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    The Watchtower, October 15, 1932

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    The Watchtower—1932

    PRAISE TESTIMONY PERIOD

    The last special service period for the year 1932 is called “Praise Testimony Period”, November 12 to 20, inclusive. Throughout the year Jehovah’s witnesses have been continually singing forth his praises, and now again the anointed everywhere will be putting forth an extraordinary effort for nine days, calling on the people and the rulers so that “they shall know that I am Jehovah”. During this period the combination to be stressed will be Vindication, Books One, Two and Three, with six of the new booklets.

    NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING

    Agreeable to the provision of the charter and by-laws of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, notice is hereby given that the annual business meeting of said Society will be held in North Side Pittsburgh (formerly Allegheny), Pennsylvania, at ten o’clock a.m. Monday, October 31, 1932, at which the usual annual business will be transacted. This year there will also be the election of a board of directors, and officers for a term of three years.

    PITTSBURGH CONVENTION

    The Watchtower is pleased to announce that a convention will be held at Watch Tower Auditorium, N. S. Pittsburgh, October 28 to 30, inclusive.

    For local accommodations address, Pittsburgh company of Jehovah's witnesses, c/o Thos. A. McKnight, Secretary, 1731 Parkfield St., Pittsburgh, Pa.

    Vol. LIII

    October 15, 1932

    No. 20

    JEHOVAH’S HOUSE DESIRED

    “And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” —Ruth 1:16.

    PART 3

    JEHOVAH never compels or even urges anyone to enter his house. The man who believes that Jehovah is God, and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him, begins to turn his face toward the house of the Lord. He must exercise such faith before he can even start towards the house of Jehovah. (Heb. 11: 6) It is out of place for one to attempt to persuade or compel another to seek the house of the Lord and attempt to enter therein. Regardless of how much natural love the parent has for his child, it is not the parent’s prerogative or privilege to take his son into the kingdom of God. Many have committed this grievous mistake by thinking the obligation is laid upon them to get their children into the kingdom. God himself is selecting the members of the royal house, and fleshly relationship has nothing to do therewith. It is the duty of the parents to teach their children the truth, and then the children must take the responsibility of the course of action they pursue. It is only after one is spirit-begotten, and has accepted the call to a place in the kingdom or house of the Lord, that it is then proper to urge such a one to be diligent to make his calling and election sure. “Wherefore the rather, brethren [those who have responded to the call to the kingdom], give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.’’ (2 Pet. 1:10) To those who have been brought into the covenant for the kingdom the apostle appropriately says: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”—Rom. 12:1.

    2 It is of even greater importance that the one called to enter the house of the Lord have the proper motive in so doing. If the motive is merely salvation, he is certain to fail. The desire to enter Jehovah’s house must be true and sincere, and the motive must be unselfishness, that is to say, a loving desire to be of the Lord’s house that the beauty and glory of the Lord may be seen and that appropriate service may be rendered unto him. As Jehovah’s special representative Jesus required his disciples to first prove their faithfulness to and love for him before they were invited into his covenant for the kingdom; even so it is with all who are begotten of the holy spirit. (Luke 22: 28-30) Jesus also told his followers that, having once undertaken to enter the house of the Lord by starting in that direction, to then even look back, desiring to return, would prove such a one’s unfaithfulness and therefore his unfitness for the kingdom. “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. ’ ’—Luke 9: 62.

    3 It clearly follows that for one having been brought into the favor of Jehovah and into his service to then separate himself from that service of the Lord, and to voluntarily seek a place in Satan’s organization, such thereby proves himself unworthy of the kingdom. There must be no divided affection. God preserves and brings into his house only those who love him and serve him in spirit and in truth. To dwell in the house of Jehovah God is the greatest favor that could possibly be bestowed upon any creature. To enjoy that favor one must earnestly and diligently seek after the Lord’s house and faithfully comply with the divine requirements. By way of comparison of the blessed privilege of being in the house of the Lord the psalmist wrote: “For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” —Ps. 84:10.

    ON THE WAY

    4 Naomi now, accompanied by the two other women, began the trek to the land of God’s favor. “Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.” (1: 7) It was Naomi’s devotion to Jehovah God, and to his covenant people, that induced her to undertake the journey and to travel through that part of the country which was usually infested with thieves and desperate men. What was the moving cause for the two daughters-in-law to accompany her? Necessarily these three widow women would be bowed down with sorrow, and it is probable that their condition was described by the Prophet Jeremiah. As they left Moab they would be weeping because of their contact with the enemy death and of the suffering that they had undergone by the hand of the oppressor, and they would shed tears also of hope that they might soon enjoy better things. ‘ ‘ They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble; . . . Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden.” (Jer. 31:9,12) “In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping : they shall go, and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.”— Jer. 50:4,5.

    5 It was about 1919 that God’s faithful people began to hurry away from the world, that is, Satan’s organization, pictured by Moab, and to return to Zion, which is God’s organization. The Lord had begun to build up Zion and also had begun to shine out of Zion. (Ps. 102:16; 50:2) It was therefore time for the fulfilment of Jehovah’s command, to wit: “Gather my saints together unto me: those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” (Ps. 50:5) This divine command had reference to the class pictured by Naomi when she left Moab and which class, as it were, took the highway whereby they might “return and come unto Zion”; and upon reaching God’s organization their crying would there cease.

