“So the king said to me: “Why do you look so gloomy when you are not sick? This can be nothing but gloominess of heart.” At this I became very frightened.” (Nehemiah 2:2 NWT)
Today’s JW message is not to be afraid to preach publicly about the truth. The examples used are from the Old Testament where Nehemiah was asked by King Artaxerxes when serving him his cup of wine why he looked gloomy.
Nehemiah explained, after praying, that his city, Jerusalem, its walls had been broken down and its gates set on fire. He asked for permission to go and fix them etc. and the king obliged. (Nehemiah 1:1-4; 2:1-8 NWT)
The other example the Organization uses is Jonah who was asked to go and curse Nineveh and how he ran away as he didn’t want to do it. However, he finally did after being punished by God, and saved Nineveh as they repented. (Jonah 1:1-3; 3:5-10 NWT)
The publications preach the importance of praying for help before answering, like Nehemiah did, and from Jonah that no matter our fears, God will help us to serve Him.
What I find remarkable about this is that the best example JW could have used was Jesus Himself and His Apostles. Of course, by not using Jesus as an example, the Apostles are also left out.
One might ask oneself why it is that the organization goes so often to the times of Israel for its examples when better and more relevant examples are to be found in the Christian Scriptures in Jesus and the Apostles? Should they not be trying to help Christians to focus on our Lord?
While I agree that the words of יהוה God and Yeshua/Jesus are not to be altered, I also know from a Biblical linguistic standpoint that a translation is an interpretation. However, if someone then reinterprets the translation, they are actually getting further from the original Word of God. Also, while I agree that Jehovah’s Witnesses are wrong for practices in their memorials, I also know that the context of the last meal was Passover. Thus, he included it in his Passover. The Moedim of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Shavuot, Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot, were all observed by… Read more »
Well written, Elpida. I think is is a great idea to have this short form article to look at the WT daily scriptures as a launch point for discussions. And as for your experience with having your viewpoint stifled publicly, I think we can all relate. I find it strange now that I thought that level of control was normal. The first thing I noticed in the Beroean study group is how well a study or meeting can function when you let the Spirit lead the group. The result isn’t chaos. It’s unpredictable, but ALWAYS a positive and memorable experience.… Read more »
Elpida, I know oh too well of public correction from the platform and at Field service groups. I recall an elder telling me that I needed to read scriptures better. I was so nervous answering up and even more so at reading a scripture as I was not raised in the ‘Truth’ and didn’t have the years of practice as those who had been. That comment lead to me losing more confidence and not reading ANY scriptures at the meetings or on the ministry. This elder was always making hurtful comments and upsetting sisters. Thanks to him and several other… Read more »
Thank you Amitafa for your comments as it makes me feel less alone knowing others have experienced this. No doubt, your comments will help others too. Like you, I also stopped commenting and lost confidence. It felt like scolding to me and could have been handled better. If I had been taken aside and explained why it was important to reply with the exact wording of the Watchtower article, I think my reaction would be different.
I would add to this a simple story. Whenever chairing the Sunday meeting, after the speaker had finished and I introduce the second part of the meeting, I would say ” We now move into the 2nd part of our meeting, a study of the bible, with the aid of the WT. I always had a few elders approach afterwards and say, no its the WT study, not a bible study. I was never sure if they were joking, but I think we know the answer to that. The average JW, I really dont think has any idea of what… Read more »
The term “bible students” is a psychological ploy. It is a form of “gaslighting.” Are we not teachers of the word of God, especially after spent numerous years studying the bible? Yes. We are entrusted by God, not as students, but as “teachers,” “evangelizers,” etc. The Governing Body wants EVERYONE (including elders) to believe that they are “students,” hence, a term they employ often to apply to everyone outside the scope of the headquarter leadership. So, why do they insist on making everyone believing they are “students?” That is the gaslighting part. A student, by nature, does NOT question the… Read more »
Rusticshore wrote,
“So, why do they insist on making everyone believing they are “students?” That is the gaslighting part. A student, by nature, does NOT question the teacher (i.e. the Gov Body). This is universally known and accepted.”
Here’s something to think about:
“When the student is ready the teacher will appear. When the student is truly ready… the teacher will disappear.” (LT)
And this:
“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.” (C)
Psalmbee
I recall one of our elders during the Sunday WT discussion actually pointing out “that the answer was near the end of the paragraph and in bold! In fact if you didn’t have time to read the whole WT and look up scriptures then all you had to do is read the question and scan through the paragraph to see the answer” (often in bold lettering). I even tried this one week. Of course that type of preparation if you can call it that, just leads to a load of sheep that just follow blindly whatever they are told! And… Read more »
For those that don’t know, Nehemiah became frightened by what the King asked him because in those days it was very common for a king to have someone beheaded just for looking gloomy in his presence. “Despondency” is not a quality the King tolerated. As one commenter below labeled some as “the average JW”, I would challenge to say there are no average JW’s, but to be fair I understand your choice of words. May I add that the GB the JW’s symbolic king (and that’s with a lower case k ) are seeing a lot of gloomy faces and… Read more »
In my earliest days at the wtstudy I thought it was sheer timidness that people would just quote”the party line”. I would put in my own life experiences relevant in answering. Later the wt was done and people were asked to do this but later still much later, I noticed those answering went back to just the quoted text. As for being publicly corrected..How rude.This is an org in panic corralling the mob back into org think. I noticed too that there were elders who thought they were stand-up comedians and they were not. So people would not answer for… Read more »
Welcome to the forum Aletheia! Excellent observations as well. The answer to the first part about the organization always going to the Hebrew Scriptures instead of focusing on the Christ and the apostles example is their way of Subliminally deflecting The friends Minds away from the true head of the congregation as much as possible as they have successfully supplanted Jesus with the FDS/GB. The Patriarchal, Judges, Kings and prophet arrangement aligns easier with this agenda and the authoritarian positions they have created in the minds of the average JW. The bottom line, By paying to much attention to the… Read more »