STUDY ARTICLE 30
SONG 36 Make We Protect Our Heart
Things Wey We Fit Learn From the Kings for Israel
“Una go still see how righteous person dey different from wicked person. And how person wey de serve God dey different from person wey no de serve God.”—MAL. 3:18.
WETIN WE GO LEARN?
We go talk about how Jehovah see the kings for Israel and e go help us know wetin we need to do to make Jehovah happy.
1-2. Wetin Bible tell us about some kings for Israel?
BIBLE talk about more than 40 men wey rule as king for Israel. a And Bible no hide wetin them do. For example, even some good king for Israel still do bad things. Think about King David, Jehovah talk about-am say: “David wey be my servant . . . use all im heart serve me, because na only wetin correct for my eye e de do.” (1 Ki. 14:8) Even with that one, David sleep with another man wife and plan make them kill im husband for war.—2 Sam. 11:4, 14, 15.
2 But many of the kings wey no continue to worship Jehovah still do some good things. Think about Rehoboam, Bible talk say, “E do bad thing” for Jehovah eye. (2 Chron. 12:14) But Rehoboam still do some good things. For example, e obey when Jehovah tell-am say make e allow the ten tribe of Israel get their own king and make e no fight them. E still make many city for im kingdom strong so that e go fit protect God people from their enemy.—1 Ki. 12:21-24; 2 Chron. 11:5-12.
3. Which important question fit come our mind, and wetin we go talk about for this article?
3 One important question fit come our mind. The question na, if king for Israel do good and bad things, wetin Jehovah use decide if e be good or bad king? The answer to this question go help us know wetin we need to do to fit make Jehovah happy. So we go talk about three things wey Jehovah use decide if king for Israel na good king or bad king. The three things na: (1) whether the king love Jehovah with all im heart, (2) whether the king repent with all im heart when e sin against Jehovah, and (3) whether e continue to worship Jehovah for the correct way.
THEM LOVE JEHOVAH WITH ALL THEIR HEART
4. Wetin be one difference between the kings wey worship Jehovah well and the ones wey stop to worship-am?
4 The kings wey make Jehovah happy, worship-am with all their heart. b Jehoshaphat na good king and e “use all im heart look for Jehovah.” (2 Chron. 22:9) Bible talk about Josiah say: “No king ever dey like this one before. E turn back to Jehovah with all im heart.” (2 Ki. 23:25) What about Solomon wey start to worship Jehovah well, but later e do wetin bad for Jehovah eye? Bible talk say: “E no use all im heart serve Jehovah.” (1 Ki. 11:4) Bible talk about another king wey no continue to worship Jehovah, im name na Abijam. Bible talk say: “Im heart no complete with Jehovah.”—1 Ki. 15:3.
5. Wetin e mean for person to serve Jehovah with all im heart?
5 Wetin e mean for person to worship Jehovah with all im heart? Person wey de worship Jehovah with all im heart, no de do-am just because e know say na wetin e suppose do. Instead, e de worship Jehovah because e really love and respect Jehovah with all im heart. And e go continue to love and respect Jehovah all im life.
6. Wetin go help us continue to worship Jehovah with all our heart? (Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 5:29, 30)
6 Wetin go help us continue to worship Jehovah with all our heart? Na to run from anything wey go make our love for Jehovah weak. For example, we need to dey careful about the things wey we de watch or things wey we de use enjoy ourself when we de relax. We still need to run from bad friends, so that them no go make us start to think say na money and property dey important pass Jehovah worship. If we see anything wey de make our love for Jehovah weak, make we no waste time to remove-am.—Read Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 5:29, 30.
7. Why e dey important make we run from anything wey go make our love for Jehovah weak?
7 Make we no allow anything make our love for Jehovah weak. If we no dey careful, we fit deceive ourself say because we de do plenty things for Jehovah worship, nothing go fit make our love for Jehovah weak. Make we use this example talk about-am. Imagine say you de clean your house for dry season, and heavy breeze de blow for outside. How e go be if you no close your door and window? Dust go full the house. We fit compare the house to our friendship with Jehovah. No be only things wey go make us near Jehovah we need to de do. Just as we no go allow dirty enter our house, we need to run from anything wey fit enter our heart and make our love for Jehovah weak.—Eph. 2:2.
THEM REPENT FROM THEIR SIN WITH ALL THEIR HEART
8-9. Wetin King David and King Hezekiah do when Jehovah prophet correct them? (Still check the picture.)
