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Post by Admin on Jan 14, 2022 6:01:19 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Jan 14, 2022 6:02:52 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Jan 14, 2022 6:28:08 GMT -5
07-13 FEB MW1. Why did Hannah pray that Jehovah “give power to his king” when there was no human king over Israel? ( 1 Sam 2:10) "That the Israelites would have a human king was foretold in the Mosaic Law. (Deuteronomy 17:14-18) In his deathbed prophecy, Jacob said: “The scepter [ a symbol of royal authority] will not turn aside from Judah.” (Genesis 49:10) Moreover, concerning Sarah—the ancestress of the Israelites—Jehovah said: “Kings of peoples will come from her.” (Genesis 17:16) Hannah, then, was praying about a future king." [ w05 3/15 21 par 5][/ul] 14-20 FEB MW2. How do we know that Samuel did not sleep in the Most Holy? ( 1 Sam 3:3) "Samuel was a Levite of the nonpriestly family of the Kohathites. (1 Chronicles 6:33-38) As such, he was not permitted to “come in to see the holy things.” (Numbers 4:17-20) The only part of the sanctuary that Samuel had access to was the tabernacle courtyard. That is where he must have slept. Apparently, Eli also slept somewhere in the courtyard. The expression “where the ark of God was” evidently refers to the tabernacle area." [ w05 3/15 21 par 6][/ul] 21-28 FEB MW3. What does this verse teach us about conversion and repentance? ( 1 Sam 7:3) "Conversion must take place prior to our baptism as Witnesses of Jehovah. Conversion is a voluntary act performed freely by one who has made a wholehearted decision to follow Christ Jesus. Such individuals reject their former wrong course and determine to do what is right in God’s sight. In the Scriptures, Hebrew and Greek verbs pertaining to conversion have the sense of turning back, turning around. This action denotes a turning to God from a wrong way. (1 Kings 8:33, 34) Conversion calls for “works that befit repentance.” (Acts 26:20) It requires that we abandon false worship, act in harmony with God’s commandments, and render exclusive devotion to Jehovah. (Deuteronomy 30:2, 8-10; 1 Samuel 7:3) Conversion results in changes in our thinking, objectives, and disposition. (Ezekiel 18:31) We “turn around” as ungodly traits are replaced by the new personality.—Acts 3:19; Ephesians 4:20-24; Colossians 3:5-14." [ w02 4/1 12 par 13][/ul] 28-06 MAR MW4. What might these words [“the prophet of today used to be called a seer in former times”] have signified? ( 1 Sam 9:9) [/u] and during the era of the kings in Israel, the word “seer” came to be replaced by the term “prophet.” Samuel is considered the first of the line of the prophets.—Acts 3:24." [ w05 3/15 22 par 8][/ul]
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Post by Admin on Feb 18, 2022 22:45:16 GMT -5
07-13 MAR MW5. How could the people have been following “empty things” (or, “unrealities,” ftn.)? ( 1 Sam 12:21) "Did those people think that a human king would somehow be more real, more dependable, than Jehovah? If so, they were truly pursuing an unreality! And they were in danger of pursuing many other satanic illusions. Human kings would easily lead them into idolatry. Idolaters make the mistake of thinking that physical objects—gods made of wood or stone—are somehow more real, more reliable, than the invisible God, Jehovah, who created all things. But as the apostle Paul noted, idols are “nothing.” (1 Cor. 8:4) They cannot see, hear, speak, or act. You might be able to see them and touch them, but if you were to worship one, you would, indeed, be pursuing an unreality—an empty illusion that would bring only disaster.— Ps. 115:4-8." [ w11 7/15 13 par15][/ul] 14-20 MAR MW6. What warning lesson does Saul’s mistake teach us about compassion? ( 1 Sam 15:24) "Yielding to pressure to show compassion when it is contrary to God’s will can have serious consequences. This is revealed in what happened to King Saul. The time had come for the execution of divine judgment against the Amalekites, the first people to stage an unprovoked attack on the Israelites after their departure from Egypt. Saul was commanded not to have compassion on them. Giving in to the pressure of his subjects, he did not follow through completely on Jehovah’s command. Therefore, Jehovah rejected Saul from being king. (1Sa 15:2-24) A person’s cultivating deep appreciation for the rightness of Jehovah’s ways and putting loyalty to Him foremost can prevent his erring, as did Saul, and losing divine approval." [ it-1 493][/ul] 21-27 MAR MW [PS 1-9] 7. In what sense did Saul receive “a bad spirit from Jehovah”? ( 1 Sam 16:14) "It was after this and after the anointing of David as Israel’s future king that Jehovah’s spirit left Saul. From then on “a bad spirit from Jehovah terrorized him.” Having withdrawn his spirit from Saul, Jehovah made it possible for a bad spirit to gain possession of him, depriving Saul of his peace of mind and stirring up his feelings, thoughts, and imaginations in a wrong way. Saul’s failure to obey Jehovah indicated a bad inclination of mind and heart, against which God’s spirit offered Saul no protection or resistive force. However, since Jehovah had permitted the “bad spirit” to replace his spirit and terrorize Saul, it could be termed a “bad spirit from Jehovah,” so that Saul’s servants spoke of it as “God’s bad spirit.” On the recommendation of one of his attendants, Saul requested that David be his court musician to calm him when he was troubled by the “bad spirit.”