References for Life and Ministry Meeting Workbook

© 2024 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

MAY 6-12

Spiritual Gems

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Mount, Mountain

Stability, permanence, or loftiness. Stability and permanence are ascribed to the mountains. (Isa 54:10; Hab 3:6; compare Ps 46:2.) Therefore, when the psalmist spoke of Jehovah’s righteousness as being like “mountains of God” (Ps 36:6) he may have meant that Jehovah’s righteousness is immovable. Or, since mountains are lofty, this may point to the fact that God’s righteousness by far transcends that of man. (Compare Isa 55:8, 9.)

MAY 13-19

TREASURES FROM GOD’S WORD | PSALMS 38-39

w02 11/15 20 ¶1-2

How Can We Make Our Days Count Before Jehovah?

THE days of our life seem few and fleeting. The psalmist David pondered the brevity of life and was moved to pray: “Cause me, O Jehovah, to know my end, and the measure of my days​—what it is, that I may know how transient I am. Look! You have made my days just a few; and my life’s duration is as nothing in front of you.” David’s concern was to live in such a way as to please God, both by his speech and by his actions. Voicing his dependence on God, he said: “My expectation is toward you.” (Psalm 39:4, 5, 7) Jehovah listened. He did indeed measure David’s activities and reward him accordingly.

It is easy to be busy every minute of the day and to be swept along in a life that is fast-paced and full of activities. This could arouse in us an anxious concern, especially with so much to do and to experience and so little time to do it. Is our concern the same as that of David​—to live our life so as to have God’s approval? To be sure, Jehovah does observe and carefully examine each of us. Job, a man who feared God, acknowledged some 3,600 years ago that Jehovah saw his ways and counted all his steps. Job rhetorically asked: “When he calls for an accounting, what can I answer him?” (Job 31:4-6, 14) It is possible to make our days count before God by establishing spiritual priorities, obeying his commands, and using our time wisely. Let us give closer consideration to these matters.

w21.10 15 ¶4

Rebuilding Your Friendship With Jehovah

Talk to Jehovah often. Your Father understands that persistent feelings of guilt can make it difficult for you to pray to him. (Rom. 8:26) Nevertheless, “persevere in prayer,” telling Jehovah how much you want his friendship. (Rom. 12:12) Andrej remembers: “I felt tremendous guilt and shame. But after each prayer, those feelings lessened. I felt more peace of mind.” If you do not know what to pray for, consider the prayers of repentant King David that are recorded in Psalms 51 and 65.

MAY 20-26

TREASURES FROM GOD’S WORD | PSALMS 38-39

w15 12/15 24 ¶7

Jehovah Will Sustain You

⁷ Still, if we are ill, we can look to God for comfort, wisdom, and support, as did true worshippers in the past. King David wrote: “Happy is anyone who shows consideration to the lowly one; Jehovah will rescue him in the day of calamity. Jehovah will guard him and keep him alive.” (Ps. 41:1, 2) We know that an individual living in David’s day who showed consideration to a lowly one did not keep living without end. Hence, David could not have meant that such a considerate individual would be kept alive miraculously, thus gaining everlasting life. We can take those inspired words to mean that God would help the loyal considerate one. How? David explained: “Jehovah will sustain him on his sickbed; during his sickness you will completely change his bed.” (Ps. 41:3) Yes, an individual who showed consideration to a lowly one could be certain that God was aware of him and his faithful course. And the recuperative power of his God-given body might help him to get better, to recover from his sickness.

MAY 27–JUNE 2

TREASURES FROM GOD’S WORD | PSALMS 42-44

Benefit Fully From Divine Education

w06 6/1 9 ¶4

Highlights From Book Two of Psalms

42:4, 5, 11; 43:3-5. If for some reason beyond our control we are temporarily separated from the Christian congregation, the memory of the joys of such association in the past can sustain us. While this may at first intensify the pain of loneliness, it would also remind us that God is our refuge and that we need to wait on him for relief.

