06 mid-week meeting file 02-10-14

8/10/2019 06 Mid-Week Meeting File 02-10-14

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O UR K INGDOM M INISTRYF E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

For United States of America km14 02-E Us Vol. 57, No. 2

Pay constant attention to yourself and to your teaching. (1 Tim. 4:16) This inspiredcounsel from the apostle Paul to Timothy indicates that, whether we are new or expe-

rienced, we should endeavor to make prog-ress. To help us do that, a new series enti-tled Improving Our Skills in the Ministrywill appear in Our Kingdom Ministry. Eacharticle will discuss an important skill andprovide some suggestions on how to devel-op it. During the month, all are encouragedto give that skill special attention. After themonth concludes, a Service Meeting part

will give us an opportunity to comment onhow we beneted from concentrating onthat skill. This month we are encouraged towork on making a record of the interest.

Why Important: To fulll our commis-sion, we must do more than preach. Wemust return to those who show interest andteach them, watering the seeds of truth thatwe have planted. (Matt. 28:19, 20; 1 Cor. 3:6-9) This requires nding the person again,talking about his concerns, and building onour previous conversation. Therefore, whenwe nd interest, it is necessary to make arecord of it.

How to Do It: Make sure that you have tools in your

witnessing case for recording interest.Keep your records neat, well-organized,and up-to-date. Make a record as soon as you nish the call.

Write down information about thehouseholder. What is his name and con-tact information, such as his address,phone number, or e-mail address? What did you observe about him and his fam-ily that may be signicant?

Write down the details of your conversa-tion. What scriptures did you read? What did he say about his beliefs? What liter-ature did you leave? Record the time, theday of the week, and the date of the visit.

Write down what you plan to do next time. What did you promise to discuss?When did you say you would return?

Update your record each time you return.No harm is done if you write down moreinformation than you need.

Try This During the Month: When making a record, tell those with

whom you are working what you arewriting down.

Improving Our Skills in the MinistryMaking a Record of the Interest

WEEK STARTING FEBRUARY 10Song 57 and Prayer

Q Congregation Bible Study:cl chap. 2 8 21-24, box on p. 24 (30 min.)

Q Theocratic Ministry School:Bible reading: Genesis 25-28 (10 min.)No. 1: Genesis 25:19-34 (4 min. or less)No.2: Those Resurrected to Rule WithChrist Will Be Like Him rs p. 335 8 4p. 336 8 2 (5 min.)No. 3: Abhorrent ThingJehovahs Viewof Idolatry and Disobedience it -1 p. 17

(5 min.)Q Service Meeting:

Song 9415 min: What Do We Learn? Discussion.Have John 4:6-26 read. Consider how thisaccount can help us in our ministry.15 min: Improving Our Skills in the Min-istryMaking a Record of the Interest.Discussion. When considering each bullet-ed point under How to Do It, invite com-ments on why the suggestions are bene-

cial.Song 98 and Prayer


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57 The Meditation of My Heart (Psalm 19:14)

(See also Ps. 49:3; 63:6; 139:17, 23; Phil. 4:7, 8; 1 Tim. 4:15.)

The med - i - ta - tion of my heart, The thoughts I pon - der through the What - ev - er things are chaste and true, What - ev - er vir - tue there may

day May they be pleas - ing to you, Lord, And keep me

be, What - ev - er things well - spo -ken of May thoughts of

stead - fast in your way. When wor - ries weigh up - on mythese bring peace to me. How pre - cious are your thoughts, O

mind And make me rest - less in the night, ThenGod! Be - yond all count - ing is their sum. So

may I med - i - tate on you And things I know to be up - right.may I pon - der your own words, Ab - sorbed in them may I be - c ome.

snsm -ENo. 57 10/115 2011 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

All Rights Reserved


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permanent blessings to mankind. (Mark 6:34; Luke 4:43) Above all, Jesus showed self-sacricing love by willingly surrendering his soul in behalf of others.John 15:13.

20 Is it any wonder that people of all ages and back-grounds felt drawn to this man of tender warmth and

deep feelings? (Mark 10:13-16) However, as we read aboutand reect on the living example of Jesus, let us keep everin mind that in this Son we are seeing a clear reectionof his Father.Hebrews 1:3.

A Study Aid to Help Us21 By revealing himself so clearly in his Word, Jehovah

leaves no doubt that he wants us to be close to him. Atthe same time, he does not force us to seek an approvedrelationship with him. It is up to us to search for Jeho- vah while he may be found. (Isaiah 55:6) Searching for Jehovah involves coming to know his qualities and waysas revealed in the Bible. The study aid that you are nowreading is designed to help you in this endeavor.

22 You will notice that this book is divided into sections21 22 Wh t i i l d i hi f J h h d h t d

Questions for MeditationPsalm 15:1-5 What does Jehovah expect of those who want to

be his friends?Psalm 34:1-18 Jehovah is near to whom, and such ones canhave what condence in him?Psalm 145:18-21 What activity on our part will bring us closeto Jehovah?2 Corinthians 6:147:1 What conduct is essential if we are tomaintain a close relationship with Jehovah?

DRAW CLOSE TO JEHOVAH24


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corresponding to Jehovahs four cardinal attributes: pow-er, justice, wisdom, and love. Each section opens with anoverview of the quality. The next few chapters discuss

how Jehovah manifests that quality in its various aspects.Each section also contains a chapter showing how Jesusexemplied the quality, as well as a chapter examininghow we can reect it in our lives.

23 Starting with this chapter, there is a special feature en-titled Questions for Meditation. For example, look atthe box on page 24. The scriptures and questions are notdesigned as a review of the chapter. Rather, their purposeis to help you reect on other important aspects of thesubject. How can you make effective use of this feature?Look up each of the cited texts, and read the verses care-fully. Then consider the question accompanying each ci-tation. Ponder over the answers. You might do some re-search. Ask yourself some additional questions: Whatdoes this information tell me about Jehovah? How doesit affect my life? How can I use it to help others?

