34567

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH EDITION

STUDY ARTICLES:

October 24-30 ˙ PAGE 3

Jehovah Is My Share
SONGS TO BE USED: 38, 56

October 31–November 6 ˙ PAGE 9

Are You Letting Jehovah

Be Your Share?
SONGS TO BE USED: 40, 85

November 7-13 ˙ PAGE 15

Run the Race With Endurance

SONGS TO BE USED: 54, 135

November 14-20 ˙ PAGE 21

Run That You May Attain the Prize

SONGS TO BE USED: 81, 129

November 21-27 ˙ PAGE 27

Are You Known by Jehovah?

SONGS TO BE USED: 107, 4
34567 6
SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

The purpose of this magazine, The Watchtower, is to honor Jehovah God, the Supreme This publication is not for sale.
It is provided as part of a worldwide
Ruler of the universe. Just as watchtowers in ancient times enabled a person to Bible educational work supported
observe developments from afar, so this magazine shows us the significance of world by voluntary donations.
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Scripture quotations are from
God’s Kingdom, which is a real government in heaven, will soon bring an end to the modern-language New World
all wickedness and transform the earth into a paradise. It promotes faith in Jesus Translation of the Holy Scriptures
—With References.
Christ, who died so that we might gain everlasting life and who is now ruling as
King of God’s Kingdom. This magazine has been published by Jehovah’s Witnesses “Some Words Explained” are
contextual explanations of words
continuously since 1879 and is nonpolitical. It adheres to the Bible as its authority. used within an article.

PURPOSE OF STUDY ARTICLES

STUDY ARTICLES 1, 2 PAGES 3-14
When Jehovah told the Levites: “I am your share,” what did he
mean? (Numbers 18:20) Were the Levites the only ones who
had Jehovah as their share? Can we today have Jehovah as
our share? If we can, how? These two study articles will
answer these questions.

STUDY ARTICLES 3, 4 PAGES 15-26

These articles talk about the race that Christians run.
The prize is everlasting life. What examples can encourage
us to continue running in this race? What could stop us from
running? And what will help us to finish the race and win the
prize?

STUDY ARTICLE 5 PAGES 27-32

Jehovah’s faithful servants are known and approved by
him. What qualities can help us to continue to be his friends?
This article will help each of us to think about his own
friendship with God.

The Watchtower (ISSN 0043-1087) is published semimonthly by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.; M. H. Larson, President; G. F. Simonis,
Secretary-Treasurer; 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, NY 11201-2483, and by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada, PO Box 4100, Georgetown, ON
L7G 4Y4. Periodicals Postage Paid at Brooklyn, NY, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Watchtower, 1000 Red Mills Road,
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Vol. 132, No. 18 Semimonthly ENGLISH

Jehovah Is My Share
A FTER the Israelites had conquered
much of the Promised Land, Josh-
ua, High Priest Eleazar, and the leaders
of the tribes divided the land into por-
tions, or parts. These portions were the
tribes’ share of the land. (Numbers 34:
13-29) Jehovah gave all the tribes a share
of the land, but the Levites did not get
a share. (Joshua 14:1-5) Why did the Le-
vites not receive a territory, or share, of
the Promised Land? Were they forgot-
ten?
2 The answer is in what Jehovah told
the Levites. Jehovah promised not to
abandon them. He said: “I am your
share and your inheritance in the midst
of the sons of Israel.” (Numbers 18:20)
When Jehovah said: “I am your share,”
he made a wonderful promise to the Le-
vites. How would you feel if Jehovah
said that to you? At first, you might ask,
“Would Jehovah promise that to some-
one like me?” You might also ask, “Can
Jehovah really be the share of any im-
perfect Christian today?” These are im-
portant questions because they involve
you and the people you love. So we will
look at what it means for someone to
have Jehovah as his share. That will help
us understand how Jehovah can be the
share of Christians today. More specif-
ically, we will understand how he can be
1, 2. (a) What was the situation of the Le-
vites when Jehovah gave a share of the land to
all the other tribes of Israel? (b) What was Je-
hovah’s promise to the Levites?
3
your share, whether you
hope to live in heaven or
in a paradise on earth.
THEME
SCRIPTURE
“I am your share and your
JEHOVAH TOOK CARE inheritance in the midst of
OF THE LEVITES the sons of Israel.”
3 Before Jehovah gave
—NUMBERS 18:20.
the Law to Israel, fami-
ly heads served as priests
for their own families. But
when Jehovah gave the Law to Israel,
he chose some from the tribe of Levi to
serve as priests and assistants. How did
this happen? Jehovah said that when he
destroyed the firstborn sons of the Egyp-
tians, he “sanctified” for himself every
firstborn son of the Israelites. This
means that they belonged to him for his
service. But then Jehovah decided that
“in place of all the firstborn among the
sons of Israel,” he wanted to use the Le-
vites for his service. Because the other
tribes of Israel had more firstborn sons
than there were Levites, Jehovah told
the other Israelites to pay a price in ex-
change for those who were “in excess of
the Levites.” (Numbers 3:11-13, 41, 46,
47) So the Levites could now start their
service to the God of Israel.
4 When Jehovah chose the Levites
for his service, how did he become
their share? Instead of giving them
3. How did it happen that God chose the Le-
vites for his service?
4, 5. (a) What did it mean for the Levites to
have God as their share? (b) How did God take
care of the Levites?
4 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

SOME WORDS a land inheritance, Jeho-
EXPLAINED vah gave them something
precious, a very impor-
ˇ Material things: tant work to do. “The
Things such as money, priesthood of Jehovah”
food, and clothes was their inheritance, or
ˇ Sanctuary: share. (Joshua 18:7) Num-
A place of worship bers chapter 18 helps us
ˇ Assignment of work: to understand that they
A specific work some- would still have the ma-
one gives you to do terial things that they
needed. (Read Numbers
18:19, 21, 24.) The Levites
got “every tenth part in Is-
rael as an inheritance in return for their
service.” This means that they received
a tithe, or one tenth, of what the land
produced and of the increase of the do-
mestic animals. Then the Levites con-
tributed a tenth part of what they re-
ceived, “of the very best of it,” for the
needs of the priests.1 (See footnote.)
(Numbers 18:25-29) The priests also re-
ceived “all the holy contributions” that
the sons of Israel brought to God at his
place of worship. So the priests could
trust Jehovah to take care of their needs.
5 Some believe that the Israelites gave
a second tithe. Israelite families used it
for food, drink, and enjoyment during
the holy conventions each year. (Deu-
1 To learn more about how Jehovah took care
of the needs of the priests, see Insight on the
Scriptures, Volume 2, page 684.

