Tuesday, September 13

Drawing near to God is good for me.Ps. 73:28.

If we ponder over what the Bible says about Jehovah’s interactions with his faithful servants of the past, we will learn countless wonderful things about our God. Thus we will come to know Jehovah very well and come to love him deeply. As a result, we will be able to draw closer to him. We should never draw away from Jehovah. If we have allowed some distance to develop between him and us, we should act in accord with Hosea 12:6, which states: “Return to your God, maintain loyal love and justice, and always hope in your God.” Let us, then, draw closer and closer to Jehovah by reflecting appreciatively on the ransom and by diligently studying his Word, the Bible. May all of us continue to learn new things about Jehovah and come to appreciate even more the many reasons to love him. And may Jehovah draw ever closer to us now and throughout all eternity!

COMMENTARY

The daily text provides a handy hyperlink to Hosea 12:6, which states: “So return to your God, maintain loyal love and justice, and always hope in your God.”

Contrary to the Watchtower’s implied application of the verse, a quick perusal of the surrounding context indicates that Jehovah’s exhortation to return to him is not directed to any straying individuals, but rather, to an entire nation —to Ephraim, Israel.

The entire book of Hosea is addressed to God’s nation, whom he redeemed from Egypt, but who became unfaithful to him. Rather than ancient history, though, the prophecy of Hosea is earmarked for fulfillment in the final part of the days, as stated at Hosea 3:5: “Afterward the people of Israel will come back and look for Jehovah their God and for David their king, and they will come trembling to Jehovah and to his goodness in the final part of the days.” (The prophecy of Hosea is considered in more detail in Jehovah Himself Has Become King.)

Since the final part of the days (Also known as the time of the end, last days and conclusion) has not begun yet, the prophecy pertaining to “Israel” coming back and looking for Jehovah is to occur in the future.

The very fact that Jehovah’s Witnesses have been deluded into imagining that “David their king” began ruling the world in 1914 is the reason why Hosea 12:7 says of Ephraim: “But in the hand of the tradesman are deceptive scales; he loves to defraud. Ephraim keeps saying, ‘Indeed, I have become rich; I have found wealth. And in all my toil, they will not find anything wrong or sinful.’”

Yes, the Watchtower has “deceptive scales.” It loves to tip the scales to favor itself and defraud the lowly, by tilting the Scriptures to present itself in the best light and deflecting any negatives so as to apply to Christendom; thereby elevating the organization to the right hand of God. 

Has Bethel become rich? Indeed it has. As a reflection of its amassed wealth the organization just recently cashed out its prized Brooklyn properties for around a billion dollars. By year’s end it will be settled in its brand new, luxurious headquarters complex in the New York countryside, built by the sweat of thousands of volunteers.

And true to prophecy, in all its storied history Bethel has never once admitted an error or wrongdoing or said they ‘we are sorry’ for anything. That is truly amazing when you take into consideration the many flip-flops, false dates, the sexual abuse of 10’s of thousands of children and the stumbling of untold numbers of Jehovah’s Witnesses and interested persons. Even when publicly exposed as having been in a secret political partnership with the United Nations the Watchtower passed it off as mere allegations by opposers, although they quickly dissolved their NGO affiliation.

How will it end? Hosea 13:8-9 answers: “A wild beast of the field will tear them to pieces. It will destroy you, O Israel, because you turned against me, against your helper.”

The desolation of Christianity is outlined in numerous prophecies. Satan’s political wild beast is destined to fulfill the prophecies in the future, when it brings to ruin the holy ones and tramples them underfoot. That will necessitate that God perform a miracle in order that his purpose may be accomplished. Hosea continues: “The error of Ephraim is wrapped up; his sin is stored up.The pangs of childbirth will come for him. But he is an unwise child; he does not present himself when it is time to be born. From the power of the Grave I will redeem them; from death I will recover them. Where are your stings, O Death? Where is your destructiveness, O Grave? Compassion will be concealed from my eyes.”

At I Corinthians 15:55 Paul quoted Hosea and applied it to the first resurrection. That confirms that the birth pangs that come upon his nation coincides with the birth of the Kingdom, as symbolized in the 12th chapter of Revelation. Since Jehovah’s Witnesses are laboring under the delusion that the Kingdom has already been born no sons of the Kingdom will present themselves when it is time to be born. Hence, the exhortation to “return to your God” will apply most aptly to them during the hour of darkness.

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