WT March 15, 2003 April 27 study, Try to See Others as Jehovah Sees Them
The theme of this week’s article is to disbelieve the evidence and always trust Jehovah’s man. The logic goes something like this:
“Oops. Jehovah’s man just did something stupid. Jehovah must have made a mistake in picking that man. Wait a minute, Jehovah never makes a mistake. Since Jehovah never makes a mistake, we should not judge what that man did as stupid. We will just have to look harder for redeeming qualities of Jehovah’s man.”
This article profiles Jonah and Peter. It suggests these men, though they displayed moments of weakness, it did not mean that Jehovah made a mistake by choosing them. This is WT logic at it’s best. If the bible account does not line up with what we think Jehovah is like, we’re just not working hard enough to understand the bible account aright. Must adjust thinking...must adjust thinking. Let’s see what happens if I apply this same WT logic to another Bible character beloved by the WTS. A short chronology of his life choices,
When offered a choice by the peaceable Abraham, Lot picked the best land. He becomes a soft and greedy urban dweller. In Sodom (Genesis 13:8-11). He is kidnapped by invaders and has to be rescued by his uncle (Gen 14:12). You would think this traumatic event would convince him to move. But no! Years later he is still living in Sodom when he proves to be a good host. He entertains a couple of angels (Gen 19:1). To save his guests, he offered his daughters to a whoring mob, barely rescued by the angels (Gen 19:8). He has to run for his life when the angels destroy Sodom. His daughters, believing they were the last people on earth, got their dad drunk and slept with him (Gen 19:31-38). Thus he fathered the Ammonites and the Moabites, favoured enemies of Israel.
If Lot were described in this article, perhaps it would go something like this:
What comes to your mind when you think of Lot? Do you think of him as a weak, grasping individual who chose soft living to his detriment? A superficial look at him might yield such a conclusion. But did God use him as a faithful Witness in Sodom because he was weak? Of course not! Lot must have had some desirable qualities. Consider his record as a good host. He entertained a couple of angels (Gen 19:1). To save his guests, he offered his daughters to a whoring mob (Gen 19:8). He endured living in wicked Sodom for years, as he patiently waited for Jehovah to destroy his evil neighbours. When he knew that destruction of Sodom was at hand he begged his sons-in-law to leave, even though they thought he was joking. Are we not glad to serve a God who does not give up on hi servants even when they make mistakes?
Much of the Hebrew Scriptures is a dispassionate account of Israel’s history. We should never assume that Jehovah approved of everything the men of the bible did.
How easy it is for humans to err in their assessment of others! para. 2 Well, yes, it is easy for us to make mistakes about people, since we do not have the ability to look in to men’s hearts. What this article fails to mention is the possibility that the WTS might have made the occasional mistake when choosing Jehovah’s man. What is a faithful servant of the WTS to do then? Try real hard to ignore the evidence in front of him? There was an easy test that proved that David measured up, and Eliab didn’t. In the vale of Elah (1 Samuel 17:2-54). Do all elders today stand up to the test?