How was
Jehovah the
share of the
priests and
Levites?
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
teronomy 14:22-27) But there was anoth-
er use for this tithe. The Israelites cele-
brated a Sabbath year every seven years.
At the end of every third and sixth year
of this period of seven years, the Isra-
elites used this tithe to help the poor
and also the Levites. Why were the Le-
vites included in this law? Because they
had “no share or inheritance” in Israel.
—Deuteronomy 14:28, 29.
6 If the Levites had no share of the
land, where did they live? God took care
of them. He gave the Levites 48 cities
along with the fields around these cit-
ies. These cities included the six cities
of refuge. (Numbers 35:6-8) So the Le-
vites had a place to live when they were
not serving at the sanctuary of God. Je-
hovah took very good care of the needs
Jehovah
cared for the
needs of the Levites
of those who gave themselves to his ser-
vice. So how could the Levites show that
Jehovah was their share? By trusting
that Jehovah had the power to give them
what they needed and that he wanted
to take care of them.
7 There was no punishment in the
Law for an Israelite who did not give
the tithe. But when the people did not
obey Jehovah’s law about the tithe, the
priests and Levites suffered. That hap-
6. Even though the tribe of Levi did not have a
share of the land, where did they live?
7. What did the Levites need to have for Jeho-
vah to be their share?
5
pened in the time of Nehemiah. As a
result, the Levites had to work in the
fields and could not do their work as
ministers. (Read Nehemiah 13:10.) The
Levites could have what they needed
to sustain them only when the nation
obeyed Jehovah’s Law. And the priests
and Levites needed faith in Jehovah and
in the ways that Jehovah used to take
care of their needs.
INDIVIDUAL LEVITES WHO
HAD JEHOVAH AS THEIR SHARE
8 The Levites as a tribe had Jehovah
as their share. But some individual Le-
vites also used the words “Jehovah is
my share” when they spoke about their
own friendship with God and their trust
in him. (Lamentations 3:24) For exam-
ple, the Bible talks about a Levite sing-
er and composer who spoke of Jehovah
as his share. We will call him Asaph,
though he could have been a member
of the family of Asaph, the main singer
from the Levites in the time of King Da-
vid. (1 Chronicles 6:31-43) We read in
Psalm 73 that this Asaph became jeal-
ous of the wicked and could not under-
stand why they seemed to have a good
life. He even said: “Surely it is in vain
that I have cleansed my heart and that
I wash my hands in innocence itself.” It
seems that Asaph forgot for a while that
the work Jehovah had given him to do
was very special. He forgot that Jehovah
was his share. He was troubled until he
“proceeded to come into the grand sanc-
tuary of God.”—Psalm 73:2, 3, 12, 13, 17.
9 At the sanctuary, Asaph began to
change his way of thinking. Maybe
8. What troubled the Levite Asaph?
9, 10. Why could Asaph say that God was his
“share to time indefinite”?
6 THE WATCHTOWER
something like that has happened to
you. Maybe you too forgot for a while
how special your service to Jehovah is
and began to think about the materi-
al things you could have. But by study-
ing the Bible and by going to Christian
meetings, you again started to think the
way Jehovah thinks. Asaph understood
what would finally happen to the wick-
ed. He thought about the good things
that he had as one of God’s servants. He
said that Jehovah would hold his right
hand and lead him. And he could say
to Jehovah: “Besides you I do have no
other delight on the earth.” (Psalm 73:
23, 25) Then he said that Jehovah was
What helped
Asaph to
continue to
have Jehovah
as his share?
˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
his share. (Read Psalm 73:26.) Asaph
wrote: “My organism and my heart have
failed.” But he continued, saying that
God was his “share to time indefinite.”
He knew that Jehovah would remember
him as a friend forever and would not
forget his faithful service. (Ecclesiastes
7:1) This must have been very comfort-
ing to Asaph. He sang: “As for me, the
drawing near to God is good for me.
In the Sovereign Lord Jehovah I have
placed my refuge.”—Psalm 73:28.
10 So when Asaph said that God was
his share, he was not talking about
just the material things he received as
a Levite. He was mainly talking about
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
his service to Jehovah and the friend-
ship that he had with the Most High.
(James 2:21-23) To continue to be Jeho-
vah’s friend, Asaph had to keep his faith
in Jehovah and trust in him. He had to
be sure that Jehovah would reward him
with a happy future if he obeyed Jeho-
vah. You can be sure that Jehovah will
do the same for you.
11 Another Levite who said that Jeho-
vah was his share was the prophet Jer-
emiah. Let us talk about what he meant
when he said that. He lived in Ana-
thoth, a Levite city near Jerusalem. (Jer-
emiah 1:1) There was a time when Jere-
miah too asked Jehovah why the wicked
had a good life but those who did
what was right suffered. (Jeremiah 12:1)
When he saw what was happening in
Jerusalem and Judah, he made a com-
plaint to Jehovah. Jeremiah knew that
Jehovah is righteous. Jehovah answered
Jeremiah’s question by telling him to
preach a message of destruction, and
then Jehovah made this prophecy come
true. Those who obeyed Jehovah sur-
vived, but the wicked did not pay atten-
tion to the warning and died.—Jeremi-
ah 21:9.
12 Later, when Jeremiah looked at his
homeland and saw how empty and ru-
ined it was, he felt as if he were walk-
ing in darkness. It was as if Jehovah
had made him “sit like men dead for a
long time.” (Lamentations 1:1, 16; 3:6)
Jeremiah had told the Israelites to return
11. What question did Jeremiah ask Jehovah?
How did Jehovah answer his question?
12, 13. (a) What made Jeremiah say: “Jeho-
vah is my share”? What attitude did he show?
(b) Why did all the tribes of Israel need to have
the same “waiting attitude” as Jeremiah?
7
to their heavenly Father, but they had
become so bad that Jehovah had to de-
stroy Jerusalem and Judah. That made
Jeremiah feel hurt, even though he had
done what was right. Even in that time
Asaph and Jeremiah
trusted that Jehovah
would act
of sadness, Jeremiah said: “We have not
come to our finish.” He said about Je-
hovah’s mercies: “They are new each
morning.” It was then that Jeremiah said
the words: “Jehovah is my share.” He
still had something very special. It was
his work as Jehovah’s prophet.—Read
Lamentations 3:22-24.
13 For 70 years, the homeland of the
Israelites would be empty and ruined.
(Jeremiah 25:11) But Jeremiah’s words
“Jehovah is my share” showed that he
trusted in Jehovah. And his trust in God
gave him reason to show “a waiting at-
titude,” that is, to wait patiently for Je-
hovah to act. All the tribes of Israel had
lost their inheritance, so they needed
to show the same attitude as Jeremiah.
Jehovah was their only hope. After 70
years, they returned to their homeland
and had the opportunity of serving Je-
hovah there.—2 Chronicles 36:20-23.
OTHERS COULD HAVE
JEHOVAH AS THEIR SHARE
14 Both Asaph and Jeremiah were of
the tribe of Levi, but it was not only the
14, 15. Other than the Levites, who else had
Jehovah as his share? Why?
8 THE WATCHTOWER
WHAT IS Levites who could be
YOUR ANSWER? privileged to serve Jeho-
vah. Young David, the fu-
ˇ In what way was ture king of Israel, called
Jehovah the share God his “share in the land
of the Levites? of the living ones.” (Read
ˇ What did Asaph, Psalm 142:1, 5.) When
Jeremiah, and David David wrote this psalm,
do that shows that he was not in a palace or
Jehovah was their even in a house. He was
share? hiding from his enemies
ˇ What quality do you in a cave. At least two
need to have God as times, David had to hide
your share? in caves. One time it was
near Adullam and the
other time it was in the
wilderness of En-gedi. It
is possible that he wrote Psalm 142 in
one of those caves.
15 If David wrote this psalm in a
cave, it is because he was hiding from
King Saul. Saul wanted to kill David, so
David escaped to a cave that was hard
to get to. (1 Samuel 22:1, 4) In that iso-
lated place, David probably felt that he
had no friend to protect him. (Psalm
142:4) That was when David asked God
for help.
16 Before David wrote Psalm 142, he
might have heard about what had hap-
pened to High Priest Ahimelech. With-
out knowing that David was escaping
from Saul, Ahimelech had helped Da-
vid. Jealous King Saul ordered the death
of Ahimelech and his family. (1 Sam-
uel 22:11, 18, 19) David felt responsi-
ble for their deaths. It was as if he
had killed the priest who had helped
him. If you had been in David’s situa-
16, 17. (a) Why could David have felt that he
had no one to help him? (b) Whom could Da-
vid ask for help?
˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
tion, would you have felt responsible?
To make things even more difficult, Da-
vid had no rest because Saul continued
to chase him.
17 Soon after what happened to Ahim-
elech, the prophet Samuel died. He was
the one who had anointed David to be
the future king. (1 Samuel 25:1) That
could have made David feel alone, as if
he had no one to help him. But he knew
David trusted
in God
that Jehovah would help him. He did
not have the same special work that the
Levites had, but he had been anointed
to do another kind of special service. He
was going to become the king of God’s
people. (1 Samuel 16:1, 13) So David
talked to Jehovah about all his thoughts
and feelings and continued to trust in Je-
hovah. You too can have Jehovah as your
share. You can trust in him while you
continue to do your best in his service.
18 For the servants of Jehovah whom
we have talked about in this article,
what did it mean to have Jehovah as
their share? It meant that they all re-
ceived an assignment of work in his
service. They also trusted that Jehovah
would take care of them. The Levites
and those of other tribes, such as Da-
vid, could have God as their share. How
can we be like them and have Jehovah
as our share? We will talk about that in
our next article.
18. How did the ones we talked about in this
article show that they had Jehovah as their
share?

