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“The People Whose God Is Jehovah”The Watchtower—2014 | November 15
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“The People Whose God Is Jehovah”
“Happy is the people whose God is Jehovah!”—PS. 144:15.
1. What do some think with regard to God’s having a people on earth?
MANY thinking people today readily admit that mainstream religions, inside and outside Christendom, do little to benefit mankind. Some agree that such religious systems misrepresent God by their teachings and by their conduct and therefore cannot have God’s approval. They believe, however, that there are sincere people in all religions and that God sees them and accepts them as his worshippers on earth. They see no need for such ones to quit engaging in false religion in order to worship as a separate people. But does this thinking represent God’s? Let us find the answer by reviewing some of the Scriptural history of Jehovah’s true worshippers.
A COVENANT PEOPLE
2. Who in time became Jehovah’s distinct people, and what distinguished them from other peoples? (See opening image.)
2 As early as the 20th century B.C.E., Jehovah had a distinct people on earth. Abraham, called “the father of all those having faith,” was the head of a household numbering into the hundreds. (Rom. 4:11; Gen. 14:14) Rulers in Canaan considered him to be “a great chieftain” and treated him with respect. (Gen. 21:22; 23:6, ftn.) Jehovah made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants. (Gen. 17:1, 2, 19) God told Abraham: “This is my covenant between me and you, that you and your offspring after you will keep: Every male among you must get circumcised. . . . And it will serve as a sign of the covenant between me and you.” (Gen. 17:10, 11) Accordingly, Abraham and all the male members of his household were circumcised. (Gen. 17:24-27) Circumcision was a physical sign that distinguished Abraham’s descendants as the only people who were in a covenant relationship with Jehovah.
3. How did Abraham’s descendants develop as a people?
3 Abraham’s grandson Jacob, or Israel, had 12 sons. (Gen. 35:10, 22b-26) In time, these were to become the patriarchal heads of the 12 tribes of Israel. (Acts 7:8) Because of a famine, Jacob and his household took refuge in Egypt, where one of Jacob’s sons, Joseph, had become Pharaoh’s food administrator and right-hand man. (Gen. 41:39-41; 42:6) Jacob’s descendants became very numerous, “a congregation of peoples.”—Gen. 48:4; read Acts 7:17.
A REDEEMED PEOPLE
4. At first, what relationship existed between the Egyptians and the descendants of Jacob?
4 The descendants of Jacob remained in Egypt for a little over two centuries, in a region of the Nile delta named Goshen. (Gen. 45:9, 10) It would seem that during approximately half of that time, they lived in peaceful coexistence with the Egyptians, dwelling in small towns and pasturing their flocks and herds. They had been warmly welcomed by Pharaoh, who knew and appreciated Joseph. (Gen. 47:1-6) As for the Egyptian people, they had a particular disdain for those who herded sheep. (Gen. 46:31-34) Nevertheless, they had to tolerate the Israelites’ presence.
5, 6. (a) How did the situation of God’s people change in Egypt? (b) How was Moses’ life spared, and what did Jehovah do for all of His people?
5 But the situation of God’s people was to change dramatically. “In time there arose over Egypt a new king, one who did not know Joseph. So he said to his people: ‘Look! The people of Israel are more numerous and mightier than we are.’ Consequently, the Egyptians forced the Israelites into harsh slavery. They made their life bitter with hard labor, as they worked with clay mortar and bricks and in every form of slavery in the field. Yes, they made them toil in harsh conditions in every form of slavery.”—Ex. 1:8, 9, 13, 14.
6 Pharaoh even decreed that all Hebrew male babies should be put to death at their birth. (Ex. 1:15, 16) It was at that time that Moses was born. When he was three months old, he was hidden by his mother in the reeds of the Nile, where Pharaoh’s daughter found him. She later adopted him. Providentially, during his early years, Moses was brought up by his faithful mother, Jochebed, and he became a loyal servant of Jehovah. (Ex. 2:1-10; Heb. 11:23-25) Jehovah “took notice” of the sufferings of his people and decided to deliver them from their oppressors, under the leadership of Moses. (Ex. 2:24, 25; 3:9, 10) They would thus become a people “redeemed” by Jehovah.—Ex. 15:13; read Deuteronomy 15:15.
A PEOPLE BECOME A NATION
7, 8. How did Jehovah’s people become a holy nation?
