in connection with the worship of the true God. So in the next portion we make reference to some history that may be an encouragement and assurance to us in this wonderful day of the establishment of the theocratic kingdom.

The Reassuring History of Dedication

“Fear Jehovah and serve him with integrity and in truth . . . as for me and my household, we shall serve Jehovah.”—Josh. 24:14, 15, NW.

1. Why does worship of Jehovah call for dedication to him, and how is this shown in the case of Israel in Egypt?

WORSHIP means to treat with reverence because of merit or worth due to the quality or sum of the qualities of the object of worship. Therefore worship of Jehovah God calls for dedication to him because of his completely worthy qualities. In Egypt, Moses and fellow Israelites worshiped Jehovah, declining to go contrary to his laws. (Ex. 1:17, 21; Heb. 11:23-29) Jehovah recognized Israel as his people: “Unquestionably I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, . . . And I am proceeding to go down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians . . . And now come and let me send you to Pharaoh and you bring my people the sons of Israel out of Egypt.” (Ex. 3:7-10, NW) Mindful of his purposes as expressed in his covenant established with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and looking to the eventual provision of the Seed of deliverance, Jehovah ‘proceeded to remember his covenant.’ (Ex. 6:5, NW) His words to be addressed to the sons of Israel by Moses were: “And I shall certainly take you to me as a people and I shall indeed prove to be God to you and you will certainly know that I am Jehovah your God who is bringing you out from under the burdens of Egypt. And I shall certainly bring you into the land that I raised my hand in oath to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and I shall indeed give it to you as something to possess. I am Jehovah.”—Ex. 6:7, 8, NW.

2. How is the purpose of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt shown?

² Repeatedly it was made plain on that occasion of the great deliverance from Egypt that the purpose of taking Israel out of that land was that they might worship or serve Jehovah as his own people. Israel decided to do what Jehovah would have them do, even though they at the time did not know just what would be involved following their deliverance from Egypt. (Ex. 10:26) Concerning that people Jehovah had stated to Moses: “And you must say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what Jehovah has said: “Israel is my son, my first-born. And I say to you: Send my son away that he may serve me. But should you refuse to send him away, here I am killing your son, your first-born.”’”—Ex. 4:22, 23, NW.

3. Give facts showing steps to the dedication of Israel.

³ By his power Jehovah brought this word to pass, destroying the might of Egypt and delivering his people Israel. This delivered people, devoted to him, were Jehovah’s to command, as is emphasized when “Jehovah spoke further to Moses, saying: ‘Sanctify to me every male firstborn that opens each womb among the sons of Israel, among men and beasts. It is mine.’” (Ex. 13:1, 2, NW) At the time of the deliverance from Egypt, and subsequently, details of worship were set before this devoted people. At Mount Sinai through a covenant arrangement Jehovah emphasized to the nation of Israel the special relationship in which they were with him, and there Israel as a nation, all the people, declared their agreement to their dedication. Jehovah said: “And now if you will strictly obey my voice and will indeed keep my covenant, then you will certainly become my special property out of all other peoples, because the whole earth belongs to me. And you yourselves will become to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” “After that all the people answered unanimously and said: ‘All that Jehovah has spoken we are willing to do.’”—Ex. 19:5, 6, 8, NW.

4. Explain the way of life into which Israel was initiated, stating the many facts indicating what Jehovah exacted.

⁴ So it was to a willing nation of delivered individuals, a people whom he owned as a peculiar possession of his, that “God proceeded to speak all these words, saying: ‘I am Jehovah your God, who have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves. You must never have any other gods against my face.’” (Ex. 20:1-3, NW) Read the first seventeen verses of the 20th chapter of Exodus 20:1-17, noting particularly that in Ex 20 verse 5 it is stated, “I Jehovah your God am a God exacting exclusive devotion.” (NW) The chapters following relate detailed terms of the covenant there proposed, and end with the words: “You are not to conclude a covenant with them or their gods. They should not dwell in your land, that they may not cause you to sin against me. In case you should serve their gods, it would become a snare to you.” (Ex. 23:32, 33, NW) Through their deliverance from Egypt and their organization under the law of Jehovah God given to them through Moses, the nation of Israel were initiated into a way of life that was centered around the worship of God, who was their Ruler, Lawgiver, Judge and object of their worship. They recognized this, saying in dedication: “All that Jehovah has spoken we are willing to do and be obedient.” (Ex. 24:7, NW) Subsequently showing again his proper direction of the affairs of his people, Jehovah stated: “Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel and the domestic animals of the Levites in place of their domestic animals, and the Levites must become mine. I am Jehovah.” (Num. 3:45, NW) Jehovah caused the nation to be further organized for the proper carrying out of all things in connection with his worship, ceremonial and governmental, as he was their King and Ruler.