Are You Letting
Jehovah Be Your Share?
W HEN you read the name Israel
in the Bible, what do you think
of? Do you think of Isaac’s son Jacob,
who was later named Israel? Or do you
think of his descendants, the ancient
nation of Israel? The Bible also talks
about spiritual Israel, or “the Israel of
God.” They are the 144,000, who are
anointed with holy spirit to become
kings and priests in heaven. (Galatians
6:16; Revelation 7:4; 21:12) But there is
another special use of the name Isra-
el. We read about it at Matthew 19:28.
2 Jesus said: “In the re-creation,
when the Son of man sits down upon
his glorious throne, you who have fol-
lowed me will also yourselves sit upon
twelve thrones, judging the twelve
tribes of Israel.” In this verse, “the
twelve tribes of Israel” are those who
will live forever in Paradise on earth.
The 144,000 will serve as judges and
priests for them.
3 Like the priests and Levites in the
past, the anointed today think of their
service to Jehovah as very precious.
(Numbers 18:20) The anointed do not
expect to get some territory or place
on earth. Instead, Revelation 4:10, 11
shows that they will continue their ser-
1, 2. (a) Who are “the Israel of God” whom
we read about at Galatians 6:16? (b) Who are
“the twelve tribes of Israel” whom we read
about at Matthew 19:28?
3, 4. What fine example have faithful anoint-
ed ones set?
9
vice to Jehovah in heav-
en, where they will be
kings and priests with
THEME
SCRIPTURE
Jesus Christ.—Ezekiel “If anyone wants to
44:28. come after me, let him
4 While on earth, the disown himself and pick
up his torture stake and
anointed live in a way
continually follow me.”
that shows that Jehovah
—MATTHEW 16:24.
is their share. Their ser-
vice to God is the most
important thing to them.
The apostle Peter said: “Do your ut-
most to make the calling and choosing
of you sure for yourselves.” (2 Peter 1:
10) Those anointed do this by putting
faith in Christ’s ransom sacrifice and
following him continually. They have
different abilities and different situa-
tions in life, but they do not use their
limitations as an excuse to do little in
God’s service. Just the opposite, they
put God’s service first in their lives
and do all they can. Clearly, they are
an example for those who hope to live
on earth.
5 Jesus said that every Christian,
whether he hopes to live in heaven or
on earth, must “disown himself and
pick up his torture stake” and follow
him continually. (Matthew 16:24) Mil-
lions of people who hope to live in Par-
adise on earth are worshipping God
and following Christ in that way. They
5. How can all Christians have Jehovah as
their share? Why may that be difficult?
10
SOME WORDS are not content to do just
EXPLAINED a little in God’s service
if they know that they
ˇ Secular work:
can do more. Many have
A job or employment
made their life simpler
ˇ Literal: and have become regular
Something that you pioneers. Others make
can see and touch the effort to pioneer
is literal
some months each year.
Still others, not able to
pioneer, work hard in
the ministry. They are like Mary, who
poured perfumed oil on Jesus. Jesus
said: “She did a fine deed toward me.
. . . She did what she could.” (Mark 14:
6-8) We live in a world controlled by
Satan, so it may be difficult to do all
we can. We need to work hard and put
our trust in Jehovah. We will now look
at four ways in which we can do that.
SEEK FIRST
GOD’S KINGDOM
6 Jesus taught his followers to seek
first the Kingdom and God’s righ-
teousness. People in the world usually
seek what is best for themselves. The
Bible speaks of them as “men of this
system of things, whose share is in this
life.” (Read Psalm 17:1, 13-15.) These
people do not care about Jehovah.
Many care only about having a com-
fortable life, raising a family, and leav-
ing an inheritance for their children.
Their share is in this life only. David
was different. He wanted to have “a
good name” with Jehovah. His son Sol-
omon later said that we should all do
6. (a) How do people in the world show that
their share is in this life only? (b) Why is it bet-
ter to imitate David?
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
the same. (Ecclesiastes 7:1, footnote.)
Just like Asaph, David knew that be-
ing a friend of Jehovah was the most
important thing in life. It made David
happy. In our time, many Christians
have shown that their service to Jeho-
vah is more important to them than
their secular work. They show that Je-
hovah is their share.
7 Jean-Claude, in the Central Afri-
can Republic, is a married elder with
three children. It is hard to find a job
in that land, and most people will do
almost anything to keep their job. One
day, the production manager told Jean-
Claude to begin working nights. Work
would start at 6:30 in the evening, sev-
en days a week. Jean-Claude told him
that he not only had to care for the ma-
terial needs of his family but also had
to help them have a good relationship
with God. He also said that he had
Jehovah becomes
our share when
we put his service
first in our life
to help the congregation. The man-
ager told him: “If you are fortunate
enough to have a job, you must forget
all other things, including your wife,
your children, and your problems. You
must devote your life to nothing but
your work. Make your choice: your re-
ligion or your work.” What would you
7. What blessing did one brother receive for
putting the Kingdom first?
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
have done? Jean-Claude knew that if
he lost his job, God would take care of
him. He would still have a lot to do in
God’s service, and Jehovah would care
for the material needs of his family.
So he went to the next meeting. After
that, he got ready to go to work even
though he did not know if he still had
a job. Just then, he got a phone call.
The manager had been dismissed from
his job, but our brother still had his.
8 Some of you may have been in a
similar situation. You may have wor-
ried about how you would take care of
your family if you lost your job. (1 Tim-
othy 5:8) But whether that happened
to you or not, you probably know from
your own experience that God never
disappoints those who have him as
their share and put his service first in
their lives. When Jesus told his disci-
ples to keep on “seeking first the king-
dom,” he promised them that God
would give them all other things, such
as what to eat, drink, or wear.—Mat-
thew 6:33.
9 Think of the Levites, who did not
receive a land inheritance. Because
their work was to lead the nation in
pure worship, they had to trust that Je-
hovah was their share and would take
care of their material needs. (Numbers
18:20) Even though we are not serving
at a literal temple as the priests and Le-
vites were, we can have the same trust
in Jehovah. As we get closer to the end,
it becomes more and more important
that we trust in God to take care of us.
—Revelation 13:17.
8, 9. In what way can we be like the priests
and Levites and have Jehovah as our share?
11
SEEK FIRST
GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS
10Jesus also told his disciples to
seek first God’s righteousness. (Mat-
thew 6:33) This means that we fol-
low what Jehovah thinks is right and
what is wrong and not what humans
think. (Read Isaiah 55:8, 9.) Some
people grew tobacco or sold tobac-
co products, trained others in war, or
Our service
to God is more
important than
our secular
work
made and sold weapons of war be-
fore they became Christians. But af-
ter they learned the truth, most chose
to change their work and qualify for
baptism.—Isaiah 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:1;
Galatians 5:14.
11 Andrew is an example of someone
who did that. When he and his wife
learned about Jehovah, they decided
to serve him. Andrew liked his job
very much but left it. Why? Because
the organization he worked for was in-
volved in war, and he wanted to do
what Jehovah says is right. When An-
drew left his job, he had two chil-
dren and enough money to last just
a few months. It seemed that, like
the Levites, he had no inheritance. He
10, 11. How have some shown that they trust
in God when they choose work? Give an ex-
ample.
12
trusted in God and looked for a job.
Now when they think about that time,
Andrew and his family can say that
these words are true: “The hand of Je-
hovah has not become too short.” (Isa-
iah 59:1) Because they kept their life
simple, Andrew and his wife have
Do you trust in
Jehovah when there
is a change in the
way we understand
a Bible truth?
even been able to pioneer. He says that
at times they have been anxious about
money, a place to live, their health,
and just the fact that they are getting
older. But Jehovah has always helped
them. They can say without any doubt
that serving Jehovah is rewarding and
that it is the greatest honor a hu-
man can have.1 (See footnote.)—Eccle-
siastes 12:13.
12 Jesus told his disciples: “If you
have faith the size of a mustard grain,
you will say to this mountain, ‘Transfer
from here to there,’ and it will trans-
fer, and nothing will be impossible for
you.” (Matthew 17:20) Would you still
seek first God’s righteousness if that
would cause you difficulties? If you are
not sure whether you could do that,
1 See Awake! November 2009, pages 12-14.
12. What quality do we need to seek first
God’s righteousness? Give examples from the
area where you live.
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
speak with others in the congregation.
Their experiences about how Jehovah
helped them will certainly make your
faith stronger.
BE THANKFUL FOR
JEHOVAH’S PROVISIONS
13 If you treasure serving Jehovah,
you can be sure that he will give you
everything you need, just as he did for
the Levites. Think about David. Even
though he was hiding in a cave, he
was sure that God would help him.
We too can trust in Jehovah even when
it seems that no one can help us. Re-
member that when Asaph came “into
the grand sanctuary of God,” he was
better able to understand what trou-
bled him. (Psalm 73:17) In the same
way, we must trust in Jehovah to give
us what we need to keep our friend-
ship with him. This will show that we
value our service to Jehovah no matter
what our situation may be. We will let
Jehovah be our share.
14 Do you trust in Jehovah when
he helps us to understand “the deep
things of God” that are in the Bi-
ble? (1 Corinthians 2:10-13) The apos-
tle Peter was an excellent example of
someone who did that. Jesus told the
Jews: “Unless you eat the flesh of
the Son of man and drink his blood,
you have no life in yourselves.” Many
disciples thought that Jesus was talk-
ing about literal flesh and blood. They
said: “This speech is shocking; who
13. When we work hard in serving Jehovah,
what trust must we have?
14, 15. What should we do when there is
a change in the way we understand certain
scriptures? Why?
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
can listen to it?” They “went off to the
things behind.” But Peter said: “Lord,
whom shall we go away to? You have
sayings of everlasting life.”—John 6:53,
60, 66, 68.
15 Peter did not completely under-
stand Jesus’ words. But he trusted that
Jehovah was using Jesus to help peo-
ple understand the truth. When there
is a change in the way we understand
13
Jeremiah’s
example
encourages
God’s people
a Bible truth today, do you try to un-
derstand the reasons for the change?
(Proverbs 4:18) The Beroeans in the
first century “received the word with
the greatest eagerness of mind, care-
fully examining the Scriptures daily.”
(Acts 17:11) If you follow their exam-
ple, you will value your service to God
even more. You will be truly grateful to
have Jehovah as your share.
14 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