7 Although Jehovah had not yet organized the Israelites as a nation, he recognized them as his people. Thus, Moses and Aaron were instructed to say to Pharaoh: “This is what Jehovah the God of Israel says, ‘Send my people away so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.’”—Ex. 5:1.
8 It took ten plagues and the destruction of Pharaoh and his armed forces in the waters of the Red Sea to deliver the sons of Israel from Egyptian oppression. (Ex. 15:1-4) Less than three months later, Jehovah made a covenant with the Israelites at Mount Sinai and gave them this historic promise: “If you will strictly obey my voice and keep my covenant, you will certainly become my special property out of all peoples, . . . a holy nation.”—Ex. 19:5, 6.
9, 10. (a) According to Deuteronomy 4:5-8, how did the Law set the Israelites apart from other peoples? (b) How were the Israelites to prove themselves “a people holy to Jehovah”?
9 While in Egypt, before they were reduced to slavery, the Hebrews were organized as a tribal society, administrated by family heads, or patriarchs. These family heads, like the servants of Jehovah who lived before them, acted as rulers, judges, and priests to their households. (Gen. 8:20; 18:19; Job 1:4, 5) Through Moses, however, Jehovah gave the Israelites a law code that would distinguish them from all other nations. (Read Deuteronomy 4:5-8; Ps. 147:19, 20.) The Law established a separate priesthood, and justice was administered by “the elders,” who were respected for their knowledge and wisdom. (Deut. 25:7, 8) The Law codified the religious and social activities of the newborn nation.
10 Just before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, Jehovah repeated his laws to them, and Moses told them: “Today Jehovah has obtained your declaration that you will become his people, his special property, just as he has promised you, and that you will observe all his commandments and that he will put you high above all the other nations that he has made, giving you praise and fame and glory as you prove yourself a people holy to Jehovah your God.”—Deut. 26:18, 19.
FOREIGN RESIDENTS WELCOME
11-13. (a) Who became associated with God’s chosen people? (b) What would a non-Israelite want to do if he wished to worship Jehovah?
11 Although Jehovah now had a chosen nation on earth, he did not forbid the presence of non-Israelites among his people. He allowed “a vast mixed company” of non-Israelites, including Egyptians, to accompany his people when he delivered them from Egypt. (Ex. 12:38; ftn.) At the time of the seventh plague, some “among Pharaoh’s servants” feared Jehovah’s word and doubtless became a part of the mixed company that left Egypt with the Israelites.—Ex. 9:20.
12 Just before the Israelites crossed the Jordan to take possession of Canaan, Moses told them that they “must love the foreign resident” in their midst. (Deut. 10:17-19) God’s chosen people were to accept in their community any foreigners who were willing to observe the basic laws given by Moses. (Lev. 24:22) Some foreign residents became worshippers of Jehovah, sharing the feelings of the Moabite Ruth, who declared to the Israelite Naomi: “Your people will be my people, and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16) These foreign residents became proselytes, and the males submitted to circumcision. (Ex. 12:48, 49) Jehovah welcomed them as members of the community of his chosen people.—Num. 15:14, 15.
13 When Solomon’s temple was dedicated to Jehovah, provision was made for non-Israelite worshippers, as reflected in Solomon’s prayer: “Concerning the foreigner who is not part of your people Israel and who comes from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm, and he comes and prays toward this house, may you then listen from the heavens, your dwelling place, and do all that the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as your people Israel do, and may know that your name has been called on this house that I have built.” (2 Chron. 6:32, 33) As was still true in Jesus’ day, any non-Israelite who wished to worship Jehovah would want to associate with His covenant people.—John 12:20; Acts 8:27.
A NATION OF WITNESSES
14-16. (a) In what way were the Israelites to be a nation of witnesses for Jehovah? (b) What are Jehovah’s present-day people morally obligated to do?
14 The Israelites worshipped their God, Jehovah, whereas the other nations worshipped their own deities. At the time of the prophet Isaiah, Jehovah compared the world situation to that of a court trial. He challenged the gods of the nations to produce witnesses to confirm their divinity, declaring: “Let all the nations assemble in one place, and let the peoples be gathered together. Who [of their gods] among them can tell this? Or can they cause us to hear the first things? Let them present their witnesses to prove themselves right, or let them hear and say, ‘It is the truth!’”—Isa. 43:9.
