number who lived in the cities of refuge were helpful to those taking refuge there. Another purpose of the retirement arrangement was apparently to permit all the Levites the opportunity to have assignments of service at the sanctuary, because of the limited number needed, especially during the time the tent of meeting or tabernacle was in use. There was no retirement provided for the priests, the Levites of the family of Aaron.

THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY

Those who become spiritual “brothers” of Jesus Christ and footstep followers of his are termed a “royal priesthood.” (Heb. 2:10-12; 1 Pet. 2:9) For these there is no provision for retirement. The apostle Paul was active in his ministry while in prison and continued steady ministerial activity until he was put to death. (Acts 28:30, 31; 2 Tim. 4:6, 7) Peter was active to the end of his life. (2 Pet. 1:13-15) John wrote his Gospel and three canonical letters at an extremely old age, in about 98 C.E.

The “great crowd,” who were seen by John after the vision of the 144,000 “sealed” ones, are said to be “rendering [God] sacred service day and night,” or continually. There is therefore no retirement from God’s service for any Christian.—Rev. 7:4, 9, 15.

RETRIBUTION

The dispensing or receiving of reward or punishment according to the just deserts of the individual or the group; that given or exacted in recompense, especially for evil.

Variants of, or words drawn from, the Hebrew root verbs sha·lamʹ and ga·malʹ are translated “reward” “recompense,” “retribution,” “repay,” “pay back,” and so forth. The Greek a·po·diʹdo·mi, an·ti·mi·sthiʹa, mi·stha·po·do·siʹa and related words are similarly translated.

TO THE NATIONS THAT OPPRESSED ISRAEL

In the song Moses gave to Israel on the plains of Moab just before his death, he described Jehovah as One who ‘pays back vengeance’ to His adversaries and who ‘renders retribution’ to those that intensely hate Him. (Deut. 32:35, 41; Heb. 10:30) This vengeance and retribution are executed by God in complete self-control, in full harmony with his justice and never without abundant cause. For example, he rewarded or recompensed Israel for disobedience, sometimes using pagan nations such as Assyria and Babylon as his instruments.—Deut. 28:15-68; 2 Ki. 17:7-23; 2 Chron. 21:14-20.

But, on their part, these pagan nations acted out of hatred for Jehovah and his true worship, and they went too far in exulting over Israel’s defeat and in oppressing Israel. Consequently God uttered judgments of retribution upon them.—Isa. 10:12; 34:1, 2, 8; Jer. 51:6, 56; Obad. 8-16; Zech. 1:15.

Babylon in particular suffered retribution for her age-old enmity against Jehovah and his people. Downfall and complete desolation were prophesied against her. She was overthrown by Cyrus the Persian in 539 B.C.E., but continued to exist as a city for centuries, finally falling into utter desolation, never to be rebuilt. (Jer. chaps. 50, 51) Symbolic Babylon the Great is to suffer like retribution, being thrown down “never [to] be found again.”—Rev. 18:2, 6, 20, 21; see BABYLON THE GREAT.

UNDER THE LAW

God’s law to Israel given through Moses was one of exact retribution, although mercy was extended to the unwitting sinner or the repentant one. (Lev. 5:4-6, 17-19; 6:1-7; Num. 35:22-29) But the law of retribution applied fully to the deliberate or unrepentant violator. (Num. 15:30) In cases in which a man acted as a false witness, giving lying testimony against a fellowman before the judges, he was to receive retribution, the exact punishment that he would have caused the innocent man to receive. Jehovah said: “And your eye should not feel sorry: soul will be for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”—Deut. 19:16-21.

ON THE JEWISH NATION IN THE FIRST CENTURY

The Jewish nation manifested a selfish viewpoint in accepting God’s undeserved kindnesses and favors to them. Jehovah allowed this selfish course and attitude to bring retribution upon them. They went about trying to establish their own righteousness instead of subjecting themselves to the righteousness of God. (Rom. 10:1-3) As a result the majority of the nation stumbled over Jesus Christ and rejected him, thereby bringing destruction to their city and temple and ruin to their nation. The apostle Paul quotes from the Psalms (69:22) and applies it to them when he writes: “Also, David says: ‘Let their table become for them a snare and a trap and a stumbling block and a retribution.”’—Rom. 11:9.

ON DISOBEDIENT CHRISTIANS

The apostle Paul refers back to retributive justice under the Law in emphasizing the seriousness of Christians’ obeying the Son of God: “For if the word spoken through angels proved to be firm, and every transgression and disobedient act received a retribution in harmony with justice; how shall we escape if we have neglected a salvation of such greatness in that it began to be spoken through our Lord and was verified for us by those who heard him?” (Heb. 2:2, 3; compare Hebrews 10:28-31.) The judgment of destruction upon the apostate “man of lawlessness” furnishes an example of such retribution.—2 Thess. 2:3, 9, 10; see MAN OF LAWLESSNESS.

REU

(Reʹu) [friend].

Son of Peleg and father of Serug; a link in the genealogy between Shem and Abraham. (1 Chron. 1:24-27) Reu, who lived 239 years (2239-2000 B.C.E.), was also an ancestor of Jesus Christ.—Gen. 11:18-21; Luke 3:35.

REUBEN

(Reuʹben) [See, a son!].

1. The firstborn of Jacob’s twelve sons. His mother was Jacob’s less favored wife, Leah, who named her boy Reuben, “because,” to quote her, “Jehovah has looked upon my wretchedness, in that now my husband will begin to love me.” (Gen. 29:30-32; 35:23; 46:8; Ex. 1:1, 2; 1 Chron. 2:1) As a result of Jehovah’s continued favor on his mother, Reuben and his five full brothers (Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun) constituted half of the original tribal heads of Israel; the other six (Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher) were Reuben’s half brothers.—Gen. 35:23-26.

Some of Reuben’s good qualities displayed themselves when he persuaded his nine brothers to throw Joseph into a dry well instead of killing him, Reuben’s purpose being to return secretly and deliver Joseph out of the well. (Gen. 37:18-30) More than twenty years later when these same brothers reasoned that the spy charges against them down in Egypt were due to their mistreatment of Joseph, Reuben reminded the others that he had not shared in their plot on Joseph’s life. (Gen. 42:9-14, 21, 22) Again, when Jacob refused to let Benjamin accompany his brothers on their second trip to Egypt, it was Reuben who offered his own two sons as surety, saying: “You may put [them] to death if I do not bring [Benjamin] back to you.”—Gen. 42:37.

As the firstborn son of Jacob, Reuben naturally had the rights of the firstborn son of the family. As such he was entitled to two portions in the estate that Jacob his father left behind. The question, at the time just before Jacob’s death, when he blessed his sons, was, Would Reuben come into these rights of the firstborn? Also, the patriarch Jacob, as head of the family, had acted as Jehovah’s priest for the whole family and had offered up sacrifices at the family altar and had led in prayer and in giving religious instruction. As father he had also acted as the governor