Reference for Life and How we dey Preach—Meeting Book
APRIL 3-9
BETTER THINGS WEY DEY INSIDE BIBLE | JEREMIAH 17-21
“Let Jehovah Mold Your Thinking and Conduct”
w99 4/1 22 ¶3
Who Molds Your Thinking?
The need for a willing, obedient response on your part if you are to benefit from Jehovah’s molding influence was powerfully illustrated when Jehovah told the prophet Jeremiah to visit the workshop of a potter. Jeremiah saw the potter change his mind about what to do with one vessel when the product he was trying to make “was spoiled by the potter’s hand.” Jehovah then said: “Am I not able to do just like this potter to you people, O house of Israel? . . . Look! As the clay in the hand of the potter, so you are in my hand, O house of Israel.” (Jeremiah 18:1-6) Did that mean that people in Israel were just like lumps of lifeless clay in Jehovah’s hands for him to mold arbitrarily into one kind of vessel or another?
it-2 776 ¶4
Repentance
A potter may begin to make one type of vessel and then change to another style if the vessel is “spoiled by the potter’s hand.” (Jer 18:3, 4) By this example Jehovah illustrates, not that he is like a human potter in ‘spoiling by his hand,’ but rather, that he has divine authority over mankind, authority to adjust his dealings with them according to the way they respond or fail to respond to his righteousness and mercy. (Compare Isa 45:9; Ro 9:19-21.) He can thus “feel regret over the calamity that [he] had thought to execute” upon a nation, or “feel regret over the good that [he] said to [himself] to do for its good,” all depending upon the reaction of the nation to his prior dealings with it. (Jer 18:5-10) Thus, it is not that the Great Potter, Jehovah, errs, but rather, that the human “clay” undergoes a “metamorphosis” (change of form or composition) as to its heart condition, producing regret, or a change of feeling, on Jehovah’s part.
w99 4/1 22 ¶4-5
Who Molds Your Thinking?
Jehovah never uses his almighty power to make people do things against their will; nor is he responsible for defective products, as might be the case with a human potter. (Deuteronomy 32:4) Defects develop when those whom Jehovah tries to mold in a positive way resist his direction. That is one huge difference between you and a lifeless lump of clay. You have free will. Exercising it, you can choose to respond to Jehovah’s molding influence or deliberately reject it.
What a sobering lesson! How much better to listen to Jehovah’s voice instead of arrogantly asserting, “No one tells me what to do”! We all need Jehovah’s guiding influence. (John 17:3) Be like the psalmist David, who prayed: “Make me know your own ways, O Jehovah; teach me your own paths.” (Psalm 25:4) Remember what King Solomon said: “A wise person will listen and take in more instruction.” (Proverbs 1:5) Will you listen? If you do, then “thinking ability itself will keep guard over you, discernment itself will safeguard you.”—Proverbs 2:11.
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w01 10/15 25 ¶13
Safeguard Your Heart
13 “The heart is more treacherous than anything else and is desperate,” warned Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 17:9) This treachery of the heart may manifest itself when we make excuses for our errors, minimize shortcomings, rationalize away serious personality flaws, or exaggerate accomplishments. A desperate heart is also capable of taking on a two-sided posture—smooth lips saying one thing, actions saying another. (Psalm 12:2; Proverbs 23:7) How vital that we be honest as we examine what comes out of the heart!
w07 3/15 9 ¶6
Highlights From the Book of Jeremiah
20:7—In what way did Jehovah ‘use his strength’ against Jeremiah and fool him? Because of facing indifference, rejection, and persecution when declaring Jehovah’s judgments, Jeremiah might have felt that he did not have the strength to continue. However, Jehovah used his strength against such inclinations, empowering Jeremiah to continue. Jehovah thus fooled Jeremiah by using him to accomplish what the prophet himself thought he could not do.
