DID THE GARDEN OF EDEN EXIST REALY

34567JANUARY 1, 2011

THEGARDEN

OFEDENMYTH OR FACT?

34567�

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THE PURPOSE OF THIS MAGAZINE, The Watchtower, is to honor Jehovah God, the Supreme Ruler of the universe.Just as watchtowers in ancient times enabled a person to observe developments from afar, so this magazine showsus the significance of world events in the light of Bible prophecies. It comforts people with the good news thatGod’s Kingdom, which is a real government in heaven, will soon bring an end to all wickedness and transform theearth into a paradise. It promotes faith in Jesus Christ, who died so that we might gain everlasting life and who isnow ruling as King of God’s Kingdom. This magazine has been published by Jehovah’s Witnesses continuouslysince 1879 and is nonpolitical. It adheres to the Bible as its authority.This publication is not for sale. It is provided as part of a worldwide Bible educational work supported by voluntary donations. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripturequotations are from the modern-language New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—With References.

JANUARY 1, 2011

FROM OUR COVER3 Eden—Was It Mankind’s Original Home?4 Was There Really a Garden of Eden?9 Why Eden Matters to You

REGULAR FEATURES12 Our Readers Ask . . .

16 Learn From God’s Word—Why Learn From God?

18 Draw Close to God—“He Softened the Faceof Jehovah”

19 Did You Know?

& 24 Imitate Their Faith—He Endured DespiteDisappointments

30 For Young People—Appreciate Sacred Things!

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE13 Did God Know That Adam and Eve Would Sin?

& 20 Does God Really Care About You?

29 An East Asian in Ancient Italy

IMAGINE yourself in a garden. There are no distractions, nosounds of chaotic city life drifting in over some nearby

wall. This garden is vast, and nothing intrudes on its peace.Better yet, your mind is clear of worries, your body untrou-bled by any trace of illness, allergies, or pain. Your senses arefree to take in your surroundings.

You feast your eyes first on the vivid hues of the blossoms,then on the sparkle of a stream, then on the myriad greens offoliage and grass in sun and shadow. You feel the mild breezeon your skin and smell the sweet fragrances it carries. Youhear the rustling of leaves, the splash of water tumbling overrocks, the calls and songs of birds, the hum of insects at work.As you picture the scene, do you not long to be in such aplace?

People around the world believe that mankind had its startin a place like that. For centuries, members of Judaism, Chris-tendom, and Islam have been taught about the garden ofEden, where God put Adam and Eve to live. According to theBible, they had a peaceful, happy existence. They were atpeace with each other, with the animals, and with God, whokindly gave them the hope of living forever in that lovely en-vironment.—Genesis 2:15-24.

Hindus too have their distinctive concepts about a paradisein ancient times. Buddhists believe that great spiritual lead-ers, or Buddhas, arise in such golden ages when the world islike a paradise. And numerous religions of Africa teach sto-ries that bear a remarkable resemblance to that of Adam andEve.

In fact, the idea of an early paradise has been pervasivein mankind’s religions and traditions. One author noted:“Many civilizations believed in a primordial paradise thatwas characterized by perfection, freedom, peace, happiness,

EDENWAS IT MANKIND’SORIGINAL HOME?

THE WATCHTOWER ˙ JANUARY 1, 2011 3

DO YOU know the story of Adam and Eveand the garden of Eden? It is familiar to

people around theworld. Why not read it foryourself? You will find it at Genesis 1:26–3:24. Here is the gist of the story:

Jehovah God� forms a man from the dust,names him Adam, and settles him in a gar-den in a region called Eden. God himselfplanted this garden. It is well-watered andabundant with beautiful fruit-bearing trees.At its center is “the tree of the knowledge ofgood and bad.” God forbids humans to

� In the Bible, Jehovah is the personal name of God.

eat from this tree, stating that disobedi-ence will result in death. In time, Jehovahmakes a companion for Adam—the womanEve—forming her from one of Adam’s ribs.God gives them the job of caring for the gar-den and tells them to multiply and fill theearth.

WhenEve is alone, a serpent speaks to her,tempting her to eat the forbidden fruit byclaiming thatGod has lied toher and is with-holding something good, something thatwill make her godlike. She gives in and eatsthe forbidden fruit. Later, Adam joins her in

WAS THERE REALLYAGARDEN OF EDEN?

abundance, and the absence of duress, ten-sions, and conflicts. . . . This belief gave rise inthe collective consciousness to a profoundnostalgia for the lost but not forgotten para-dise and to a strong desire to recover it.”

