Friday, April 18 Be courageous and strong . . . You will bring the sons of Israel into the land. —Deut. 31:23. The Israelites were about to take possession of Canaan. To succeed as their leader, Joshua needed God-given wisdom. He also had to exercise faith in Jehovah and prove to be courageous and strong. The wisdom, courage, and faith shown by Joshua during the long conquest of Canaan must have strengthened the Israelites. In addition to valor in battle, however, they needed what might be called quiet courage to do what Joshua urged them to do. At the end of his life, in his farewell address, he said: “You must be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses by never turning away from it.†(Josh. 23:6) We too need the courage to obey Jehovah at all times. This includes occasions when mere men demand that we act contrary to God’s will. (Acts 4:18-20; 5:29) If we prayerfully rely on Jehovah, he will help us to take such a courageous stand. w13 1/15 1:5, 6
Hi All: Think this may have been a Freudian slip... "We too need the courage to obey Jehovah at all times. This includes occasions when mere men demand that we act contrary to God’s will". frank
I cannot believe this is really in the daily text. Or maybe I'm reading it wrong... But it sure looks like it's talking about brothers doesn't it?
That's just very badly phrased. The mere men in question are the people in the world, not the so-called FDS.
Hi Utuna: Or maybe, the person that penned that may be a little bit scepticle of the leadership coming out of the Watchtower, or what he thinks or knows might be coming in regards to direction. Frank
To me it sounds like more of the same redirect that's been coming out of the WTS. When I'm at the meeting and we're reading from the Watchtower and it says we need to be ready to follow instruction even when that instruction might seem contrary to Jehovah's will, then we see this in the daily text, it seems like someone added in that sentence, and seems a negative influence, or evidence of... Either way it's in bad taste given the recent statements in the Watchtower.
The French version is phrased like the English one. The Spanish version is less ambiguous though. Even if it may end up against God's principles, throughout the years, the WT has always found a way to legitimate their decisions through more or less distorted interpretations of the Scriptures (existence of a GB in the past, Nethinim, etc). The gullible people will say amen and obey wholeheartedly.
Hi Utuna: I found this quote in one of Watchman's articles on the Seven Dukes discussion in the Watchtower and thought it was appropriate to the daily text in question... "When “the Assyrian†attacks, the elders must be absolutely convinced that Jehovah will deliver us. At that time, the life-saving direction that we receive from Jehovah’s organization may not appear practical from a human standpoint. All of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not." Frank
In the past, when the Watchtower Society referred to the occasion where Jehovah appointed Joshua to lead the nation of Israel, they often used the scripture at Joshua 1:7-9. Some of the points mentioned: "Only be courageous and very strong to take care to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you." "This book of the law should not depart from your mouth, and you must in an undertone read in it day and night." "Be courageous and strong. Do not suffer shock or be terrified, for Jehovah your God is with you wherever you go." The scriptures from Acts 4:18 and 5:29 aren't usually associated with this event. Wallflower