    6 The class pictured by Naomi, to wit, God’s faithful covenant people, began this returning “in that day”, that is to say, “the day which the Lord [Jehovah] hath made” and which is the time of rejoicing for God’s people. (Ps. 118:24) It is written by the Prophet Isaiah: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, . . . And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah [as Naomi was].” (Isa. 11:11,12) “And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me [that is, the Naomi class], thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.”—Isa. 12:1,2.

    7 Being of the tribe of Judah Naomi would be reminded of God’s promise concerning the king that should come through the tribe of Judah, as it is written: “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” (Gen. 49:10) Even so the class whom Naomi represented, and while the oppression was on during the World War and immediately following, was reminded that the King, Christ Jesus, and his kingdom were and are the only hope or expectation of the peoples of the world. There is no other means of relief. Naomi would have her heart set upon this promise, which she knew could not fail. The fact that the two other women left the land of their nativity to go to Palestine shows that they intended if possible to reach that land and to abide there permanently with the Israelites, God’s covenant people. A test must come which would determine what was the real motive that induced them to go.

    8 Shortly following the period of the World War there was a class who started to follow towards the kingdom with those whom Naomi pictured. Probably many of these were spirit-begotten even prior to the World War and were walking with those who proved faithful to God and whom Naomi pictured. How many of these were prompted to take this step toward the kingdom with an unselfish and pure desire to reach the kingdom? How many had selfishness as the real motive, ‘holding men’s persons in admiration for advantage.’—Jude 16.

    THE TEST

    9 After the journey to Bethlehem was begun Naomi seemed to come to the realization that she was assuming considerable responsibility and probably she was the one that was inducing these young women to leave their native land and their own people and go into a strange country. Their respect for her as their mother-in-law would be an inducement to them to go, and therefore Naomi spoke to them, as it is written: “And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.” (1:8) It was not time to make proselytes of the Gentiles, and Naomi would not attempt to even force her daughters-in-law to become members of the nation which Jehovah had chosen and with which he had made a covenant. She would leave that to Jehovah God, and properly so.

    10 Prior to 1918 the consecrated as represented by Naomi thought to induce by persuasion and enticing words their near relatives at least, and also others, to attempt to enter the house of Jehovah God. Later the faithful ones, pictured now by Naomi on the way to Bethlehem, began to appreciate the truth that God does the selecting of those who shall enter his house. “God is faithful by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:9) “And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.” (Heb. 5:4) It is not the part or work of the remnant to select anyone to be a member of the house of Jehovah. Each one must act for himself.

    11 The class of consecrated whom Naomi represented at this point had started on the way to Zion, but later realized that no one can take another into the kingdom. As Naomi and her daughters-in-law were on the way the test came to the daughters-in-law, which revealed the motive of each one in going to the land of promise. So likewise when the Lord came to his temple the test came upon those who had responded to the invitation to go to the kingdom, and such test disclosed the motive of each one who had responded to that invitation. “But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth ? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ sope: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.”—Mal. 3: 2, 3.

    12 That marked the time for ascertaining the secret purpose of those who had responded to the call for the kingdom. “In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.” (Rom. 2:16) “And thus are the secrets of [the] heart made manifest.” (1 Cor. 14:25) The physical facts that have come to pass since 1918 fully prove that this test has been upon God’s consecrated people since that date.

    13 The two young women, now widows, had been kind to their husbands. Naomi appreciated this and was desirous that the Lord might likewise deal kindly with her daughters-in-law, and therefore she said to them: “The Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.” Completely bereft, and seemingly without friends, Naomi was powerless of herself to reward her daughters-in-law for the goodness they had bestowed upon her. She could only look to Jehovah to give them reward and blessings and she expressed hope that their kind treatment of her and her sons might be preserved as a memorial for Jehovah to consider in his own due time in behalf of these two. The record at Acts 10: 31 is an instance of such memorial’s being preserved and afterwards brought up before Jehovah for consideration.

    14 Continuing to express her love and kindness toward her daughters-in-law Naomi said: “The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.” (1:9) No wonder these three women wept together. They had experienced great sorrow resulting from death and the loss of home. Naomi was a widow with no prospect of again enjoying the pleasures of a home and family of her own. Her hope was that her daughters-in-law would have an easier way, because they were young and might yet obtain husbands and have the pleasures of home and children. Probably this trio of widow women had reached the borderland of Moab, and therefore an appropriate place for their separation. Naomi therefore would dismiss the two others with her blessings and hoped for them that there would be better days in store for them. She would not want for them a day of rest in idleness, but the rest and comfort that comes by reason of having a home and being freed from widowhood and barrenness. She bestowed upon her daughters-in-law affectionate kisses and then together they lifted up their voices and wept aloud.

    15 Comparing this prophetic part of the picture with the facts that have since come to pass, it is noted that from 1918 onward there was a separation going on amongst those who claimed to be devoted to the Lord God and who had started on their way to the kingdom. Since that time some have wept because others have taken their departure from the Lord’s organization, which persons departing were dear to them by ties of flesh or other close relationship. Others of the professed consecrated have wept because their former associates would not forsake the Lord’s organization and go another way with them. There has been much weeping amongst those who claimed to be in the way of the Lord, because of such separation. Today, however, by reason of greater shining of God’s lightnings upon his Word, those who are born of God’s woman, namely, his organization, and who are therefore taught of Jehovah God have received instruction from his Word against such weeping. They understand what the Lord has said to them by his prophet Ezekiel, and, they being taught of God, ‘great is their peace’ and their weeping has ceased. (Ezek. 24:15-17; Isa. 54:13) Those who are truly devoted to the Lord do not urge others to go on with them, but point out that the privilege of serving Jehovah God is the greatest that could be given to any creature, and that those who do not fully appreciate this should turn back and separate themselves from those who are fully devoted to Jehovah and his kingdom.

