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00:01 Have you enjoyed studying the book 00:03 Imitate Their Faith as much as I have? 00:06 It’s a wonderful book, isn’t it? 00:09 And I was particularly captivated by the introduction. 00:12 There was a point in the introduction 00:15 that encouraged us to use our imagination 00:18 when we’re reading the Bible: 00:20 to see the sights, to hear the sounds, 00:22 to smell the aromas, to try to capture the feelings 00:26 of the individuals that we are reading about. 00:30 Now, of course, we don’t want our imagination to run away with us, 00:33 but at the same time, we do want to get 00:35 a solid mental picture of what we’re reading. 00:39 And that’s what I’d like to talk to you about today. 00:42 When you’re reading the Bible, try to get the whole picture. 00:46 Now we’ll use a couple of well-known Bible accounts to illustrate. 00:53 Have you been raised in a stepfamily or a blended family? 00:58 If you have, did you know that you have 01:01 something in common with Joseph, the son of Jacob? 01:04 Joseph was raised with ten half brothers 01:08 in a large blended family. 01:12 So now you want to try to view 01:15 this family as a composite. 01:18 You want to try to figure out how did people mesh 01:21 or how did they clash within this family. 01:24 What would you do? 01:26 Well, you might start by writing down some of the characteristics 01:29 of the individual members of the family. 01:32 What about Joseph’s half brothers and Joseph himself? 01:35 What do you know about them? 01:37 What about Judah, Simeon, Levi, 01:41 Dan, Naphtali —what do you know? 01:44 So write down their characteristics, 01:46 and try to figure out how they might get along. 01:49 Sometimes there is one individual incident 01:53 that’s recorded in the Bible, 01:55 but we mustn’t forget: 01:58 People’s actions have a way of affecting other people. 02:02 So when you read about a certain incident in the Bible, 02:05 try to imagine who might have been affected by that incident. 02:09 Take an example. 02:11 In the book of Genesis, we read that Jacob’s son Reuben 02:16 committed sexual immorality with Bilhah. 02:21 Well, that had an effect on other people without doubt. 02:24 Who was Reuben? 02:26 He was Leah’s oldest son. 02:29 Who was Bilhah? 02:31 Rachel’s handmaiden. 02:33 Do you think that there might have been a little animosity or tension 02:36 between Leah and Rachel sometimes, 02:40 especially when you consider how their marriages started out? 02:45 There may have been. 02:46 And it may be that the attitudes of the women 02:50 had some bearing on the attitudes of their sons as well. 02:53 So you take all of these things into consideration. 02:56 Now, Bilhah had two sons, Dan and Naphtali. 03:01 How do you think they felt when they learned 03:03 that their oldest brother, or half brother, 03:06 had committed fornication with their mother? 03:09 So there could have been tension there. 03:12 And this all goes into the mix 03:14 when we’re considering the family as a composite. 03:18 Now, do you picture Joseph at age 17 03:22 with ten much older half brothers, maybe in their 30’s, 03:27 some old enough to be his father? 03:30 Not true. 03:32 The truth is that there was only a seven-year age difference 03:36 between Joseph’s oldest brother, Reuben, and Joseph himself. 03:41 In fact, 11 of Jacob’s sons 03:44 were born during the seven-year period 03:46 when Jacob was working for Laban. 03:50 Eleven sons in seven years, 03:53 how is that possible? 03:55 It’s easy, when you remember that Jacob had two wives 03:59 and two concubines, or secondary wives. 04:03 So there didn’t have to be a nine-month interval 04:05 between the birth of the children. 04:08 In fact, some could have been born just about at the same time; 04:11 they could have been the same age. 04:14 So when Joseph was sold into slavery at age 17, 04:18 his oldest brother was no more than 24. 