5. Relate the historical events herein enumerated and show how they establish dedication to be a serious personal step.

⁵ During the history of God’s people Israel there were many times when individuals dedicated things or persons. In the 20th chapter of Deuteronomy we have the account of the procedure when a man called to war had a house that he had not yet initiated or inaugurated. At 2 Samuel 8:11 David is said to have “dedicated” vessels. The word “dedicated” here appearing has the meaning of making to be a sacred thing. At 1 Kings 7:51 Solomon brings into the temple the items that David had previously dedicated to Jehovah’s use. At 1 Kings 8:63 the king and all the people are revealed inaugurating the house of Jehovah, initiating it into its proper use in Jehovah’s worship. The good woman Hannah vowed to dedicate her babe to Jehovah before it was conceived and her child Samuel served faithfully in the worship of Jehovah God. (1 Sam. 1:11) Samuel took personal action in respect to his dedicated service, as shown at 1 Samuel 3:10: “Then Samuel said, Speak; for thy servant heareth.” (AS) His continued obedience is shown throughout the account of his ministry, including 1 Samuel 3:19, 20 (AS), which states: “And Samuel grew, and Jehovah was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of Jehovah.” The prophet Isaiah took a volunteer step in God’s service: “And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people.” (Isa. 6:8, 9, AS) The testimony of the account of true worship throughout the ages is uniform in showing that dedication was a serious personal step in the right direction taken by all of those who worshiped Jehovah God and received his approval.

THE DEDICATION OF THE SON OF GOD

6. In the case of Jesus, why was his personal dedication in order, and why important?

⁶ Of all the examples of dedication to Jehovah God, the outstanding one is that of Christ Jesus. Jesus was devoted to his God. He kept the law of the Jews. Under this law Jesus became of age at thirty years and faced the question as to what he was going to do with his life. Would he do God’s will? Was it God’s will that he keep on being a carpenter and simply conform to the Mosaic law? No, the worship of Jehovah was to be advanced and great steps forward were to be taken respecting the carrying out of his purposes including the establishment of a new theocratic organization, the Christian congregation, the gathering of its members, and eventually thereafter the establishment of the antitypical theocratic government, the kingdom of heaven, and the new world of righteousness. Jesus was acquainted with his Father and with his Father’s word in the Hebrew Scriptures. He knew Jehovah’s worthiness and was not content with being a carpenter nor would he selfishly turn aside from a pursuit of his Father’s will. He made a decision. He made up his mind. He charted a course of action for the rest of his life. He fulfilled the prophecy of the 40th Psalm, which states, in part: “Sacrifice and offering thou hast no delight in; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I am come; in the roll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart.” (Ps. 40:6-8, AS) In the tenth chapter of Hebrews the apostle Paul quotes from this prophecy, stating that it applied to Christ Jesus at his dedication. So we see this devoted Son of God made a personal, solemn dedication of himself to his God, to do his will and follow the law of God held in the heart of this dedicated servant. From that course of action into which he was there initiated he never swerved. That decision was important to Jesus. A similar decision is important to you.

7. (a) What leads up to dedication? (b) Are formalities appropriate? Why?

⁷ What led up to Jesus’ dedication? Knowledge that he had concerning God, love for his heavenly Father and earnest desire to forward the cause of pure worship to the advancement of Jehovah’s purposes to the vindication of his name. What leads a man to dedicate himself to Jehovah today? A knowledge of the truth, an understanding of Jehovah’s purposes, the possibilities of life set before men through Christ Jesus, appreciation of God’s provisions through his Son, love developed in the heart of the individual and a decision to follow, not the practices and standards of the ungodly, Devil-ruled old world, but the will of God in vindication of his name. It is a dedication to the Supreme One. Why did not Jesus simply go about his work,