24 Such meditation can help us draw ever closer to Je-hovah. Why? The Bible associates meditation with theheart. (Psalm 19:14) When we reect appreciatively onwhat we learn about God, the information lters into our

gurative heart, where it affects our thinking, stirs ourfeelings, and ultimately moves us to action. Our love forGod deepens, and that love, in turn, moves us to want toplease him as our dearest Friend. (1 John 5:3) To comeinto such a relationship, we must get to know Jehovahsqualities and ways. First, though, let us discuss an aspectof Gods nature that provides a compelling reason fordrawing close to himhis holiness.23 24 ( ) E l i th i l f t Q ti f M dit ti

25CAN YOU REALLY DRAW CLOSE TO GOD?


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Will you go with this man? Shereplied: I am willing to go.

59 So they sent off their sis-ter Rebek ah a and her nurse 1 band Abrahams servant and his

men. 60

And they blessed Re-bek ah and said to her: Our sis-ter, may you become thousandstimes ten thousand, 1 and letyour offspring 2 take possessionof the gate 3 of those who hatethem. c 61 Then Rebek ah andher female attendants rose, goton the camels, and followed theman. So the servant took Re-bek ah and went on his way.

62 Now Isaac had come fromthe direction of Be er-la hai-roi, d for he was dwelling in theland of the Neg eb. e 63 AndIsaac was out walking in theeld about nightfall to medi-tate. f When he looked up, why,he saw that camels were coming!64 When Rebek ah looked up,she caught sight of Isaac, and

she quickly got down from thecamel. 65 Then she asked theservant: Who is that man therewalking in the eld to meet us?And the servant said: It is mymaster. So she took her veil tocover herself. 66 And the ser-vant told Isaac all the things hehad done. 67 After that Isaacbrought her into the tent of Sa-rah his mother. g Thus he tookRebek ah as his wife; and hefell in love with her, h and Isaacfound comfort after the loss of his mother. i

25 Now Abraham again tooka wife, and her name wasKetu rah. 2 In time she borehim Zim ran, Jok shan, Me dan,Mid ian, j Ish bak, and Shu ah. k

3 Jok shan became fatherto She ba and De dan.

24:59 1 That is, her nurse who now

The sons of De dan wereAsshu rim, Letu shim, and Le-um mim.

4 The sons of Mid ian wereE phah, E pher, Ha noch, Abi -

da, and Elda ah.All of these were the sons of Ke-tu rah.

5 Later on Abraham gaveeverything he had to Isaac, a6 but Abraham gave gifts to hissons by his concubines. Thenwhile he was still alive, he sentthem eastward, away from Isaachis son, b to the land of the East.7 The years of Abrahams lifewere 175 years. 8 Then Abra-ham breathed his last and diedat a good old age, old and satis-ed, and was gathered to hispeople. 1 9 His sons Isaac andIsh mael buried him in the caveof Machpe lah in the eld of E phron the son of Zo har theHit tite that is in front of Mam -re, c 10 the eld that Abraham

had purchased from the sonsof Heth. There Abraham wasburied, with his wife Sarah. d 11 After Abrahams death, Godcontinued to bless his son Isaac, eand Isaac was dwelling nearBe er-la hai-roi. f

12 This is the history of Ish -mael g the son of Abraham whomHa gar h the Egyptian, the ser-vant of Sarah, bore to Abraham.

13 Now these are the namesof the sons of Ish mael, by theirnames according to their familyorigins: Ish maels rstborn Ne-ba ioth, i then Ke dar, j Ad beel,Mib sam, k 14 Mish ma, Du mah,Mas sa, 15 Ha dad, Te ma, Je -tur, Na phish, and Ked emah.16 These are the sons of Ish -mael, and these are their namesby their settlements and by theirencampments, 1 12 chieftains ac-cording to their clans. l 17 And

CHAP. 24

a Ge 28:5

b Ge 35:8

c Ge 22:15, 17

d Ge 16:14Ge 25:11

e Ge 12:9Ge 20:1Nu 13:22Jg 1:9

f Ps 77:12Ps 143:5

g Heb 11:9

h Ge 26:8

i Ge 23:2, 19

CHAP. 25

j Ge 37:28Ex 2:15Nu 31:2Jg 6:2

k 1Ch 1:32, 33

Second Col.

a Ge 24:36

b Ge 21:14

c Ge 23:8, 9Ge 49:29, 30

d Ge 23:2, 19

e Ge 17:19Ge 26:12-14

f Ge 16:14

g Ge 16:10, 11

h Ga 4:24

i Ge 36:2, 3Isa 60:7

j Ps 120:5Jer 49:28Eze 27:21

GENESIS 24:5925:17 72


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Then he breathed his last anddied and was gathered to hispeople. 1 18 And they took updwelling from Hav ilah a nearShur, b which is close to Egypt,as far as Assyr ia. He settlednear all his brothers. 1 c

19 And this is the history of Isaac the son of Abraham. d

Abraham became father toIsaac. 20 Isaac was 40 yearsold when he married Rebek -ah, the daughter of Bethu el ethe Aramae an of Pad dan-a ram, the sister of La ban theAramae an. 21 And Isaac keptpleading with Jehovah regardinghis wife, because she was bar-ren; so Jehovah responded tohis plea, and his wife Rebek -ah became pregnant. 22 Andthe sons within her began tostruggle with each other, f so thatshe said: If this is the way itis, why should I go on living?So she inquired of Jehovah.

23 And Jehovah said to her:Two nations are in your womb, gand two peoples will be separat-ed from within you; h and the onenation will be stronger than theother nation, i and the older willserve the younger. j

24 When the time came forher to give birth, look! twinswere in her womb. 25 Then therst came out red all over andwas like a garment of hair, k sothey named him E sau. 1 l 26 Af-ter that his brother came outand his hand was holding ontothe heel of E sau, m so he namedhim Jacob. 1 n Isaac was 60 yearsold when she gave birth to them.

27 As the boys got bigger,E sau became a skilled hunt-er, o a man of the eld, but Ja-cob was a blameless man, dwell-

25:17 1 This is a poetic expression for

ing in tents . a 28 And Isaacloved E sau because it meantgame in his mouth, whereasRebek ah loved Jacob. b 29 Onone occasion Jacob was boilingsome stew when E sau returnedfrom the eld exhausted. 30 SoE sau said to Jacob: Quick,please, give me some 1 of the redstew that you have there, 2 for Iam exhausted! 3 That is why hisname was E dom. 4 c 31 To thisJacob said: First sell me yourright as rstborn! d 32 AndE sau continued: Here I amabout to die! What use is a birth-right to me? 33 And Jacobadded: Swear to me rst! So heswore to him and sold his rightas rstborn to Jacob. e 34 ThenJacob gave E sau bread and len-til stew, and he ate and drank,and he got up and went away.Thus E sau despised the birth-right.