Spiritual Gems

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Jackal

In Scripture the jackal figures repeatedly in an illustrative setting. Job, in describing his own lamentable state, exclaims that he has become “a brother to jackals.” (Job 30:29) In regard to a humiliating defeat of God’s people, the psalmist, perhaps with reference to the battlefield where jackals congregate to feed upon those slain (compare Ps 68:23), mourned: “You have crushed us in the place of jackals.” (Ps 44:19) Babylon’s siege of Jerusalem in 607 B.C.E. brought the stress of famine, with the result that mothers treated their own offspring cruelly. Thus Jeremiah appropriately contrasted the cruelty “of my people” with the jackals’ maternal care.​—La 4:3, 10.

JUNE 3-9

TREASURES FROM GOD’S WORD | PSALMS 45-47

A Song About the Marriage of a King

w14 2/15 9-10 ¶8-9

Rejoice Over the Marriage of the Lamb!

⁸ Read Psalm 45:13, 14a. The bride is presented as “absolutely magnificent” for the royal wedding. At Revelation 21:2, the bride is compared to a city, New Jerusalem, and is “adorned for her husband.” This heavenly city has “the glory of God” and is radiant, “like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone shining crystal clear.” (Rev. 21:10, 11) The resplendence of New Jerusalem is beautifully described in the book of Revelation. (Rev. 21:18-21) No wonder the psalmist portrays the bride as “absolutely magnificent”! After all, the royal wedding is taking place in heaven.

⁹ The One to whom the bride is brought is the Bridegroom​—the Messianic King. He has been preparing her, ‘cleansing her with the bath of water by means of the word.’ She is “holy and without blemish.” (Eph. 5:26, 27) His bride must also be fittingly attired for the occasion. And she is! Indeed, “her clothing is adorned with gold,” and “she will be brought to the king in richly woven garments.” For the marriage of the Lamb, “it has been granted to her to be clothed with bright, clean, fine linen​—for the fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the holy ones.”​—Rev. 19:8.

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War

With the conclusion of this war, the earth will enjoy peace for a thousand years. The psalm that declares “[Jehovah] is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth. The bow he breaks apart and does cut the spear in pieces; the wagons he burns in the fire,” had initial fulfillment in God’s bringing peace to Israel’s land by wrecking the enemy’s war instruments. After Christ defeats the promoters of war at Har–Magedon, the extremity of this earthly globe will enjoy full and satisfying peace. (Ps 46:8-10) Persons favored with eternal life will be those who have beaten “their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears” and who do not “learn war anymore.” “For the very mouth of Jehovah of armies has spoken it.”​—Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3, 4.

JUNE 10-16

TREASURES FROM GOD’S WORD | PSALMS 48-50

w12 8/15 12 ¶5

Carry On as Kingdom Citizens!

⁵ Study history. A person desiring to become a citizen of a human government might have to learn something about that government’s history. Likewise, those desiring to be Kingdom citizens do well to learn all they can about God’s Kingdom. Consider the example set by the sons of Korah, who served in ancient Israel. They took great delight in Jerusalem and its place of worship and in recounting the city’s history. It was not the stones and mortar that impressed them most but what the city and that place of worship represented. Jerusalem was “the town of the grand King,” Jehovah, for it was the center of pure worship. It was there that Jehovah’s Law was taught. It was to the people ruled by the King of Jerusalem that Jehovah expressed his loving-kindness. (Read Psalm 48:1, 2, 9, 12, 13.) Like them, do you have a desire to study and recount the history of the earthly part of Jehovah’s organization? The more you learn about God’s organization and how Jehovah supports his people, the more real God’s Kingdom will be to you. Your desire to preach the good news of the Kingdom will naturally intensify.​—Jer. 9:24; Luke 4:43.

