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Flee From Idolatry
*** w09 5/15 p. 11 par. 11 Press On to Maturity—“The Great Day of Jehovah Is Near” ***
11 Applying what we have learned from the Scriptures can be a challenge, particularly when circumstances are difficult. For example, shortly after Jehovah liberated the sons of Israel from Egyptian bondage, they “fell to quarreling with Moses” and kept “putting Jehovah to the test.” Why? Because of a lack of water to drink. (Ex. 17:1-4) Less than two months after entering into a divine covenant and agreeing to do “all the words that Jehovah [had] spoken,” they violated his law on idolatry. (Ex. 24:3, 12-18; 32:1, 2, 7-9) Was this because the prolonged absence of Moses while he was being instructed on Mount Horeb made them fearful? Did they perhaps think that the Amalekites would strike again and that the Israelites would be helpless without Moses, whose upheld hands had brought them victory earlier? (Ex. 17:8-16) That is possible, but whatever the case, the Israelites “refused to become obedient.” (Acts 7:39-41) Paul urged Christians to ‘do their utmost’ to avoid ‘falling into the same pattern of disobedience’ that the Israelites showed when they were afraid to enter the Promised Land.—Heb. 4:3, 11.
*** w95 3/1 p. 16 par. 11 Living Up to Our Dedication “Day After Day” ***
11 Next, Paul warned: “Neither become idolaters, as some of them did.” (1 Corinthians 10:7) Here the apostle was evidently referring to the calf worship that took place right after the Israelites concluded the covenant with Jehovah at Mount Sinai. You may say, ‘As a dedicated servant of Jehovah, I will never get involved in idolatry.’ Note, however, that from the point of view of the Israelites, they did not cease to worship Jehovah; yet, they brought in a practice of calf worship—something disgusting to God. What did this form of worship involve? The people made sacrifices in front of the calf, and then they “sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up to have a good time.” (Exodus 32:4-6) Today, some may claim that they worship Jehovah. But their lives may be centered, not on worship of Jehovah, but on enjoyment of the things of this world, and they try to fit their service to Jehovah around these. True, this is not as extreme as bowing down to a golden calf, but it is not too different in principle. Making a god of one’s own desire is far from living up to one’s dedication to Jehovah.—Philippians 3:19.
*** w10 10/15 pp. 5-6 pars. 13-15 “Who Has Come to Know the Mind of Jehovah?” ***
For example, consider Jehovah’s words to Moses after the Israelites had made a golden calf to worship. God said: “I have looked at this people and here it is a stiff-necked people. So now let me be, that my anger may blaze against them and I may exterminate them, and let me make you into a great nation.”—Ex. 32:9, 10.
14 The account goes on to say: “Moses proceeded to soften the face of Jehovah his God and to say: ‘Why, O Jehovah, should your anger blaze against your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand? Why should the Egyptians say, “With evil intent he brought them out in order to kill them among the mountains and to exterminate them from the surface of the ground”? Turn from your burning anger and feel regret over the evil against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel your servants, to whom you swore by yourself, in that you said to them, “I shall multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens, and all this land that I have designated I shall give to your seed, that they may indeed take possession of it to time indefinite.”’ And Jehovah began to feel regret over the evil that he had spoken of doing to his people.”—Ex. 32:11-14.
15 Did Moses really need to correct Jehovah’s thinking? By no means! Although Jehovah expressed what he was inclined to do, this was not his final judgment. In effect, Jehovah was here testing Moses, just as Jesus later did Philip and the Greek woman. Moses was given an opportunity to express his view. Jehovah had appointed Moses as mediator between Israel and Himself, and Jehovah respected His appointment of Moses to that role. Would Moses succumb to frustration? Would he take this opportunity to encourage Jehovah to forget about Israel and to make a mighty nation from Moses’ own descendants?
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