Tag Archives: patience

Joshua, chapters 21-24

“Today we know that Jehovah is among us, because you have not committed this act of unfaithfulness against Jehovah.  […]”
Joshua 22:31

The chieftains of the tribes that had settled to the West of the Jordan River were upset at the Reubenites, Gadites and half tribe of Manasseh on account of an altar these tribes had built on the edge of the river.

Even though they received their loyal help through the entire time Israel was fighting the Canaanites, these Western tribes were ready to go to war against their brothers as soon as they heard of about the altar.

It was never the Eastern tribes’ intention to separate in worship, however, as they patiently explained.

“If we were rebellious and unfaithful to Jehovah, do not spare us this day. […] No, it was because of another concern that we did this, for we said, ‘In the future, your sons will say to our sons: “What do you have to do with Jehovah the God of Israel?”‘” (Jos. 22:22-25).

The tribes of Western Israel heard out this reasoning and then proceeded ‘to praise God, and they said nothing more about going to war,’ (Jos. 22:33).

Thus we learn that it is always better to assume the best in others.
Even when we are thrown off by certain actions they decide to take, we cannot see what reasoning or underlying motivation they have.

Hence the wise words:
“Do not be quick to take offense, for the taking of offense lodges in the bosom of fools,”
(Ec. 7:9).

Joshua, chapters 16-20

Thus they finished dividing the land for inheritance by its territories. Then the Israelites gave Joshua the son of Nun an inheritance in their midst.
~Joshua 19:49

Joshua had to put the nation’s interests before his own.

He selflessly waited until the tribes had received their land assignments before proceeding to accept his family’s inheritance.

This reminds me of the self-sacrifice Christian elders demonstrate in the congregation and the patience that is expected of them and their families.

Today’s elders may never see physical blessings until God’s paradise fills the earth, yet they continue to selflessly put the congregation’s interests first, tirelessly concentrating on serving those commended to their care (Isa. 65:21,22; 1 Pet. 5:1-4).

Joshua, chapters 6-8

“Israel took the livestock and the spoil of that city for themselves, according to the orders that Jehovah had given to Joshua.”
~Joshua 8:27

In God’s instructions regarding the siege of the previous city, Jericho, God had ordered Israel to devote everything to destruction.
Only precious metals were to be spared and offered into God’s tabernacle (Jos. 6:17-19).

It’s under these circumstances that the story of Achan and his household takes place.
Motivated by greed, they stole a garment and money, hiding it in their tent (Jos. 7:1, 21).
Consequently, when Israel initially attacked the neighboring city of Ai, Jehovah was not with Israel and they lost thirty-six men (Jos. 7:5, 11, 12).

It is curious that once the other Israelites removed the wrongdoers from among themselves, God proceeded to allow his warriors to partake in the spoil (Jos. 8:2).
But neither Achan nor his household saw any of it, for their sin was considered high treason and they were punished by death (Jos. 7:25).
Had they waited a few more days serving Jehovah faithfully, they would have rightfully had all the spoil they wanted.
Their impatience, however, coupled with their greed and blatant disregard for God’s explicit instructions, led Achan and his household to tragedy.

Despite enduring all the trials through the desert, Achan stands out as an example of stealing,  cheating, bad parenting and general deceit.

How sad it would be for us who serve God today to miss out on his promises because we put fleshly interests before our spiritual health.

To listen to an Audio Play about the first few days Israel experienced in the Promised Land, click here and select “Jehovah Delivers Those Calling Upon His name.”
Achan’s story begins 39 minutes into the play.

Deuteronomy, chapters 1-3

“‘And you saw in the wilderness how Jehovah your God carried you just as a man carries his son, everywhere you went until you came to this place.’ […] Who was going ahead of you on the way, to spy out a place for you to camp. He appeared by fire at night and by a cloud in the daytime to show you the way you should walk.”
~Deuteronomy 1:31,33

During trying times, the future may appear to us like a dark, unknown wilderness.

It becomes much more difficult to discern what direction our life should take.

We need strong faith to trust that God will somehow provide us with all we need to sustain ourselves and our families (Ps. 37:25; Matt. 6:31).

A step in the wrong direction may set us back years financially or psychologically, or may even ruin our most intimate relationships.

Faith helps keep us cool-headed so that we do not rush toward the first available option or needlessly argue with our family, only to later regret it.

During their 40-year wandering, the Israelites lacked nothing (De. 2:7; 8:4).

Jehovah God visibly advised them of when to set up camp or when to move and in what direction.

Their leaders knew that they would some day arrive to the Promised Land if they kept following God’s guidance.

Nowadays, instead of fire or a cloud, we have God’s visible organization funneling spiritual ‘food at the proper time’ to his people all over the earth (Matt. 24:45).

This spiritual food that nurtures our faith now comes in a new video and audio platform: Tv.jw.org.

There, we can find sound entertainment to help develop our ‘power to distinguish right and wrong’ (Heb. 5:14).

A mature faith will help us recognize what direction God wants us to head next and act accordingly.

Thus we will not wander around so much and the time it takes to arrive at the “Promised Land” will seem shorter (Rev. 21:4).

Numbers, chapters 1-3

They [Moses, Aaron and his sons] were responsible for taking care of the sanctuary as their obligation in behalf of the Israelites. Any unauthorized person coming near would be put to death.
~Numbers 3:38

God has assigned responsibilities as he sees fit within the congregation.
Or as Ephesus chapter 4, verse 8 puts it, “he gave gifts in men.”

Isaiah chapter 32 verse 2 describes the role these men play:
[…] Each one will be like a hiding place from the wind,
A place of concealment from the rainstorm,
Like streams of water in a waterless land,
Like the shadow of a massive crag in a parched land.