26Now there was a famine in

the land, in addition to therst famine that occurred in thedays of Abraham, f so that Isaacwent to Abim elech king of thePhilis tines, in Ge rar. 2 ThenJehovah appeared to him andsaid: Do not go down to Egypt.Dwell in the land that I designateto you. 3 Reside as a foreignerin this land, g and I will continuewith you and bless you becauseto you and to your offspring 1

I will give all these lands, h andI will carry out the oath that Iswore to your father Abraham: i 4 I will multiply your offspring 1

like the stars of the heavens; j and I will give to your offspring 1

all these lands; k and by meansof your offspring, 1 all nations of the earth will obtain a blessingfor themselves, l 5 on accountof the fact that Abraham lis-tened to my voice and continued

CHAP. 25

a 1Sa 15:7

b Ge 16:7, 8

c Ge 16:11, 12

d Ge 22:2Mt 1:1, 2

e Ge 22:23

f Ro 9:10

g Ps 139:15

h Ge 36:31Nu 20:14

i Ge 27:29, 30De 2:4

j 2Sa 8:14Mal 1:2, 3Ro 9:10-13

k Ge 27:11

l Ge 27:32Ge 36:9Mal 1:3

m Ho 12:3

n Ge 27:36

o Ge 27:3, 5

Second Col.

a Heb 11:9

b Ge 27:6, 7, 46

c Ge 36:1

d De 21:16, 17

e Heb 12:16

CHAP. 26

f Ge 12:10

g Ge 20:1Heb 11:8, 9

h Ge 12:7Ge 15:18

i Ge 22:16-18Ps 105:9-11Heb 6:13, 14

j Ge 15:1, 5Heb 11:12

73 GENESIS 25:1826:5


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to keep my requirements, mycommands, my statutes, and mylaws. a 6 So Isaac continued todwell in Ge rar. b

7 When the men of the place

kept asking about his wife, hewould say: She is my sister. c He was afraid to say, She is mywife, for he said, The men of the place might kill me becauseof Rebek ah, for she was beau-tiful in appearance. d 8 Aftersome time had passed, Abim e-lech king of the Philis tines waslooking out of the window, andhe saw Isaac displaying affectionfor 1 Rebek ah his wife. e 9 Atonce Abim elech called Isaacand said: She is actually yourwife! Why did you say, She is mysister? At this Isaac said to him:I said it for fear I should die be-cause of her. f 10 But Abim e-lech continued: What have youdone to us? g One of the peo-ple could easily have lain down

with your wife, and you wouldhave brought guilt upon us! h11 Then Abim elech command-ed all the people, saying: Any-body touching this man and hiswife will surely be put to death!

12 And Isaac began to sowseed in that land, and in thatyear he reaped 100 times what hesowed, for Jehovah was bless-ing him. i 13 The man becamewealthy, and he continued toprosper until he became verywealthy. 14 He acquired ocksof sheep and herds of cattle anda large body of servants, j and thePhilis tines began to envy him.

15 So the Philis tines tooksoil and stopped up all the wellsthat his fathers servants haddug in the days of Abraham. k

16 Abim elech then said toIsaac: Move from our neighbor-hood, for you have grown far

camped in the valley 1 of Ge -rar a and began dwelling there.18 And Isaac again dug thewells that had been dug in thedays of his father Abraham butthat the Philis tines had stoppedup after Abrahams death, b andhe called them by the names thathis father had given them. c

19 When the servants of Isaac were digging in the val-ley, 1 they found a well of freshwater. 20 And the shepherdsof Ge rar began quarreling withthe shepherds of Isaac, say-ing: The water is ours! So henamed the well E sek, 1 becausethey had quarreled with him.21 And they started digging an-other well, and they began quar-reling over it also. So he namedit Sit nah. 1 22 Later he movedaway from there and dug anoth-er well, but they did not quar-rel over it. So he named it Re-ho both 1 and said: It is because

now Jehovah has given us ampleroom and has made us fruitful inthe land. d

23 Then he went up fromthere to Be er-she ba. e 24 Thatnight Jehovah appeared to himand said: I am the God of your father Abraham. f Do not beafraid, g for I am with you, and Iwill bless you and multiply youroffspring 1 on account of Abra-ham my servant. h 25 So hebuilt an altar there and called onthe name of Jehovah. i And Isaacpitched his tent there, j and hisservants dug a well there.

26 Later Abim elech came tohim from Ge rar with Ahuz zathhis personal adviser and Phi -col the chief of his army. k 27 Atthis Isaac said to them: Whyhave you come to me, seeingthat you hated me and sent me

CHAP. 26

a Ge 17:10, 23Ge 22:3, 12Heb 11:8Jas 2:21

b Ge 26:17

c Ge 12:11-13

d Ge 24:16

e Ge 24:67

f Ge 20:11

g Ge 12:18

h Ge 20:9

i Ge 24:34, 35

j Ge 12:16

k Ge 21:27, 30

Second Col.

a Ge 10:19Ge 20:1

b Ge 21:25

c Ge 21:31

d Ge 17:5, 6

Ge 28:1, 3

e Ge 21:31

f Ge 17:1Ge 28:13

g Ge 15:1

h Ge 17:19Ps 105:9-11

i Ge 12:8, 9

GENESIS 26:6-27 74


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away from your neighborhood?28 To this they said: We haveclearly seen that Jehovah hasbeen with you. a So we said, Letthere, please, be an oath of obli-gation between us and you, andlet us make a covenant withyou b 29 that you will do noth-ing bad to us just as we havenot harmed you, seeing that wehave done only good to you inthat we sent you away in peace.You now are the blessed of Jehovah. 30 Then he made afeast for them, and they ate anddrank. 31 In the morning theygot up early and swore an oathto each other. c After that Isaacsent them away, and they wentfrom him in peace.