    16 The two young women expressed their willingness to continue with Naomi and to return with her unto her people. “And they said unto her, Surely [R.V., Nay, but] we will return with thee unto thy people.” (1:10) Naomi’s personality and her kindness to them held the young women strongly to her. Likewise in the tests that have come upon God’s people since 1919, the personality of some has strongly held others. These therefore are induced by the admiration of some other person to continue to hang on by their eyelashes and thus they attempt to stay in the truth and stay in the road toward the house of the Lord. Such is a selfish motive and, if such selfish motive is persisted in, will sooner or later result in their turning aside and ceasing to follow on in the way of the Lord. No one can lean upon the arm of flesh and withstand the fire of the enemy. He must trust in the Lord, and not in any man.—Ps. 118: 8, 9.

    17 The action of Naomi was in keeping with the rule that Jehovah had announced on another occasion, never to urge anyone to enter his organization and to participate in the work toward the vindication of his name. When the Lord was preparing Gideon for battle with his enemies he said to him: “Now, therefore, go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return.” (Judg. 7: 3) Likewise the Lord said to the men in the armies of Israel on another occasion: “What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house.” (Deut. 20:8) The very opposite of fear is love, because perfect love, that is to say, full devotion to God, casts out fear. (1 John 4:18) For these young women who had started to Bethlehem to now turn back for a selfish reason would be conclusive proof that love was not the impelling motive. Addressing the two young women who had started to walk with her in the way of her God, Naomi continued to say to them: ‘ ‘ Turn again, my daughters, why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons; would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much, for your sakes, that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.”— 1:11-13.

    18 This being a divine drama we may be sure that Naomi was acting under the guiding hand of Jehovah and therefore she would have her daughters-in-law to clearly understand what it might cost them to go on and become Israelites. It seems quite certain that she had told them prior thereto of the law of God given to Israel concerning levirate marriages; otherwise they could not have understood her speech which appears in the preceding verses. The law of God governing Israel in respect to levirate marriages reads: “If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her. And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.” (Deut. 25: 5, 6) The questions propounded by Naomi to her two daughters- in-law would impress upon their minds that there would be no more opportunity for them to marry sons of her family because, as she said, ‘ “ I am too old to have an husband” and to rear up more sons to take the place of them that have died.’ Her argument must have been convincing to these young women upon this point, but to further strengthen her argument she said to them: ‘But if I should have a husband and should bear sons, would you young women wait until they grew to manhood? Would you remain single and unmarried for that length of time?’ This argument of Naomi would be very persuasive and convincing to a normal woman of ancient times, and a test upon her that was crucial. This test, in fact, was the crucial one and clearly caused to be manifested the heart condition of each one of these young women, whether that of selfishness or unselfishness. For them to go on to Bethlehem and remain there would be to forget their own people in Moab. Through Naomi God was giving these young women an opportunity to count the cost if they would go, even as the psalmist afterwards wrote: “Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house.”—Ps. 45:10; Luke 14:28.

    19 The prospect of these young women to marry in Israel, to erect a household, and there in Bethlehem enjoy the pleasures of family and home, would appear to be very remote and hence very uninviting to them. If they should continue to journey with Naomi and abide with her in the land of Israel, some consideration higher than human marriage and the pleasures of home and children must induce these daughters-in- law to do so. No selfishness could stand the strain of such a severe test. A selfish motive is never the proper inducement to serve Jehovah God, and this test is another proof thereof. If one responds to the call for the kingdom, and does so with a selfish desire of coming into a position of honor and ease and power, he is certain to fail. There can be but one proper motive for serving Jehovah God, and that is an unselfish desire to do the will of God, leaving to him to give whatsoever he may see fit to the one who thus faithfully serves because of love. Those who make a consecration with a condition in mind that they will serve God provided they receive a specific reward could not be pleasing to the Lord, and such consecration could not be acceptable unto God. To be sure, Naomi was not acquainted with the divine rule of consecration and selection of the spiritual house, but she was here playing her part of a drama under the direction of Jehovah God which teaches that rule beyond any question, and which is later confirmed by other scriptures. Nor was Naomi charging God with folly and herself with wrongdoing when she said to her daughters-in-law: ‘It grieves me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone against me.’ Her acknowledgment was that whatsoever God had done toward her must be right; and it was not grieving her because of herself, but for the sake of her daughters-in-law. The one who really is devoted to the Lord God complains not against the Lord for any discipline that is received.