Spiritual Gems

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Riches

As a prosperous nation, the Israelites were able to enjoy food and drink (1Ki 4:20; Ec 5:18, 19), and their riches served to protect them from the problems of poverty. (Pr 10:15; Ec 7:12) However, although it was in harmony with Jehovah’s purpose that the Israelites enjoy prosperity from their hard work (compare Pr 6:6-11; 20:13; 24:33, 34), he also saw to it that they were warned concerning the danger of forgetting him as the Source of their wealth and beginning to trust in their riches. (De 8:7-17; Ps 49:6-9; Pr 11:4; 18:10, 11; Jer 9:23, 24) They were reminded that riches were but temporary (Pr 23:4, 5), could not be given to God as a ransom to deliver one from death (Ps 49:6, 7), and were of no value to the dead (Ps 49:16, 17; Ec 5:15). They were shown that attaching undue importance to riches would lead to fraudulent practices and Jehovah’s disfavor. (Pr 28:20; compare Jer 5:26-28; 17:9-11.) They were also encouraged to “honor Jehovah with [their] valuable things.”​—Pr 3:9.

JUNE 17-23

TREASURES FROM GOD’S WORD | PSALMS 51-53

w15 6/15 14 ¶5-6

We Can Remain Chaste

⁵ An important way to show our complete reliance on Jehovah is by making our fight against unclean thoughts a matter of prayer. When we draw close to Jehovah in prayer, he draws close to us. He generously gives us his holy spirit, thus strengthening our resolve to resist immoral thoughts and remain chaste. So let us make known to God our earnest wish to please him with the meditation of our heart. (Ps. 19:14) Do we humbly ask him to examine us in order to identify any “harmful way”​—any improper desires or inclinations—​that could lead us into sin? (Ps. 139:23, 24) Do we regularly petition him to help us maintain our integrity when we are faced with temptation?​—Matt. 6:13.

⁶ Our upbringing or our past conduct may have developed in us a liking for practices that Jehovah condemns. Even then, he can help us to bring about necessary changes so that we can continue to serve him acceptably. King David recognized this. After he had committed adultery with Bath-sheba, David implored Jehovah: “Create in me a pure heart, . . . and put within me a new spirit, a steadfast one.” (Ps. 51:10, 12) Sinful conduct may strongly appeal to our fallen flesh, but Jehovah can stir within us a willing spirit, the desire to obey him. Even if wrong desires are deeply rooted and tend to crowd out our chaste thoughts, Jehovah can guide our steps so that we can obey his commandments and succeed in living by them. He can prevent anything harmful from dominating us.​—Ps. 119:133.

Spiritual Gems

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Doeg

An Edomite serving as King Saul’s principal shepherd, a responsible position of oversight. (1Sa 21:7; 22:9) Doeg evidently was a proselyte. Because of being “detained before Jehovah” at Nob, possibly on account of a vow, some uncleanness, or suspected leprosy, Doeg witnessed High Priest Ahimelech’s providing David with showbread and the sword of Goliath. Later, when Saul, in addressing his servants, voiced the opinion that they were conspiring against him, Doeg revealed what he had seen at Nob. After summoning the high priest as well as the other priests of Nob and then questioning Ahimelech, Saul ordered the runners to put the priests to death. When these refused, Doeg, at Saul’s command, unhesitatingly killed a total of 85 priests. After this wicked act, Doeg devoted Nob to destruction, slaughtering all of its inhabitants, young and old, as well as the livestock.​—1Sa 22:6-20.

As indicated by the superscription of Psalm 52, David wrote concerning Doeg: “Adversities your tongue schemes up, sharpened like a razor, working deceitfully. You have loved what is bad more than what is good, falsehood more than speaking righteousness. You have loved all devouring words, O you deceitful tongue.”​—Ps 52:2-4.

JUNE 24-30

TREASURES FROM GOD’S WORD | PSALMS 54-56

God Is on Your Side

w06 8/1 22 ¶10-11

Be Wise​—Fear God!