—1Sa 16:14-23; 17:15." [ it-2 871-872][/ul] 28-03 APRIL MW[PS 10-18] 8. In what way might King Saul have behaved “as a prophet”? ( 1 Sam 19:23, 24) "Though appointed by Jehovah’s spirit, it does not appear that the prophets spoke continually under inspiration. Rather, God’s spirit ‘came upon them’ at certain times, revealing the messages to be announced. (Eze 11:4, 5; Mic 3:8) This had a stirring effect upon them, impelling them to speak. (1Sa 10:10; Jer 20:9; Am 3:8) Not only did they do things that were out of the ordinary but also their expression and manner doubtless reflected intensity and feeling that were truly extraordinary. This may explain in part what is meant by individuals’ “behaving like prophets.” (1Sa 10:6-11; 19:20-24; Jer 29:24-32; compare Ac 2:4, 12-17; 6:15; 7:55.) Their total concentration and zealous boldness in their mission might cause their behavior to appear strange, even irrational, to others, just as a prophet so appeared to military chiefs when Jehu was anointed. Yet, on realizing that the man was a prophet, the chiefs accepted his message with full seriousness. (2Ki 9:1-13; compare Ac 26:24, 25.) When Saul, in pursuit of David, was caused to ‘behave like a prophet,’ he stripped off his garments and lay “naked all that day and all that night,” during which time David evidently escaped. (1Sa 19:18–20:1) This does not mean that prophets frequently went naked, for the Biblical record shows the contrary. In the two other cases recorded, the prophet went naked for a purpose, to represent some facet of his prophecy. (Isa 20:2-4; Mic 1:8-11) The reason for Saul’s nakedness—whether to show him as a mere man, divested of his royal garments, impotent against Jehovah’s own regal authority and power, or for some other purpose—is not stated." [ it-2 695-696][/ul]
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Post by Admin on Feb 18, 2022 22:52:57 GMT -5
04-10 APL MW [PS 19-28] 9. What can we learn from David’s actions? ( 1 Sam 21:12, 13) " Jehovah expects us to use our mental faculties and abilities to deal with difficult situations in life. He has given us his inspired Word, which imparts prudence, knowledge, and thinking ability. (Proverbs 1:4) We also have the help of appointed Christian elders." [ w05 3/15 24 par 4][/ul] 18-24 APL MW [PS 29-37] 10. How can we imitate Jonathan’s example? ( 1 Sam 23:16, 17) " Jehovah expects us to use our mental faculties and abilities to deal with difficult situations in life. He has given us his inspired Word, which imparts prudence, knowledge, and thinking ability. (Proverbs 1:4) We also have the help of appointed Christian elders." [ w17.11 27 par11][/ul] 25-01 MAY MW [PS 38-46] 11. Why can we say that Abigail did not rebel against her husband’s rightful headship? ( 1 Sam 25:18, 19) "keep in mind that Nabal had acted wickedly against an anointed servant of Jehovah, an action that could well result in death for many innocent members of Nabal’s household. If Abigail failed to act, might she become a sharer in her husband’s guilt? In this case, she had to put submission to her God ahead of submission to her husband." [ ia 80 par 16][/ul] 02-08 MAY MW [PS 47-56] 12. Whom did Saul “see” on this occasion? ( 1 Sam 28:15) "Think about it. The Bible states that at death a person “goes back to his ground” and that “his thoughts do perish.” (Psalm 146:4) Both Saul and Samuel knew that God condemned contact with spirit mediums. Why, Saul had earlier taken the lead in ridding the land of spiritistic practices!—Leviticus 19:31. Reason on the matter. If faithful Samuel were still alive as a spirit, would he violate God’s law and cooperate with a spirit medium in order to meet Saul? Jehovah had refused to talk with Saul. Could a medium, in effect, force God Almighty to communicate with Saul by means of dead Samuel? No. Clearly, this “Samuel” was not God’s faithful prophet in any form. It was a spirit—a wicked demon pretending to be dead Samuel." [ w10 1/1 20 par 5-6][/ul] 09-15 MAY MW [PS 58-66] 13. What do we learn from this account? ( 1 Sam 30:23, 24) "This decision, based on Numbers 31:27, shows that Jehovah values those who serve in supportive roles in the congregation. Whatever we are doing, then, let us “work at it whole-souled as to Jehovah, and not to men.”—Colossians 3:23." [ w05 3/15 24 par 8][/ul]
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Post by Admin on Apr 30, 2022 18:29:48 GMT -5
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