15 The gods of the nations were unable to produce any evidence of their godship. They were mere idols that were speechless and that needed to be carried around. (Isa. 46:5-7) On the other hand, Jehovah told his people Israel: “You are my witnesses, . . . yes, my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and have faith in me and understand that I am the same One. Before me no God was formed, and after me there has been none. I—I am Jehovah, and besides me there is no savior. . . . So you are my witnesses, . . . and I am God.”—Isa. 43:10-12.
16 In what would amount to a universal court case over the issue “Who is the Supreme God?,” Jehovah’s chosen people were to attest loud and clear that Jehovah is the one true God. He called them “the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.” (Isa. 43:21) They were the people who bore his name. Redeemed from Egypt by Jehovah, they were under a moral obligation to support his sovereignty before the other peoples of the earth. In effect, their stance was to be like that later set forth for God’s present-day people by the prophet Micah: “All the peoples will walk, each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God forever and ever.”—Mic. 4:5.
A RENEGADE PEOPLE
17. In Jehovah’s eyes, how did Israel become ‘a degenerate foreign vine’?
17 Sadly, Israel did not prove faithful to their God, Jehovah. They allowed themselves to be influenced by nations that worshipped gods of wood and stone. In the eighth century B.C.E., the prophet Hosea wrote: “Israel is a degenerate vine . . . He multiplies his altars . . . Their heart is hypocritical; now they will be found guilty.” (Hos. 10:1, 2) About a century and a half later, Jeremiah recorded these words of Jehovah to His unfaithful people: “I planted you as a choice red vine, all of it pure seed; so how have you turned into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine before me? . . . Where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them rise up if they can save you in your time of calamity . . . My own people have forgotten me.”—Jer. 2:21, 28, 32.
18, 19. (a) How did Jehovah foretell that he would produce a new people for his name? (b) What will be examined in the following article?
18 Instead of producing fine fruitage by practicing pure worship and acting as Jehovah’s faithful witnesses, Israel produced the rotten fruitage of idolatry. Thus, Jesus told the hypocritical Jewish leaders of his day: “The Kingdom of God will be taken from you and be given to a nation producing its fruits.” (Matt. 21:43) Only those in the “new covenant,” foretold by Jehovah through his prophet Jeremiah, could be part of that new nation, spiritual Israel. Of the spiritual Israelites who would be brought into that new covenant, Jehovah had prophesied: “I will become their God, and they will become my people.”—Jer. 31:31-33.
19 After fleshly Israel proved unfaithful, Jehovah made spiritual Israel his people in the first century, as already noted. But who are his people on earth today? How can honesthearted ones identify God’s true worshippers? This is the subject of the following article.
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“Now You Are God’s People”The Watchtower—2014 | November 15
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“Now You Are God’s People”
“You were once not a people, but now you are God’s people.”—1 PET. 2:10.
1, 2. What change took place at Pentecost 33 C.E., and who became members of Jehovah’s new people? (See opening image.)
PENTECOST 33 C.E. was a milestone in the history of Jehovah’s people on earth. A radical change took place. On that day, by means of his spirit, Jehovah brought forth a new nation—spiritual Israel, “the Israel of God.” (Gal. 6:16) For the first time since the days of Abraham, God’s people would no longer be identified by the fleshly circumcision of their males. Instead, regarding each member of that new nation, Paul wrote: “His circumcision is that of the heart by spirit.”—Rom. 2:29.
2 The first members of God’s new nation were the apostles and over a hundred other disciples of Christ who had met together in an upper room in Jerusalem. (Acts 1:12-15) These received the outpouring of the holy spirit, which made them spirit-begotten sons of God. (Rom. 8:15, 16; 2 Cor. 1:21) This gave proof that the new covenant had gone into operation, mediated by Christ and validated by his blood. (Luke 22:20; read Hebrews 9:15.) These disciples thus became members of Jehovah’s new nation, his new people. Holy spirit enabled them to preach in the different languages spoken by the Jews and proselytes who had come to Jerusalem from throughout the Roman Empire to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Weeks, or Pentecost. These people heard and understood in their own tongue “the magnificent things of God” preached by the spirit-begotten Christians.—Acts 2:1-11.
THE NEW PEOPLE OF GOD
3-5. (a) What did Peter tell the Jews on the day of Pentecost? (b) What successive steps contributed to the growth of Jehovah’s new nation during the early years of its existence?
