Reference for Life and How we dey Preach—Meeting Book
MARCH 6-12
BETTER THINGS WEY DEY INSIDE BIBLE | JEREMIAH 1-4
“I Am With You to Save You”
w11 3/15 29 ¶4
Keep Awake, as Jeremiah Did
4 Jeremiah may have been close to 25 years old when he received from Jehovah his commission as a watchman. (Jer. 1:1, 2) But he felt like a mere boy, utterly unqualified to speak to the elders of the nation, men advanced in age and having positions of authority. (Jer. 1:6) He had scathing denunciations and fearful judgments to proclaim, especially to the priests, false prophets, and rulers, as well as to those who took “the popular course” and developed “an enduring unfaithfulness.” (Jer. 6:13; 8:5, 6) King Solomon’s glorious temple, which had been the center of true worship for almost four centuries, would be demolished. Jerusalem and Judah would lie desolate, and their inhabitants would be taken captive. Clearly, the message that Jeremiah was commissioned to deliver was urgent!
w05 12/15 23 ¶18
Whom Do You Obey—God or Men?
18 God told the prophet Jeremiah: “I am with you to deliver you.” (Jeremiah 1:8) How might Jehovah deliver us from persecution today? He might raise up a fair-minded judge like Gamaliel. Or he may see to it that a corrupt or antagonistic official is unexpectedly replaced by a more reasonable one. At times, though, Jehovah may permit the persecution of his people to run its course. (2 Timothy 3:12) If God allows us to be persecuted, he will always give us the strength to endure persecution. (1 Corinthians 10:13) And no matter what God permits, we have no doubt as to the final outcome: Those who fight against God’s people are fighting against God, and fighters against God will not prevail.
jr 88 ¶14-15
“I Will Saturate the Tired Soul”
WILL YOU REFRESH TIRED SOULS?
14 We do well to give attention to how Jeremiah was encouraged and how he encouraged others who were ‘tired souls.’ (Jer. 31:25) The prophet received encouragement particularly from Jehovah. Think of how built up you would have been to hear Jehovah tell you: “As for me, here I have made you today a fortified city . . . They will be certain to fight against you, but they will not prevail against you, for ‘I am with you,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘to deliver you.’” (Jer. 1:18, 19) With good reason, Jeremiah referred to Jehovah as “my strength and my stronghold, and my place for flight in the day of distress.”—Jer. 16:19.
15 It is noteworthy that Jehovah told Jeremiah: “I am with you.” Do you see in that a clue as to what you can do when someone you know needs encouragement? It is one thing to realize that a Christian brother or sister or perhaps a relative has that need; it is another thing to respond effectively to that need. In many cases, the most effective course is to do what God did for Jeremiah—just be with the afflicted one. Then, at some point, offer words of encouragement, but not a torrent of words. Fewer words will likely do more good if they are words chosen to reassure and build up. What you say need not be eloquent. Use simple words that manifest interest, concern, and Christian affection. Words like that can do much good.—Read Proverbs 25:11.
Better Things Wey Dey Inside Bible—Find Am Well
w07 3/15 9 ¶8
Highlights From the Book of Jeremiah
2:13, 18. Unfaithful Israelites did two bad things. They left Jehovah, the sure source of blessing, guidance, and protection. And they hewed out for themselves their own figurative cisterns by seeking to make military alliances with Egypt and Assyria. In our time, to abandon the true God in favor of human philosophies and theories and worldly politics is to replace “the source of living water” with “broken cisterns.”
w07 3/15 9 ¶4
Highlights From the Book of Jeremiah
4:10; 15:18—In what sense did Jehovah deceive his renegade people? In Jeremiah’s day, there were prophets ‘prophesying in falsehood.’ (Jeremiah 5:31; 20:6; 23:16, 17, 25-28, 32) Jehovah did not prevent them from proclaiming misleading messages.