    20 The argument of Naomi had uncovered the heart of each one of the two young women, and the decision of each one had been reached. At this point two classes of persons that have started towards the kingdom are clearly marked out, as will appear as this examination progresses, The breaking point had come. The separation must take place, and these three women again lifted up their voices, shedding tears of bitterness. Parting from those we have once loved is not a pleasant thing, even as it was not pleasant on this occasion for these women. “And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law [good-bye], but Ruth clave unto her.’’ (1:14) Orpah’s kissing her mother-in-law meant to her good-bye. Probably she said to Naomi in substance: ‘Mother, while I do love you, it would be folly for me to sacrifice all my future prospects for a husband, children and home merely to go on with you, and particularly when I see that there never could be a hope for me of having a husband according to the law of your God. I will now go, mother, and return to my native land and to my people.’ That meant that she was returning to her gods as well. Orpah therefore here plainly pictures a class once starting to serve God by following in the footsteps of Christ Jesus, and who are finally shaken out because of selfishness in the heart. As her name Orpah suggests, she turned the back of her neck to the Lord, thereby foreshadowing that class who first agree to do the will of God and then rebel against the demands and requirements made upon them by their continued association with the Naomi class, who delight to serve the Lord. It was self-interest that induced Orpah to return, and it is selfishness that leads the class she there pictured to turn the back of their necks to the Lord and to seek and to follow their own selfish ways that their own selfish interests might be conserved. If Chilion, whom Orpah married, was the elder son of the two, then Orpah would logically have been the one to be redeemed by the nearer kinsman and thereby have been the recipient of the royal privilege. She would therefore picture those who were once in line for the kingdom but who because of selfishness draw back.

    21 Orpah went back to her own people, the Moabites, which people hated and oppressed God’s covenant people the Israelites; and the class that Orpah pictured do likewise. Jehovah later pronounced judgment against the Moabites and their complete overthrow. Paul, under inspiration, wrote concerning the class that start in the way to the kingdom and then ‘‘ draw back unto perdition ’ ’. (Heb. 10: 38, 39) Peter likewise wrote concerning that same class: “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire. ’’ (2 Pet. 2: 20-22) Orpah went back to a people that practiced Devil religion and who therefore worshiped according to the Devil, and pictured those who, ceasing to be for the Lord, are against him.

    22 A test similar to that presented to Orpah and Ruth came upon Moses. Reared in the lap of luxury, the question was presented to him, Would he remain a son of royalty and enjoy honor and power in Satan’s organization, or would he cast in his lot with those who loved righteousness ? Moses met that test bravely and decided the matter right, ‘ ‘ choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.”—Heb. 11:25-27.

    23 A similar test came to the consecrated ones when the Lord appeared at his temple, and many, like Orpah, turned back and ceased to walk with those devoted to God. Then others joined the ranks of the Naomi class and have shared with their elder brethren the reproaches that come upon those who serve God, as it is written, ‘both reproaches and affliction as companions of them that were so used.’—Heb. 10: 33.

    24 But Ruth took the opposite course and insisted on remaining with her female companion Naomi. In so doing she illustrated the truth, which God’s people now particularly appreciate, to wit, that brethren in God’s organization must stick close together and must ‘fight for their brethren’. (Neh. 4:14) They must now dwell together in unity, because Zion is builded up. (Ps. 133:1; 102:16) They must ‘fight shoulder to shoulder’ against the common enemy and for the righteous cause of their King. (Phil. 1:27, Weym.) They must be at peace with one another and enjoy great peace, because they are children of God and of his woman, his organization, and therefore members of his house. (Isa. 54:13; Ps. 122:7-9) They must put on love, which is the bond of completeness; which means unselfishly standing together. (Col. 3:14, Diag.) They are to be governed by the divinely announced rule, to wit: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more as ye see the day approaching.” (Heb. 10:25) This does not mean merely to attend a meeting, but does mean that God’s people, who are truly devoted to him, will now stand together as a unit, and not be like the Orpah class, who failed to associate themselves with those devoted to the Lord and who turned back and followed their own selfish course.

    25 Orpah had announced her decision and had departed. Turning to Ruth, who remained, Naomi continued her argument: “And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods; return thou after thy sister in law.” (1:15) With profit Orpah could have heeded the advice, “Remember Lot’s wife,” which statement was made by the Lord concerning Orpah’s great-grandmother and the grandmother of Moab, but she had forgotten it or ignored it. (Luke 17:32) Likewise the class whom Orpah pictured had now ignored that same advice given by Moses. —Gen. 19: 23-26, 36, 37.

    26 Paul recorded a similar case when he wrote: “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. ” (2 Tim. 4:10) The Orpah class return to the elementary principles they first learned and ignore the commandment of God that applies at the present time. “Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God [as Orpah had], or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements [margin, rudiments; elementary principles, Roth.], where-unto ye desire again to be in bondage?’’ (Gal. 4: 8, 9) Today the Orpah class reject present truth from God’s temple and return to “Tabernacle Shadows’’ and character building. The words of Naomi addressed to Ruth after the departure of Orpah may well be paraphrased as follows: ‘Ruth, if you don’t appreciate Jehovah and the privilege of serving him, then go now, even as your sister has done.’ Likewise Jehovah by his Chief Executive Officer now so says to those who do not appreciate the privilege of serving Jehovah. Jesus made a similar statement to his disciples: “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him [like as Ruth had answered], Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.’’—John 6:66-68.