WHAT IS YOUR MARRY ONLY that her daughter had a good job, was
ANSWER? IN THE LORD taking care of herself, and was happy,
16Another way in she stopped talking so much about it.
ˇ How can you show This sister feels lonely sometimes. She
which Christians keep
that you trust in says: “I try to make Jehovah my con-
God’s purposes in mind
Jehovah by seeking
is by obeying the Bible’s fidence. He never forsakes me.” What
first God’s Kingdom
command to marry “only has helped her to trust in Jehovah? She
and his righteousness?
in the Lord.” (1 Corinthi- answers: “Prayer helps me sense that
ˇ How can you show ans 7:39) Many decide to God is real and that I am never alone.
that you are grateful stay single rather than to The Most High of the universe is lis-
for what Jehovah disobey this command. tening, so how could I not feel digni-
gives you? God takes good care of fied and joyful?” She trusts what the
ˇ How can you prove those who do that. What Bible says: “There is more happiness
that you trust did David do when he
in God by obeying felt lonely and as if he
his command
We obey the
had no one to help him?
to marry “only He asked Jehovah for Bible’s command
in the Lord”? help. David said: “Before to marry “only
him I kept pouring out
my concern; before him in the Lord”
I continued to tell about my own dis-
tress, when my spirit fainted away
within me.” (Psalm 142:1-3) Jeremiah in giving than there is in receiving.” So
served God faithfully for many years as she tries to help others without expect-
a single person. He too may have felt ing anything in return. She continues:
lonely. You can study his example in “When I am thinking, ‘What can I do
chapter 8 of the book God’s Word for to help this person?’ I have joy.” (Acts
Us Through Jeremiah. 20:35) She has Jehovah as her share,
17 A sister in the United States said
and she is happy in his service.
that she has never made the decision 18 No matter what your situation is,
to stay single. She wants to get mar- you can let God be your share. If you
ried when she meets the right person. do, you can be among his happy peo-
Her mother, who is not a Witness, did ple. (2 Corinthians 6:16, 17) You can
not care whom her daughter married. then become Jehovah’s share, as oth-
She just really wanted her to get mar- er servants of God did in the past.
ried. The sister asked her mother if (Read Deuteronomy 32:9, 10.) Just as
she wanted to be responsible for a bad Israel became God’s share among the
marriage. But when the mother saw nations, he can choose you to be his
16. How can single Christians let God be their share and lovingly care for you.—Psalm
share, according to 1 Corinthians 7:39? 17:8.
17. What does one single sister do when she
feels lonely? 18. How can you become Jehovah’s share?

Run the Race With Endurance
E ACH year many people around
the world run in marathon races.
Some who run in these races are very
good runners, and they want to win.
But most of the other runners know
that they cannot win the race. The
most important thing to them is just to
finish the race.
2 The Bible also talks about a race.
It explains that the life of true Chris-
tians is like a race that has a prize.
Those who make the effort to live like
Christians and to remain loyal to Jeho-
vah are like runners who want to finish
the race. The apostle Paul wrote about
this type of race in his first letter to
the Christians in ancient Corinth. He
Christians who
remain loyal
to Jehovah are
like runners who
finish a race
wrote: “Do you not know that the run-
ners in a race all run, but only one re-
ceives the prize? Run in such a way
that you may attain it.”—1 Corinthians
9:24.
1, 2. What does the Bible say is similar to the
life of true Christians?
15
So when Paul said
3 THEME
that only one receives SCRIPTURE
the prize, did he mean
that only one Christian “Let us run with endurance
would receive the prize the race that is set before
of life? No. He was talk- us.”—HEBREWS 12:1.
ing about the reason why
the runners in races ran.
The Christians in Corinth knew that
all the runners in a race were deter-
mined to win, even though only one
runner received the prize. That is why
all runners trained very well and ran in
the best way they could. They all made
great efforts to win. Paul wanted his
brothers to make every effort to remain
loyal to Jehovah and finish the race.
All Christians who do this can win the
prize of everlasting life.
4 Those words are encouraging to us,
but they also make us think serious-
ly about how we are living. If we live
in a way that pleases Jehovah, we have
a wonderful hope of living forever ei-
ther in heaven or in Paradise on earth.
But life as a Christian is like running
a very long race on a road with many
dangers. There are many things that
could slow us down in Jehovah’s ser-
vice or even stop us from serving Je-
hovah. (Matthew 7:13, 14) This has
already happened to some servants
3. What did Paul mean when he said that only
one receives the prize?
4. What do we need to know about the race
that Christians run?
16 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

