovah is his dear Son, Jesus. When Jesus was in heaven, he was a powerful spirit person like his Father. He could take care of himself. But when Jesus was born as a baby on earth, he was helpless. He needed protection.

To fulfill God’s will for him on earth, Jesus had to grow up and become a perfect, full-grown man. Satan, however, tried to kill Jesus before that could happen. The attempts to kill Jesus when he was a child and the ways Jehovah protected him make an exciting story. Would you like to hear it?—

A short time after Jesus is born, Satan causes what appears to be a star to shine in the sky in the East. Men called astrologers, who study the stars, follow the star hundreds of miles to Jerusalem. There they ask where the one to be king of the Jews is to be born. When men who know what the Bible says about this are asked, they answer: “In Bethlehem.”​—Matthew 2:1-6.

After Herod, the bad king in Jerusalem, hears about this new king who has recently been born in the nearby town of Bethlehem, he tells the astrologers: ‘Search and find the child, and then come back and tell me.’ Do you know why Herod wants to know where to find Jesus?— It is because Herod is jealous and wants to kill him!

How does God protect his Son?— Well, when the astrologers find Jesus, they give him gifts. Later God gives the astrologers a warning in a dream not to return to Herod. So they go home another way without returning to Jerusalem. When Herod finds out that the astrologers have left, he is very angry. In an effort to kill Jesus, Herod has all the boys in Bethlehem under two years of age killed! But by then, Jesus is gone.

Do you know how Jesus escapes?— After the astrologers leave to go home, Jehovah gives a warning to Mary’s husband, Joseph, to get up and run far away to Egypt. There Jesus is safe from bad Herod. Years later, when Mary and Joseph return from Egypt with Jesus, God gives another warning to Joseph. He tells him in a dream to move to Nazareth, where Jesus will be safe.​—Matthew 2:7-23.

Do you see how Jehovah protected his Son?— Who would you say is like the little birds hidden by their mother in the bushes or like Jesus when he was a small child? Aren’t you like them?— There are those who want to hurt you too. Do you know who?—

The Bible says that Satan is like a roaring lion who wants to eat us. And just as lions often pick on small animals, Satan and his demons often pick on children. (1 Peter 5:8) But Jehovah is stronger than Satan. Jehovah can protect his children or undo anything bad that Satan does to them.

Do you remember from Chapter 10 of this book what the Devil and his demons try to get us to do?— Yes, they try to get us to have the kind of sex relations that God says is wrong. But who only should have sex relations?— Yes, two grown people of the opposite sex who are married to each other.

However, sad to say, some grown-ups like to have sex with children. When they do, boys and girls may begin to do bad things that they have learned from these grown-ups. They also begin to use their sex organs in a wrong way. That is what happened a long time ago in the city of Sodom. The Bible says that people there, “from boy to old man,” tried to have sex with men who had come to visit Lot.​—Genesis 19:4, 5.

So just as Jesus needed protection, you also need to be protected from grown-ups​—and even from other children—​who may try to have sex with you. Usually, these people will pretend to be your friends. They may even offer you something if you will promise not to tell others about what they want to do with you. But these people are selfish, like Satan and his demons, and they only want to get pleasure for themselves. And they try to get this pleasure by having sex with children. This is very wrong!

Do you know what they may do to get pleasure for themselves?— Well, they may try to rub your sex organs. Or they will even rub their sex organs against yours. But you should never let anybody play with your penis or vulva. Not even your own brother or sister or your mother or father. These parts of your body are private.

How can you protect your body from people who do bad things like this?— First of all, do not let anybody play with your sex organs. If someone tries to do this, say firmly in a loud voice: “Stop that! I’m going to tell on you!” And if that person says that what happened is your fault, don’t believe that. It is not true. Just go and tell on him no matter who it is! You should do so even if he says that what you are doing together is a secret just between you and him. Even if that person promises you nice presents or makes scary threats, you should get away from him and tell on him anyway.

You do not have to be afraid, but you do need to be careful. When your parents warn you about people or places that could be a danger to you, you need to listen to them. If you do, you take away a bad person’s chance to hurt you.