STUDY ARTICLE 7
Try to Dey Humble and Make Jehovah Happy
“Make wuna come to Jehovah, all of wuna for the earth wey dey humble . . . Try to show say wuna dey humble.”—ZEPH. 2:3.
SONG 80 “Taste and See That Jehovah Is Good”
WETIN WE GO LEARN? *
1-2. (a) How Bible describe Moses, and wetin e do? (b) Which reason we get to dey humble?
BIBLE describe Moses as “man wey e dey humble well-well pass any other person for the earth.” (Num. 12:3) This one mean say Moses dey weak, and e de fear to make decisions? Or e mean say e de fear to stand e ground when other people no like wetin e de do? Na so some people de describe meek or humble person. But no be so e be. Moses na servant of God and e dey strong, e fit decide well, and e get strong heart. Jehovah give Moses power to face mighty Pharaoh of Egypt, to lead like 3 million people pass desert, and to help Israel people win their enemies for war.
2 Our problem no be like the ones wey Moses face and wey e handle. Even with that one, we de face people or different-different situation everyday wey de make-am hard us to dey humble. So one powerful reason dey wey go make us want get this character. Jehovah promise say e “go give humble people the earth.” (Ps. 37:11) If you want talk about yourself, you go say you dey gentle for heart? Other people go describe you as humble person? Before we fit answer this important questions, we need to know wetin e mean to be meek or humble person.
WETIN E MEAN TO DEY MEEK?
3-4. (a) To dey meek be like wetin? (b) Which four characters we need if we want dey meek, and why?
3 To dey meek * be like fine picture wey person paint. Why we talk so? Just as artist de combine fine-fine colors to produce fine picture, na so too we need to combine some fine-fine characters to fit dey meek. For example, some of this characters wey person go need na to dey humble, de obey, to dey gentle for heart, and to get strong heart. Why we need this characters if we want make Jehovah dey happy?
4 Na only humble people go gree do wetin God want. One thing wey God want be say make we dey gentle for heart. (Matt. 5:5; Gal. 5:23) When we do wetin God want, we de make Satan vex well-well. So even though say we dey humble and dey gentle for heart, many people wey dey part of this world wey Satan de control go hate us. (John 15:18, 19) Because of this one, we need strong heart to fit fight Satan.
5-6. (a) Why Satan hate humble people? (b) Which questions we go answer?
5 Humble person na the opposite of proud person, person wey no de fit control e temper, and person wey no de obey Jehovah. That kind character really match who Satan be. No wonder Satan hate humble people! Their fine character de expose the kind wicked character wey e get. And the one wey de pain Satan pass be say, humble people de show say e de lie. Why? Because no matter wetin e talk or do, e no go fit stop humble people make they no serve Jehovah!—Job 2:3-5.
6 Which time e fit hard us to dey humble? And why we suppose to try to always dey humble? To answer this question, we go talk about the example of Moses, the three Hebrew young men wey they carry go Babylon, and Jesus.
WHICH TIME E FIT HARD US TO DEY HUMBLE?
7-8. When other people no respect Moses, wetin e do?
7 When person get authority: E fit hard for people wey get authority or position to dey humble. E be like that especially when person wey them de care for no de respect them or de talk say their decision no good. That kind thing don ever happen to you? What if person for your family do like that? Wetin you go do? Make we see wetin Moses do for that kind situation.
8 Jehovah choose Moses make e lead Israel people, and allow make e write the laws wey the people go use. This one make-am Num. 12:1-13) Why Moses do like that?
dey clear say Jehovah de support Moses. But even with that one, Miriam and Aaron talk bad about Moses. Miriam na e sister, and Aaron na e brother. They say Moses no suppose marry the woman wey e marry. If na some people get the position wey Moses get, they for vex and try to revenge. But no be so Moses do. E no just begin vex like that. Moses even beg Jehovah make E remove the leprosy wey E use punish Miriam. (9-10. (a) Wetin Jehovah help Moses make e understand? (b) Wetin family head and elders fit learn from Moses?
9 Moses let e training come from Jehovah. Around 40 years before that time, when e dey for palace for Egypt, e no dey humble. The truth be say, that time, e de quick vex sotey e even kill one man wey e feel say de do partial. Moses think say Jehovah go support this thing wey e do. Jehovah use 40 years to help Moses understand say no be only strong heart e need to get so that e go fit lead Israel people. E still need to dey humble, to control e temper, to obey, and dey gentle for heart. Moses learn this lesson well, and e come be fine overseer.—Ex. 2:11, 12; Acts 7:21-30, 36.