    CHOOSING JEHOVAH’S HOUSE

    27 Comments heretofore written concerning Ruth have dwelt upon the fact of the great love Ruth had for Naomi. It is true that Ruth did love her mother-in-law dearly, as her actions disclosed, and also according to the testimony later recorded in the book. (4:15) Ruth proved to be a companion who was true to her name, a real friend. Hers was a love out of a pure heart, and her words were gracious, and in due time she came to have the King for her friend. (Prov. 22: 11, Leeser) She showed herself a friend, and she stuck. (Prov. 18:24) But her love for Naomi was not the reason she stuck. There was a more potent reason. Naomi did not say to Ruth that ‘Orpah has left me to go on alone, and you should leave me also ’, but she did say: ‘Your sister-in-law has gone back to her people, and to her gods. Go and do likewise. ’ This shows that Naomi was not asking something for herself, but she was calling upon Ruth to decide whether or not she wanted to follow the course of Orpah and go back to the Devil’s organization. The people of Moab stood for Satan’s organization, which is against God, and the gods of that nation were Satan and those wicked ones ruling with him. The issue now was, Whom will you serve? Ruth had learned of Jehovah God and of his covenant people. Israel, being God’s people, stood for his organization or his house.

    28 At this stage the drama shows Ruth being compelled to choose either Satan and his organization or Jehovah God and his organization. On a former occasion a like issue and demand was squarely placed before the Israelites, when Joshua stood before them and said: ‘ ‘ And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”—Josh. 24:15.

    29 Now a woman outside of the covenant people of God, yet one of the human race, and who had learned of the true and almighty God, and who, by reason of her knowledge, was given the opportunity to make a choice as to whom she would serve, was compelled by the circumstances to make the choice. At this point in the prophetic drama Ruth pictures a class of people outside of those who have previously known God by reason of being in the denominational church organization. She there stood for a people who have made no pretense of serving God but who are brought face to face with a knowledge of Jehovah that he is the only true God and of the privilege that one has, by entering his service and joyfully obeying his commandments. At this particular point she pictures a class of people who had not been contaminated by the religious hypocrisy of “Christendom” but who, coming out of the world, was given the opportunity to know and serve Jehovah God. This class particularly came to a knowledge of the truth about 1922 and thereafter, and had never before made any pretense of serving God.

    30 Ruth chose to serve Jehovah God and to unite herself with his organization and therefore with his people. Responding to the final appeal of Naomi, Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” (1:16) The marginal reading is “Be not against me”; while Rotherham renders the text, “Do not urge me to leave thee. ’ ’ If Ruth returned to her former gods, that would be against her eternal welfare; and if she left Naomi she would be leaving the people of God and of his organization; and hence to urge her to go back would be against her interests. The pleading words of Ruth, therefore, show that she desired to stand shoulder to shoulder with Naomi, henceforth and forevermore, and to serve the God whom Naomi served.

    31 At this point in the drama Naomi appears in another role. Up to this time she has appeared as the representative of the faithful class, judged and found faithful by Christ Jesus at the time of his appearing at Jehovah’s temple. Now she appears as Zion, God’s woman, representing his organization. The words addressed to her by Ruth, which appear in verses sixteen and seventeen, are therefore addressed to God’s organization. Ruth had chosen the God of Naomi, the God of Israel, the King of Eternity. She had ‘ forgotten her own people and her father’s house’. She had given herself entirely and without reservation to the Lord Jehovah and had started for his kingdom, represented by Bethlehem, and her faithfulness and devotion from that time forward bespeaks her beauty. It can therefore be truly said that Ruth was a beautiful woman, and that without regard to her physical appearance, which no doubt was comely. The words of the psalmist, written under inspiration thereafter, are appropriately applied to Ruth: "So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty; for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.”—Ps. 45:11.

    32 Ruth here pictured or represented those who from the depth of the heart say: ‘ ‘ One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.”—Ps. 27:4.

    33 Her great desire to serve Jehovah God and to be of his house was the overpowering reason for her choosing to go on with Naomi. She therefore pictures that class that is determined, by Jehovah’s grace, to "follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth”. (Rev. 14:4) The action of Ruth, like her words, had the ring of eloquence and shows devotion to God, and her choice makes appropriate to her, and to the class she here pictures, the words of the psalmist, to wit: "But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy; and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.” (Ps. 5:7) These are not words of selfishness, but words of full devotion to Jehovah God.

    34 With the entire situation placed before her Ruth made her choice regardless of any influence exercised by Naomi. Thus is illustrated that since 1922 the members of God’s organization, who have come to know him and his purposes, have taken their stand wholly on the side of the Lord without any inducement or influence exercised by others. They have chosen Jehovah God and his house unselfishly, and, continuing in that attitude to the end, are certain to abide in his house for ever. From and after the beginning of the Elisha work the Naomi class of God’s people have realized that it is not their duty to urge others to serve Jehovah God, but rather to set before them the beauty of the truth, and the privilege of serving God, and let them exercise their own desires in making a choice. If one does not of his own free will see that it is the greatest privilege one could have to serve Jehovah God, then he does not have the proper appreciation of God’s Word and name. If he chooses to enter the Lord’s house, moved by a selfish desire, that is to his great detriment. Those who choose wisely choose to remain with God’s organization, even as Ruth said, “Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” Those who withdrew themselves from God’s organization clearly showed that they were moved by selfishness and attempted to find some cause for offense and therefore an excuse to turn aside. None of such are of the Ruth class. Ruth represents those to whom Jehovah God and his organization are everything.