8 As we don talk before, King David commit serious sin. But when prophet Nathan tell-am how Jehovah feel about wetin e do, David repent with all im heart. (2 Sam. 12:13) From wetin King David write for Psalm 51, e dey clear say e no happy for wetin e do. David no pretend say e no happy with wetin e do just to deceive prophet Nathan, or so that them no go punish-am.—Ps. 51:3, 4, 17.
9 Another king wey sin against Jehovah na King Hezekiah. Bible talk say: “E start to carry shoulder up. This one bring problem for-am, for Judah, and for Jerusalem people.” (2 Chron. 32:25) Wetin make Hezekiah start to carry shoulder up? E fit be say na because Jehovah make-am rich, help-am win Assyria people, or because e heal-am. E fit be say na because e de carry shoulder up, make-am show Babylon people wetin e get. And Jehovah use prophet Isaiah give Hezekiah strong correction. (2 Ki. 20:12-18) But just like David, Hezekiah repent with all im heart. (2 Chron. 32:26) For the end, how Jehovah see Hezekiah? Jehovah see-am as good king wey “continue to do wetin correct for [Im] eye.”—2 Ki. 18:3.
King David and King Hezekiah repent after Jehovah prophet tell them say wetin them do bad. This one show say them carry body down (Check paragraph 8-9)
10. Wetin King Amaziah do when them correct-am?
10 King Amaziah for Judah no do like King David and King Hezekiah. E do wetin correct for Jehovah eye, “but no be with all im heart.” (2 Chron. 25:2) Which bad thing e do? After Jehovah help-am win Edom people, e start to worship their gods. c Then when Jehovah prophet talk to-am about wetin e do, the king no want hear and e drive the prophet comot.—2 Chron. 25:14-16.
11. As e dey for 2 Corinthians 7:9, 11, wetin we need to do so that Jehovah go forgive us? (Still check the picture.)
11 Wetin we learn from all this story? If we make mistake, we need to repent with all our heart and do our best make e no happen again. What if we receive correction from elders for something wey we feel say e no really serious? Make this one no make us feel say Jehovah no love us again or say the elders no like us. Even when the kings wey Bible talk say them be good kings do bad thing, Jehovah correct them. (Heb. 12:6) So when them correct you, make you (1) carry body down and accept the correction, (2) stop to de do the things wey make them correct you, and (3) continue to worship Jehovah with all your heart. If you really repent, Jehovah go forgive you.—Read 2 Corinthians 7:9, 11.
When them correct us, make we (1) put body down and accept the correction, (2) change, and (3) continue to worship Jehovah with all our heart (Check paragraph 11) f
THEM CONTINUE TO WORSHIP JEHOVAH FOR THE CORRECT WAY
12. Wetin make the kings wey Jehovah see as good kings different from other kings for Israel?
12 The kings wey Jehovah see as good kings, worship-am the way e want make them worship-am. And them encourage Jehovah people to do the same thing. Na true say the kings make mistake as we don talk before. But them worship only Jehovah and do their best to destroy other gods for Israel. d
13. Why Jehovah see King Ahab as bad king?
13 Why Jehovah see some kings as bad kings even though say no be everything wey them do bad? For example, after wicked King Ahab hear say them don kill Naboth because of-am, e no happy and e show say e carry body down. (1 Ki. 21:27-29) E still build some city and win some war against Israel enemy. (1 Ki. 20:21, 29; 22:39) But e get something wey Ahab do wey really bad. Im wife make-am worship other gods and make other people do the same thing. And e no ever repent from this bad thing.—1 Ki. 21:25, 26.
14. (a) Why Jehovah see King Rehoboam as bad king? (b) Wetin most of the bad kings do?
14 Make we talk about another bad king for Israel, im name na Rehoboam. As we don talk before, e do plenty good things when e rule. But after e don become strong king, e stop to de obey Jehovah Law and start to worship other gods. (2 Chron. 12:1) And after that one, sometimes e go worship Jehovah, and sometimes e go worship other gods. (1 Ki. 14:21-24) No be only Rehoboam and Ahab be the king wey stop to worship Jehovah. The truth be say most of the kings for Israel wey Jehovah talk say them be bad kings, worship lie-lie gods and make other people do the same thing. E dey clear say one of the main thing wey Jehovah de look to know if person na good king or bad king, na whether the person continue to worship-am for the correct way.