3 Jehovah used the apostle Peter to take the lead in opening up the way for Jews and proselytes to become members of this newborn nation, the Christian congregation. On the day of Pentecost, Peter boldly told the Jews that they must accept Jesus, the man they had “fastened to a stake,” because “God made him both Lord and Christ.” When the crowd asked what they should do, Peter replied: “Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the free gift of the holy spirit.” (Acts 2:22, 23, 36-38) That day, some 3,000 people were added to the new nation of spiritual Israel. (Acts 2:41) Afterward, the zealous preaching of the apostles continued to bear more fruit. (Acts 6:7) The new nation was growing.
4 Later, the preaching work was extended to the Samaritans, with good success. Many were baptized by the evangelizer Philip, but they did not immediately receive the holy spirit. The governing body in Jerusalem sent the apostles Peter and John to these Samaritan converts, and “they laid their hands on them, and they began to receive holy spirit.” (Acts 8:5, 6, 14-17) Hence, these Samaritans also became spirit-anointed members of spiritual Israel.
5 In 36 C.E., Peter was again used to extend to others entrance into the new nation of spiritual Israel. This occurred when he preached to the Roman centurion Cornelius and his relatives and friends. (Acts 10:22, 24, 34, 35) The Bible record states: “While Peter was still speaking . . . , the holy spirit came upon all those [non-Jews] hearing the word. And the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed, because the free gift of the holy spirit was being poured out also on people of the nations.” (Acts 10:44, 45) Thus, membership in the new nation of spiritual Israel was now extended to believers who were uncircumcised Gentiles.
“A PEOPLE FOR HIS NAME”
6, 7. In what ways were members of the new nation to act as “a people for [Jehovah’s] name,” and to what extent did they do so?
6 At a meeting of the governing body of first-century Christians held in 49 C.E., the disciple James stated: “Symeon [Peter] has related thoroughly how God for the first time turned his attention to the nations to take out of them a people for his name.” (Acts 15:14) This new people bearing Jehovah’s name would include both Jewish and non-Jewish believers. (Rom. 11:25, 26a) Later, Peter wrote: “You were once not a people, but now you are God’s people.” Peter outlined their mission by stating: “You are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for special possession, that you should declare abroad the excellencies’ of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Pet. 2:9, 10) They were to sound forth the praises of the One they represented and publicly glorify his name. They were to be courageous witnesses for Jehovah, the Universal Sovereign.
7 As had been true of fleshly Israel, members of spiritual Israel were the ones Jehovah called “the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.” (Isa. 43:21) Exposing all the false gods that were being worshipped at that time, those early Christians boldly proclaimed that Jehovah is the one true God. (1 Thess. 1:9) They bore witness to Jehovah and to Jesus “in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the most distant part of the earth.”—Acts 1:8; Col. 1:23.
8. What warning did the apostle Paul give to God’s people in the first century?
8 An intrepid member of the first-century “people for [Jehovah’s] name” was the apostle Paul. Standing before pagan philosophers, he boldly defended the sovereignty of Jehovah, “the God who made the world and all the things in it, being, as he is, Lord of heaven and earth.” (Acts 17:18, 23-25) Toward the end of his third missionary journey, Paul warned members of God’s name people: “I know that after my going away oppressive wolves will enter in among you and will not treat the flock with tenderness, and from among you yourselves men will rise and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves.” (Acts 20:29, 30) This foretold apostasy had clearly manifested itself by the end of the first century.—1 John 2:18, 19.
9. With regard to the “people for [Jehovah’s] name,” what happened after the death of the apostles?
9 After the death of the apostles, that apostasy blossomed and produced the churches of Christendom. Far from proving to be “a people for [Jehovah’s] name,” apostate Christians have even removed the divine name from many of their translations of the Bible. They have adopted pagan rituals and have dishonored God by their unscriptural dogmas, their “holy wars,” and their immoral conduct. Thus, for centuries, Jehovah had just a sprinkling of faithful worshippers on the earth but no organized “people for his name.”
REBIRTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE
10, 11. (a) What did Jesus foretell in his parable of the wheat and the weeds? (b) How was Jesus’ parable fulfilled after 1914, and with what result?
10 In his parable of the wheat and the weeds, Jesus foretold the spiritual nighttime that would result from the apostasy. He said that “while men were sleeping,” the Devil would oversow with weeds the field where the Son of man had sown wheat seeds. Both would grow together until “the conclusion of the system of things.” Jesus explained that “the fine seed” represents “the sons of the Kingdom” and that “the weeds” are “the sons of the wicked one.” During the time of the end, the Son of man would send forth his “reapers,” the angels, to separate the symbolic wheat from the weeds. The sons of the Kingdom would be gathered. (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43) How did this come about, and what bearing does it have on Jehovah’s having a people on earth?