APRIL 10-16
BETTER THINGS WEY DEY INSIDE BIBLE | JEREMIAH 22-24
w13 3/15 8 ¶2
Do You Have “a Heart to Know” Jehovah?
2 Jehovah once linked figs to hearts. God was not describing the nutritional benefit of eating figs. He was speaking figuratively. What he said through the prophet Jeremiah has implications for your heart and the hearts of your loved ones. As we consider what he said, think about what this can mean for Christians.
w13 3/15 8 ¶4
Do You Have “a Heart to Know” Jehovah?
4 Jehovah said of those represented by the good figs: “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Jehovah; and they must become my people.” (Jer. 24:7) That is the theme text of this article, and how encouraging it is! God is willing to give individuals “a heart to know” him. In this case, the “heart” relates to one’s disposition. Certainly, you want to have such a heart and to be part of his people. Steps to that end include studying and applying his Word, repenting and turning around, dedicating your life to God, and being baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and holy spirit. (Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 3:19) You may already have taken those steps, or you may be regularly associating with Jehovah’s Witnesses and be in the process of doing so.
w13 3/15 8 ¶3
Do You Have “a Heart to Know” Jehovah?
3 Let us first consider something God said in Jeremiah’s day about figs. In 617 B.C.E., the nation of Judah was in a bad spiritual state. God gave a vision about what the future held, illustrating it with two types of figs—“very good” figs and “very bad” ones. (Read Jeremiah 24:1-3.) The bad figs meant King Zedekiah and others like him who faced severe treatment by King Nebuchadnezzar and his troops. But what of Ezekiel, Daniel and his three companions already in Babylon, and some Jews soon to be taken there? They were like good figs. A remnant of them would return to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple. In time, that did occur.—Jer. 24:8-10; 25:11, 12; 29:10.
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w07 3/15 10 ¶9
Highlights From the Book of Jeremiah
22:30—Did this decree annul Jesus Christ’s right to ascend the throne of David? (Matthew 1:1, 11) No, it did not. The decree barred any descendant of Jehoiachin from “sitting upon the throne of David . . . in Judah.” Jesus was to rule from the heavens, not from a throne in Judah.
w07 3/15 11 ¶1
Highlights From the Book of Jeremiah
23:33—What is “the burden of Jehovah”? In Jeremiah’s day, the weighty pronouncements uttered by the prophet regarding Jerusalem’s destruction were a burden to his fellow countrymen. In turn, the unresponsive people were such a burden to Jehovah that he would cast them off. Similarly, the Scriptural message regarding the coming destruction of Christendom is a burden to Christendom, and the people who give no heed are wearisome to God.
APRIL 17-23
BETTER THINGS WEY DEY INSIDE BIBLE | JEREMIAH 25-28
“Be Courageous Like Jeremiah”
w09 12/1 24 ¶6
Jeremiah Did Not Quit
Jehovah told Jeremiah to warn the people that Jerusalem would be destroyed if they did not change their bad ways. When Jeremiah gave that warning, the people became angry and said: “To this man the judgment of death belongs.” Jeremiah, however, pleaded with them to “obey the voice of Jehovah.” Then he said: ‘You should know that if you put me to death, you are killing an innocent man, for God sent me to speak to you.’ Do you know what happened then?—
jr 21 ¶13
Serving in “the Final Part of the Days”
13 Given the religious and political climate prevailing in Judah, how would the religious leaders react to Jeremiah’s speech? According to the prophet’s own account, “the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of [me], saying: ‘You will positively die.’” They were livid, declaring: “To this man the judgment of death belongs.” (Read Jeremiah 26:8-11.) Jeremiah’s opponents, however, did not prevail. Jehovah was with his prophet to deliver him. As for Jeremiah personally, he did not allow the opponents’ menacing appearance or numbers to frighten him. Neither should you.
w09 12/1 25 ¶1
Jeremiah Did Not Quit
The Bible says: “The princes and all the people said to the priests and to the prophets: ‘There is no judgment of death belonging to this man, for it was in the name of Jehovah our God that he spoke to us.’” So when Jeremiah did not let fear cause him to quit, Jehovah protected him. Let’s see now what happened to Urijah, another prophet of Jehovah, who acted quite differently.