SOME WORDS of Jehovah. What traps cost of the year 33. These leaders at-
EXPLAINED and dangers are there in tacked the Christians many times to
the race for life? How can try to stop them from preaching. So
ˇ Cloud of witnesses: you avoid them? What life was very difficult for faithful Chris-
The many servants can you do to finish and tians.—Acts 4:1-3; 5:17, 18; 6:8-12; 7:59;
of God in the past
win the race? 8:1, 3.
who showed faith.
7 Another reason why those Chris-
Paul said that they TO WIN
were a large “cloud.” WE MUST ENDURE tians lived in a very difficult time was
There were so many that the destruction of Jerusalem was
When Paul wrote to
5
that they could not near. Jesus had warned them that Je-
the Hebrew Christians
be counted rusalem was going to be destroyed. He
in Jerusalem and Ju-
told them what would happen just be-
ˇ Endurance: dea, he again talked
When someone has about runners in a race. fore this destruction, and he also told
endurance, he re- (Read Hebrews 12:1.) them exactly what they should do to
mains loyal to God He explained why Chris- stay alive. (Read Luke 21:20-22.) Jesus
even in difficult tians should continue to warned them: “Pay attention to your-
situations run their race and also selves that your hearts never become
what they must do to fin- weighed down with overeating and
ish the race. First we will heavy drinking and anxieties of life,
talk about why Paul wrote this letter and suddenly that day be instantly
to the Hebrews and what he wanted upon you.”—Luke 21:34.
8 Paul wrote to the Hebrew Chris-
them to do. Then we will talk about
what we can learn from what he wrote tians nearly 30 years after Jesus said
to them. those words. What happened to these
6 The Christians in the first centu- Christians during those 30 years? Be-
ry lived during a very difficult time. cause of problems or because they be-
This was especially true of the Hebrew came worried about their daily needs,
Christians in Jerusalem and Judea be- some did not continue to learn about
cause the Jewish religious leaders tried Jehovah and keep their friendship with
to force people to obey them. Earli- him strong. (Hebrews 5:11-14) Some
er, they had even made people believe Christians probably thought that it
that Jesus Christ was against the gov- would be easier to live like the Jews
ernment and was a criminal who de- around them. They might have thought
served to die. These religious leaders that this was not wrong because the
had killed Jesus Christ, and now they Jews still believed in God and obeyed
wanted to stop those who were preach- most of the Law of Moses. Also, there
ing about him. In the book of Acts, we were some people in the congregations
can read what happened after Pente-
7. What made the time that those Christians
5. What did Paul explain at Hebrews 12:1? lived in very difficult?
6. What did the religious leaders try to do to 8. What might have caused some Christians
Christians? to slow down in serving Jehovah or even stop?
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
who were trying to force others to obey
the Law of Moses and Jewish tradi-
tions. Some Christians believed them,
and others listened to them because
they were afraid. What did Paul say
to encourage his Christian brothers to
continue living like Christians and to
remain loyal to Jehovah?
9 Jehovah inspired Paul to write this
letter of encouragement to the Hebrew
Christians. In chapter 10, he first ex-
plained to them that the Law of Moses
was “a shadow of the good things to
come” and that only through the sacri-
fice of Jesus could their sins be forgiv-
en. At the end of chapter 10, Paul told
them that to benefit from this sacrifice,
they needed endurance. He said: “You
have need of endurance, in order that,
after you have done the will of God,
you may receive the fulfillment of the
promise. For yet ‘a very little while,’
and ‘he who is coming will arrive and
will not delay.’ ”—Hebrews 10:1, 36, 37.
10 In Hebrews chapter 11, Paul ex-
plained what true faith in God is. He
did so by writing about the things that
people with true faith did. In chap-
ter 12, he again encouraged Christians
to endure and told them to “run with
endurance the race” that was before
them. Why did he talk about faith be-
fore he again talked about endurance?
Because he wanted those Christians to
know that to show true faith in Jeho-
vah, they needed endurance and cour-
9, 10. (a) At the end of Hebrews chapter 10,
what did Paul say the Hebrew Christians
needed to do? (b) Why did Paul write about
the acts of faith of servants of Jehovah in the
past?
17
age. He mentioned many men and
women who in the past had remained
loyal to Jehovah even in very dif-
ficult situations. Their example would
help the Hebrew Christians to endure
in difficult situations. After mention-
ing the acts of faith of all these ser-
vants of Jehovah, Paul told the Hebrew
Christians: “Because we have so great a
cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let
us also put off every weight and the sin
that easily entangles us, and let us run
with endurance the race that is set be-
fore us.”—Hebrews 12:1.
“A CLOUD OF WITNESSES”
11 Paul said that the servants of Je-
hovah who lived before the Christian
time were a great “cloud of witnesses
surrounding us.” They had remained
loyal to Jehovah to the end of their
lives, and their example shows that it
Noah had faith
in what Jehovah
promised to do and
endured in the work
that he had to do
is possible for Christians to remain loy-
al to Jehovah even in very difficult sit-
uations. The “cloud of witnesses” were
like experienced runners who had fin-
ished their race. Their example would
encourage others to continue to run
11. When we think of the example of the
great “cloud of witnesses,” what should we re-
member?
18
the race. If we were in a race and knew
that very good runners were watch-
ing us and encouraging us to continue
running, then we would do our best to
finish the race. So the Hebrew Chris-
tians needed to think about the exam-
ple of those servants of Jehovah in the
past. Their example could give them
courage and remind them that it was
possible for them to “run with endur-
ance” and finish their race. And it is
possible for us too.
12 We can learn from the faith of the
people that Paul talked about because
many of them were in situations like
ours. For example, Noah lived just be-
fore Jehovah destroyed the world of
that time in a flood. And we are liv-
ing just before Jehovah destroys Sa-
tan’s world. Jehovah asked Abraham
and Sarah to leave their home. He
promised to make from them a nation
to serve him, and they waited for him
to fulfill that promise. Jehovah asks us
to stop living for ourselves and to live
for him. He promises us that if we do
that, he will be our friend and will
reward us. Moses walked a long way
through a dangerous land to go to the
Promised Land. We live in a wicked
world and wait for the new world that
Jehovah has promised us. It is impor-
tant for us to think about the life of
these faithful people. We can imitate
the things they did to please Jehovah
and learn from the things that did not
please him.—Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthi-
ans 10:11.
12. What can we learn from the faith of the
people Paul talked about?
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
WHAT HELPED THEM TO
FINISH THE RACE?
13 What helped these servants of Je-
hovah to endure in the race and finish
it? Note what Paul wrote about Noah.
(Read Hebrews 11:7.) Noah had nev-
er seen a flood that destroyed all peo-
ple and animals. (Genesis 6:17) A flood
had never happened before. But Noah
did not think that a flood was impos-
sible. Why? Because he had faith that
Abraham and Sarah
had strong faith
in God and obeyed
him even in difficult
situations
Jehovah always does what he says. So
Noah did not think that it was too dif-
ficult to obey Jehovah. He did exact-
ly what Jehovah commanded him. The
Bible says: “He did just so.” (Gene-
sis 6:22) Noah had many things to do.
He needed to build the ark, gather the
animals, store food for his family and
for the animals, warn the people about
the Flood, and help his family to have
strong faith in Jehovah. It was not al-
ways easy for Noah to do everything
that Jehovah commanded him. But he
had faith in Jehovah, so he endured in
the work that he had to do. And Jeho-
vah saved him and his family and gave
them many blessings.
13. Why was Noah’s situation difficult? What
helped him to do everything that Jehovah told
him to do?
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
14Paul mentioned Abraham and Sa-
rah as part of the “cloud of witness-
es surrounding us.” Their life changed
when God told them to leave their
home in Ur. They did not know what
would happen to them. But they had
strong faith in Jehovah and obeyed
him even in difficult situations. The
Bible calls Abraham “the father of all
those having faith” because he made
14. In what situations did Abraham and Sarah
show faith in God? What can we learn from
their example?
19
Abraham and
Sarah were
willing to leave
behind the
comforts of Ur
many sacrifices for Jehovah. (Romans
4:11) The Hebrew Christians already
knew about the life of Abraham and
his family, so Paul mentioned only
some of their acts of faith. But these
were enough to show how strong their
faith was. Paul said about them: “In
faith all these died, although they did
not get the fulfillment of the promis-
es, but they saw them afar off and
welcomed them and publicly declared
that they were strangers and tempo-
rary residents in the land.” (Hebrews
20
CAN YOU 11:13) Their faith in God
EXPLAIN? and their friendship with
him helped them to en-
ˇ Why did Paul write dure in the race.
about the acts of faith 15 Moses is another
of witnesses in the
servant of Jehovah who
past?
is part of the “cloud of
ˇ How does the ex- witnesses.” Moses left
ample of the great his home just as Abra-
“cloud of witnesses ham did. Moses left the
surrounding us” help glory and the riches of
us to endure in the
the king’s palace. He
race?
chose “to be ill-treated
ˇ What have you with the people of God.”
learned from the Why did he choose to
examples of Noah, do this? Paul answered:
Abraham, Sarah,
“He looked intently to-
and Moses? ward the payment of the
reward.” Paul also said
about Moses: “He con-
tinued steadfast as seeing the One who
is invisible.” (Read Hebrews 11:24-27.)
Moses knew that there was some-
thing more important than “the tempo-
rary enjoyment of sin.” God was real
to him, and he knew that all of God’s
promises would come true. That is
what helped him to act with great
courage and to endure in difficult situ-
ations. And it helped him to work hard
to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to the
Promised Land.
16 Abraham and Moses died before
God’s promises to them came true.
Just before the Israelites entered
the Promised Land, God told Moses:
“From a distance you will see the land,
15. Why did Moses choose to live the way he
did?
16. How do we know that Moses did not give
up because he could not enter the Promised
Land?
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
but you will not go there into the land
that I am giving to the sons of Israel.”
Because they acted improperly at the
waters of Meribah, Moses and Aaron
did not enter the Promised Land. They
allowed the rebellious people to make
them very angry, so they acted in a way
that did not honor God. (Deuterono-
my 32:51, 52) Moses did not give up
because he could not enter the Prom-
ised Land. He did not think that what
God decided was unjust. We know this
because he asked Jehovah to bless the
people of Israel. His last words to them
were: “Happy you are, O Israel! Who
is there like you, a people enjoying sal-
vation in Jehovah, the shield of your
help, and the One who is your eminent
sword?”—Deuteronomy 33:29.
SOME LESSONS FOR US
17 We learned from the life of some
of those who are part of the “cloud of
witnesses surrounding us” that to fin-
ish the race, we must have strong faith
in God and in his promises. (Hebrews
11:6) This faith must affect the way we
live our life now. We know that there is
a better future that God has promised
us. We are able to see “the One who is
invisible.” God is real to us, so we run
the race with endurance.—2 Corinthi-
ans 5:7.
18 The race that Christians run is not
easy. But we can finish the race. In the
next article, we will talk about some
other things that can help us to finish
the race.
17, 18. (a) What can we learn from the “cloud
of witnesses”? (b) What will we talk about in
the next article?

