-
The Word of Jehovah Never FailsThe Watchtower—2007 | November 1
-
-
Jehovah Delivers His People
5, 6. How did Jehovah deliver the Israelites from Egypt, and what did this demonstrate?
5 When the Israelites cried out to God because of their slavery in Egypt, Jehovah took notice. (Exodus 2:23-25) At the burning bush, Jehovah said to Moses: “I am proceeding to go down to deliver [my people] out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a land good and spacious, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” (Exodus 3:8) How exciting it must have been to see Jehovah bring this about! When Pharaoh refused to let Israel leave Egypt, Moses informed him that God would turn the waters of the Nile into blood. Jehovah’s word did not fail. The water in the Nile River was turned into blood. The fish died, and the river water was undrinkable. (Exodus 7:14-21) Pharaoh remained obstinate, and Jehovah brought nine more plagues, describing each one in advance. (Exodus, chapters 8-12) After the tenth plague struck dead the firstborn of Egypt, Pharaoh ordered the Israelites to leave—and leave they did!—Exodus 12:29-32.
6 That deliverance opened the way for Jehovah to adopt Israel as his chosen nation. It magnified Jehovah as the Fulfiller of promises, the one whose word never fails. It demonstrated Jehovah’s supremacy over the gods of the nations. Reading about that deliverance strengthens our faith. Imagine what it must have been like to experience it! Joshua saw that Jehovah was without doubt “the Most High over all the earth.”—Psalm 83:18.
Jehovah Protects His People
7. How did Jehovah protect the Israelites from Pharaoh’s army?
7 What of the second assurance—Jehovah would protect his people? This assurance was implicit in Jehovah’s promise that he would deliver them from Egypt and let them enter the Promised Land. Recall that the enraged Pharaoh pursued Israel with his powerful army, equipped with hundreds of chariots. How confident that arrogant man must have been, especially when the Israelites appeared to be trapped between the mountains and the sea! Now God stepped in to protect his people by stationing a cloud between the two camps. On the Egyptian side was darkness; on the Israelite side was light. While the cloud stalled the Egyptian advance, Moses lifted his rod and the waters of the Red Sea parted, providing both an escape path for the Israelites and a trap for the Egyptians. Jehovah utterly destroyed Pharaoh’s mighty military machine, protecting His people from certain defeat.—Exodus 14:19-28.
-
-
The Word of Jehovah Never FailsThe Watchtower—2007 | November 1
-
-
Deliverance in Modern Times
11. What occurred in Brooklyn, New York, in 1914, and the time for what had then arrived?
11 What of our time? On Friday morning, October 2, 1914, Charles Taze Russell, who took the lead at that time among the Bible Students, strode into the dining room at Bethel in Brooklyn, New York. “Good morning, all,” he said cheerily. Then, before taking his seat, he joyfully announced: “The Gentile times have ended; their kings have had their day.” Once again, the time had come for Jehovah, the Sovereign of the universe, to act in behalf of his people. And act he did!
12. What deliverance occurred in 1919, and for what did this pave the way?
12 Just five years later, Jehovah delivered his people from “Babylon the Great,” the mighty world empire of false religion. (Revelation 18:2) Few of us are old enough to have witnessed that exciting deliverance. Yet, we plainly see the results. Jehovah reestablished pure worship and united those who yearned to worship him. This had been foretold through the prophet Isaiah: “It must occur in the final part of the days that the mountain of the house of Jehovah will become firmly established above the top of the mountains, and it will certainly be lifted up above the hills; and to it all the nations must stream.”—Isaiah 2:2.
13. What increase among Jehovah’s people have you seen?
13 Isaiah’s words did not fail to come true. In 1919 the anointed remnant began a bold worldwide witnessing campaign that raised the worship of the true God on high. In the 1930’s, it became evident that the “other sheep” were being gathered in. (John 10:16) First came thousands, then hundreds of thousands, and now millions are taking a stand for pure worship! In a vision given to the apostle John, they are described as “a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues.” (Revelation 7:9) What have you seen during your lifetime? How many Witnesses of Jehovah were there on earth when you first learned the truth? Today, those who serve Jehovah number more than 6,700,000. By delivering his people from Babylon the Great, Jehovah opened the way for the thrilling increase that we now see on a global scale.
14. What deliverance is yet to come?
14 Another act of deliverance is yet to come—one that will involve everyone on the face of the earth. In a stunning display of power, Jehovah will sweep aside all who oppose him, and he will deliver his people into a new world in which righteousness is to dwell. What a delight it will be to see an end to wickedness and the dawn of the most glorious era in all human history!—Revelation 21:1-4.
-