04:22 Some of his brothers were only a year or two older than Joseph himself. 04:27 So we’re talking about a group of young men 04:30 in their late teens and early 20’s, 04:32 and this might explain some of the hotheaded reactions 04:36 that some of those young men had. 04:40 Well, so much for the boys. 04:42 What about their father, Jacob? 04:44 What can we learn about him? 04:46 A lot. 04:48 For one thing, he was a spiritual man. 04:51 Now, this is something for you young brothers and sisters 04:53 who are contemplating marriage to think about. 04:56 Jacob was willing to go to any length 04:59 to keep his relationship with Jehovah intact. 05:03 Let’s take an example: 05:05 Genesis 29:18. 05:09 You can follow along on the screen as I read this. 05:12 And we’re talking about marriage here. 05:16 Genesis 29:18. 05:18 It says: “Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel, 05:22 “so he said: ‘I am willing to serve you seven years 05:27 for your younger daughter Rachel.’” 05:30 Now what’s the takeaway? 05:32 Jacob didn’t marry the first person who came along, 05:36 maybe some pagan woman. 05:38 He didn’t say, ‘Well, seven years is too long to wait. 05:40 I’m going to find some Philistine woman, and I’ll marry her.’ 05:44 He was willing to wait so that he could marry someone 05:47 who would join him in the worship of Jehovah. 05:51 And you young folks, if you are willing to wait, 05:54 you can be sure that you will have Jehovah’s blessing as well. 05:58 Now Jacob was apparently also a bit of a romantic. 06:02 Notice verse 20. 06:04 It says: “And Jacob served seven years for Rachel,” 06:08 but notice this, 06:10 “but in his eyes they were like just a few days 06:13 because of his love for her.” 06:16 Now, isn’t that poetic? 06:19 Jacob may have learned to treasure his wife 06:22 by observing his parents, Isaac and Rebekah. 06:25 It appears that they had a strong marriage. 06:27 Just notice what we read 06:30 at Genesis 26:8, 06:35 Genesis 26:8. 06:40 It says: “After some time had passed, 06:42 “Abimelech king of the Philistines was looking out of the window, 06:47 and he saw Isaac,” that’s Jacob’s father, 06:50 “displaying affection for Rebekah his wife.” 06:55 So it appears that Isaac and Rebekah 06:59 had a warm relationship, a good marriage. 07:04 Now, what else can we learn about Jacob? 07:07 There’s an interesting detail recorded 07:09 in chapter 25 and verse 27. 07:13 It says: “As the boys got bigger, Esau,” 07:17 Jacob’s brother, 07:19 “became a skilled hunter, a man of the field, 07:22 “but Jacob was a blameless man, 07:25 dwelling in tents.” 07:28 So Jacob liked to dwell in tents. 07:32 That might explain the strong bond that developed 07:36 between Jacob and Joseph, who was his youngest for many years. 07:42 Now although Jacob liked to dwell in tents, 07:45 he was by no means a sissy. 07:47 He was a strong man, but he was a spiritual man. 07:52 That’s something for you young brothers to take away. 07:56 You want to be strong, we know you do, 07:58 but spirituality should come first. 08:03 One time, spiritual Jacob gave his sons a beautiful lesson 08:08 on how to settle a difference with a family member. 08:11 We read about it at Genesis chapter 32. 08:15 And I think all of us can learn from his example. 08:19 We learn at Genesis 32 08:21 that Jacob’s brother, Esau, was coming to see him. 08:25 Now, they hadn’t seen each other for 20 years, 08:28 and to say that their parting had been difficult is an understatement. 08:33 The fact is that when they separated more than 20 years earlier, 08:37 Esau had vowed that one day he was going to kill his brother; 08:42 now he was coming to see him. 08:44 Now, why was he so angry with Jacob? 08:48 It’s because Jacob had received a blessing from their father, 08:53 and Esau was not happy. 08:56 So Esau arrives, 08:58 and 400 men are with him. 09:01 Why 400 men? 09:03 Well, the Bible doesn’t say. 09:05 But it could be that he was trying to show 09:07 how important and prominent he had become. 