Might all those stories and traditions stemfrom a common root? Is it possible that man-kind’s “collective consciousness” is imprint-ed with the memory of something real? Wasthere actually a garden of Eden in the distantpast and a real Adam and Eve?

Skeptics scoff at the idea. In this scientificage, many assume that such accounts aremere legends andmyths. Surprisingly, not allthe skeptics are secular. Many religious lead-

ers promote disbelief in the garden of Eden.They say that there never was any such place.They say that the account is merely a meta-phor, a myth, a fable, a parable.

Of course, the Bible does contain parables.Jesus himself uttered the most famous ofthem. However, the Bible presents the ac-count about Eden, not as a parable, but as his-tory, pure and simple. Yet, if the events de-scribednever occurred, thenhowcan the restof the Bible be trusted? Let us examinewhy some are skeptical about the gardenof Eden and see whether their reasons aresound. Then we will consider why the ac-count should matter to each one of us.

34567�

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The Watchtower (ISSN 0043-1087) is publishedsemimonthly by Watchtower Bible and Tract So-ciety of New York, Inc.; M. H. Larson, Presi-dent; G. F. Simonis, Secretary-Treasurer; 25 ColumbiaHeights, Brooklyn, NY 11201-2483, and by Watch Tow-er Bible and Tract Society of Canada, PO Box 4100,Georgetown, ON L7G 4Y4. Periodicals Postage Paid atBrooklyn, NY, and at additional mailing offices. POST-MASTER: Send address changes to Watchtower,1000 Red Mills Road, Wallkill, NY 12589-3299.� 2011 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society ofPennsylvania. All rights reserved. Printed in Canada.

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4

disobeying God. Jehovah responds by pro-nouncing sentence on Adam, Eve, and theserpent. After the humans are expelled fromthe paradisaic garden, the angels block theentrance.

Among scholars, intellectuals, and histori-ans, it was once popular to attest that theevents recorded in the Bible book of Genesiswere true and historical. These days, skepti-cism about all such matters is more in fash-ion. But what is the basis for the doubtsabout theGenesis accountof Adam, Eve, andthe garden of Eden? Let us examine fourcommon objections.

1. Was the garden of Eden a real place?Why is there doubt on this score? Philoso-

phy may have played a role. For centuries,theologians speculated that God’s gardenwas still in existence somewhere. However,the church was influenced by such Greekphilosophers as Plato and Aristotle, whoheld that nothing on the earth could be per-fect. Only heaven could contain perfection.Therefore, theologians reasoned, the origi-nal Paradise had to be closer to heaven.�Some said that the garden sat atop an ex-tremely high mountain that reached justabove the confines of this degraded planet;others, that it was at the North Pole or theSouth Pole; still others, that it was on or nearthe moon. Not surprisingly, the whole con-

� Thenotion is unscriptural. The Bible teaches that all ofGod’s work is perfect; corruption comes from anothersource. (Deuteronomy 32:4, 5) When Jehovah finished hiscreation of the earth, he pronounced all that he had made“very good.”—Genesis 1:31.

cept of Eden took on an aura of fantasy.Some modern-day scholars dismiss the ge-ography of Eden as nonsense, asserting thatno such place ever existed.

However, the Bible does not portray thegarden that way. At Genesis 2:8-14, we learna number of specifics about that place. Itwas located in the eastern part of the re-gion called Eden. It was watered by a riverthat became the source for four rivers. Eachof the four is named, and a brief descrip-tion about its course provided. These de-tails have long tantalized scholars, many ofwhom have scoured this Bible passage forclues to the present-day location of this an-cient site. However, they have come up withinnumerable contradictory opinions. Doesthis mean that the physical description ofEden, its garden, and its rivers is false ormythical?