32 On that day the servantsof Isaac came and reported tohim about the well that they haddug, d and they told him: Wehave found water! 33 So henamed it Shi bah. That is why

the name of the city is Be er-she ba e to this day.34 When E sau was 40 years

old, he took as wife Ju diththe daughter of Bee ri theHit tite and also Bas emath thedaughter of E lon the Hit tite. f 35 They were a source of greatgrief 1 to Isaac and Rebek ah. g

27 Now when Isaac was oldand his eyes were tooweak to see, he called E sau h hisolder son to him and said: Myson! He replied: Here I am!2 And he went on to say: Ihave now grown old. I do notknow the day of my death. 3 Soat this time take, please, yourweapons, your quiver and yourbow, and go out to the eld andhunt some wild game for me. i

4 Then make the kind of tastydish that I am fond of and bringit to me. Then I will eat it so that

5 However, Rebek ah was lis-tening while Isaac spoke to E sauhis son. And E sau went outinto the eld to hunt game andto bring it in. a 6 And Rebek -ah said to Jacob her son: b I just heard your father speak-ing to your brother E sau, say-ing, 7 Bring me some gameand make me a tasty dish. Thenlet me eat so that I may blessyou before Jehovah before mydeath. c 8 And now, my son, lis-ten carefully and do what I aminstructing you. d 9 Go, please,to the herd and get me two of the best young goats from thereso that I may prepare from thema tasty dish for your father, justthe way he likes it. 10 Thentake it to your father to eat, inorder that he may bless you be-fore his death.

11 Jacob said to his motherRebek ah: But E sau my broth-er is a hairy man, e and my skin

is smooth. 12 What if my fa-ther feels me? f Then I will cer-tainly appear to be mockinghim, and I will bring upon my-self a curse rather than a bless-ing. 13 At this his mother saidto him: Upon me be the cursemeant for you, my son. Just doas I say and go, get them forme. g 14 So he went and gotthem and brought them to hismother, and his mother made atasty dish, just the way hisfather liked it. 15 After thatRebek ah took her older sonE saus nest garments, whichshe had in the house, and putthem on her younger son Ja-cob. h 16 She also put the skinsof the young goats on his handsand on the hairless part of his

neck.i

17 Then she handed thetasty dish and the bread that shehad made to her son Jacob. j

CHAP. 26

a Ge 21:22

b Ge 21:27

c Ge 21:22-24

d Ge 26:18

e Jg 20:1

f Ge 36:2, 3

g Ge 27:46Ge 28:8

CHAP. 27

h Ge 25:28

i Ge 25:27

Second Col.a Ge 27:30

b Ge 25:28

c Ge 27:30, 31

d Ge 27:13, 43

e Ge 25:25Ge 27:23

f Ge 27:21

g Ge 27:8, 43

h Ge 25:23, 26

i Ge 25:25

75 GENESIS 26:2827:19


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his father: I am E sau your rst-born. a I have done just as youtold me. Sit up, please, and eatsome of my game, so thatyou 1 may bless me. b 20 At that

Isaac said to his son: How wereyou so quick in nding it, myson? He replied: Because Jeho-vah your God brought it to me.21 Then Isaac said to Jacob:Come near, please, that I mayfeel you, my son, to know wheth-er you are really my son E sauor not. c 22 So Jacob camenear to his father Isaac, and hefelt him, after which he said:The voice is the voice of Ja-cob, but the hands are the handsof E sau. d 23 He did not recog-nize him because his hands werehairy like the hands of his broth-er E sau. So he blessed him. e

24 After that he asked: Areyou really my son E sau? towhich he replied: I am.25 Then he said: Bring mesome of the wild game forme to eat, my son, then I 1 willbless you. With that he broughtit to him and he ate, and hebrought him wine and he drank.26 Then Isaac his father saidto him: Come near, please, andkiss me, my son. f 27 So hecame near and kissed him, andhe could smell the scent of hisgarments. g Then he blessed himand said:

See, the scent of my son islike the scent of the eld that Je-hovah has blessed. 28 May thetrue God give you the dews of the heavens h and the fertile soilsof the earth i and an abundanceof grain and new wine. j 29 Letpeoples serve you, and let na-

tions bow low to you. Be mas-ter over your brothers, and letthe sons of your mother bow

who curses you, and blessed beeveryone who blesses you. a

30 Now Isaac had just n-ished blessing Jacob, and Jacobhad barely left the presence of

his father Isaac when his broth-er E sau came back from hishunting. b 31 He too prepared atasty dish and brought it to hisfather, and he said to his father:Let my father get up and eatsome of his sons game, in orderthat you 1 may bless me. 32 Atthis his father Isaac said to him:Who are you? to which he said:I am your son, your rstborn,E sau. c 33 And Isaac began totremble violently, so he said:Who was it, then, who huntedfor game and brought it to me? Ialready ate it before you arrived,and I blessed himand he willsurely be blessed!

34 On hearing his fatherswords, E sau began to cry outin an extremely loud and bittermanner and to say to his fa-ther: Bless me, yes, me too, myfather! d 35 But he said: Yourbrother came deceitfully so thathe might get the blessing meantfor you. 36 At this he said: Ishe not rightly named Jacob, 1

that he might supplant me thesetwo times? e My birthright he hasalready taken, f and now he hastaken my blessing! g Then headded: Have you not reserved ablessing for me? 37 But Isaacanswered E sau: Here I have ap-pointed him master over you, hand I have given him all hisbrothers as servants, and I havebestowed grain and new winefor his support. i What is left thatI can do for you, my son?