09:12 How did Jacob react? 09:14 Did he try to go tit for tat? 09:16 Did he try to show how important and prominent he had become 09:21 with all of the blessings he’d received? 09:23 Did he reopen old wounds? 09:27 Did he argue with his brother? 09:30 Did he say, ‘You know I was right all along, 09:33 and you, Esau, you have been wrong’? 09:35 Did he demand an apology? 09:38 No. 09:40 There was a lot that Jacob could have bragged about. 09:43 No question about that. 09:45 There was no doubt that Jacob had Jehovah’s blessing. 09:47 Early on, we read that an angel of Jehovah 09:51 had appeared to him and said: 09:53 “I am Jehovah 09:55 “the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. 09:59 “The land on which you are lying, 10:01 “to you I am going to give it and to your offspring. 10:05 “I am with you, 10:07 “and I will safeguard you wherever you go . . . 10:10 I will not leave you.” 10:14 Well, that’s quite a blessing, isn’t it? 10:16 But there’s more. 10:18 For a portion of the previous night 10:20 —that is, the night before Esau and Jacob met up— 10:24 Jacob had wrestled with an angel, 10:27 and as a result, 10:28 he had managed to receive another blessing. 10:33 But Jacob didn’t flaunt his blessings. 10:36 Instead, he humbled himself. 10:39 In fact, he even bowed down seven times before his brother 10:43 in front of his wives and his 11 sons. 10:48 So Jacob settled any lingering difference with Esau 10:52 not with his fists, 10:54 not with a bragging tongue, not with a weapon, 10:58 but humbly, like a real man 11:01 —like a real, spiritual man. 11:06 In contrast, how did Jacob’s ten sons 11:10 settle their difference with Joseph? 11:13 Like a bunch of cowards. 11:15 It was 10 to 1 against Joseph. 11:18 First, they decided to kill their brother, 11:22 and then they delivered him up into slavery. 11:25 Those jealous young men didn’t learn a thing 11:28 from their father’s excellent spiritual example. 11:32 Well, if you’re on the outs with a member of your family, 11:36 if you had a serious difficulty with someone, 11:40 could you try to settle the matter peacefully as Jacob did? 11:45 If the person tries to apologize, be gracious about it. 11:49 Don’t make it difficult for him to apologize. 11:51 Don’t dredge up 11:53 all of the unnecessary details about the past. 11:56 You may be in the right, as Jacob was, 11:59 but isn’t the important thing to make peace? 12:03 Jehovah loves the peacemakers. 12:07 Well, what else do we learn about Jacob? 12:10 We learn that he wasn’t his father’s favorite. 12:13 Let’s look at Genesis chapter 25 12:19 verse 28. 12:21 “And Isaac loved Esau 12:26 “because it meant game in his mouth, 12:29 whereas Rebekah loved Jacob.” 12:33 Now, this story may resonate with many of you out there, 12:37 especially if you’ve grown up in a large family 12:40 or perhaps you’ve had a number of brothers and sisters. 12:43 Now, we know your parents claim 12:45 that they always treated all of you the same, 12:47 that they never ever had a preference. 12:50 But ask the kids, 12:52 Was there anyone in the family who was the favorite? 12:55 They all know. ‘She was!’ 12:57 They know this. 12:58 The parents don’t realize it, but they are giving preferential treatment. 13:03 And so this happens, and it can be disconcerting at times. 13:07 Imagine this scenario: 13:09 Imagine that you have a couple who have two children, two sons. 13:13 One is a pioneer. 13:15 He has never given his parents a moment’s grief. 13:18 The other never accepted the truth, 13:21 but he has done well in business, 13:24 and as a result, he has been generous to his parents, 13:28 and the parents are grateful, very grateful. 13:33 And the pioneer often hears the parents bragging 13:36 about the successes that his brother has had in business. 13:41 Well, the pioneer can’t help the parents materially very much, 13:44 and so he feels that there’s a bit of partiality there. 13:48 Is it hurtful? 