MARCH 13-19
BETTER THINGS WEY DEY INSIDE BIBLE | JEREMIAH 5-7
“They Stopped Doing God’s Will”
w88 4/1 11-12 ¶7-8
Jeremiah—Unpopular Prophet of God’s Judgments
7 “And they will be certain to fight against you,” warned Jehovah, “but they will not prevail against you.” (Jeremiah 1:19) Now why would the Jews and their rulers want to fight against this prophet? Because his message attacked their complacency and their formalistic form of worship. Jeremiah did not pull his punches: “Look! The very word of Jehovah has become to them a reproach, in which word they can take no delight. For from the least one of them even to the greatest one of them, every one is making for himself unjust gain; and from the prophet even to the priest [the very ones who should have been the guardians of moral and spiritual values], each one is acting falsely.”—Jeremiah 6:10, 13.
8 True, they were leading the nation in making sacrifices. They were going through the motions of true worship, but their hearts were not in it. Ritual meant more to them than right conduct. At the same time, the Jewish religious leaders were lulling the nation into a false sense of security, saying, “There is peace! There is peace!” when there was no peace. (Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11) Yes, they were fooling the people into believing that they were at peace with God. They felt that there was nothing to worry about, for they were Jehovah’s saved people, possessing the holy city and its temple. But is that how Jehovah viewed the situation?
w88 4/1 12 ¶9-10
Jeremiah—Unpopular Prophet of God’s Judgments
9 Jehovah commanded Jeremiah to take a position in full public view at the gate of the temple and deliver His message to the worshipers who entered there. He had to tell them: “Do not put your trust in fallacious words, saying, ‘The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah they are!’ . . . It will certainly be of no benefit at all.” The Jews were walking by sight, not by faith, as they boasted in their temple. They had already forgotten Jehovah’s cautionary words: “The heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where, then, is the house that you people can build for me?” Jehovah, the Sovereign Lord of this vast universe, was certainly not restricted to the confines of their temple, no matter how glorious it might be!—Jeremiah 7:1-8; Isaiah 66:1.
10 Jeremiah continued with his stinging public rebuke: “Can there be stealing, murdering and committing adultery and swearing falsely and making sacrificial smoke to Baal and walking after other gods whom you had not known, . . . and must you say, ‘We shall certainly be delivered,’ in the face of doing all these detestable things?” The Jews, as God’s ‘chosen people,’ thought he would tolerate any kind of conduct, as long as they were bringing their sacrifices to the temple. However, if they perceived him as a sentimental father pampering a spoiled and only child, they were in for a rude awakening.—Jeremiah 7:9, 10; Exodus 19:5, 6.
jr 21 ¶12
Serving in “the Final Part of the Days”
12 At the start of Jehoiakim’s reign, Jehovah told Jeremiah to go to the temple and roundly condemn the Judeans for their wickedness. They considered Jehovah’s temple to be a talisman that would protect them. Yet, if they would not abandon their “stealing, murdering and committing adultery and swearing falsely and making sacrificial smoke to Baal and walking after other gods,” Jehovah would forsake his temple. And he would do the same to the hypocrites who worshipped in it, just as he abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh in the days of High Priest Eli. The land of Judah would “become nothing but a devastated place.” (Jer. 7:1-15, 34; 26:1-6) Think of the courage Jeremiah needed to declare that message! Likely, he did so in public before prominent, influential people. Some brothers and sisters today have likewise felt that they needed a measure of courage to share in street witnessing or to address wealthy or important people. We can, though, be sure of this: God’s support for us is certain, just as it was for Jeremiah.—Heb. 10:39; 13:6.
Better Things Wey Dey Inside Bible—Find Am Well
w05 11/1 23 ¶11
Will You Walk With God?
11 Are we really allowing God’s Word to guide us that closely? It is worthwhile to pause at times and examine ourselves honestly. Consider a verse that will help us to do so: “This is what Jehovah has said: ‘Stand still in the ways, you people, and see, and ask for the roadways of long ago, where, now, the good way is; and walk in it, and find ease for your souls.’” (Jeremiah 6:16) These words might remind us of a traveler who pauses at a crossroads to ask for directions. In a spiritual sense, Jehovah’s rebellious people in Israel needed to do something similar. They needed to find their way back to “the roadways of long ago.” That “good way” was the way in which their faithful forefathers had walked, the way from which the nation had foolishly strayed. Sadly, Israel responded stubbornly to this loving reminder from Jehovah. The same verse continues: “But they kept saying: ‘We are not going to walk.’” In modern times, though, God’s people have responded differently to such counsel.