¹⁰ On one occasion, David sought refuge with Achish, king of the Philistine city of Gath, the home of Goliath. (1 Samuel 21:10-15) The king’s servants denounced David as an enemy of their nation. How did David react in that dangerous situation? He poured out his heart in prayer to Jehovah. (Psalm 56:1-4, 11-13) Although he had to feign insanity to get away, David knew that it was really Jehovah who had delivered him by blessing his efforts. David’s wholehearted reliance on Jehovah and confidence in him showed that David was truly God-fearing.​—Psalm 34:4-6, 9-11.

¹¹ Like David, we can show fear of God by trusting in his promise to help us cope with our problems. “Roll upon Jehovah your way, and rely upon him, and he himself will act,” said David. (Psalm 37:5) This does not mean that we simply hand our problems over to Jehovah without doing what we can about them and expect him to act in our behalf. David did not pray to God for help and then leave matters at that. He used the physical and intellectual abilities that Jehovah granted him and tackled the problem at hand. Yet, David knew that human efforts alone could not be counted on for success. So it should be with us. Having done everything within our power, we must leave the rest to Jehovah. In fact, often there is nothing we can do but rely on Jehovah. This is where the fear of God comes into the picture in a very personal way. We can take comfort in David’s heartfelt expression: “The intimacy with Jehovah belongs to those fearful of him.”​—Psalm 25:14.

cl 243 ¶9

Nothing Can “Separate Us From God’s Love”

⁹ Jehovah also values our endurance. (Matthew 24:13) Remember, Satan wants you to turn your back on Jehovah. Each day that you remain loyal to Jehovah is another day that you have helped to furnish a reply to Satan’s taunts. (Proverbs 27:11) Sometimes endurance is no easy matter. Health problems, financial woes, emotional distress, and other obstacles can make each passing day a trial. Postponed expectations can prove discouraging too. (Proverbs 13:12) Endurance in the face of such challenges is all the more precious to Jehovah. That is why King David asked Jehovah to store up his tears in a “skin bottle,” adding confidently: “Are they not recorded in your book?” (Psalm 56:8) Yes, Jehovah treasures up and remembers all the tears and suffering we endure while maintaining our loyalty to him. They too are precious in his eyes.

Spiritual Gems

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Foreknowledge, Foreordination

The traitorous course of Judas Iscariot fulfilled divine prophecy and demonstrated Jehovah’s foreknowledge as well as that of his Son. (Ps 41:9; 55:12, 13; 109:8; Ac 1:16-20) Yet it cannot be said that God foreordained or predestinated Judas himself to such a course. The prophecies foretold that some intimate acquaintance of Jesus would be his betrayer, but they did not specify which of those sharing such acquaintance it would be. Again, Bible principles rule against God’s having foreordained Judas’ actions. The divine standard stated by the apostle is: “Never lay your hands hastily upon any man; neither be a sharer in the sins of others; preserve yourself chaste.” (1Ti 5:22; compare 3:6.) Evidencing his concern that the selection of his 12 apostles be wisely and properly made, Jesus spent the night in prayer to his Father before making known his decision. (Lu 6:12-16) If Judas were already divinely foreordained to be a traitor, this would result in inconsistency in God’s direction and guidance and, according to the rule, would make him a sharer in the sins that one committed.

Thus, it seems evident that at the time of his being selected as an apostle, Judas’ heart presented no definite evidence of a treasonous attitude. He allowed a ‘poisonous root to spring up’ and defile him, resulting in his deviation and in his accepting, not God’s direction, but the Devil’s leading in a course of thievery and treachery. (Heb 12:14, 15; Joh 13:2; Ac 1:24, 25; Jas 1:14, 15; see JUDAS No. 4.) By the time such deviation reached a certain point, Jesus himself could read Judas’ heart and foretell his betrayal.​—Joh 13:10, 11.