13:50 Yes. That is life. 13:52 It’s chemistry. It’s just chemistry. 13:55 But the pioneer needs to realize 13:58 that Jehovah God appreciates his work. 14:00 His heavenly Father loves him very much 14:03 for the work that he is doing for His name. 14:06 Now, Jacob must have known 14:09 that Isaac loved his brother more than he loved him. 14:12 And perhaps he vowed that when he had children, 14:15 he would treat them all the same. 14:17 Well, if he did, he didn’t keep that promise, did he? 14:21 Everyone knew that Joseph was the favorite. 14:26 Well, have you noticed what we had to do to make a composite of this family? 14:31 We had to read from several different chapters of the Bible 14:34 —Genesis 25, 26, 28, 29, 32. 14:41 You can’t always get a complete picture of an incident 14:44 by reading just one chapter, just by reading the chapter you are reading. 14:47 Sometimes you have to extract details from other chapters of the Bible. 14:54 Now let’s consider one more example 14:56 where getting the complete picture can enrich our understanding. 15:00 This is going to be a shorter one. 15:02 We’re going to consider the story of Naaman. 15:05 Now, you remember the story. 15:07 At 2 Kings 5:1, 15:10 we learn that Naaman was the chief of the army 15:14 of Ben-hadad II, the king of Syria. 15:18 But he was a leper. 15:20 Now Ben-hadad learned that there was a prophet in Israel 15:23 Elisha who could heal him of his leprosy. 15:27 And so he told Naaman that he should go to Israel 15:30 and go to the prophet and get healed. 15:33 And so word was sent to the king of Israel by letter, 15:37 and the king of Israel was asked to send Naaman to Elisha. 15:42 Now, when you think of it, this was a strange request 15:45 because Israel and Syria were often at odds. 15:48 Sometimes there were wars between them, 15:51 and now, here you have the king of Syria sending his general, 15:55 the one who is going to head the army against Israel, 15:58 and saying: ‘Well, I’d like my general to be a more effective general. 16:01 Could you please make sure that he gets healed?’ 16:03 Well, somehow, he’s sent to Elisha 16:06 and Elisha kindly heals Naaman 16:10 and Naaman becomes a worshipper of Jehovah. 16:14 Well, we can imagine, 16:16 remember we’re talking about using our imagination, 16:18 we can imagine that when Naaman returned to Syria, 16:22 Ben-hadad had lots of nice things to say about Elisha. 16:27 So then, everyone lived happily ever after, right? 16:31 If we didn’t read on, we might think so. 16:35 But that’s not the end of the story. 16:37 In the next chapter, chapter 6, 16:41 we learn that Ben-hadad declared war against Israel. 16:46 Now, if Naaman was still the chief of the army, 16:49 he’d be in an awkward position. 16:52 Was he going to lead the armies of Syria 16:54 against fellow worshippers of Jehovah? 16:57 But it gets worse. 16:59 Ben-hadad learns that Elisha 17:03 is revealing the Syrians’ war strategies to the king of Israel, 17:08 so he sends a large army to capture Elisha 17:11 —the very man who had healed his general. 17:15 So much for gratitude. 17:17 Now, it’s interesting that Naaman is not mentioned 17:21 as being at the head of those armies. 17:24 Did he get out of it somehow? 17:26 Don’t ask me. 17:28 If he’s resurrected, you’ll have to ask him. 17:32 What lesson can we learn? 17:34 That the gratitude of the world is fleeting. 17:38 Some of us may get excited if there’s a favorable article 17:41 about Jehovah’s Witnesses in a newspaper 17:44 or if some TV personality makes a kind statement about us. 17:48 But what did Jehovah God say? 17:50 Genesis 3:15: 17:52 “I will put enmity between you and the woman.” 17:56 So Jehovah’s organization and Satan’s organization 17:59 are always going to be at odds. 18:03 Bible reading isn’t a chore. 18:05 It’s a joy. 18:07 Get the whole picture of what you’re reading, 18:10 and you’ll enjoy it even more. 18:12 We wish you all Jehovah’s rich blessing 18:15 as you continue to enhance your appreciation 18:19 for this sacred volume.