Consider: The events in the garden ofEden account unfolded some 6,000 yearsago. They were put intowriting, evidently byMoses, who may have made use of oral ac-counts or perhaps even preexisting docu-ments. Still, Moses was writing about 2,500years after the events described. Edenwas al-ready ancient history. Now, is it possible forsuch landmarks as rivers to change over thecourse of dozens of centuries? The earth’scrust is dynamic, ever in motion. The re-gion that likely included Eden is an earth-quake belt—one that now accounts for about17 percent of the world’s largest quakes. Insuch areas, change is the rule rather thanthe exception. What is more, the Flood of

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6 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ JANUARY 1, 2011

Noah’s day may have altered the topogra-phy in ways that we simply cannot know to-day.�

Here, though, are a few facts that we doknow: The Genesis account speaks of thegarden as a real place. Two of the four riv-ers mentioned in the account—the Euphra-tes and the Tigris, or Hiddekel—flow today,and some of their source waters are veryclose together. The account even names thelands through which those rivers flowed andspecifies thenatural resourceswell-known inthe area. To the people of ancient Israel,the original audience who read this record,these details were informative.

Do myths and fairy tales work that way?Or do they tend to omit specifics that couldreadily be verified or denied? “Once upon atime in a faraway land” is a way to begina fairy tale. History, though, tends to in-clude relevant details, as the Eden accountdoes.

� The Deluge, an act of God, evidently wiped out alltraces of the garden of Eden itself. Ezekiel 31:18 suggeststhat “the trees of Eden” were already long out of existenceby the seventh century B.C.E. So all those who searchedfor a still-existing garden of Eden in later times were mis-guided.

2. Is it really believable that Godformed Adam from dust and Eve fromone of Adam’s ribs?

Modern science has confirmed that thehuman body is composed of various ele-ments—such as hydrogen, oxygen, and car-bon—all of which are found in the earth’scrust. But how were those elements assem-bled into a living creature?

Many scientists theorize that life arose onits own, starting with very simple forms thatgradually, over millions of years, becamemore and more complex. However, the term“simple” can be misleading, for all livingthings—even microscopic single-celled or-ganisms—are incredibly complex. There isno proof that any kind of life has ever arisenby chance or ever could. Rather, all livingthings bear unmistakable evidence of designby an intelligence far greater than our own.�—Romans 1:20.

Can you imagine listening to a great sym-phony or admiring a brilliant painting ormarveling at an achievement of technologyand then insisting that these works had no

� See the brochure The Origin of Life—Five QuestionsWorth Asking, published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

maker?Of course not! But suchmasterpiecesdonot evenbegin to approach the complexi-ty, beauty, or ingenuity of the design of thehuman body. How could we imagine that ithad no Creator? Furthermore, the Genesisaccount explains that of all life on earth,only humans were made in the image ofGod. (Genesis 1:26) Fittingly, only humanson earth are capable of reflecting God’s cre-ative drive, at times producing impressiveworks of music, art, and technology. Shouldit surprise us that God is far better at creatingthanwe are?

As to creating the woman by using a ribfrom the man, where is the difficulty inthat?� God could have used other means,but his manner of making the woman hadbeautiful significance. He wanted the manand the woman to marry and to form a closebond, as if they were “one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24) Is not theway manandwoman can com-plement each other, forming a stable andmutually nourishing bond, powerful evi-dence of awise and loving Creator?

Furthermore, modern geneticists have ac-knowledged that all humans likely descend-

� Interestingly, modern medical science has found thatthe rib has an unusual capacity to heal. Unlike otherbones, it can grow back if its membrane of connective tis-sue is left intact.

ed from onlyone male and one female. Real-ly, then, is the Genesis account far-fetched?

3. The tree of knowledge and the treeof life seem mythical.

Actually, the Genesis account does notteach that these trees had any peculiar orsupernatural powers of their own. Rather,they were actual trees that Jehovah investedwith symbolic meaning.

Do not humans do something similarat times? For instance, a judge may warnagainst the crime of acting in contempt ofcourt. It is not the furniture, fixtures, andwalls of the courtroom itself that the judgewants to protect from disrespect but the sys-tem of justice that the court represents. Vari-ous monarchs too have used the scepter andthe crown as symbols of their sovereign au-thority.

What, then, did the two trees symbolize?Many complex theories have been put for-ward. The genuine answer, while simple, isquite profound. The tree of the knowledge of

good and bad represented a privilege that isGod’s province alone—the right to determinewhat is good and what is bad. (Jeremiah 10:23) No wonder it was a crime to steal fromthat tree! The tree of life, on the other hand,represented a gift that only God can bestow—everlasting life.—Romans 6:23.

4. A serpent that talks seems to belongto fairy-tale lore.

Granted, this aspect of the Genesis narra-tive can be puzzling, especially if we do nottake the rest of the Bible into account. How-ever, the Scriptures gradually clear up this in-triguing mystery.