In order to shepherd the flock and oversee worship, these imperfect men make decisions and arrangements which are not always popular with the entire congregation.

However, as the aforementioned text highlights, when a person encroaches the responsibilities and decision-making power of those whom God has chosen to lead, either by manipulation or physically taking matters into their own hands, God views it as a very serious sin.

We do best to submit to God’s arrangement, cultivating patience and humility, contributing to the congregation’s well-being by demonstrating a cooperative spirit, even when we do not fully understand all the underlying factors or dynamics that affect the congregation’s functioning  (Eph. 4:2,3; Phil. 2:2-4).

Leviticus, chapters 1-5

Every grain offering you make is to be seasoned with salt; and you must not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be missing from your grain offering. Along with every offering of yours, you will present salt.
~Leviticus 2:13

What does salt symbolize?

It has often been used as a preservative and an antiseptic.

Therefor it can symbolize permanence and cleanliness.

As Christians, we put into practice Christ’s words, “You are the salt of the earth,” when we share his message of ever-lasting life (Matt. 5:13).

We also have a “preserving” effect when we positively influence others through uncorrupted moral behavior.

Jesus also said, “Have salt in yourselves, and keep peace between one another,” (Mark 9:50).

In effect, today we do not make food offerings, but rather, we “offer to God […] the fruit of our lips,” (Heb. 13:15).

How do we add “salt” to our praise?

God’s word tells us the answer: “Let your utterance be always with graciousness, seasoned with salt, so as to know how you ought to give an answer to each one,” (Col. 4:6).

In other words, we ought to think before we speak and say things in a considerate manner.

“For God is well-pleased with such sacrifices,” (Heb. 13:16).

Exodus, chapters 34-37

“Let all who are skilled* among you come and make everything that Jehovah has commanded.”
~Exodus 35:10

*skilled: wise of heart

Jehovah extended out an invitation to all his people to volunteer and take part in the privilege of building the tabernacle, which was to be the center of true worship for around 500 years.
Today, we live in a time of great spiritual growth and enlightenment.
Despite society’s moral decay, “the path of the righteous […] grows brighter and brighter until full daylight,” (Prov. 4:18).
Prophecies relating to the abundance and accessibility of God’s word are being fulfilled as we venture further into “the time of the end.” (Dan. 12:4; Matt. 24:14)
Jesus extended an invitation into the future to those now living to join in the ‘harvest work,’ so to speak, and spread his father’s message. (Matt. 9:37,38)
We may feel inept, unworthy, or too insignificant to partake in the fulfillment of these prophecies, but as the footnote explains, “skilled” literally means “wise of heart” in the original language. This understanding enables us to see ourselves from God’s point of view.
King Solomon, one of the wisest men to have lived, describes someone with a wise heart as a person who knows “the right time and procedure,” or who knows “both time and judgment,” (Eccl. 8:5 {New World Translation}; {Reference Bible}).
This implies letting ourselves be guided by God’s spirit as we strive to display qualities such as faith and patience. (Ps. 37:7; Gal. 5:22,23)
Regardless of our origins, Jehovah God is the one choosing us to draw close to him, (John 6:44).
If we pray to him for wisdom and other fine qualities, he grants them to us through his spirit and his word. (Ja. 1:5)
Therefor, anyone can come to be “skilled” or “wise of heart” if we use our gifts to serve him instead of serving self-centered goals.
God’s modern-day servants accept today’s equivalent of the invitation and selflessly set aside lucrative careers to volunteer where there is greater need of Bible ministers, to build more halls and branch offices for the growing organization, to humbly serve anonymously in those branch offices in the capacity of artists, translators or lesser-recognized fields, or as traveling overseers supervising and motivating over a dozen congregations at a time.
Jehovah is the one making us “skilled” and worthy, provided that we are willing to carry out his work.

Exodus, chapters 15-18

Then Moses said to them: “Nobody should leave any of it until the morning.” But they did not listen to Moses. When some men left some of it until the morning, it bred worms and stank, and Moses became indignant at them.

~Exodus 16:19,20

Then Moses said: “Eat it today, because today is a sabbath to Jehovah. Today you will not find it on the ground. You will pick it up for six days, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.” However, some of the people did go out to pick it up on the seventh day, but they found nothing.

~Exodus 16:25-27

It is surprising how careless some of the Israelites were when it came to obeying details.

Moses had demonstrated he was their God-appointed leader and yet, they still questioned his instructions.

Such unwilling attitudes could have disheartened Moses, who had risked his life to go back to Egypt and see them free across the Red Sea.

But Moses kept tending to them as he would have done to his sheep when he was a shepherd, refining his patience on a day-to-day basis.

Concentrating on the Israelites’ lack of faith, this teaches me that I should obey God’s instructions even when the details seem illogical from a human perspective.

Christ has appointed “gifts in men” to serve as shepherds in the congregation (Eph. 4:8).

“And he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelizers, some as shepherds and teachers, with a view to the readjustment of the holy ones, for ministerial work, to build up the body of the Christ,” (Eph. 4:11).

These men have no personal gain by serving the congregation, other than the satisfaction of having done what is right.

They make arrangements for the well-being of our spiritual-family, knowing that God will provide means to see those arrangements to fulfillment.

These arrangements may not always make sense.

Some members of the congregation may criticize or even refuse to cooperate.

An attitude that constantly questions counsel given in accordance with Bible principles can prove detrimental to our own spirituality and eventually dishearten those who serve us.

Our love for God is tested in the details (Luke 16:10).