Monday, February 22
Those whom Jehovah loves he disciplines.
We do not enjoy being counseled or disciplined. Yet, think of what the one who is offering us counsel must consider. He needs to be aware of what we are doing that could affect our relationship with Jehovah God, he must be concerned about our feelings, and he has to be willing to devote the time and effort needed to show us from the Bible how we can adjust our course to be pleasing to God. One brother who used his phone to access pornographic Internet sites lent his phone to an elder. When the elder began using the phone, questionable sites appeared. This turned out to be a blessing for our spiritually imperiled brother. He received timely counsel, benefited from the correction given, and eventually overcame the bad tendencies. How grateful we can be to our caring heavenly Father, who sees even our hidden sins and corrects us before we go too far!
COMMENTARY
As the Watchtower frequently points out, Jehovah uses groups of people —otherwise known as organizations —in order to accomplish his will. Israel, Judah and the congregations of the first century were certainly organizations that God recognized and directed, and in the case of Judah and Israel, he corrected —even severely.
In modern times Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the Watchtower Society is Jehovah’s organization too. There is certainly no denying that the Watchtower has published God’s name far and wide. To that end the Watchtower has sponsored a teaching and training program that has brought about the most extensive organized preaching campaign in history.
At the same time, though, the Watchtower has brought reproach on the very name it has held on high. Because of this and because of their refusal to acknowledge their sin, Jehovah is obligated to administer discipline on the organization, particularly its leadership.
Here is what Jehovah has said in this regard: “‘So do not be afraid, my servant Jacob,’ declares Jehovah, ‘for I am with you. I will make an extermination among all the nations where I dispersed you, but you I will not exterminate. I will discipline you to the proper degree, but I will by no means leave you unpunished.”’
It is noteworthy that the above phrase appears in Jeremiah twice. In fact, the prophecy of Jeremiah concludes with the verse above. It could be said that Jehovah’s administering discipline epitomizes the entire prophecy.
Bethel’s prophets claim that only they can properly interpret prophecy. But they have certainly not discerned the truth. Their commentary on this verse of Jeremiah implies that Christian elders are the ones who administer discipline to the proper degree. However, the context clearly indicates that God disciplines the entire organization —Jacob. And the discipline is not administered to individuals over the course of many years. It comes when the time arrives for God to exterminate the nations. Obviously the nations were not exterminated during WWI, which is when Jesus supposedly refined the Bible Students’ organization.
Clearly, the time when Jehovah punishes “Jacob” to the proper degree is still future. And there has never been a greater need for it as now.