00:01 Have you enjoyed studying the book 00:03 Imitate Their Faith as much as I have? 00:06 It’s a wonderful book, isn’t it? 00:09 And I was particularly captivated by the introduction. 00:12 There was a point in the introduction 00:15 that encouraged us to use our imagination 00:18 when we’re reading the Bible: 00:20 to see the sights, to hear the sounds, 00:22 to smell the aromas, to try to capture the feelings 00:26 of the individuals that we are reading about. 00:30 Now, of course, we don’t want our imagination to run away with us, 00:33 but at the same time, we do want to get 00:35 a solid mental picture of what we’re reading. 00:39 And that’s what I’d like to talk to you about today. 00:42 When you’re reading the Bible, try to get the whole picture. 00:46 Now we’ll use a couple of well-known Bible accounts to illustrate. 00:53 Have you been raised in a stepfamily or a blended family? 00:58 If you have, did you know that you have 01:01 something in common with Joseph, the son of Jacob? 01:04 Joseph was raised with ten half brothers 01:08 in a large blended family. 01:12 So now you want to try to view 01:15 this family as a composite. 01:18 You want to try to figure out how did people mesh 01:21 or how did they clash within this family. 01:24 What would you do? 01:26 Well, you might start by writing down some of the characteristics 01:29 of the individual members of the family. 01:32 What about Joseph’s half brothers and Joseph himself? 01:35 What do you know about them? 01:37 What about Judah, Simeon, Levi, 01:41 Dan, Naphtali —what do you know? 01:44 So write down their characteristics, 01:46 and try to figure out how they might get along. 01:49 Sometimes there is one individual incident 01:53 that’s recorded in the Bible, 01:55 but we mustn’t forget: 01:58 People’s actions have a way of affecting other people. 02:02 So when you read about a certain incident in the Bible, 02:05 try to imagine who might have been affected by that incident. 02:09 Take an example. 02:11 In the book of Genesis, we read that Jacob’s son Reuben 02:16 committed sexual immorality with Bilhah. 02:21 Well, that had an effect on other people without doubt. 02:24 Who was Reuben? 02:26 He was Leah’s oldest son. 02:29 Who was Bilhah? 02:31 Rachel’s handmaiden. 02:33 Do you think that there might have been a little animosity or tension 02:36 between Leah and Rachel sometimes, 02:40 especially when you consider how their marriages started out? 02:45 There may have been. 02:46 And it may be that the attitudes of the women 02:50 had some bearing on the attitudes of their sons as well. 02:53 So you take all of these things into consideration. 02:56 Now, Bilhah had two sons, Dan and Naphtali. 03:01 How do you think they felt when they learned 03:03 that their oldest brother, or half brother, 03:06 had committed fornication with their mother? 03:09 So there could have been tension there. 03:12 And this all goes into the mix 03:14 when we’re considering the family as a composite. 03:18 Now, do you picture Joseph at age 17 03:22 with ten much older half brothers, maybe in their 30’s, 03:27 some old enough to be his father? 03:30 Not true. 03:32 The truth is that there was only a seven-year age difference 03:36 between Joseph’s oldest brother, Reuben, and Joseph himself. 03:41 In fact, 11 of Jacob’s sons 03:44 were born during the seven-year period 03:46 when Jacob was working for Laban. 03:50 Eleven sons in seven years, 03:53 how is that possible? 03:55 It’s easy, when you remember that Jacob had two wives 03:59 and two concubines, or secondary wives. 04:03 So there didn’t have to be a nine-month interval 04:05 between the birth of the children. 04:08 In fact, some could have been born just about at the same time; 04:11 they could have been the same age. 04:14 So when Joseph was sold into slavery at age 17, 04:18 his oldest brother was no more than 24. 04:22 Some of his brothers were only a year or two older than Joseph himself. 