38 E sau said to his father: Isthere just one blessing that youhave, my father? Bless me, yes,

CHAP. 27

a Ge 25:31-33Ro 9:10-12

b Ge 27:4

c Ge 27:11, 12

d Ge 27:16

e Heb 11:20

f Ge 48:10

g Ge 25:27Ge 27:15

h De 11:11

i Nu 13:26, 27

j Ge 27:37De 7:13

k Ge 25:23

Second Col.

a Ge 12:1, 3Ge 28:1, 3Ge 31:42Eze 25:12, 13

b Ge 27:3

c Ge 25:25, 31

Heb 12:16

d Heb 12:16, 17

e Ge 25:26Ge 32:28Ho 12:3

f Ge 25:32-34

g Ge 27:28

h Ge 25:23

GENESIS 27:20-38 76


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E sau cried loudly and burst intotears. a 39 So his father Isaacanswered him:

See, away from the fertilesoils of the earth your dwelling

will be, and away from the dewof the heavens above. b 40 Andby your sword you will live, c andyou will serve your brother. d Butwhen you grow restless, you willindeed break his yoke off yourneck. e

41 However, E sau harboredanimosity against Jacob becauseof the blessing his father had giv-en him, f and E sau kept saying inhis heart: The days of mourningfor my father are getting closer. gAfter that I am going to kill Ja-cob my brother. 42 When thewords of her older son E sauwere told to Rebek ah, she atonce sent for her younger sonJacob and said to him: Look!Your brother E sau is planningto take revenge by killing you. 1

43 Now, my son, do as I say. Getup and run away to my broth-er La ban at Ha ran. h 44 Dwellwith him for a while untilyour brothers rage calms down,45 until your brothers anger to-ward you subsides and he for-gets what you have done to him.Then I will send for you fromthere. Why should I lose both of

you in one day?46 After that Rebek ah kept

saying to Isaac: I am disgust-ed with my life because of thedaughters of Heth. i If Jacob evertakes a wife from the daughtersof Heth, like these daughters of the land, what good is my life? j

28 So Isaac called Jacob andblessed him and com-manded him, saying: You mustnot take a wife from the daugh-ters of Ca naan. k 2 Go away to

Bethu el, your mothers father,and from there take for your-self a wife from the daughters of La ban, a your mothers brother.3 God Almighty will bless youand make you fruitful and mul-tiply you, and you will certain-ly become a congregation of peo-ples. b 4 And he will give to youthe blessing of Abraham, c to youand to your offspring 1 with you,so that you may take possessionof the land where you have beenliving as a foreigner, which Godhas given to Abraham. d

5 So Isaac sent Jacob away,and he departed for Pad dan-a ram, to La ban the son of Bethu el the Aramae an, e thebrother of Rebek ah, f the moth-er of Jacob and E sau.

6 E sau saw that Isaac hadblessed Jacob and had sent himaway to Pad dan-a ram to take awife from there and that whenhe blessed him, he commanded

him, Do not take a wife fromthe daughters of Ca naan, g7 and that Jacob obeyed his fa-ther and his mother and depart-ed for Pad dan-a ram. h 8 E sauthen realized that the daugh-ters of Ca naan were displeasingto his father Isaac, i 9 so E sauwent to Ish mael and took aswife Ma halath the daughter of Abrahams son Ish mael, the sis-ter of Neba ioth, in addition tothe other wives he already had. j

10 Jacob departed fromBe er-she ba and kept going to-ward Ha ran. k 11 In time hecame to a place and preparedto spend the night there becausethe sun had set. So he took oneof the stones of that place andset it to rest his head on and lay

down there. l 12 Then he had adream, and look! there was astairway 1 set on the earth, and

CHAP. 27

a Heb 12:16, 17

b Jos 24:4Heb 11:20

c Ge 32:6Nu 20:18

d Ge 25:232Sa 8:14Mal 1:2, 3

e 2Ki 8:202Ch 28:17

f Am 1:11

g Ge 35:28, 29

h Ge 28:5

i Ge 26:34, 35Ge 28:8

j Ge 24:2, 3

CHAP. 28

k Ge 24:34, 37Ex 34:15, 161Ki 11:1-3

2Co 6:14

Second Col.

a Ge 29:16

b Ge 17:5Ge 46:15, 191Ch 2:1, 2

c Ge 12:2, 3

d Ge 12:7

Ge 15:13Ge 17:1, 8Heb 11:9

e Ge 25:20

f Ge 24:29

g Ge 28:12Co 6:14

h Ge 27:43

i Ge 27:46

j Ge 36:2, 3

77 GENESIS 27:3928:12


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ascending and descending on it. a13 And look! there was Jehovahstationed above it, and he said:

I am Jehovah the God of Abraham your father and the

God of Isaac.b

The land on whichyou are lying, to you I am goingto give it and to your offspring. 1 c 14 And your offspring 1 will cer-tainly become like the dust par-ticles of the earth, d and you willspread abroad to the west and tothe east and to the north and tothe south, and by means of youand by means of your offspring 1

all the families of the ground willcertainly be blessed. 2 e 15 I amwith you, and I will safeguardyou wherever you go, and I willreturn you to this land. f I will notleave you until I have done whatI have promised you. g

16 Then Jacob awoke fromhis sleep and said: Truly Je-hovah is in this place, andI did not know it. 17 And he

grew fearful and added: Howawe-inspiring this place is! Thiscan only be the house of God, hand this is the gate of the heav-ens. i 18 So Jacob got up ear-ly in the morning and took thestone on which he had rested hishead and set it up as a pillar andpoured oil on top of it. j 19 Sohe named that place Beth el, 1

but previously the citys namewas Luz. k

20 Jacob then made a vow,saying: If God will contin-ue with me and will protect meon my journey and will give mebread to eat and garments towear 21 and I return in peaceto the house of my father,then Jehovah will certainly haveproved to be my God. 22 Andthis stone that I have set up asa pillar will become a house of God, l and without fail I will give

you a tenth of everything yougive to me.

29 After that Jacob resumedhis journey and traveledon to the land of the people of

the East. 2 Now he saw a wellin the eld and three droves of sheep lying down next to it, be-cause they usually watered thedroves from that well. There wasa large stone over the mouth of the well. 3 When all the droveshad been gathered there, theyrolled away the stone from themouth of the well, and theywatered the ocks, after whichthey returned the stone to itsplace over the mouth of the well.

4 So Jacob said to them: Mybrothers, what place are youfrom? to which they said: Weare from Ha ran. a 5 He saidto them: Do you know La -ban b the grandson of Na hor? c to which they said: We knowhim. 6 At this he said to them:

Is he well? They replied: Heis well. And here is his daughterRachel d coming with the sheep!7 Then he said: It is still themiddle of the day. It is not thetime for gathering the herds. Wa-ter the sheep, and then go feedthem. 8 To this they said: Weare not allowed to do so untilall the droves are gathered andthey roll the stone away from themouth of the well. Then we wa-ter the sheep.