10 Today, e good make people wey be family head and elders de imitate Moses. When people no respect you, make you no vex quick. Instead, dey humble and accept any mistake wey you don make. (Eccl. 7:9, 20) To show say you de obey, make you follow the direction wey Jehovah don give us about how to handle problems. And make the way you de answer people show say you dey gentle for heart. (Prov. 15:1) When family head and overseers de behave like that, them de make Jehovah happy, them de make peace dey among e people, and them de show fine example of how to dey humble, or gentle for heart.
11-13. Which example the three Hebrews show us?
11 When people de give us trouble: For long time now, human government don de give us trouble. They fit lie about us say we de put hand for bad things. But no be that one really de make them vex for us. Instead, the reason be say we choose to ‘obey God as ruler, no be people.’ (Acts 5:29) People fit de laugh us, they fit put us for prison, or even beat us. But, Jehovah go help us make we no pay them back. Instead, we go always dey gentle for heart even with the suffer.
12 The three Hebrews wey they carry go Babylon show us fine example. Their name na Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. * Make we talk about them. The king of Babylon command them make they bow down to one big image of gold. They sofri explain to the king why they no go fit worship the image. Even though say the king threaten to burn them for fire, they no stop to obey God. And Jehovah no waste time, e decide to save them. They know say Jehovah fit save them, but they no put-am for mind say e must save them. Instead, they ready to accept anything wey Jehovah allow to happen. (Dan. 3:1, 8-28) They show say people wey dey gentle for heart fit really get strong heart. So, whether government say make we stop to worship our God, whether people threaten us, or they punish us, nothing fit make us stop to worship only Jehovah, our God.—Ex. 20:4, 5.
13 When people want make we leave Jehovah, how we fit imitate the three Hebrews? Make we dey humble, and trust Jehovah say e go take care of us. (Ps. 118:6, 7) When we want answer people wey de lie about us say we do bad thing, make we dey gentle for heart and respect them. (1 Pet. 3:15) And we no go gree do anything wey go spoil the friendship wey we get with Jehovah, our Papa wey love us.
14-15. (a) Wetin fit happen when we face stress? (b) According to Isaiah 53:7, 10, why we fit talk say na Jesus be the number one example of person wey show say e dey meek under stress?
14 When we de face stress: All of us de face stress because of different-different reason. Before we write exam for school or do some kind work for our workplace, we fit don face stress. Or we fit even face-am when we think about the kind test or treatment wey we need for our health. When stress dey our body, e de hard make we dey humble or control our temper. Things wey no de make us vex before, fit begin make us vex. Wetin we de talk fit come dey harsh and we fit begin treat people anyhow. If you don face stress before, the example of Jesus fit help you.
15 For the last months wey Jesus live for this earth, e face stress well-well. E know say e go really suffer for the hand of people and die. (John 3:14, 15; Gal. 3:13) Some months before e die, e talk say some things de make e heart heavy. (Luke 12:50) And just some days before Jesus die, e talk say: “I de worry.” The things wey Jesus talk when e pray about how e de feel, show say e dey humble and e de obey God. E talk say: “Father, save me from this time. But, na the reason why I reach this time. Father, do something so that people go praise your name.” (John 12:27, 28) When the time reach, Jesus hand over e self to the enemies of God. They kill Jesus, and the pain and shame wey e feel because of the way e die no be small thing. But even though say the stress and the suffer plenty, Jesus dey humble, e show say e gentle for heart, and e gree do wetin e Father want. So we fit talk say na Jesus be the number one example of person wey dey humble under stress!—Read Isaiah 53:7, 10.
16-17. (a) Wetin the apostles do wey for make-am hard Jesus to dey gentle for heart? (b) How we fit imitate Jesus?
16 For the last night wey Jesus live for this earth, e tight friends do wetin for make-am hard Jesus to dey gentle for heart. Think of the stress wey Jesus feel that night. You think say e go fit serve God well and no sin till e die? If e no dey faithful, no human being go get hope of everlasting life. (Rom. 5:18, 19) And the one wey dey important pass be say, e character fit spoil the name of e Father or make-am clean. (Job 2:4) Then, for the last time wey Jesus chop with the apostles, they “get serious quarrel” ‘about who big pass among’ theirself. Before this time, Jesus don correct them many times about this matter; and even that evening, e don first correct them before! But the fine thing be say, Jesus no vex for them. Instead, e dey gentle with them. But e no stop to correct them. E sofri explain to them again the kind mind wey they suppose get. And since the apostles continue to follow Jesus, e let them know say they try well-well.—Luke 22:24-28; John 13:1-5, 12-15.