04:27 So we’re talking about a group of young men 04:30 in their late teens and early 20’s, 04:32 and this might explain some of the hotheaded reactions 04:36 that some of those young men had. 04:40 Well, so much for the boys. 04:42 What about their father, Jacob? 04:44 What can we learn about him? 04:46 A lot. 04:48 For one thing, he was a spiritual man. 04:51 Now, this is something for you young brothers and sisters 04:53 who are contemplating marriage to think about. 04:56 Jacob was willing to go to any length 04:59 to keep his relationship with Jehovah intact. 05:03 Let’s take an example: 05:05 Genesis 29:18. 05:09 You can follow along on the screen as I read this. 05:12 And we’re talking about marriage here. 05:16 Genesis 29:18. 05:18 It says: “Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel, 05:22 “so he said: ‘I am willing to serve you seven years 05:27 for your younger daughter Rachel.’” 05:30 Now what’s the takeaway? 05:32 Jacob didn’t marry the first person who came along, 05:36 maybe some pagan woman. 05:38 He didn’t say, ‘Well, seven years is too long to wait. 05:40 I’m going to find some Philistine woman, and I’ll marry her.’ 05:44 He was willing to wait so that he could marry someone 05:47 who would join him in the worship of Jehovah. 05:51 And you young folks, if you are willing to wait, 05:54 you can be sure that you will have Jehovah’s blessing as well. 05:58 Now Jacob was apparently also a bit of a romantic. 06:02 Notice verse 20. 06:04 It says: “And Jacob served seven years for Rachel,” 06:08 but notice this, 06:10 “but in his eyes they were like just a few days 06:13 because of his love for her.” 06:16 Now, isn’t that poetic? 06:19 Jacob may have learned to treasure his wife 06:22 by observing his parents, Isaac and Rebekah. 06:25 It appears that they had a strong marriage. 06:27 Just notice what we read 06:30 at Genesis 26:8, 06:35 Genesis 26:8. 06:40 It says: “After some time had passed, 06:42 “Abimelech king of the Philistines was looking out of the window, 06:47 and he saw Isaac,” that’s Jacob’s father, 06:50 “displaying affection for Rebekah his wife.” 06:55 So it appears that Isaac and Rebekah 06:59 had a warm relationship, a good marriage. 07:04 Now, what else can we learn about Jacob? 07:07 There’s an interesting detail recorded 07:09 in chapter 25 and verse 27. 07:13 It says: “As the boys got bigger, Esau,” 07:17 Jacob’s brother, 07:19 “became a skilled hunter, a man of the field, 07:22 “but Jacob was a blameless man, 07:25 dwelling in tents.” 07:28 So Jacob liked to dwell in tents. 07:32 That might explain the strong bond that developed 07:36 between Jacob and Joseph, who was his youngest for many years. 07:42 Now although Jacob liked to dwell in tents, 07:45 he was by no means a sissy. 07:47 He was a strong man, but he was a spiritual man. 07:52 That’s something for you young brothers to take away. 07:56 You want to be strong, we know you do, 07:58 but spirituality should come first. 08:03 One time, spiritual Jacob gave his sons a beautiful lesson 08:08 on how to settle a difference with a family member. 08:11 We read about it at Genesis chapter 32. 08:15 And I think all of us can learn from his example. 08:19 We learn at Genesis 32 08:21 that Jacob’s brother, Esau, was coming to see him. 08:25 Now, they hadn’t seen each other for 20 years, 08:28 and to say that their parting had been difficult is an understatement. 08:33 The fact is that when they separated more than 20 years earlier, 08:37 Esau had vowed that one day he was going to kill his brother; 08:42 now he was coming to see him. 08:44 Now, why was he so angry with Jacob? 08:48 It’s because Jacob had received a blessing from their father, 08:53 and Esau was not happy. 08:56 So Esau arrives, 08:58 and 400 men are with him. 09:01 Why 400 men? 09:03 Well, the Bible doesn’t say. 09:05 But it could be that he was trying to show 09:07 how important and prominent he had become. 09:12 How did Jacob react? 