9 While he was yet speak-ing with them, Rachel came withher fathers sheep, for she wasa shepherdess. 10 When Jacobsaw Rachel, the daughter of La -ban his mothers brother, andthe sheep of La ban, Jacob im-mediately approached and rolled

the stone away from the mouthof the well and watered thesheep of La ban his mothers

CHAP. 28

a Joh 1:51Heb 1:7, 14

b Ge 26:24, 25

c Ge 12:7Ge 28:4Ps 105:9-11

d Ge 13:14, 161Ki 4:20

e Ge 18:18

Ge 22:15, 18

f Ge 35:6

g Ge 31:3Nu 23:19Jos 23:14Heb 6:18

h Ps 47:2

i Ge 35:1

j Ge 31:13

k Ge 35:6Jos 16:1, 2

l Ge 35:1

Second Col.

CHAP. 29

a Ge 27:42, 43Ac 7:2

b Ge 24:29

c Ge 24:24Ge 31:53

GENESIS 28:1329:12 78


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RESURRECTION 335

were seeing an apparition or a vision. (Compare Mark 6:49, 50.) Jesusassured them that he was no apparition; they could see his body of fleshand could touch him, feeling the bones; he also ate in their presence.Similarly, in the past, angels had materialized in order to be seen by

men; they had eaten, and some had even married and fathered children.(Gen. 6:4; 19:1-3) Following his resurrection, Jesus did not alwaysappear in the same body of flesh (perhaps to reinforce in their minds thefact that he was then a spirit), and so he was not immediatelyrecognized even by his close associates. (John 20:14, 15; 21:4-7)However, by his repeatedly appearing to them in materialized bodiesand then saying and doing things that they would identify with theJesus they knew, he strengthened their faith in the fact that he truly had

been resurrected from the dead.If the disciples had actually seen Jesus in the body that he now has

in heaven, Paul would not later have referred to the glorified Christ as being the exact representation of [Gods] very being, because God isa Spirit and has never been in the flesh. Heb. 1:3; compare 1 Timothy6:16.

When reading the reports of Jesus postresurrection appearanc es,we are helped to understand them properly if we keep in mind 1 Peter3:18 and 1 Corinthians 15:45, quoted on page 334.

See also pages 217, 218, under Jesus Christ.

Who will be resurrected to share heavenlylife with Christ, and what will they do there?

Luke 12:32: Have no fear, little flock, because your Father hasapproved of giving you the kingdom. (These do not include all whohave exercised faith; the number is limited. Their being in heaven is fora purpose.)

Rev. 20:4, 6: I saw thrones, a nd there were those who sat downon them, and power of judging was given them. . . . Happy and holy isanyone having part in the first resurrection; over these the second death

has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of the Christ, andwill r ule as kings with him for the thousand years.


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336 RESURRECTION

Will those raised to heavenly life eventually have glorifiedphysical bodies there?

Phil. 3:20, 21: The Lord Jesus Christ . . . will refashion ourhumiliated body to be conformed to his glorious body according tothe operation of the power that he has. (Does this mean that it istheir body of flesh that will eventually be made glorious in theheavens? Or does it mean that, instead of having a lowly body offlesh, they will be clothed with a glorious spirit body when raised toheavenly life? Let the following scripture answer.)

1 Cor. 15:40, 42-44, 47- 50: There are heavenly bodies, and

earthly bodies; but the glory of the heavenly bodies is one sort, andthat of the earthly bodies is a different sort. So also is theresurrection of the dead. . . . It is sown a physical body, it is raisedup a spiritual body. . . . The first man [Adam] is out of the earth andmade of dust; the second man [Jesus Christ] is out of heaven. As theone made of dust is, so those made of dust are also; and as theheavenly one is, so those who are heavenly are also. And just as wehave borne the image of the one made of dust, we shall bear also theimage of the heavenly one. However, this I say, brothers, that fleshand blood cannot inherit Gods kingdom. (There is no allowancehere for any mixing of the two sorts of bodies or the taking of afleshly body to heaven.)

How did Jesus demonstrate what

resurrection will mean for mankind ingeneral? John 11:11, 14- 44: [Jesus said to his disciples:] Lazarus our

friend has gone to rest, but I am journeying there to awaken him fromsleep. . . . Jesus said to them outspokenly: Lazarus has died. . . .When Jesus arrived, he found he [Lazarus] had already been four daysin the memorial tomb. . . . Jesus said to her [Martha, a sister ofLazarus]: I am the resurrection and the life. . . . He cried out with aloud voice: Lazarus, come on out! The man that had been dead cameout with his feet and hands bound with wrappings, and his countenance


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17

ABEL O F BETH-MAACAH See BEL-BETHMAAC H

ABEL-SHITTIM See SHI M No. .

ABHORRENT THING e He re ordn ddah occurs 30 times n t e He re Scripturesand is possi y derived from t e root ord na-dhah , ch means exclude p t out o mind(re use to t ink of ." ( sa 66 5 Am 6 3)Ni dahindicates impurity, something a orrent, et erp ysically, as for exa p e, from menstruat on (Le12:2, 5 15 20, 24, 25, 33 , or mora ly, as fromido atry (Ezr 9 1 2Ch 29:5 T e same He ew

ord is used wit regard to the ater for cleans-ing" (Nu 19 9-2 3 :23,N; ater used in caseof menstruation," Nu 9 9, NW n water ofseparation," K; " ater for impurity," R AT; stra water," JB ), ndicating water used to remove

t at which is imp re or unc ean.us, a amentations 7 Jeremiah says thatJerusa em in er deso ation has ecome an a

orrent th ng as a menstruous woman," KJ; oeto de abominac n " NC (Sp ish ab orrent,"

in among t em [that is, among t e s rounding nations ."