15. Why e dey important to Jehovah make im people worship-am?
15 Why e dey important to Jehovah make Israel people worship-am for the correct way? For Israel king, na their work to help other Israel people to worship Jehovah for the correct way. Another thing be say, when people worship other gods, e de make them commit other serious sin and make them no treat other people well. (Hos. 4:1, 2) And the kings for Israel and other Israel people na people wey Jehovah don choose as im own. So when them leave Jehovah and start to worship other gods, Bible talk say e just be like when person leave im husband or wife and go de sleep with another person. (Jer. 3:8, 9) When person sleep with person wey no be im husband or wife, e don sin against im husband or wife direct. Na so e still be when servant of Jehovah go de worship other gods. Anybody wey do like that, don sin against Jehovah direct. e—Deut. 4:23, 24.
16. Wetin de make Jehovah see person as good or bad person?
16 Wetin we fit learn from this one? Make we make up our mind to run from anything wey fit connect us with lie-lie religion. But we go still need to continue to worship Jehovah the way e want and de do our best for im service. Prophet Malachi tell us wetin go make Jehovah see person as good or bad person. E talk say: “Una go still see how righteous person dey different from wicked person. And how person wey de serve God dey different from person wey no de serve God.” (Mal. 3:18) We want make Jehovah see us as person wey de do wetin correct for im eye. So we go dey careful make nothing, even our mistake no make us stop to de serve Jehovah. Because na serious sin, if we stop to de serve Jehovah.
17. Why we need to dey careful when we de choose who we go marry?
17 If you never marry and you go like to marry, how wetin prophet Malachi talk fit help you choose correct person to marry? Person fit get some better-better character, but if e no de serve Jehovah, you think say Jehovah de see-am as righteous person? (2 Cor. 6:14) If you marry this kind person, you think say e go fit help you continue to hold Jehovah tight? Just think-am, the women wey King Solomon marry get some better-better character. But because some of them no de worship Jehovah, small-small them make Solomon start to worship lie-lie gods.—1 Ki. 11:1, 4.
18. Wetin papa and mama need to teach their children?
18 Papa and mama, you fit use example of the kings for Bible to help your children so that them go love to serve Jehovah. Help them see say the kings wey Jehovah see as good kings, na the ones wey continue to worship Jehovah and encourage other people to do the same thing. Make wetin you de talk and wetin you de do help your children know say, the things wey we de do to worship Jehovah, like to go meeting and preaching, dey important pass any other thing for our life. (Matt. 6:33) If you no do like that, your children fit just de follow you worship Jehovah, no be because say them really love Jehovah. Because of this one, them fit feel say to worship Jehovah no really dey important or them fit even stop to de serve Jehovah.
19. Person wey stop to serve Jehovah fit ever be im friend again? (Still check the box, “ You Go Fit Be Jehovah Friend Again!”)
19 If person stop to de serve Jehovah, e mean say e no go ever fit be Jehovah friend again? No, because e fit repent and come worship Jehovah again. To fit do this one, e go need to carry body down and accept any help wey the elders for congregation give-am. (Jas. 5:14) To be Jehovah friend better pass anything, so e need to ready to do im best to fit worship Jehovah again.
20. How Jehovah go see us if we copy the example of the kings for Israel wey worship-am well?
20 Wetin we don learn from the kings for Israel? We fit be like the good kings for Israel, if we continue to love Jehovah and serve-am with all our heart. Another thing be say if we make mistake, make we learn from our mistake, repent, and no repeat-am again. And make we no ever forget say na only Jehovah we suppose worship. If you continue to hold Jehovah tight, e go see you as person wey de do wetin correct for im eye.
SONG 45 The Things Wey I De Think
a For this article, when we talk about “kings for Israel,” we de talk about all the king wey rule God people. Whether na the ones wey rule the two-tribe kingdom of Judah, ten-tribe kingdom of Israel, or all the 12 tribe.
b WORD WEY WE EXPLAIN: Many times, Bible de use the word “heart” describe how person be for inside, wetin person like, wetin e de think, the condition of person mind, im character, things wey e fit do, wetin de move person to do something, and im plans.
c For Bible time, e dey common for kings wey no de worship Jehovah to worship the gods of the people wey them win for war.
d King Asa commit serious sin. (2 Chron. 16:7, 10) But Bible talk good things about King Asa. Even though say e no first accept correction, e dey possible say e later repent. For the whole of im life, the good things wey e do plenty pass im mistake. The better thing be say, Asa worship only Jehovah and do im best to remove lie-lie gods from im kingdom.—1 Ki. 15:11-13; 2 Chron. 14:2-5.
e Make we no forget say, the first two commandment for the Law wey Jehovah give Moses talk say make them no worship any other god except Jehovah.—Ex. 20:1-6.
f OTHER THINGS ABOUT THE PICTURE: One young brother wey be elder de tell another brother wey senior-am well-well say e no good as e too de drink alcohol. The old brother accept the correction, change, and continue to worship Jehovah well.