09:14 Did he try to go tit for tat? 09:16 Did he try to show how important and prominent he had become 09:21 with all of the blessings he’d received? 09:23 Did he reopen old wounds? 09:27 Did he argue with his brother? 09:30 Did he say, ‘You know I was right all along, 09:33 and you, Esau, you have been wrong’? 09:35 Did he demand an apology? 09:38 No. 09:40 There was a lot that Jacob could have bragged about. 09:43 No question about that. 09:45 There was no doubt that Jacob had Jehovah’s blessing. 09:47 Early on, we read that an angel of Jehovah 09:51 had appeared to him and said: 09:53 “I am Jehovah 09:55 “the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. 09:59 “The land on which you are lying, 10:01 “to you I am going to give it and to your offspring. 10:05 “I am with you, 10:07 “and I will safeguard you wherever you go . . . 10:10 I will not leave you.” 10:14 Well, that’s quite a blessing, isn’t it? 10:16 But there’s more. 10:18 For a portion of the previous night 10:20 —that is, the night before Esau and Jacob met up— 10:24 Jacob had wrestled with an angel, 10:27 and as a result, 10:28 he had managed to receive another blessing. 10:33 But Jacob didn’t flaunt his blessings. 10:36 Instead, he humbled himself. 10:39 In fact, he even bowed down seven times before his brother 10:43 in front of his wives and his 11 sons. 10:48 So Jacob settled any lingering difference with Esau 10:52 not with his fists, 10:54 not with a bragging tongue, not with a weapon, 10:58 but humbly, like a real man 11:01 —like a real, spiritual man. 11:06 In contrast, how did Jacob’s ten sons 11:10 settle their difference with Joseph? 11:13 Like a bunch of cowards. 11:15 It was 10 to 1 against Joseph. 11:18 First, they decided to kill their brother, 11:22 and then they delivered him up into slavery. 11:25 Those jealous young men didn’t learn a thing 11:28 from their father’s excellent spiritual example. 11:32 Well, if you’re on the outs with a member of your family, 11:36 if you had a serious difficulty with someone, 11:40 could you try to settle the matter peacefully as Jacob did? 11:45 If the person tries to apologize, be gracious about it. 11:49 Don’t make it difficult for him to apologize. 11:51 Don’t dredge up 11:53 all of the unnecessary details about the past. 11:56 You may be in the right, as Jacob was, 11:59 but isn’t the important thing to make peace? 12:03 Jehovah loves the peacemakers. 12:07 Well, what else do we learn about Jacob? 12:10 We learn that he wasn’t his father’s favorite. 12:13 Let’s look at Genesis chapter 25 12:19 verse 28. 12:21 “And Isaac loved Esau 12:26 “because it meant game in his mouth, 12:29 whereas Rebekah loved Jacob.” 12:33 Now, this story may resonate with many of you out there, 12:37 especially if you’ve grown up in a large family 12:40 or perhaps you’ve had a number of brothers and sisters. 12:43 Now, we know your parents claim 12:45 that they always treated all of you the same, 12:47 that they never ever had a preference. 12:50 But ask the kids, 12:52 Was there anyone in the family who was the favorite? 12:55 They all know. ‘She was!’ 12:57 They know this. 12:58 The parents don’t realize it, but they are giving preferential treatment. 13:03 And so this happens, and it can be disconcerting at times. 13:07 Imagine this scenario: 13:09 Imagine that you have a couple who have two children, two sons. 13:13 One is a pioneer. 13:15 He has never given his parents a moment’s grief. 13:18 The other never accepted the truth, 13:21 but he has done well in business, 13:24 and as a result, he has been generous to his parents, 13:28 and the parents are grateful, very grateful. 13:33 And the pioneer often hears the parents bragging 13:36 about the successes that his brother has had in business. 13:41 Well, the pioneer can’t help the parents materially very much, 13:44 and so he feels that there’s a bit of partiality there. 13:48 Is it hurtful? 13:50 Yes. That is life. 13:52 It’s chemistry. It’s just chemistry. 