Who or what made that serpent appear totalk? The people of ancient Israel knew ofother factors that shed much light on therole of that snake. For example, they knew

that although animals do not talk, a spiritperson can make an animal appear to speak.Moses also wrote the account about Balaam;God sent an angel to make Balaam’s donkeytalk like a man.—Numbers 22:26-31; 2 Peter2:15,16.

Can other spirits, including those whoare God’s enemies, perform miracles? Mo-ses had seen the magic-practicing priests ofEgypt duplicate some of God’s miracles,such as making a staff appear to turn into asnake. The power to perform feats like thatcould come only from God’s enemies in thespirit realm.—Exodus 7:8-12.

EvidentlyMoseswas also the inspired writ-er of the book of Job. That book taughtmuch about God’s chief enemy, Satan, wholyingly challenged the integrity of all of Je-hovah’s servants. (Job 1:6-11; 2:4, 5) Did theIsraelites of old thus reason that Satan hadmanipulated the serpent in Eden, making itappear to talk and deceive Eve into breakingher integrity to God? It seems likely.

Was Satan the force behind the serpent?Jesus later referred to Satan as “a liar and thefather of the lie.” (John 8:44) “The father ofthe lie” would be the author of the first lieever told, would he not? The first lie is foundin the serpent’s words to Eve. ContradictingGod’s warning that eating the forbiddenfruit would end in death, the serpent said:“You positively will not die.” (Genesis 3:4)Clearly, Jesus knew that Satan had manipu-lated the serpent. The Revelation that Jesusgave to the apostle John settles the matter,calling Satan “the original serpent.”—Reve-lation 1:1; 12:9.

Is it really far-fetched tobelieve that a pow-erful spirit person could manipulate a ser-pent, making it appear to talk? Even hu-mans, though far less powerful than spirits,can perform baffling tricks of ventriloquismand create convincing special effects.


The Most Compelling EvidenceWould you not agree that the skepticism

about the Genesis account has little real ba-sis? On the other hand, there is powerful evi-dence that the account is true history.

For example, Jesus Christ is called “thefaithful and true witness.” (Revelation 3:14)Being a perfectman, he never lied, never mis-represented the truth in any way. What ismore, he taught that he had existed long be-fore his life as a man on earth—in fact, he hadlived alongside his Father, Jehovah, “beforethe world was.” (John 17:5) So he was alivewhen life on earth began. What is the testi-monyof this most reliable of all witnesses?

Jesus spoke of Adam andEve as real people.He referred to their marriage when explain-ing Jehovah’s standard of monogamy. (Mat-thew 19:3-6) If they never existed and thegarden in which they lived was a mere myth,then either Jesus was deceived or he was aliar. Neither conclusion is feasible! Jesus hadbeen in heaven, watching as the tragedy un-folded in the garden.What evidence could bemore convincing than that?

In reality, disbelief in the Genesis accountundermines faith in Jesus. Such disbelief alsomakes it impossible to understand some ofthe Bible’s greatest themes and most reassur-ing promises. Let us see how that is so.

ONE of the most surprising objectionsthat some scholars raise to the account

about Eden is that it is not supported by therest of the Bible. For example, Professor ofReligious Studies Paul Morris writes: “Thereare no later direct biblical references to theEden story.” His assessment may win nods ofagreement from various “experts,” but itruns directly counter to the facts.

The Bible actually makes numerous refer-ences to the garden of Eden, Adam, Eve, andthe serpent.� But the error of a few scholarspales in comparison to a much larger, morepervasive one. By discrediting the Genesisrecord of the garden of Eden, religious lead-ers andBible critics are actually launching anall-out assault on the Bible. How so?

