Here are some of the spiritual gems I gleaned from Sunday's sessions.
Symposium on Book of Malachi:
points in which we can magnify Jehovah
Do not be like priests at Mal.1:13 to whom temple service was a burden. We should delight in offering spiritual sacfirice to God, never considering it a burden.
How glad we are that our spiritual sacrifices are not mere formality. (at least , that's what we keep telling ourselves)
Cursed is anyone giving a lame sacrifice. Each must render an account to God. Mal.1:14
( More of those tasty vitamins, aacch, I think they have backed up on me!)
Jehovah hates the course of treachery. Do you want to enjoy long life? You must meet God's requirements. Is it difficult? No! When Jehovah gives a command, we must be obedient or there are grave consequences. Mal.2:2
God will spread DUNG on their faces as it says in Mal.2:3 (They had a lot of fun with this one)
Have you not learned that the very law of truth is in the mouth of anointed Christians! By following their example are we as other sheep not rewarded?Are we personally alert that no unrighteousness is found on our lips.
Are we trustworthy? Or do we couch our words so that they are technically accurate but but designed to conceal as much as they reveal? (Like the part about not shunning relatives on the jw-media site? Hmmmm)
Other forms of treachery are concerning marriage as addressed at Mal.2:11,14. Marring foreigners, that is marrying out of the truth is treachery---Jehovah will cut off each one acts treacherously. Mistreating one's mate, esp. by divorcing--treachery. Good Christian men will not degrade their wives viewing porn on the internet or by insisting on dishonorable sex practices.
(None were specified, wonder which ones they meant? The hard line seems to be returning)
Who will survive the day of Jehovah? No one will be exempt. People who ignore Jah's principles and knowledge of him, we will tread down and they will be like powder under our feet! Mal.4:3 How will this be? It will be in a spiritual sense by taking part in a great joyful celebration after the Day of Armageddon. ISA.25:8-9
As we contemplate the awesome fear-inspiring day of Jehovah, do we not have reason to be the happiest people on earth!
(no comment needed)
DRAMA: Respect Jehovah's Authority
A costume drama about the account of Korah's rebellion against Moses, those who joined him, and his sons who did not support him but stated loyal to Moses as appointed leader. ( Very similar to one of the older dramas on the same story, with much of the extra-Biblical dialog lifted word for word from the earlier performance). Narrated by Elkanah a son of Korah.
Mostly consists of those opposed to Moses' leadership and those loyal to it argueing back and forth over their respective positions. The dialog was molded heavy-handedly to reflect things which might be said in modern situations.
Some interesting excerpts (paraphrases) from both sides:
This story is of a family tragedy, one in which loyalty is tested--Loyalty to Jehovah or loyalty to friends or family members is a choice which will have to be made by those involved.
In my eyes Moses leadership is a failure. Isn't he just a man? Doesn't he make mistakes?
We (sons of Korah) love our father, and it is heart rending to see him take a course of opposition, but we want to be faithful to Jehovah. Lately he seems to enjoy the attention of gathering others to listen to him. Look at the motives of those who agree with him. Could it be jealousy of privileges they don't have? We stand at Jehovah's house and cherish the privileges we have been given!
Korah: Moses would have us believe that God made him the author of all knowledge from Him and that we must still learn it from Moses. It's his clever speech; I am through being deceived! He uses persuasion rather than force, and he has grown wickedly powerful. He should be punished.
Dathan & Abiram when summoned by Moses: We will not come up to hear Moses. He plays the prince to the limit, and has not brought us to any land of milk and honey. Num.16:12-14
Elkanah, Korah's son: My family and others have been greatly affected by these events, but I don't want undue sadness to cloud the issue. They were rebellious to God and did not respect those whom Jehovah had appointed.
Respect for those appointed by Jehovah IS respect for Jehovah. We should not let friendship or family relationships take precedence over respect for Jehovah's authority.
Follow-up talk: Loyally submit to God's authority
6 points we can learn from the drama
1. Could we develope an attitude like Korah, now or in the future? He was 80 years oldbefore he decided to act. If we are speaking abusively in private conversations with confidantes, we could be speaking abusively of "glorious ones". Avoid resisting the decisions of those appointed to take the lead.
2. Korah coveted the position of high priest. His motives were pride, ambition, and jealousy. They were a cancer waiting to metastasize.
3. Imperfections of appointed men are not a ligitimate excuse for rejecting authority. These ones are not appointed by men, but by holy spirit. What if we don't but this in certain cases? We are implying that Jehovah doesn't know, isn't concerned, or can't handle the situation. If we cooperate, all will be built up.
4. Complaining and murmuring is spiritually destructive and leads to open opposition. There is danger in contradictory talk and resentment. We could undermine other's respect for authority. Jehovah is in control and will safeguard us.
5. Be content with whatever privileges we have. Some become jealous when they see younger ones get a privilege they do not have even though they have more years in the truth.
6. Friendship or family should never take precedence over loyalty to Jehovah. We should not help a family member conceal a serious sin. We should fully cooperate with elders to correct a wayward brother.Do not question decisions made by appointed ones or bristle at their direction. If we loyally submit to Jah's authority, he will lead us into our "promised land".
( They really hit these points about not siding with family over the org. It makes me worry what may be in store for me if my son gets a guilty conscience over keeping quiet about my disagreements with the WTS. All dissident thought or opinion was characterized as being a hallmark of rebelliousness, jealousy, greed, or ambition. )
End of morning session
It is midnight now, and I have to go to bed. I hope there are not too many typos in this. I will do the afternoon session in the morning, and post it in this same thread. For those who were interested in Saturday. I will be going next week, as we split our attendance up over 2 weekends. I can tell you that a new book was announced called "Benefit From Theocratic Ministry School Education", but must be ordered later.
LMR