w88 4/1 13 ¶15
Jeremiah—Unpopular Prophet of God’s Judgments
Judah Pays the Price
15 By about 632 B.C.E., Assyria had fallen to the Chaldeans and the Medes, and Egypt was reduced to a minor power to the south of Judah. The real threat to Judah would come through the invasion route to the north. Thus, Jeremiah had to give his fellow Jews some bad news! “Look! A people is coming from the land of the north . . . It is a cruel one, and they will have no pity. . . . It is drawn up in battle order like a man of war against you, O daughter of Zion.” The ascendant world power at that time was Babylon. This would be God’s instrument for punishing faithless Judah.—Jeremiah 6:22, 23; 25:8, 9.
MARCH 20-26
BETTER THINGS WEY DEY INSIDE BIBLE | JEREMIAH 8-11
“Humans Can Have Success Only With Jehovah’s Guidance”
it-1 555
Cucumber
Pillars, poles, or other devices were also placed in the cultivated fields to scare off the animals, and to such a mute inanimate “scarecrow of a cucumber field” the prophet Jeremiah likened the images made by the idolatrous nations.—Jer 10:5.
w04 10/1 11 ¶10
Who Are Giving God Glory Today?
10 Whether you look at the heavens above or gaze at creation right here on earth, the evidence of a Creator is clear. (Jeremiah 10:12) We should heartily agree with the heavenly creatures who cry out: “You are worthy, Jehovah, even our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things.” (Revelation 4:11) Yet, many scientists fail to see the evidence with ‘the eyes of their heart,’ even though they may marvel at the design in things they see with the eyes of their body. (Ephesians 1:18) We can illustrate it this way: To admire the beauty and design in nature and deny the existence of a Great Designer is as illogical as admiring a magnificent painting and at the same time denying the existence of the artist who transformed a blank canvas into a masterpiece. Little wonder that those who refuse to believe in God are pronounced “inexcusable”!
w15 9/1 15 ¶1
Are You Disappointed in God?
The miserable conditions on earth today are clear evidence that human rulership has utterly failed. Not only have worldly governments failed to bring peace, security, and happiness but they have also brought the earth to the brink of ruin. This reinforces the fundamental truth stated in the Bible: “It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.” (Jeremiah 10:23) Only God’s way of ruling can guarantee lasting peace, happiness, and prosperity to mankind, because that is God’s purpose.—Isaiah 45:18.
Better Things Wey Dey Inside Bible—Find Am Well
w13 1/15 20 ¶16
Keep Drawing Close to Jehovah
16 Taking pride in the right things can be good. For example, we should always feel proud to be Jehovah’s Witnesses. (Jer. 9:24) A healthy measure of self-respect helps us to make good decisions and to avoid lowering our moral standards. But placing too high a value on our own views or position can distance us from Jehovah.—Ps. 138:6; Rom. 12:3.
w07 3/15 9 ¶2
Highlights From the Book of Jeremiah
3:11-22; 11:10-12, 17—Why did Jeremiah include the northern ten-tribe kingdom in his pronouncements, even though Samaria had fallen in 740 B.C.E.? This was because the destruction of Jerusalem in 607 B.C.E. was an expression of Jehovah’s judgment on the entire nation of Israel, not on Judah alone. (Ezekiel 9:9, 10) Moreover, after its fall, the interests of the ten-tribe kingdom continued to be represented in Jerusalem, since the messages of God’s prophets continued to include the Israelites.