Understanding what happened in Eden is

� See, for example, Genesis 13:10; Deuteronomy 32:8;2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chronicles 1:1; Isaiah 51:3; Ezekiel 28:13;31:8, 9; Luke 3:38; Romans 5:12-14; 1 Corinthians 15:22,45; 2 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:13, 14; Jude 14; andRevelation 12:9.

essential to understanding the rest of the Bi-ble. For example, God’s Word is designedto help us find answers to the most pro-found and far-reaching questions that hu-mans face. Again and again, the Bible’s an-swers to those questions relate to events thattook place in the garden of Eden. Considersome examples.˘ Why do we grow old and die? Adam andEve were to live forever if they remainedsubject to Jehovah. Only if they rebelledwould they die. In the day that they re-belled, they began to die. (Genesis 2:16, 17;3:19) They lost perfection and could pass ononly sin and imperfection to their offspring.The Bible thus explains: “Through one mansin entered into the world and deaththrough sin, and thus death spread to allmen because they had all sinned.”—Romans5:12.˘ Why does God allow wickedness? In thegarden of Eden, Satan called God a liar who

WHY EDEN MATTERS TO YOU

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withholds good from his creatures. (Genesis3:3-5) He thus called into question the right-fulness of Jehovah’s way of ruling. Adamand Eve chose to follow Satan; so they like-wise rejected Jehovah’s sovereignty and, ineffect, asserted that man can decide for him-self what is good and what is bad. In his per-fect justice and wisdom, Jehovah knew thatthere was only one way to answer the chal-lenge properly—allow time to pass, givinghumans the opportunity to rule themselvesas they choose. The resulting wickedness isdue, in part, to Satan’s continued influenceand has gradually revealed a great truth:Man is incapable of governing himself with-out God.—Jeremiah 10:23.˘ What is God’s purpose for the earth? Inthe garden of Eden, Jehovah set a standardof beauty for the earth. He commissionedAdam and Eve to fill the earth with their off-spring and “subdue it,” in order to bring thesame measure of beauty and harmony to thewhole planet. (Genesis 1:28) So God’s pur-pose for the earth is that it be a paradise in-habited by a perfect, united family of theoffspring of Adam and Eve. Much of the Bi-ble is about God’s means of fulfilling thatoriginal purpose.˘ Why did Jesus Christ come to the earth?The rebellion in the garden of Eden broughta death sentence upon Adam and Eve and alltheir offspring, but God lovingly suppliedhope. He sent his Son to the earth to providewhat the Bible calls a ransom. (Matthew 20:28) What does that mean? Well, Jesus was“the last Adam”; he succeeded where Adamhad failed. Jesus maintained his perfect hu-man life by remaining obedient to Jehovah.Then he freely gave his life as a sacrifice, orransom, providing the means for all faithfulhumans to receive forgiveness for their sinsand eventually attain the kind of life thatAdam and Eve enjoyed in Eden before theysinned. (1 Corinthians 15:22, 45; John 3:16)Thus Jesus guaranteed that Jehovah’s pur-

pose to turn this earth into an Edenlike para-dise will come true.�

God’s purpose is not vague, nor is it someabstract theological concept. It is real. Just asthe garden of Eden was a real place on thisearth with real animals and real people, soGod’s promise for the future is a certainty, areality soon to come. Will it be your future,your reality? Much of that is up to you. Godwants that future for as many people as possi-ble, even for those whose lives have gonewrong.—1 Timothy 2:3, 4.

As Jesus was dying, he spoke to a manwhose life had taken a terrible turn. The manwas a criminal; he knew that he deserved tobe executed. But he turned to Jesus for com-fort, for hope. Jesus’ response? “You will bewith me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) If Jesuswants to see that former criminal there—res-urrected and blessed with an opportunity tolive forever in an Edenlike paradise—does henot want the same blessing for you? He does!His Father does! If you want that future foryourself, do all that you can to learn aboutthe God who made the garden of Eden.

� To learn more about Christ’s ransom sacrifice, seechapter 5 of the book What Does the Bible Really Teach?published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Adam and Eve suffered thedisastrous results of sin


ˇ You may agree that as discussed on page 8,Satan was the force behind the serpent thatspoke to Eve. The Bible certainly teaches this.However, you may wonder, ‘Why would a pow-erful spirit manipulate a snake the way a ventril-oquist uses a dummy?’

The Bible characterizes Satan’s tactics as“machinations,” or “crafty acts,” and this inci-dent helps to prove the point. (Ephesians 6:11;footnote) What we see in Eden is no fable abouta talking animal; it is a chilling example of cleverstrategy designed to lure people away fromGod. In what way?

Satan chose his target carefully. Eve was theyoungest intelligent creature in the universe.Taking advantage of her inexperience, he setout to trick and seduce her. By hiding behind aserpent, a very cautious creature, Satan shrewd-ly concealed his own bold and ambitious aims.(Genesis 3:1) Consider, too, what he accom-plished by making the serpent appear to speak.