Prior to Jerusalem's destruction y Baby on, Jeova sa d of t e people o srae throug is

prop et Ezekie : T e ouse of srael ere dwelling upon the r so l, and they kept ma ing i t nc ean wit t eir ay a d wit t eir dealings. Likethe nc eanness o menst uation [n d dah ]t eirway has eco e efore me." (Eze 6 17 Due toidolatrous practices, Israe was spiritua y impureand o d t us e avoided y er us and yowner, Je ova God, and wou d e reu ited with

im spiritual y on y af er c eansing. T us, atverse 25, Je ovah says: "And I i l spr e uponyou clean ater, a d yo wil ecome c e n; froma l your impurities and from al your dungy ido s s all c ea se you." Compa e Eze 18:6.

At Ezekie 7:19, 20 God expresses is anger

aga nst srae for av ng made re ig ous imageswith t eir si ver and their go d and says that hei l, t erefore, cause t em to thro their si ver

and their gold into t e streets as a a horrentt ng [n ah ."- Compare sa 30:22 see DrsGU 1NG HING, OATH OME N .

Abhorrence. Other He re expressions having the sense of abhorrence" are qu ts referringto t e emotiona reaction and de ned as "a or

ave an a horrence of fee a sicke ng dread of"(Ge 27 46; 1 i 1 25 Nu 22 3 , andga al a someaning a hor," t indicating a re ection of the

o ect a o red. (Le 26 11, 15, 30; 2Sa :21, ftnn the Greek Septua these He rew words attimes are rendered proso khth zo, sig ying e-

ABIASAPH

come dis sted" (Ge 27:46 e 26: compareHe 3 10 ,and bdelvs'so ma conveying t e senseof express a horrence of ave disgust for." Le20:23 26: compare Ro 2:22.

Because t e Canaanites were gUilty of sexualimmora ity and perversion, do atry, and spiritisticpractices, t e Most High ab orred t em, and thisresu ted n his decreeing t eir destruction. (Le20 2-23 he srae tes ere warned that, if t ey

ecame diso edient, Je ova wo d also a hort e , wit dra ing is protection and essing. Byreason of loya ty to is covenant made wit Israel,

o ever, e would not a hor t em to the point oringing out their comp ete ex ermina ion. (Le

26 11-45 In t e case of t ose o wi prove to ewicked, t e res rrection i l tu out to e one toeternal a orrence" (He ., dera ohn ).It wi e aresurrect on to condem ato y udgment resulting

n ever asting cutting-o . Da 2:2 Jo 5 28, 29De i erate re ection of Je ova 's commands, reproof, and provisions constitutes an mproper a

orrence. The srae ites were gui ty of this ent ey refused to fol ow Jehov 's com ands, aswe as hen t ey came to a hor t e manna as"contempti e read." (Nu 2 :5; e 26 15 Prover s 3 11 counsels aga nst a orring Jehovah'sreproof.'

At omans 2:9 C ristians are admon shed:"A or w at is cked." T e Greek term here

rendered "a or" (a o sty ge o) s e intensiveorm of t e Greek ver mea ng ate," and thusliterally means "hate intensely " A person's fai ngto or at is icked, no onger loat ing it, canresu t n his eco ng an o ject of Je ovah's a

orrence.

ABI. See BIJ H No. 7.

ABI-ALBON (A i-al on . A Ben amite and ano tstanding arrior isted among 37 of ng David's most valiant g ters. (2Sa 23:3 He is evidently the A ie referred to in a para e passage at

Ch on c es 32. He is ca ed t e Ar athiteperhaps eca se o coming from t e city of Betha a , w ic ay near t e frontier et een Ben

a in and J dah a ove t e N end of the Dead Sea.(Jos 5 6 8 8, 2 , 22) His gh ing va or was inaccord w t Jaco s death ed prop ecy concerning the tri e of Ben amin. Ge 49 27.

ABIASAPH ( i as p My Father HasGat ered]. One of t e t ree sons of orah t eLevi e, a d a descendant of Kohath (Ex 6: 6-24His rothers were E kanah and Assir. He s appar

ent y referred to as E iasaph at 1 Chron c es 6 37and perhaps at 1 Chron c es 9 19 and C ronic es6:23.


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94 Content With Gods Good Gifts (James 1:17)

(See also Jer. 45:5; Matt. 6:25-34; 1 Tim. 6:8; Heb. 13:5.)

All per - fect pres - ents, each good gift, The things were fond - est of, We have no cause for anx - ious care Con - cern - ing dai - ly needs;The loft - y things in hu - man eyes, To God are mere - ly vain.

The tru - ly wor - thy things in life, Come down from God a - bove. We know the lov - ing care by him Who birds of heav - en feeds.Lets use the days were grant - ed now For things of last - ing gain.

With him there is no wa - ver - ing, No change, how - ev - er slight. We give no place to worth - less things, No years to hurt - ful strife.The rich - es that we store with God Are safe, though we may die.

Je - ho - vah is our Grand Pro - vid - er, The Source of life and light.But sat - is - fied with Gods pro - vi - sions, We lead a sim - ple life. We prize the gift of true con - tent - ment And keep a sim - ple eye.

snsm -ENo. 94 10/115 2011 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

All Rights Reserved


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JOHN 4:1-28 1430

4 When the Lord became awarethat the Pharisees had heardthat Jesus was making andbaptizing a more disciples thanJohn 2 although Jesus him-self did no baptizing but hisdisciples did 3 he left Jude aand departed again for Gal ilee.4 But it was necessary for himto go through Samar ia. 5 Sohe came to a city of Samar -ia called Sy char, near the eldthat Jacob had given to his sonJoseph. b 6 In fact, Jacobs wellwas there. c Now Jesus, tired outas he was from the journey, was

sitting at the well.1

It was aboutthe sixth hour. 2 7 A woman of Samar ia came

to draw water. Jesus said toher: Give me a drink. 8 (Forhis disciples had gone off intothe city to buy food.) 9 So theSamar itan woman said to him:How is it that you, despite be-ing a Jew, ask me for a drinkeven though I am a Samar itanwoman? (For Jews have no deal-ings with Samar itans.) d 10 Inanswer Jesus said to her: If youhad known of the free gift of God e and who it is who says toyou, Give me a drink, you wouldhave asked him, and he wouldhave given you living water. f 11 She said to him: Sir, you donot even have a bucket for draw-

ing water, and the well is deep.From what source, then, do youhave this living water? 12 Youare not greater than our fore-father Jacob, who gave us thewell and who together with hissons and his cattle drank out of it, are you? 13 In answer Jesussaid to her: Everyone drinkingfrom this water will get thirstyagain. 14 Whoever drinks fromthe water that I will give him willnever get thirsty at all, g but thewater that I will give him will be-

bubbling up to impart everlast-ing life. a 15 The woman saidto him: Sir, give me this water,so that I may neither thirst norkeep coming over to this place todraw water.