    35 Though Ruth was outwardly a Moabitess, by her choice she showed herself to be a ‘Jew inwardly, circumcised in the heart’. (Rom. 2:29) In choosing Jehovah’s organization Ruth exhibited the same spirit as did Moses when he took his stand on the side of God’s people, preferring to bear the reproaches with them rather than to dwell in luxury and in the tents of wickedness. Rahab the harlot, who became the second mother-in-law of Ruth, showed the same attitude toward God and his organization when she put herself under his protection and trusted wholly in him. The psalmist has expressed the heart sentiments of Ruth and the class of faithful ones whom she represented, in these words: ‘ ‘ How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee: in whose heart are the ways of them. ’ ’—Ps. 84:1-5.

    36 Those who have kept abreast with the truth since the coming of the Lord to his temple readily testify to the fact that the ones who have gotten into the truth and into God’s organization since that time, and who had the spirit of Ruth, quickly and earnestly entered the Lord’s service and put forth their very best endeavors to honor Jehovah’s name by publishing his name and his kingdom to others. This they have done regardless of the reproach that attached to their efforts; and as they have gone forth not only have they shown the spirit of determination to serve God, but their course of action has demonstrated that they are born of God’s woman Zion and have great peace and joy in his service.

    37 As Naomi pictured the class found faithful upon the Lord’s coming to his temple, even as Mordecai likewise pictured the same class, so Ruth pictured the class that came to the Lord after the coming of the Lord to Jehovah’s temple, which same class Esther also foreshadowed. There is therefore a beautiful relationship between the books of Esther and Ruth. As the Mordecai class and the Esther class together pictured the remnant of God’s people now on earth, even so the classes pictured by Naomi and Ruth are the same, that is to say, God’s remnant who now delight to declare his name and his works. It has been the privilege of the Naomi class to minister to those particularly represented by Ruth, even as it was the privilege of the Mordecai class to minister to those particularly foreshadowed by Esther. Those of the Ruth class do not exalt those of the Naomi class, but do love them devotedly and “know them which labour among [them], and are over [them] in the Lord, and admonish [them] ”, and the Ruth class esteem them very highly for their work’s sake; and all are at peace and labor together. (1 Thess. 5:12,13) While these love one another, as they should, in the Lord, they have not respect of persons, but delight to do good to one another because of recognizing that each one is a member of God’s organization. They all bear in mind that they have one God and Father, Jehovah the Most High, and one Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ; that they are of God’s organization, born of Zion, God’s woman, and are therefore all taught of God and are all one, even as Jehovah and Christ Jesus are one. (Isa. 54:13) They remember no man to whom praise is given, but they do deport themselves according to the rule laid down by the inspired words of the apostle: “Remember them which have the rule [margin, are the guides] over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation: Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. [And which give heed to the admonition to] be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines: for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.” (Heb. 13:7-9) None of the Ruth class have any doubt about whether they should associate themselves with God’s organization on earth, to wit, that which we call The Society, but recognize that God has one people who faithfully and truly put forth their best endeavors to serve him; and these, the class whom Ruth represented, go forward together with the Naomi class in his service.

    38 Ruth had not cast in her lot with Naomi as an experiment from which she expected to withdraw if not pleasing to her. She had burned all the bridges behind her and expressed her determination to go on to the end. Further addressing Naomi she said: “Where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.” (1:17) This was akin to the expression of willingness of Esther to die with and for God’s covenant people, as evidenced by her words: “If I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16) In like manner Elisha expressed himself to Elijah: “And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.” (2 Ki. 2:4-6) By Elijah and Elisha God pictured his devoted people going forward with his work according to his will, In like manner he used Naomi and Ruth to picture his work. Ruth resolved to be faithful to God unto death, and the class which she foreshadowed today is likewise determined to be obedient to the words of the Master: “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”

    39 As Naomi and Ruth went on together, devoted to serving the true God, even so now those whom these two women foreshadowed, and who faithfully follow Christ Jesus, say: “Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. The Lord, that made heaven and earth, bless thee out of Zion.”—Ps. 134.

    40 These do not exalt the names of men, whether dead or alive, but they do exalt and praise the name of Jehovah God and his kingdom. They manifest their loving devotion to God and he, knowing their hearts, gives his promise that he will preserve them.

    (To be continued)

    QUESTIONS FOR BEREAN STUDY

    1. What mast precede one’s even starting toward the house of Jehovah? Is it proper for one to persuade, urge, or encourage another to seek to enter the house of the Lord? Why?

    2. Explain the importance of motive in connection with seeking to enter Jehovah’s house. When and how must one give proof of proper motive?

    3. How great is the favor of being brought into Jehovah’s house? Upon what condition does continued enjoyment of such favor depend?

    4-7. What was it that induced Naomi and her daughters-in-law to undertake the journey back to Palestine? How did Naomi’s being of the tribe of Judah come into consideration here? Point out the fulfilment of this part of the prophetic picture.

    8,9. Account for Naomi’s words of verse 8. Show that her words were in harmony with the manner in which Jehovah selects those who would enter his house. Whom did Naomi there represent? What was the test which then came upon Ruth and Orpah?

    10-12. With respect to their responsibility regarding others’ entering the house of Jehovah, compare the view held by those prior to 1918 whom Naomi represented and that of this class later. How has the prophetic situation which confronted Orpah and Ruth been having fulfilment upon God’s consecrated people since the Lord came to his temple?

