And I must bring them back from the land of Egypt; and from Assyria I shall collect them together; and to the land of Gilead and Lebanon I shall bring them, and no room will be found for them.

Zechariah 10:8-12.

29. (a) When did Jehovah humble the pride of Assyria, as foretold? (b) When did He whistle for his people who were scattered like seed, and what response was there to this?

²⁹ In this divine utterance the term Assyria would take in the territories to which the Assyrians deported the survivors of the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel in 740 B.C.E.

30. What obstacles are suggested as to gathering his exiled people from Egypt, and how would Jehovah deal with those obstacles?

³⁰ Many of the exiles had been taken into exile or had fled for refuge into Egypt to the south. (2 Kings 23:31-34; 25:22-26) So Jehovah ‘whistled’ in that direction also. From there he collected members of the remnant to worship him at his temple in Jerusalem.

31. (a) How would Jehovah take care of any tendency toward overpopulating the land, and still allow for growth? (b) In what sense would they walk about in His name?

³¹ There was no fear of overpopulating the land. The Owner of all the earth would merely enlarge the borders of the land for his restored exiles. Their borders would take in the “land of Gilead” to the east of the Jordan River. Yes, also the land of Lebanon to the west along the Mediterranean Sea. In this enlarged area of occupancy they must “become many, just like those who have become many.” Their rate of population growth will not be behind that of any other populous land. They will be just as many as ever.