11 “The conclusion of the system of things” began in 1914. During the war that broke out that year, the few thousand anointed Christians, “the sons of the Kingdom,” were in spiritual captivity to Babylon the Great. In 1919, Jehovah delivered them, making a clear distinction between them and “the weeds,” or imitation Christians. He gathered “the sons of the Kingdom” into an organized people, in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy: “Will a land be brought to birth in one day? Or will a nation be born all at once? Yet, as soon as Zion went into labor, she gave birth to her sons.” (Isa. 66:8) Zion, Jehovah’s organization of spirit beings, brought forth her spirit-anointed sons and organized them into a nation.
12. How have the anointed shown themselves to be “a people for [Jehovah’s] name” today?
12 Just like the early Christians, the anointed “sons of the Kingdom” were to be witnesses of Jehovah. (Read Isaiah 43:1, 10, 11.) As such, they would stand out as different by their Christian conduct and by their preaching “this good news of the Kingdom . . . for a witness to all the nations.” (Matt. 24:14; Phil. 2:15) In this way, they have brought many, in fact millions, into a righteous standing before Jehovah.—Read Daniel 12:3.
“WE WANT TO GO WITH YOU”
13, 14. To worship and serve Jehovah acceptably, what must those who are not spiritual Israelites do, and how was this foretold in Bible prophecy?
13 We have seen in the preceding article that in ancient Israel, foreigners could worship Jehovah acceptably, but such foreigners had to associate with Jehovah’s covenant people. (1 Ki. 8:41-43) Similarly today, those who are not spiritual Israelites must associate with Jehovah’s people, “the sons of the Kingdom”—Jehovah’s anointed Witnesses.
14 The flocking of many humans to worship Jehovah with his people in this time of the end was foretold by two ancient prophets. Isaiah prophesied: “Many peoples will go and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.’ For law will go out of Zion, and the word of Jehovah out of Jerusalem.” (Isa. 2:2, 3) Likewise, the prophet Zechariah foretold that “many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek Jehovah of armies in Jerusalem and to beg for the favor of Jehovah.” He depicted them as “ten men out of all the languages of the nations” who, symbolically speaking, would take hold of the robe of spiritual Israel, saying: “We want to go with you, for we have heard that God is with you people.”—Zech. 8:20-23.
15. In what work do the “other sheep” “go with” the spiritual Israelites?
15 The “other sheep” “go with” the spiritual Israelites in the work of preaching the good news of the Kingdom. (Mark 13:10) They become a part of God’s people, “one flock” with the anointed, under “the fine shepherd,” Christ Jesus.—Read John 10:14-16.
FIND PROTECTION WITH JEHOVAH’S PEOPLE
16. How will Jehovah bring about the final phase of the “great tribulation”?
16 After the destruction of Babylon the Great, there will be an all-out assault on Jehovah’s people, and at that time we will need to be under the protection that Jehovah will provide for his servants. Since this attack will trigger the final part of the “great tribulation,” it is Jehovah himself who will set the stage and choose the moment for this showdown. (Matt. 24:21; Ezek. 38:2-4) At that time, Gog will attack “a people regathered from the nations,” Jehovah’s people. (Ezek. 38:10-12) That attack will be the signal for the execution of Jehovah’s judgments against Gog and his hordes. Jehovah will magnify his sovereignty and sanctify his name, for he says: “I will certainly . . . make myself known before the eyes of many nations; and they will have to know that I am Jehovah.”—Ezek. 38:18-23.
17, 18. (a) When Gog attacks Jehovah’s people, what instructions will they receive? (b) If we want Jehovah’s protection, what must we do?
17 When Gog begins the assault, Jehovah will tell his servants: “Go, my people, enter your inner rooms, and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourself for a brief moment until the wrath has passed by.” (Isa. 26:20) At that crucial time, Jehovah will give us lifesaving instructions, and the “inner rooms” might well be connected with our local congregations.
18 If, therefore, we wish to benefit from Jehovah’s protection during the great tribulation, we must recognize that Jehovah has a people on earth, organized into congregations. We must continue to take our stand with them and remain closely associated with our local congregation. With all our hearts, may we join the psalmist in proclaiming: “Salvation belongs to Jehovah. Your blessing is upon your people.”—Ps. 3:8.
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