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jr 27 ¶21
Serving in “the Final Part of the Days”
21 Evidently early in the reign of Zedekiah, messengers arrived in Jerusalem from the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Perhaps their aim was to get Zedekiah to join a coalition against Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah, however, urged Zedekiah to submit to Babylon. In line with that, Jeremiah presented the messengers with yoke bars to picture that their nations too should serve the Babylonians. (Jer. 27:1-3, 14) That stance was not popular, and Jeremiah’s role as a spokesman with an unpopular message was made no easier by Hananiah. He was a false prophet who publicly asserted in God’s name that the Babylonian yoke would be broken. Jehovah’s word through Jeremiah, however, was that within a year, the impostor Hananiah would die. That is what occurred.—Jer. 28:1-3, 16, 17.
jr 187-188 ¶11-12
“I Cannot Keep Silent”
11 It is good to bear in mind that Jeremiah was not a fanatic. He used common sense when facing opposers. He knew when to withdraw. For instance, consider his experience with Hananiah. After that false prophet contradicted Jehovah’s prophetic word in public, Jeremiah corrected him and explained how to recognize a true prophet. Jeremiah had been carrying a wooden yoke to signify coming under the yoke of Babylon; Hananiah got violent and broke the yoke. Who could know what Hananiah would do next? So, what did Jeremiah do? We read: “The prophet proceeded to go his way.” Yes, Jeremiah left the scene. Later, at Jehovah’s direction, he returned and told Hananiah what God would bring about—bondage to the king of Babylon for the Jews and death for Hananiah.—Jer. 28:1-17.
12 It is clear from this inspired account that in preaching, we do well to couple our boldness with sound judgment. If at one home someone refuses to accept Scriptural reasoning and becomes angry, even threatening violence, we can excuse ourselves courteously and move on to another house. There is no need to have a heated argument with anyone regarding the good news of the Kingdom. By keeping ourselves “restrained under evil,” we leave the way open to help the householder at a more favorable time.—Read 2 Timothy 2:23-25; Prov. 17:14.
APRIL 24-30
BETTER THINGS WEY DEY INSIDE BIBLE | JEREMIAH 29-31
“Jehovah Foretold the New Covenant”
it-1 524 ¶3-4
Covenant
New Covenant. Jehovah foretold the new covenant by the prophet Jeremiah in the seventh century B.C.E., stating that it would not be like the Law covenant, which Israel broke. (Jer 31:31-34) On the night before his death, Nisan 14, 33 C.E., when he established the celebration of the Lord’s Evening Meal, Jesus Christ announced the new covenant, to be validated by his sacrifice. (Lu 22:20) On the 50th day from his resurrection and 10 days after he had ascended to his Father, he poured out the holy spirit, which he had received from Jehovah, on his disciples gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem.—Ac 2:1-4, 17, 33; 2Co 3:6, 8, 9; Heb 2:3, 4.
The parties to the new covenant are Jehovah, on one side, and “the Israel of God,” the spirit-begotten ones in union with Christ, making up his congregation or body, on the other side. (Heb 8:10; 12:22-24; Ga 6:15, 16; 3:26-28; Ro 2:28, 29) The new covenant is made operative by the shed blood (the sacrifice of the human life) of Jesus Christ, the value of which was presented to Jehovah after Jesus’ ascension to heaven. (Mt 26:28) When one is selected by God for the heavenly calling (Heb 3:1), God brings that one into His covenant over Christ’s sacrifice. (Ps 50:5; Heb 9:14, 15, 26) Jesus Christ is the Mediator of the new covenant (Heb 8:6; 9:15) and is the primary Seed of Abraham. (Ga 3:16) By means of Jesus’ mediatorship of the new covenant, he assists those in the covenant to become part of the real seed of Abraham (Heb 2:16; Ga 3:29) through forgiveness of their sins. Jehovah declares them righteous.—Ro 5:1, 2; 8:33; Heb 10:16, 17.