Run That You
May Attain the Prize
T HE apostle Paul used an illustra-
tion of a race to encourage the He-
brew Christians. In the letter he wrote
to them, he said that they were like run-
ners in a race. But he reminded them
that they were not alone in that race.
There were many loyal servants of Je-
hovah in the past who had already fin-
ished the race. Paul said that these ones
were like a great “cloud of witnesses”
surrounding them. If the Hebrew Chris-
tians always remembered the acts of
faith and the efforts of those loyal ones,
1, 2. (a) What did Paul use to encourage the
Hebrew Christians? (b) What did Paul say that
we must do?
21
they would be deter-
mined to finish the race.
2 In the previous arti-
THEME
SCRIPTURE
cle, we talked about the “Run in such a way
example of some of those that you may attain it.”
loyal servants of Jehovah. —1 CORINTHIANS 9:24.
Their strong faith in God
helped them to remain
loyal to him to the end of their life. They
continued running the race to the end.
How can we too finish the race, just as
they did? Paul said: “Let us also put off
every weight and the sin that easily en-
tangles us, and let us run with endur-
ance the race that is set before us.”—He-
brews 12:1.
22 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

SOME WORDS 3 Why did Paul say to tion to the race and from doing every-
EXPLAINED “put off every weight”? thing we can to finish it. What are
A book that talks about some of those things that could be like
ˇ Attain: Christians in the time a weight? Jesus helps us to understand
To work hard to get of Paul explains the way this. He spoke about the time of Noah.
something. To attain the runners of his time
the prize means to ran. (Backgrounds of Early
win the prize
Christianity) It says: “The
We should remove
ˇ Entangle: Greeks exercised and anything from our life
Clothing that entan- competed in the nude.”1
gles a runner wraps
that could stop us from
(See footnote.) To run in
around his legs and this way may not seem finishing the race
makes him fall. If we right today. But the run-
allow the thinking of ners ran without clothes
the world to make us because they did not
lose faith, we will fall Jesus explained: “Just as it occurred in
want anything to stop the days of Noah, so it will be also in
and we will not be them from winning the
able to finish our race the days of the Son of man.” (Luke 17:
prize. So when Paul told
26) It is true that the world of our time
the Hebrew Christians to
will end just as the world of Noah’s time
“put off every weight,” he
ended. But Jesus was explaining that
meant that they should try to remove
the way people live now would be sim-
anything from their lives that could stop
ilar to the way people lived before the
them from winning the prize of everlast-
Flood of Noah’s time. (Read Matthew
ing life. This was good advice for the He-
brew Christians, and it is good advice 24:37-39.) Most people in Noah’s time
for us too. What things in our lives could did not want to learn about God, and
be like a weight and make it difficult for they did not want to live in a way that
us to finish the race? pleased him. What were they doing?
Eating, drinking, and marrying. These
“PUT OFF EVERY WEIGHT” were just the normal things of life. But
Paul said to “put off every weight.”
4 doing these things was more important
This weight includes anything that to the people than listening to God’s
could stop us from giving our full atten- message. Jesus said that they “took no
note.”
1 The ancient Jews thought that this was very 5 Like Noah and his family, we have
shocking. The apocryphal book of 2 Macca-
bees says that many Jews were angry when much to do every day. We need to
apostate High Priest Jason wanted to have a work to earn money, and we need to
gymnasium in Jerusalem just as the Greeks
had.—2 Maccabees 4:7-17.
take care of ourselves and our family.
This can use a lot of our time and ener-
3. What can Christians learn from what Paul gy. And if we have money problems, we
said about running in the Greek games?
4. What were the people in Noah’s time do- 5. What can help us to run the race to the
ing? end?
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
could become anxious about how to get
the things we need every day. Also, be-
cause we have dedicated our lives to Je-
hovah, we have other important respon-
sibilities. We preach, we prepare for
our meetings and attend them, and we
study the Bible with our family and do
our personal study. Noah also had much
to do to serve God, but “he did just so.”
He did everything Jehovah asked him
to do. (Genesis 6:22) It is very impor-
tant that we do not carry any weight that
would make it difficult for us to run the
race to the end.
6 What did Paul mean when he said to
“put off every weight”? He did not mean
to remove every responsibility from our
lives. Some responsibilities are neces-
sary. But remember what Jesus said
about the necessary things of life: “Nev-
er be anxious and say, ‘What are we
to eat?’ or, ‘What are we to drink?’ or,
‘What are we to put on?’ For all these are
the things the nations are eagerly pursu-
ing. For your heavenly Father knows you
need all these things.” (Matthew 6:31,
32) Jesus was helping us to understand
that even the necessary things of life,
like food and clothing, could become
like a weight if they are the most impor-
tant things in our lives. They could stop
us from running the race.
7 Do not forget that Jesus said: “Your
heavenly Father knows you need all
these things.” These words show us that
our Father, Jehovah, will take care of
our needs. Of course, to have “all these
things” does not mean that we have
everything that we would like to have.
6, 7. What words of Jesus should we always
remember?
23
So Jesus told us not to be anxious even
about the things we need. Otherwise,
we would be like the nations who are
“eagerly pursuing” these things. Why is
it dangerous to become anxious about
our needs? Jesus said: “Pay attention
to yourselves that your hearts never be-
come weighed down with overeating
and heavy drinking and anxieties of life,
and suddenly that day be instantly upon
you as a snare.”—Luke 21:34, 35.
8 It is as if we can see the finish line.
So we do not want to allow anything
to make it difficult for us to finish the
race. That is why we must “put off every
weight.” We must be content to have
the things we need. This was the advice
the apostle Paul gave when he told us
to have “godly devotion along with self-
sufficiency.” (1 Timothy 6:6) If we listen
to Paul’s advice, it will be easier to con-
tinue running and win the prize.
“THE SIN THAT EASILY
ENTANGLES US”
9 Paul mentioned something else that
we must put off. He said that we must
put off “the sin that easily entangles us.”
The Greek word that is translated “eas-
ily entangles” appears only once in the
Bible, in this verse. One Bible scholar
named Albert Barnes said that a run-
ner of that time was careful not to wear
clothing that could wrap around his legs
and make it difficult for him to run. And
he said that in the same way, a Christian
should not allow anything to make it dif-
ficult for him to run his race. A Christian
8. Why should we “put off every weight” now?
9, 10. (a) What is the sin that could easily en-
tangle us? (b) What can happen to the faith of
a Christian?
24
should not allow anything to entangle
him, that is, to weaken his faith or even
cause him to lose his faith. How does a
Christian lose his faith?
10 A Christian does not lose his faith
suddenly. This might happen gradual-
ly, and he may not even realize that his
faith is becoming weaker and weaker.
Earlier in his letter to the Hebrew Chris-
tians, Paul warned them about this dan-
ger. He said that they should be care-
ful never to “drift away” from the faith
and never to develop “a wicked heart
lacking faith.” (Hebrews 2:1; 3:12) If
the clothing of a runner wraps around
his legs, he usually falls. So a runner
must realize that if he chooses to run
in the wrong kind of clothing, he could
fall. What might cause a runner to ig-
nore this danger? Maybe he is careless,
that is, he does not pay attention when
someone warns him. Maybe he is over-
confident, that is, he thinks that he is
strong and could never fall. Or may-
be he is distracted, that is, he is busy
thinking about other things. What can
we learn from all of Paul’s advice?
11 We must remember that if a Chris-
tian loses his faith, it is because of
things he has chosen to do. Another
scholar talked about “the sin that easi-
ly entangles us.” He explained that the
circumstances we are in, the people we
associate with, and our wrong desires
can all have a very powerful effect on
us. These things could weaken our faith
or even cause us to lose our faith.—Mat-
thew 13:3-9.
12 The faithful and discreet slave has
11. What might cause us to lose our faith?
12. What warnings are important to obey if
we do not want to lose our faith?
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
often warned us to choose carefully
what we watch and what we listen to be-
cause these things affect how we think
and what we desire. The faithful and
discreet slave has also warned us about
the danger of always wanting more
money and more things. If we love
the entertainment of this world or want
to have every new gadget, we could be
so busy with these things that we do not
have time for more important things. It
could be dangerous to reject these warn-
ings because we think that they are too
strict. And we should not think that be-
cause we have strong faith, these warn-
ings are for others and not for us. Sa-
tan uses the thinking and desires of the
world to make us ignore the warnings.
He does not want us to finish the race.
Some have lost their faith because they
We have a choice.
We can decide if we will
allow the thinking of the
world to affect us
became careless, overconfident, or dis-
tracted by things in the world. If this
happens to us, we are in danger of los-
ing the prize of everlasting life.—1 John
2:15-17.
13 Every day, people in Satan’s world
try to make us think like them. They
want us to consider important the
things they consider important. And
they want us to want to do the same
13. What must we do to avoid thinking like
the people in the world?
things that they do. (Read Ephesians
2:1, 2.) But we have a choice. We can
decide if we will allow the thinking of
the world to affect us. Paul said that
the thinking of people in the world is
like the air that is all around us. But this
thinking is like poisonous air. So just as
we would not want to breathe poison-
ous air, we must never allow the way
people in the world think to affect the
way we think. What can help us to con-
tinue running in the race? The exam-
ple of Jesus. He is the best example of
someone who ran the race to the end,
and we can imitate him. (Hebrews 12:2)
And we also have the example of the
apostle Paul. He ran the race, and he en-
couraged his brothers to imitate his ex-
ample.—1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians
3:14.
HOW “YOU MAY
ATTAIN” THE PRIZE
14How important was it for Paul to
finish the race? When he spoke to the
14. How important was it for Paul to finish the
race?
elders from Ephesus for the last time, What is “the
he said: “I do not make my soul of any sin that easily
account as dear to me, if only I may fin- entangles us”?
ish my course and the ministry that I re- How might it
ceived of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:24) entangle us?
So Paul was willing to sacrifice every-
thing, even his life, to finish the race.
Paul had worked very hard to preach the
good news. But he said that all that ef-
fort would have been for nothing if he
did not finish the race. He knew that
he had to continue working hard to the
end. He did not think that he had al-
ready won the prize. (Read Philippians
3:12, 13.) However, not long before he
died, he was able to say: “I have fought
the fine fight, I have run the course to
the finish, I have observed the faith.”
—2 Timothy 4:7.
15 Paul wanted his brothers to finish
the race. He encouraged the Christians
in Philippi to work hard for their own
salvation. He reminded them to keep
“a tight grip on the word of life.” He
also told them why this was important
15. What did Paul encourage his brothers
to do?
26
DO YOU to him: “That I may have
REMEMBER? cause for exultation in
Christ’s day, that I did
ˇ How can we put off not run in vain or work
“every weight”?
hard in vain.” (Philippi-
ˇ What might cause a ans 2:16) He also encour-
Christian to lose his aged the Christians in
faith? Corinth to continue run-
ˇ Why must the prize ning to win the prize. He
be real to us? said: “Run in such a way
that you may attain it.”
—1 Corinthians 9:24.
16 A runner in a long
race does not see the finish line un-
til the end. But he is always thinking
about the finish line and knows that it
is getting closer. And when he knows
that the end of the race is near, he is
even more determined to finish. The
race that Christians run is similar. The
prize must be real to us. This will help
If we have strong faith,
the prize will be real
to us even in difficult
situations
us to be determined to finish the race
and win the prize.
17 Paul wrote: “Faith is the assured
expectation of things hoped for, the ev-
ident demonstration of realities though
not beheld.” (Hebrews 11:1) Abraham
and Sarah were willing to leave a com-
fortable home and live as “strangers
and temporary residents in the land.”
16. Why should the prize be real to us?
17. How does faith make the prize real to us?
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
How were they able to do this? The
things that God had promised were
real to them. “They saw them afar
off.” Moses rejected “the temporary en-
joyment of sin” and “the treasures of
Egypt.” How did he have the faith and
strength to do this? He “looked intent-
ly toward the payment of the reward.”
(Hebrews 11:8-13, 24-26) Paul said that
each of these people acted “by faith.”
They had strong faith, so the prize was
always real to them. They did not allow
any difficult situation to make them for-
get the prize. They knew that God was
helping them then, and they knew that
his promises for the future would come
true.
18 We can think deeply about the
faithful men and women of Hebrews
chapter 11, and we can imitate their
example. This can help us to build up
our faith and put off “the sin that eas-
ily entangles us.” (Hebrews 12:1) Also,
by meeting together with our brothers
who are trying to build up their own
faith, we can “consider one another
to incite to love and fine works.”—He-
brews 10:24.
19 We are near the end of our race,
and it is as if we can see the fin-
ish line. Because Jehovah will help us
and because we have strong faith in
him, it is possible for us to “put off
every weight and the sin that easily en-
tangles us.” We can continue running
and attain the prize that our Father, Je-
hovah, promises us.
18. What should we do to avoid not finishing
the race?
19. Why is it important to continue running
the race now?

