23. State other reasons why all should be completely in their place.

²³ A man or woman who has taken up the ministry and observed all the counsel of God and willingly steps into his proper place becomes an ambassador of Christ and is well qualified to urge others to become reconciled to God by getting into their proper place. The ministry is the way that God is using to enable multitudes of persons to learn how to please God properly. “We are therefore ambassadors substituting for Christ, as though God were making entreaty through us. As substitutes for Christ we beg: ‘Become reconciled to God.’” (2 Cor. 5:20, NW) It is easily seen that for one to humble himself and to be squarely in his proper place is so very important for the success of his ministry and the resulting obtaining of everlasting life not only by others that he preaches to but also by himself.

24. Why do some find it hard to accept Jehovah’s arrangement?

²⁴ This is difficult for many persons to do because of the prestige they may have in this old world. Perhaps one is too proud to carry God’s message of life from door to door. Perhaps he is afraid that some of his business associates and friends will see him. One might feel that he should have an elevated position where all he does is speak from the public platform and instruct large groups. A woman may have been a social worker for many years and used to taking the oversight over many people—men and women. Coming into the New World society she may find it difficult to subject herself to the oversight of men. She may feel that because of her abilities an exception should be made and that she might continue in a work of directing others. Men may have secular positions in which they direct the activities, and successfully so, of dozens or hundreds of other men. When they come into the New World society they might find it hard or may not want willingly to come under the oversight of a man of directive powers inferior to theirs. Many are the conditions that people find themselves faced with that tend to prevent their stepping into a proper place, in God’s perfect arrangement of things.

GOD ADHERES TO ASSIGNMENTS MADE

25. What example in the Bible shows that God does not vary his provisions because an individual would like to have something different?

²⁵ But Jehovah is not going to change his organization because of man or woman. It is up to us to change if we want to fit into God’s organization. Recorded for our benefit is an account where a mighty military man of old desired to take advantage of a provision of Jehovah. He became very angry when no special provision was made for him because of his high position. The man was Naaman, a captain in Syria’s army. “Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him Jehovah had given victory unto Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. And the Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maiden; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would that my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! then would he recover him of his leprosy.” (2 Ki. 5:1-3, AS) This information soon came to the attention of the king of Syria and in typical showy fashion the king wrote a letter to the king of Israel requesting the services of the prophet to heal Naaman, sending along ten talents of silver and six thousand pieces of gold and ten changes of raiment. Arrangements were made and Naaman presented himself before the door of the house of Elisha the prophet, accompanied with an array of horses and chariots as he was accustomed to. But when Elisha did not even bother to come to the door and did not make a show or fuss over Naaman but merely sent a messenger down to him and told him to go and wash in the Jordan River, Naaman was furious and turned away in a rage, stating that the waters of the rivers in his home country were far better than the water of the Jordan. So reads the account: “Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Jehovah his God, and wave his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.” (2 Ki. 5:10-12, AS) One of his servants approached him and calmed him down, pointing out that if Elisha had asked him to do some great thing he would gladly do it; so why not do this small thing. When Naaman did exactly as Elisha had told him, he was completely cured of his leprosy.

26. What provisions do we have today?

²⁶ The mighty military man had to change, and not God. Jehovah had a way for doing it and he was not going to change it just because of the egoism of a mere man. And so it is with Jehovah’s dealings with mankind today. Jehovah has made wonderful provisions—the ransom sacrifice, a theocratic organization with a “faithful and discreet slave” class, one revelation after another of his truths revealed to his people, etc.—all giving any humble and honest person a hope with a sure basis for a spiritual curing today that will lead to everlasting life. (Matt. 24:45-47, NW) He will make no special provisions for a person who might think he is different from or better than others; he is not going to pick out some individual and give him special revelations or extra outpouring of the spirit, but he is dealing with people as a group in an organizational way, giving copious counsel in his Word, the Bible, on how the group is to work together. The growth of the organization and its spiritual prosperity today is visible proof of the truthfulness of this. Today, hundreds of thousands of persons appreciate this and are accepting the provisions that Jehovah has made and are looking forward to further blessings of his kingdom, just as people who knew Jehovah down through the centuries looked forward to the Kingdom and its attending blessings.

27. What one thing have all servants of God looked forward to? This results in what kind of path for all servants?

²⁷ Righteous Abel looked forward to it. So did Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets. (Heb. 11:1-40) Jesus taught us to pray for it and seek it. (Matt. 6:9, 10, 33) The apostles and disciples of Jesus believed in it and looked forward to it, and so do multitudes of persons today. And Jehovah has not let one faithful person down. He has not changed this great purpose of his to have the universe ruled by the righteous kingdom, but has steadily through thousands of years worked out the details for such an arrangement. Thus persons have been able to worship God and know what to look forward to and have not had to be disappointed and change their hopes. God’s Word has been a ‘lamp unto their feet, and a light unto their path.’ (Ps. 119:105) Walking in the way Jehovah directs, they have found their feet on a steady and even place.

28. What kind of path do those not trusting in Jehovah have to walk in?

²⁸ In contrast with this, those persons who have not looked to Jehovah for counsel but have looked to great ones in this old world’s systems have constantly been disappointed and have had their hopes fail them as one scheme after another, one agreement after another, one king after another, has failed to bring them real satisfaction and has always left them with plenty of troubles and problems, many seeming to be unsolvable. Their feet are on a path that is full of pitfalls, a very uneven path with no sure goal in view.

29. What can one say about a place in Jehovah’s congregations?

²⁹ It should be clear, then, that it is not those things that are great and popular in the sight of this old world that are best for man, but it is the arrangement that Jehovah has made that is best. As humble as a place in the congregations of Jehovah’s people may seem to be, it is the place of real safety and value. It is the place that a Christian should seek out, get into it and then keep his place there. This he will do if he has the psalmist’s appreciation: “Jehovah, I love the habitation of thy house, and the place where thy glory dwelleth. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with men of blood; in whose hands is wickedness, and their right hand is full of bribes. But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me. My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless Jehovah.”—Ps. 26:8-12, AS.

Questions From Readers

Jehovah told Balaam to go to Balak, but when he started to go Jehovah was angry with Balaam because he was going. Why?—G. S., England.

Balak king of Moab sent messengers to the prophet Balaam in the land now Iraq. The messengers brought payments to the prophet to hire him to curse Israel. Balaam wanted the rewards, but he had some relations with Jehovah the God of Israel and he wanted Jehovah’s permission to go curse Israel. However, Jehovah told the prophet: “You must not go with them. You must not curse the people, for they are blessed.” So Balaam refused to return with the older men from Moab and Midian. Balak sent more men to Balaam with an entreaty to the prophet to come curse Israel and gain great honor and riches. This time Jehovah said to Balaam: “Get up, go with them. But only the word that I shall speak to you is what you may speak.” Yet immediately after this the record states: “And the anger of God began to blaze because he was going.” Jehovah’s angel blocked the way and the ass on which Balaam rode halted and finally spoke miraculously, and then Balaam saw the angel also. Frightened and ready to turn back, Balaam said: “Let me go my way back.” But Jehovah’s angel said: “Go with the men, and nothing but the word that I shall speak to you is what you may speak.”