jr 173-174 ¶11-12
You Can Benefit From the New Covenant
11 Would you like to know other distinctive aspects of the new covenant? One major difference between it and the Mosaic Law covenant is what they were written on. (Read Jeremiah 31:33.) The Ten Commandments of the Law covenant were written on stone tablets, which eventually disappeared. In contrast, Jeremiah prophesied that the law of the new covenant would be written in human hearts, and it would endure. Those who are parties to the new covenant, anointed Christians, truly appreciate this law. What of those who are not directly in the new covenant, the “other sheep,” who hope to live forever on earth? (John 10:16) These too delight in God’s law. In a sense, they are like the alien residents in Israel, who accepted and benefited from the Mosaic Law.—Lev. 24:22; Num. 15:15.
12 How would you reply if asked, ‘What is this law that is inscribed in the heart of anointed Christians?’ Well, this law is also called “the law of the Christ.” It was first given to spiritual Israelites, those in the new covenant. (Gal. 6:2; Rom. 2:28, 29) You could sum up “the law of the Christ” in one word: love. (Matt. 22:36-39) How do those of the anointed get this law written in their heart? Key ways are by their studying God’s Word and approaching Jehovah in prayer. Accordingly, those aspects of true worship should be regular features of the lives of all true Christians, even those who are not in the new covenant but who want to benefit from it.
jr 177 ¶18
You Can Benefit From the New Covenant
18 Accordingly, the new covenant highlights a wonderful aspect of Jehovah’s dealings with sinful humans, both the anointed, who are in the covenant, and those with an earthly hope. You can trust that once Jehovah has dealt with your sins, he will not bring them up again. God’s promise about the new covenant thus offers a lesson for each of us. Ask yourself, ‘Do I try to imitate Jehovah by not dredging up the offenses of others, errors that I have already said I forgave?’ (Matt. 6:14, 15) This applies to small offenses as well as to very serious ones, such as a Christian mate’s sin of adultery. If the innocent one agrees to forgive the repentant adulterer, is it not right to ‘remember the sin no more’? Granted, our putting errors behind us may not be easy, yet it is one way that we can imitate Jehovah.
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w96 5/1 11 ¶5
God and Caesar
5 Centuries later the faithful prophet Jeremiah was inspired by Jehovah to tell Jewish exiles to submit to the rulers when in exile in Babylon and even to pray for the peace of that city. In his letter to them, he wrote: “This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said to all the exiled people, . . . ‘Seek the peace of the city to which I have caused you to go into exile, and pray in its behalf to Jehovah, for in its peace there will prove to be peace for you yourselves.’” (Jeremiah 29:4, 7) At all times Jehovah’s people have reason to “seek peace” for themselves and the nation where they live, in order to have freedom to worship Jehovah.—1 Peter 3:11.
g 6/12 14 ¶1-2
The Bible—A Book of Accurate Prophecy, Part 2
Fulfillment: After 70 years of exile, from 607 to 537 B.C.E., King Cyrus of Persia released the Jewish captives and allowed them to return to their homeland to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.—Ezra 1:2-4.
What history reveals:
● Did the Israelites remain captive in Babylon for 70 years as the Bible foretold? Note the comments of a leading Israeli archaeologist, Ephraim Stern. “From 604 B.C.E. to 538 B.C.E.—there is a complete gap in evidence suggesting occupation. In all that time, not a single town destroyed by the Babylonians was resettled.” The so-called gap in which there was no occupation or resettling of conquered territory corresponds closely to Israel’s exile in Babylon from 607 to 537 B.C.E.—2 Chronicles 36:20, 21.