13:55 But the pioneer needs to realize 13:58 that Jehovah God appreciates his work. 14:00 His heavenly Father loves him very much 14:03 for the work that he is doing for His name. 14:06 Now, Jacob must have known 14:09 that Isaac loved his brother more than he loved him. 14:12 And perhaps he vowed that when he had children, 14:15 he would treat them all the same. 14:17 Well, if he did, he didn’t keep that promise, did he? 14:21 Everyone knew that Joseph was the favorite. 14:26 Well, have you noticed what we had to do to make a composite of this family? 14:31 We had to read from several different chapters of the Bible 14:34 —Genesis 25, 26, 28, 29, 32. 14:41 You can’t always get a complete picture of an incident 14:44 by reading just one chapter, just by reading the chapter you are reading. 14:47 Sometimes you have to extract details from other chapters of the Bible. 14:54 Now let’s consider one more example 14:56 where getting the complete picture can enrich our understanding. 15:00 This is going to be a shorter one. 15:02 We’re going to consider the story of Naaman. 15:05 Now, you remember the story. 15:07 At 2 Kings 5:1, 15:10 we learn that Naaman was the chief of the army 15:14 of Ben-hadad II, the king of Syria. 15:18 But he was a leper. 15:20 Now Ben-hadad learned that there was a prophet in Israel 15:23 Elisha who could heal him of his leprosy. 15:27 And so he told Naaman that he should go to Israel 15:30 and go to the prophet and get healed. 15:33 And so word was sent to the king of Israel by letter, 15:37 and the king of Israel was asked to send Naaman to Elisha. 15:42 Now, when you think of it, this was a strange request 15:45 because Israel and Syria were often at odds. 15:48 Sometimes there were wars between them, 15:51 and now, here you have the king of Syria sending his general, 15:55 the one who is going to head the army against Israel, 15:58 and saying: ‘Well, I’d like my general to be a more effective general. 16:01 Could you please make sure that he gets healed?’ 16:03 Well, somehow, he’s sent to Elisha 16:06 and Elisha kindly heals Naaman 16:10 and Naaman becomes a worshipper of Jehovah. 16:14 Well, we can imagine, 16:16 remember we’re talking about using our imagination, 16:18 we can imagine that when Naaman returned to Syria, 16:22 Ben-hadad had lots of nice things to say about Elisha. 16:27 So then, everyone lived happily ever after, right? 16:31 If we didn’t read on, we might think so. 16:35 But that’s not the end of the story. 16:37 In the next chapter, chapter 6, 16:41 we learn that Ben-hadad declared war against Israel. 16:46 Now, if Naaman was still the chief of the army, 16:49 he’d be in an awkward position. 16:52 Was he going to lead the armies of Syria 16:54 against fellow worshippers of Jehovah? 16:57 But it gets worse. 16:59 Ben-hadad learns that Elisha 17:03 is revealing the Syrians’ war strategies to the king of Israel, 17:08 so he sends a large army to capture Elisha 17:11 —the very man who had healed his general. 17:15 So much for gratitude. 17:17 Now, it’s interesting that Naaman is not mentioned 17:21 as being at the head of those armies. 17:24 Did he get out of it somehow? 17:26 Don’t ask me. 17:28 If he’s resurrected, you’ll have to ask him. 17:32 What lesson can we learn? 17:34 That the gratitude of the world is fleeting. 17:38 Some of us may get excited if there’s a favorable article 17:41 about Jehovah’s Witnesses in a newspaper 17:44 or if some TV personality makes a kind statement about us. 17:48 But what did Jehovah God say? 17:50 Genesis 3:15: 17:52 “I will put enmity between you and the woman.” 17:56 So Jehovah’s organization and Satan’s organization 17:59 are always going to be at odds. 18:03 Bible reading isn’t a chore. 18:05 It’s a joy. 18:07 Get the whole picture of what you’re reading, 18:10 and you’ll enjoy it even more. 18:12 We wish you all Jehovah’s rich blessing 18:15 as you continue to enhance your appreciation 18:19 for this sacred volume.