Are You Known by Jehovah?
O NE day a Pharisee asked Jesus:
“Which is the greatest command-
ment in the Law?” Jesus answered: “You
must love Jehovah your God with your
whole heart and with your whole soul
and with your whole mind.” (Matthew
22:35-37) Jesus had great love for Jeho-
vah. The way he lived showed that he
really cared about what Jehovah thought
of him. That is why Jesus, just before he
died, could talk about his faithful obe-
dience to God, saying: “I have observed
the commandments of the Father and
remain in his love.”—John 15:10.
2 Many people today say that they love
God. Of course, we say that too. But
there are some important questions that
we need to think about: What does Je-
hovah think of me? Can I say that Jeho-
vah “knows” me or that I have Jehovah’s
approval? Does Jehovah think of me as
someone who belongs to him? (2 Timo-
thy 2:19) It is wonderful to think that we
can have such a close friendship with the
most important person in the universe!
3 But it is hard even for some who
love Jehovah to think that they can be
friends with God. Some believe that
they are not worth anything. Because
of that, they think that they cannot be-
long to Jehovah. It is so good to know
that Jehovah sees us in a different way.
1, 2. (a) What did Jesus care about? (b) What
questions should we think about?
3. Why is it hard for some to believe that they
can belong to Jehovah? What can help them
change this way of thinking?
27
(1 Samuel 16:7) Think
about this: Why are you
reading this magazine?
THEME
SCRIPTURE
Why are you trying hard “Jehovah knows those
to serve Jehovah with who belong to him.”
your whole heart, soul, —2 TIMOTHY 2:19.
mind, and strength? If
you dedicated your life to
Jehovah and got baptized, why did you
do it? The Bible says that Jehovah knows
hearts and that he finds the people who
are “desirable” to him. He then “draws”
them, or invites them, to be his friends.
(Read Haggai 2:7; John 6:44.) So you
can be sure that you are serving Jehovah
because he wants you to. He will never
leave those he invited to be his friends if
We need faith
and humility to
be friends of God
they continue to be faithful to him. They
are precious to God, and he loves them
very much.—Psalm 94:14.
4 Now that Jehovah has drawn us,
we need to keep ourselves in the love
of God. (Read Jude 20, 21.) Remem-
ber, the Bible shows that it is possible
to drift away or draw away from God
and no longer be his friend. (Hebrews
4. Why should we always think about how
precious our friendship with Jehovah is?
28 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

SOME WORDS
EXPLAINED
ˇ Kohathite Levite:
Levite who served at
the tabernacle. The
Kohathites had the
responsibility of carry-
ing the ark of the
covenant
ˇ Meek:
A meek person is gen-
tle and patient. He
accepts instructions
and waits for Jehovah
to act. He does not
get angry easily
ˇ Being known by
Jehovah: Having
Jehovah’s approval
ˇ Tabernacle:
The tent used for wor-
ship in Israel. It was
taken from place to
place when the nation
moved
2:1; 3:12, 13) For exam-
ple, just before the words
at 2 Timothy 2:19, the
apostle Paul talked about
Hymenaeus and Philetus.
It seems that these two
men served Jehovah at
one time, but they later
left the truth. (2 Timothy
2:16-18) Some in the con-
gregations in Galatia also
left the truth. They did
not stay in the truth. (Ga-
latians 4:9) We should al-
ways remember how pre-
cious our friendship with
Jehovah is.
5 There are some qual-
ities we need if we want
to be known by Jeho-
vah. (Psalm 15:1-5; 1 Pe-
ter 3:4) Two of them are
faith and humility. We
will talk about the exam-
ples of two men who were
loved by Jehovah because
they showed these quali-
all those having faith.” (Genesis 15:6;
Romans 4:11) Because he had faith,
Abraham was willing to leave his home,
his friends, his work, and things he
owned to go to a distant land. (Gen-
esis 12:1-4; Hebrews 11:8-10) Abraham
kept his faith strong. One proof of
that was that many years later he was
If we wait for
Jehovah to act,
he will reward us
ready to obey Jehovah’s command and
offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice to
Jehovah. (Hebrews 11:17-19) Abraham
showed faith in Jehovah’s promises,
and that made him special to God. Je-
hovah really knew Abraham. (Read
Genesis 18:19.) This means that Jeho-
vah not only knew that Abraham exist-
ed but also loved him as a friend.
—James 2:22, 23.
7 Jehovah promised Abraham that his

ties. We will also look at descendants would “take possession of

a man who was proud and
because of that was rejected by God. We
can learn important lessons from these
examples.
THE FATHER
OF THOSE HAVING FAITH
6 Abraham was a man who “put faith
in Jehovah.” He is called “the father of
5. (a) To be known by God, what qualities do
we need? (b) What examples will we now talk
about?
6. (a) Because he had faith in Jehovah’s prom-
ises, what did Abraham do? (b) In what way
did Jehovah really know Abraham?
the gate” of their enemies and be-
come “like the grains of sand that
are on the seashore.” (Genesis 22:17,
18) Even though these promises did not
come true during Abraham’s life, he
continued to have strong faith in Jeho-
vah. He knew that God’s promises al-
ways come true, and he showed this
faith in the way he lived his life. (Read
Hebrews 11:13.) Does Jehovah know
us as people who have faith like Abra-
ham’s?
7. What did Abraham know about Jehovah’s
promises? How did he show his faith?
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011 29