16 He said to her: Go, callyour husband and come tothis place. 17 The woman re-plied: I do not have a hus-band. Jesus said to her: Youare right in saying, I do nothave a husband. 18 For youhave had ve husbands, and theman you now have is not yourhusband. This you have saidtruthfully. 19 The woman saidto him: Sir, I see that you area prophet. b 20 Our forefathersworshipped on this mountain,but you people say that in Jeru-salem is the place where peoplemust worship. c 21 Jesus saidto her: Believe me, woman, thehour is coming when neitheron this mountain nor in Jeru-

salem will you worship the Fa-ther. 22 You worship what youdo not know; d we worship whatwe know, because salvation be-gins with the Jews. e 23 Never-theless, the hour is coming, andit is now, when the true wor-shippers will worship the Fatherwith spirit and truth, for in-deed, the Father is looking forones like these to worship him. f 24 God is a Spirit, g and thoseworshipping him must worshipwith spirit and truth. h 25 Thewoman said to him: I knowthat Messi ah is coming, who iscalled Christ. Whenever that onecomes, he will declare all thingsto us openly. 26 Jesus said toher: I am he, the one speakingto you. i

27 Just then his disciples ar-rived, and they were surprisedbecause he was speaking with a

CHAP. 4

a Joh 3:22

b Ge 33:18, 19Jos 24:32

c Joh 4:12

d 2Ki 17:24Ac 10:28

e Eph 2:8

f Joh 7:37

g Joh 6:35

Second Col.

a Joh 7:38Ro 6:231Jo 5:20

b Lu 7:16Joh 9:17

c De 12:5, 61Ki 9:32Ch 7:12Ps 122

d 2Ki 17:29, 33

e Isa 2:3Ro 9:4

f 2Ch 16:9

g 2Co 3:171Ti 1:17Heb 11:27


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O UR K INGDOM M INISTRYF E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

For United States of America km14 02-E Us Vol. 57, No. 2

Pay constant attention to yourself and to your teaching. (1 Tim. 4:16) This inspiredcounsel from the apostle Paul to Timothy indicates that, whether we are new or expe-

rienced, we should endeavor to make prog-ress. To help us do that, a new series enti-tled Improving Our Skills in the Ministrywill appear in Our Kingdom Ministry. Eacharticle will discuss an important skill andprovide some suggestions on how to devel-op it. During the month, all are encouragedto give that skill special attention. After themonth concludes, a Service Meeting part

will give us an opportunity to comment onhow we beneted from concentrating onthat skill. This month we are encouraged towork on making a record of the interest.

Why Important: To fulll our commis-sion, we must do more than preach. Wemust return to those who show interest andteach them, watering the seeds of truth thatwe have planted. (Matt. 28:19, 20; 1 Cor. 3:6-9) This requires nding the person again,talking about his concerns, and building onour previous conversation. Therefore, whenwe nd interest, it is necessary to make arecord of it.

How to Do It: Make sure that you have tools in your

witnessing case for recording interest.Keep your records neat, well-organized,and up-to-date. Make a record as soon as you nish the call.

Write down information about thehouseholder. What is his name and con-tact information, such as his address,phone number, or e-mail address? What did you observe about him and his fam-ily that may be signicant?

Write down the details of your conversa-tion. What scriptures did you read? What did he say about his beliefs? What liter-ature did you leave? Record the time, theday of the week, and the date of the visit.

Write down what you plan to do next time. What did you promise to discuss?When did you say you would return?

Update your record each time you return.No harm is done if you write down moreinformation than you need.

Try This During the Month: When making a record, tell those with

whom you are working what you arewriting down.

Improving Our Skills in the MinistryMaking a Record of the Interest

WEEK STARTING FEBRUARY 1Song 57 and Prayer

Congregation Bible Study: l chap. 2 21-24, box on p. 24 30 min.

Theocratic Ministry School:Bible reading: Genesis 25-28 10 min.No 1: Genesis 25:19-34 4 min. or lessNo 2: Those Resurrected to Rule WithChrist Will Be Like Him rs p. 335 4p. 336 2 5 min.No 3: Abhorrent ThingJehovahs Viewof Idolatry and Disobedience t -1 p. 17

5 min.Service Meeting:Song 9415 min: What Do We Learn? Discussion.Have John 4:6-26 read. Consider how thisaccount can help us in our ministry.15 min: Improving Our Skills in the MinistryMaking a Record of the Interest Discussion. When considering each bullet-ed point under How to Do It, invite com-ments on why the suggestions are bene-

cial.Song 98 and Prayer


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98 Sowing Kingdom Seed (Matthew 13:4-8)

Oh, come all you slaves of Je - ho - vah,Some seed that you sow will be scat - teredHow much of your work is suc - cess - ful

Whove giv - en your heart and your soul.On hearts as re - sis - tant as stone.

May of - ten de - pend much on you.

Come out to the work of our Mas - ter,Though these may re - spond for a sea - son, With pa - tience and love for your neigh - bors,

And learn from his steps and his role.The want of their hearts will be known.

Their hearts may be o - pened a - new.

snsm -ENo. 98 10/11


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Sowing Kingdom Seed

(See also Matt. 13:19-23; 22:37.)

The seed of the truth, you sow with - out fear When thorns choke the word, then greed fills their hearts;

By be - ing a - lert youll ward off their fears,

On hearts that are a - ble to yieldThe things of the world they pre - fer.

With mea - sures some gen - tle some bold.

Fine fruit to Gods praise as you faith - ful - ly work, Yet, some seed may pros - per; you will see re - sults And thus with re - joic - ing you can hope to reap

And you do your full share in the field.From the ground that is good, fine, and pure.

At least thir - ty if not hun - dred - fold.

snsm -ENo. 98 10/11page 25 2011 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

06 mid-week meeting file 02-10-14

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