17 If that kind thing happen to you, wetin you for do? We fit imitate Jesus and dey gentle for heart even when we dey under stress. Jehovah command us for Bible say make we “no tire to endure wetin [we] do each other.” Make e come from our heart to de obey this command. (Col. 3:13) If we remember say we fit make each other vex with wetin we de talk and do, we go obey that command. (Prov. 12:18; Jas. 3:2, 5) And make you de try to mention the better character wey other people get.—Eph. 4:29.
WHY E GOOD MAKE WE ALWAYS TRY TO DEY HUMBLE?
18. How Jehovah de help humble people to make good decisions, but wetin they must do?
18 We go fit make decision well. When e de hard us to know wetin to decide, Jehovah go help us make good decision. But e go help us only when we dey humble. When “humble person de ask” something from Jehovah, e promise say e go “hear.” (Ps. 10:17) And e go even do pass to hear wetin we ask. Bible promise say: “E go guide humble person for the right way, and e go teach humble people about e way.” (Ps. 25:9) Today, Jehovah de guide us with Bible, the publications * and programs wey “the faithful and discreet slave” de produce. (Matt. 24:45-47) But we need to dey humble and know say we need help from Jehovah. We go de study the things wey Jehovah de provide for us, and make e come from our heart to use the things wey we learn. This one go show say we de accept help from Jehovah.
19-21. Which mistake Moses make for Kadesh, and which lessons we fit learn from wetin happen?
19 We no go de increase our mistakes. Think about Moses again. For many years, e dey humble and e make Jehovah happy. Then, after Israel people don de waka for desert for almost 40 years, when the journey don almost end, Moses fail to dey humble. E sister, wey fit be the one wey help to save e life for Egypt, just die, and they do the burial for Kadesh. And now again, Israel people de claim say they no de care for them well. This time them “de quarrel with Num. 20:1-5, 9-11.
Moses” because water no dey. Even with all the plenty miracles wey Jehovah don use Moses do, and even as Moses no think about only e self for all the many years wey e lead them, the people still complain. They no only complain say water no dey. They complain about Moses, as if na Moses de make water hungry them.—20 Moses vex well-well, and e no come dey gentle for heart again. Instead of Moses to talk to the rock as Jehovah command, e talk to the people anyhow because e de vex. And Moses talk say e go do the miracle for them by e self. Then, e nack the rock two times and plenty water come out. E make serious mistake because e come dey proud and e no control e temper. (Ps. 106:32, 33) Just for some time Moses no dey humble. Because of this one, God no allow Moses enter the Promise Land.—Num. 20:12.
21 We learn fine lessons from this example. Number one, we must always work hard to de think like humble people everytime. If we drop-am for some time, we fit start to dey proud. And this one fit make us talk and do things wey sense no dey. Number two, stress fit make-am no easy for us to dey humble and control our temper. So, we must try to dey humble, even when we face situation wey fit make-am hard for us.
22-23. (a) Why e dey good make we try continue to dey humble? (b) Wetin the thing wey dey Zephaniah 2:3 show?
22 God go protect us. Small time, Jehovah go remove all the wicked people from the earth, and na only humble people go remain. Then peace go really full everywhere for the earth. (Ps. 37:10, 11) You go dey among the humble people wey go remain? You fit dey among them if you do wetin Jehovah say make you do for Zephaniah 2:3. (Read-am.)
23 Why Zephaniah 2:3 talk say: “Maybe wuna go get protection”? Wetin dey the verse no mean say Jehovah no go fit protect people wey e love and people wey want do wetin e want. Instead, e mean say we need to do something so that God go protect us. We go fit survive “the day wey Jehovah go vex” and live forever if we try to dey humble now and make Jehovah happy.
SONG 120 Imitate Christ’s Mildness
^ par. 5 They no born any of us to dey humble, or meek. We go need to get this character. When we de do things with people wey they no like trouble, e fit no hard us to dey humble and gentle for heart. But e fit really hard us to dey humble when we de do things with proud people. Na fine thing to dey humble, but some problems dey wey we need to remove so that we go get this fine character. This topic go talk about-am.
^ par. 3 WORDS WEY WE EXPLAIN: To dey meek. Meek people dey gentle when them de do things with other people. And them de remain gentle for heart even when other people de try to do wetin go make them vex. To dey humble. Humble people no dey proud or de think say they better pass other people; for their eye, other people better pass them. When this character de describe Jehovah, e mean say Jehovah de show love and pity when e de do things with people wey e high pass.
^ par. 12 Na people of Babylon give this three Hebrews the name Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.—Dan. 1:7.
^ par. 18 For example, check the topic “Make Decisions That Honor God,” wey dey for Watchtower of April 15, 2011.
^ par. 59 OTHER THINGS ABOUT THE PICTURE: Jesus no stop to dey gentle for heart and e sofri correct the disciples after they argue about who big pass among them.