    13-15. To what did Naomi refer in her words of the latter part of verse 8? What was her hope for these two younger women? Compare this part of the prophetic picture with facts which show fulfilment thereof.

    16,17. How has verse 10 had fulfilment! Naomi’s words to Ruth and Orpah (1:8,11) and the words of the Lord recorded in Judges 7:3 and Deuteronomy 20:8 contain what important lesson for God’s people at this time?

    18,19. State the law given to Israel in respect to levirate marriages. What was the purpose of the questions which Naomi propounded to her daughters-in-law? Paraphrase her argument there presented. Explain the position into which Ruth and Orpah were here brought, the test it involved, and the lesson therein contained for all who would seek to enter Jehovah’s house.

    20,21. What course did Orpah here conclude to take, and what did it mean for her? Apply the prophetic picture.

    22,23. Describe the test, similar to that presented to Orpah and Ruth, which came upon Moses, and how he met that test. Also that which came to the consecrated ones upon the Lord’s coming to his temple, and the result.

    24. Ruth chose what course? Point out the important lesson therein.

    25, 26. Show that Orpah in the course she took pictured a class manifest in Paul’s day and particularly since the Lord’s coming to the temple.

    27, 28. What was the real reason which led Ruth to cleave to Naomi? How is this clearly shown? Point out the prophetic significance of her taking this course rather than returning to the land of Moab. Give a prominent illustration of a like issue placed before Israel, and the position taken in respect thereto.

    29,30. Describe Ruth’s position at this point in the prophetic drama. Whom did she here picture? How and when did that class become clearly manifest?

    31-33. Up to this point whom did Naomi represent? Show that she here appears in a different role. To whom, then, and by whom, in the application of the prophetic picture, were the words of verses 16 and 17 spoken?

    34, 35. The manner in which Naomi placed the entire situation before Ruth, and the basis on which Ruth made her choice, contain what important lesson to the Naomi class of God’s people at the present time? Point out other instances in which the same spirit was exhibited as was manifest in the stand taken by Ruth. How has this spirit been in evidence since the coming of the Lord to his temple?

    36, 37. Show, in the classes pictured therein, the beautiful relationship between the books of Esther and Ruth. Also show that these classes have and manifest a proper understanding and appreciation of their relationship to Jehovah and to Christ Jesus, as well as to one another in God’s organization.

    38-40. Point out how, in their determination to continue and to cooperate with those whose faithfulness had already been manifest, Ruth, Esther, and Elisha clearly had part in prophecy found to be in fulfilment since the coming of the Lord to his temple. What was pictured in Naomi and Ruth’s going on together? To whom does the class by them foreshadowed give their devotion and praise? What is the gracious assurance which Jehovah has given them?

    PURPOSE OF DIVINE PROPHECY

    THE clergy of “Christendom” teach the people the doctrine of the trinity, to wit, that “God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost” are three persons in one, and all three equal in power, substance and eternity. Such speech or prophecy, which no one can understand, not only is confusing, but dishonors Jehovah God and turns reasonable people away from the great Jehovah God besides whom there is none other.—Isa. 42: 8; 45: 5, 6.

    The clergy tell the people that they ‘need not study the Bible, because they cannot understand it’, that the clergy are the only ones who can understand it, and that therefore the people should take their instruction from the clergy and follow what they tell them. That speech tends to turn the people away from Jehovah God and to cause them to forsake his Word.

    The clergy tell the people that the governments of the world which are called “Christendom”, although very evil and corrupt, constitute God’s kingdom on earth and that the people must be gladly submissive to whatsoever they may suffer from these governments. By such speech honest people are turned away from Jehovah God.

    The clergy tell the people that there is no evidence of the second and invisible presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, that there is no reason to believe that God will ever bring to the people the blessings of earthly restoration, that all who are saved must go to heaven, and that those who do not choose to follow in the way the clergy teach concerning heaven must go to eternal torment. Such speech is false and tends to turn the people away from God.

    The clergy of modern times teach nothing that induces or tends to induce the people to love, adore and worship the great Jehovah God and to magnify his name; and therefore their speech shows them to be false prophets. While they claim to speak in the name of the Lord, their predictions neither come true nor tend to magnify Jehovah’s name. According to the divine rule as stated in his written Word (Deut. 18: 21, 22; 13:1-5) they prove to be false, and the Lord promises that in due time he will deal with them as he does with all hypocrites.—Matt. 24: 51.

    From the rules by which the prophets would be tested or judged it is evident that some things which were spoken in the name of Jehovah by the prophets were to have fulfilment soon after the time spoken. But the coming to pass of some of these events was not alone sufficient to prove one a prophet. Complete fulfilment must take place in due time. When Jehovah had a message for the future time it was indicated by words of the prophet such as Jeremiah used, to wit, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,” or as Isaiah said, “It shall come to pass in that day.” This is an important point in studying prophecy, and the student must keep it in mind. The test was provided by Jehovah, and to such test all the prophecies must be subjected. Many things spoken by the prophets of God have not yet had fulfilment. For instance, Isaiah prophesied that God would establish on earth a righteous government which shall rest upon the shoulder of the Messiah. (Isa. 9: 6, 7) Also, that all the nations would go up to the true Jerusalem (that is, God’s organization) and learn of Jehovah, follow his teachings through his government, and learn war no more. (Isa. 2:24) Jeremiah prophesied that God would make and inaugurate a new covenant with the nation of Israel and that by the terms of that covenant both those dead and those living should have an opportunity for a blessing. If these prophecies have not been fulfilled, and if all possibility of fulfilment is past, then these prophets are proven false. But are they false, and their words past possibility of fulfilment?