SHOW YOUR FAITH

BY WAITING FOR
JEHOVAH TO ACT
8 There may be things

that we want very much,

such as getting married,
having children, and hav-
ing good health. There
is nothing wrong with
wanting these things. But
many of us may not get
what we want. If there is
something that we want
very much but that we
cannot have now, what
will we do? The way we
act in this situation may
show how strong our
faith is.
9 It would be foolish to

go against God’s guidance

to try to get what we want.
This could damage our
friendship with Jehovah.
For example, some have
chosen forms of health
care that go against Bible principles.
Others have accepted work that leaves
them no time for their families or for
congregation meetings. Some start a ro-
mantic relationship with someone who
does not serve Jehovah. If a Christian
does that, is he really trying to be known
by Jehovah? Imagine if Abraham had be-
come impatient about God’s promises.
How would Jehovah have felt? What if
Abraham had done things his own way
and had tried to have a very comfortable
8. What are some things that most people
want very much?
9, 10. (a) What have some done to get what
they want? (b) What do you think about Jeho-
vah’s promises coming true in your life?
Like Abraham,
do we have faith
that Jehovah’s
promises always
come true?
life? What if he had decided to make a
famous name for himself instead of wait-
ing for Jehovah to act? (Compare Gene-
sis 11:4.) Would Jehovah have continued
to think of him as his friend?
10 What are the things that you want
very much? Do you have enough faith to
wait for Jehovah to give them to you? He
promises to satisfy “the desire of every
living thing.” (Psalm 145:16) Some of Je-
hovah’s promises may not come true as
soon as we would like. But if we contin-
ue to live in a way that shows that we
have faith like Abraham’s, Jehovah will
not forget about us. He will reward us.
—Hebrews 11:6.
30
ONE EXAMPLE OF HUMILITY
AND ONE EXAMPLE OF PRIDE
11 We will look at the examples of two
men who acted in opposite ways, Mo-
ses and Korah. What they did helps us
understand that what Jehovah thinks of
us depends on how much respect we
show for his decisions and way of do-
ing things. Korah was a Kohathite Le-
vite. Probably he had the opportunity
to see what Jehovah had done to free
the Israelites through the Red Sea. He
may also have had a part in Jehovah’s
judgment against disobedient Israelites
at Mount Sinai, and he may have helped
Korah was not to carry the ark of the covenant. (Exodus
humble and 32:26-29; Numbers 3:30, 31) It seems
willing to follow
directions 11. What had Korah done for many years?
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
that he had been loyal to Jehovah for
many years, and because of that, many
in Israel respected him.
12 But on the way to the Promised
Land, Korah thought that there was
something wrong with the way Jehovah
was leading the nation. He wanted to
make changes. Then 250 other men in
the nation joined Korah. They were sure
that Jehovah knew them and that they
had his approval. They told Moses: “That
is enough of you, because the whole as-
sembly are all of them holy and Jehovah
is in their midst.” (Numbers 16:1-3) This
was a very proud way of thinking and
acting. They trusted too much in their
own way of doing things. Moses told
12. What happened to Korah’s friendship
with God because of his pride?
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
them: “Jehovah will make known who
belongs to him.” (Read Numbers 16:5.)
By the end of the next day, Korah and
all those who had joined him were dead.
—Numbers 16:31-35.
13 Moses was the opposite of Korah.
He was “by far the meekest of all the
men who were upon the surface of the
ground.” (Numbers 12:3) He showed
that he was meek and humble by do-
ing exactly what Jehovah had command-
ed him. (Exodus 7:6; 40:16) We do not
read in the Bible that Moses was always
disagreeing with Jehovah’s way of doing
things or that he got angry because he
had to follow instructions from Jehovah.
For example, Jehovah gave very specif-
ic instructions about how to build the
tabernacle. These instructions included
the color of the thread and the num-
ber of loops the Israelites should use to
make the tent cloths. (Exodus 26:1-6) If
an overseer in God’s organization gives
you very specific instructions about
things, you may sometimes feel discour-
aged. But Jehovah is a perfect overseer.
He gives his servants work to do, and he
trusts that they will do it well. When he
gives many details, there is a good rea-
son for it. Moses did not get angry with
Jehovah or think that Jehovah was not
showing him respect because he gave
him many detailed instructions. Moses
did not think that Jehovah was taking
away his freedom. Moses told the work-
ers to do exactly as Jehovah had com-
manded them. (Exodus 39:32) This was
a humble way of thinking and acting.
Moses knew that it was Jehovah’s work
and that Jehovah was simply using him
to do it.
13, 14. In what ways did Moses show that he
was humble?
31
14 Moses showed that he was humble
even when he had reasons to be dis-
appointed. For example, when the peo-
ple complained that they had no wa-
ter, Moses got very angry with them
and did not give glory to Jehovah. Be-
cause of that, Jehovah told Moses that
he would not be allowed to lead the peo-
ple into the Promised Land. (Numbers
20:2-12) Moses and Aaron had suffered
for many years, listening to the Israel-
ites complaining. And now, because of
Like Moses,
we should humbly
accept instructions
that one mistake, Moses was not going
to get what he had expected for so long!
What did Moses do? He was of course
disappointed. But he was humble and
accepted Jehovah’s decision. He knew
that Jehovah is a righteous God “with
whom there is no injustice.” (Deuteron-
omy 3:25-27; 32:4) Today, when we think
of Moses, we think of someone who was
known by Jehovah.—Read Exodus 33:
12, 13.
OBEDIENCE TO JEHOVAH
REQUIRES HUMILITY
15We can have Jehovah’s approv-
al only if we accept adjustments that
are made. And we need to show re-
spect for those Jehovah uses to lead
the congregation. What do we do when
these men make decisions or change
15. What can we learn from what proud Ko-
rah did?
 DO YOU the way we do things in
REMEMBER? the congregation? Be-
cause they trusted their
ˇ What does it mean own way of doing things,
to be known by Korah and his followers
Jehovah? could no longer be God’s
ˇ How can you imitate friends. They were proud
the faith of Abraham? and showed little faith.
ˇ What lessons can we Korah thought that Moses
learn from Korah and was just an old man mak-
Moses? ing his own decisions, but
he forgot that it was real-
ly Jehovah who was guid-
ing the nation. As a re-
sult, Korah did not show loyalty to those
God was using. Korah should have wait-
ed for Jehovah to act. Jehovah could
have helped him understand why things
were the way they were or could have
changed things if needed. Because Ko-
rah acted like that, today we never think
of Korah’s years of loyal service to Jeho-
vah. We usually think of him as some-
one who disobeyed Jehovah because of
Are you known his pride.
by Jehovah as 16 What happened to Korah is a warn-
someone who ing for elders and others in the congre-
is humble and
obedient? 16. How can Moses’ humble example help us?
www.watchtower.org
gation. To wait for Jehovah to act and to
obey those Jehovah uses to lead the con-
gregation, we must be humble. Do we
show that we are as humble and meek
as Moses was? Do we understand and
accept that Jehovah uses those who lead
the congregation? Do we obey their in-
structions? Do we control our feelings
when we get disappointed? If we do
these things, we will have Jehovah’s ap-
proval. If we are humble and obedient,
we will be precious to him.
JEHOVAH KNOWS
THOSE WHO BELONG TO HIM
17 It is good for us to think about the
examples of those whom Jehovah loved
and invited to be his friends. Abra-
ham and Moses were imperfect and
had problems, just like us. But Jehovah
thought of them as friends, as people
who belonged to him. The opposite is
what happened to Korah. His example
shows how it could be possible for us to
draw away from Jehovah and no longer
be his friends. Each of us should think
about questions like: What does Jeho-
vah think of me? What can I learn from
these Bible examples?
18 Jehovah thinks of his faithful ser-
vants as people who belong to him. This
is a great comfort to us. So continue
to make an effort to show such quali-
ties as faith and humility. They will make
you even more precious to our wonder-
ful God. It is an honor to be known
by Jehovah. Those who have his ap-
proval have a happy life now and will
have wonderful blessings in the future.
—Psalm 37:18.
17, 18. What can help us to continue to have
Jehovah’s approval?
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