MARCH 27–APRIL 2
BETTER THINGS WEY DEY INSIDE BIBLE | JEREMIAH 12-16
“Israel Forgot Jehovah”
jr 51 ¶17
Guard Against a Treacherous Heart
17 Jeremiah’s assignment involved obedience to God’s direction. If you had been Jeremiah, would you have accepted any such instructions given? At one point, Jehovah told Jeremiah to get a linen belt and wear it. Next, God commanded him to travel to the Euphrates. Consult a map, and you will see that this meant a trip of some 300 miles (500 km). Once there, Jeremiah was to hide the belt in the cleft of a crag and then travel all the way back to Jerusalem. And God later had him return to get the belt. (Read Jeremiah 13:1-9.) In all, Jeremiah would have traveled about 1,200 miles (1,900 km). Bible critics just cannot believe that he would travel so far, walking for months. (Ezra 7:9) Still, that is what God said and what Jeremiah did.
jr 52 ¶18
Guard Against a Treacherous Heart
18 Picture the prophet trekking through the Judean mountains and then, depending on his route, into a desert toward the Euphrates. All of that just to hide a linen belt! His long absence must have aroused the curiosity of his neighbors. When he returned, he did not have the linen belt with him. Then God told him to make the long trip again, to retrieve the belt, now rotten and “not fit for anything.” Imagine how easy it would have been to think: ‘Now that is just too much. I see no point to it.’ Yet, having been molded by God, he did not react that way. Rather than complain, he did as he was instructed!
jr 52 ¶19-20
Guard Against a Treacherous Heart
19 It was only after the second journey that God explained matters. Jeremiah’s actions set the stage for him to deliver a potent message: “This bad people who are refusing to obey my words, who are walking in the stubbornness of their heart and who keep walking after other gods in order to serve them and to bow down to them, will also become just like this belt that is fit for nothing.” (Jer. 13:10) What an impressive way for Jehovah to teach his people! Jeremiah’s heartfelt obedience to Jehovah in what may have seemed trivial played a role in His efforts to reach the hearts of the people.—Jer. 13:11.
20 Christians today are not being asked to walk hundreds of miles as part of a divine lesson. Might it be, though, that the Christian course you pursue could cause neighbors or associates to be puzzled or even to criticize you? It may involve your dress and grooming, your choice as to education, what you prefer as a career, or even your view of alcoholic beverages. Will you be as determined to comply with God’s guidance as Jeremiah was? Your choices because of allowing your heart to be molded by God may lead to your giving a fine witness. In any case, being obedient to Jehovah’s direction found in his Word and accepting the guidance given through the faithful slave class is for your lasting good. Rather than being led by a treacherous heart, you can be like Jeremiah. Be resolved, then, to accept being molded by God; let him form you into an honorable vessel for his lasting use.
it-1 1121 ¶2
Hips
Jehovah spoke of the houses of Israel and Judah as having been like a belt on his hips, so closely had he held them to himself, in order that they might become to him a praise and something beautiful. (Jer 13:11) Jesus Christ is prophetically pictured as reigning with righteousness as the belt of his hips and faithfulness as the belt of his loins. This may refer to the fact that all the active powers of Jesus Christ adhere unchangeably to righteousness and faithfulness. Like a belt that provides support, the moral quality of righteousness strengthens him in acting as Jehovah’s appointed Judge.—Isa 11:1, 5.
Better Things Wey Dey Inside Bible—Find Am Well
jr 118 ¶11
Are You Daily Asking, “Where Is Jehovah?”
11 Jeremiah had a vexing question when he observed the wicked succeed. (Read Jeremiah 12:1, 3.) Though not at all questioning Jehovah’s righteousness, the prophet sought a response to his “complaint.” His forthrightness made it clear that he had a strong bond with God, much like that of a child with his beloved father. It was just that Jeremiah did not understand why many Jews were prospering despite being wicked. Did Jeremiah get a satisfying answer? Jehovah assured him that He would uproot the wicked. (Jer. 12:14) As Jeremiah saw the outworking of the matters he took to God in prayer, his confidence in divine justice must have deepened. As a result, Jeremiah must have increasingly turned to God in prayer, expressing himself to his Father.
w04 5/1 12 ¶16
Be Courageous Like Jeremiah
Let Us Watch Our Associations
16 Jeremiah reports something else that helped him to be courageous. He said: “I have not sat down in the intimate group of those playing jokes and begun exulting. Because of your hand I have sat down all by myself, for it is with denunciation that you have filled me.” (Jeremiah 15:17) Jeremiah would rather be alone than be corrupted by bad companions. We today view matters the same way. We never forget the apostle Paul’s warning that “bad associations spoil useful habits,” even useful habits that we have had for many years.—1 Corinthians 15:33.