    The clergy seize upon such as a basis for denying that God will restore Israel and establish his righteous government on earth through Christ. They deny that those men, who thus spoke, truly represented Jehovah God. By so doing the clergy make God a liar, or else these prophets are false. But those who are now truly devoted to the Lord can see from present conditions in the earth that many of the prophecies are at this time in course of fulfilment. The Lord has announced certain physical facts that will come to pass in fulfilment of prophecy by which facts the student can determine when the prophecy is in course of fulfilment. These physical facts show that God’s prophets spoke the truth, and indicate that in the near future all their prophecies will be fulfilled according to God’s will.

    The modern clergymen deny that the prophets of the Old Testament spoke anything that applies to the present or future days. To appear considerate before the people they say that those men of old doubtless spoke what they believed to be true, but that they were wrong, and that the modern clergyman has more wisdom than the prophets of old. The clergymen are now what Jesus said about the scribes and Pharisees; namely, they are blind guides of the blind. They do not discern God’s purposes, first to gather ‘the seed of God’s promise to Abraham’, and then through ‘the seed of promise’ (namely, The Christ) to restore Israel and bless all the peoples of the earth with life by restitution or restoration to God’s image and likeness. The clergy, therefore, dishonor the name of Jehovah God and turn the people away from him.

    The issue is now sharply drawn, and is this: Is Jehovah the Almighty God, or is there another? Is the Bible the Word of God or merely the words of men? This issue will be decided in due season. God has caused his Word to be spoken and recorded. In due time he will vindicate both his Word and his name. Therefore God will have at this time some people on earth who will faithfully and truly proclaim his name and his Word to the end that those who desire to know him may learn that he is the one true God, and that the peoples of earth may have notice of his purpose to carry into full operation all that the prophets have foretold.

    Those holy men of old called prophets did not write their own message. They wrote as the spirit of the Lord God moved them to write. The spirit of God, or holy spirit, is his power invisible to man but used by him to direct men who were devoted to him. His invisible power operated upon those men of old, his prophets, and caused them to write down the vision they had for the benefit of those who are now on earth. “For,” as the Apostle Peter (2:1:21) has said, “the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the holy [spirit].”

    Prophecy recorded in the Bible is not mere literary essay to be dissected by modern critics and compared with their own learning. It is not intended for those who deny the great ransom sacrifice and teach that man is a creature of evolution. It is not intended to be understood by those who push aside the name of Jehovah and exalt the name of some creature. It is not even for those who profess to be followers of Christ Jesus but who magnify the name of some creature instead of honoring and magnifying the name of the Creator. It is not for those professed Christians, even, who ‘ accept a man’s person or give flattering titles to men’ and who therefore look to men to guide them rather than to the Lord and his Word.—Job 32: 21, 22.

    For what purpose, then, was prophecy written? It was written for the benefit of the true followers of Christ Jesus who are fully devoted to Jehovah God, and especially for those who in the “last days” of the age and of Satan’s organization are giving their all to Jehovah God and to the honor of his name. (Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:11) It was the Apostle Paul who said: “Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work. ’ ’—2 Tim. 3:16,17, R.V.

    Those who wholly devote themselves to the Lord God and joyfully obey his commandments shall understand, because they are wise within the meaning of the Scriptures. They are wise in that, being devoted to the Lord, they apply their knowledge to do as the Lord directs them to do. The wise shall understand, but the wicked shall not understand, so the Lord declared through his prophet Daniel (12:10).

    Jehovah used his chosen people Israel to make pictures, or what we call ‘types’, and the reality or realization thereof comes to pass or is applied long after the picture is made. Such pictures or types are really prophecies. He used some other men, such as patient Job, as types or to make pictures, which constitute prophecies. The tabernacle of worship which God had Moses construct in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, and the temple in Jerusalem, spoke each a prophetic message, although themselves silent. The Jewish priesthood, Aaron and his family, and the Prophet Isaiah and his sons, were types or pictures which spoke prophetically of things to come to pass immediately preceding the inauguration of God’s righteous government. All these things are to be considered as prophecy, in the examination of the subject.

    Man had been alienated from God by reason of sin put in active operation by Satan the Devil. God, to be sure, knew that Satan would ever continue to besmirch his good name and bring reproach upon it and turn man away from him and away from the truth. He would let Satan go to the full and let man have the opportunity to choose good or evil. He would also furnish honest and faithful men with evidence of his own supreme power, justice, wisdom and love, and prove that in his own due time he would establish a righteous government, destroy the evil and the workers if iniquity, and magnify his own name that all men might learn the way to life. Therefore he caused the prophets to be his witnesses, and the truth of their testimony he has proved centuries after it was uttered. He brings to pass the events which they foretold when speaking as his mouthpieces. Thereby the proof conclusive is furnished that Jehovah God knew the end from the beginning, and that Jehovah alone is the only true God.

    James the disciple, seeing this and moved by the spirit of the Lord, said: “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” (Acts 15:18) Jehovah, knowing the end from the beginning, furnished prophetic testimony by which the man now devoted to God can be thoroughly furnished with the light that enables him to pursue a good and righteous work.

    …