First, Satan caught and riveted Eve’s atten-tion. She knew that snakes do not talk; her hus-band had named all the animals, including thisone, likely after careful study. (Genesis 2:19) Nodoubt Eve too had observed this cautious crea-ture. So Satan’s ploy roused Eve’s curiosity; itgot her to focus on the one thing in all the gar-den that was forbidden to her. Second, if theserpent was lurking in the limbs of the forbid-den tree, what conclusion was Eve likely todraw? Might she not have reasoned that thislowly, dumb creature had itself eaten from thatfruit and had thereafter been able to speak? Ifthe fruit could do so much for a serpent, whatmight it do for her? We cannot know for surewhat Eve thought or whether the snake had tak-en a bite of the fruit, but we do know that when

the serpent told Eve that the fruit would makeher “like God,” she was prepared to believe thelie.

Satan’s choice of words also reveals much. Hesowed doubts in Eve’s mind, implying that Godwas holding back something good from herand needlessly restricting her freedom. The suc-cess of Satan’s scheme depended on the chancethat Eve’s self-interest would outweigh her lovefor the God who had given her everything shehad. (Genesis 3:4, 5) Tragically, Satan’s gambitworked; neither Eve nor Adam had cultivated intheir own hearts the kind of love and apprecia-tion for Jehovah that they should have. Does notSatan promote the same kind of self-interestand rationalizing today?

What, though, about Satan’s motive? Whatwas he after? In Eden, he attempted to hideboth his identity and his motive. But, in time, herevealed himself. When he tempted Jesus, hesurely knew that disguises were of no use. Sohe directly urged Jesus: “Fall down and do anact of worship to me.” (Matthew 4:9) Evidently,Satan has long been driven by jealousy over theworship that goes to Jehovah God. He will go toany length to divert or pervert such worship. Heloves to destroy integrity to God.

Clearly, the Bible reveals that Satan is a dead-ly strategist in seeking his aims. Happily, weneed not be fooled as Eve was, “for we are notignorant of his designs.”—2 Corinthians 2:11.

OUR READERS ASK . . .

Whywould Satan use a serpent to speak to Eve?


MANY people ask this question in all sin-cerity.When the issue of God’s permis-

sion of wickedness is raised, the sin of thefirst human pair in the garden of Eden quick-ly comes into focus. The thought that ‘Godknows everything’ may easily lead some tothe conclusion that God must have knownbeforehand that Adam and Eve would dis-obey him.

If God truly had foreknown that this per-fect couple would sin, what would this im-ply? Such a notion would attribute manynegative traits to God. He would seem to beunloving, unjust, and insincere. Some mightlabel it cruel to expose the first humans tosomething that was foreknown to end bad-ly. God might seem responsible for—or atleast an accomplice to— all the badness andsuffering that followed throughout history.To some, our Creator would even appearfoolish.

Does Jehovah God, as revealed in the Scrip-tures, match such a negative description? Toanswer that, let us examine what the Biblesays about the creative works and the person-ality of Jehovah.

“It Was Very Good”Regarding God’s creation, including the

first humans on earth, the Genesis accountsays: “God saw everything he had made and,look! it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31) AdamandEvewere perfectly made, ideally suited totheir earthly environment. There was noth-ing deficient in their makeup. Created “verygood,” they were certainly capable of thegood conduct that was required of them.Theywere created “inGod’s image.” (Genesis1:27) So they had the capacity to demon-strate to some degree the godly qualities ofwisdom, loyal love, justice, and goodness. Re-flecting such qualities would help them tomake decisions that would benefit them andbring pleasure to their heavenly Father.

Jehovah endowed these perfect, intelligentcreatures with free will. So they were by nomeans preprogrammed to please God—likesome sort of robot. Think about it. Whichwould mean more to you—a gift that is givenmechanically or one that comes from theheart? The answer is obvious. Likewise, ifAdam and Eve had freely chosen to obeyGod, their obedience would have meant allthe more to him. The capacity to choose en-abled the first human pair to obey Jehovahout of love.—Deuteronomy 30:19, 20.

Righteous, Just, and GoodThe Bible reveals Jehovah’s qualities to us.

These qualities make it impossible for him tohave anything to do with sin. Jehovah “isa lover of righteousness and justice,” saysPsalm 33:5. Thus, James 1:13 notes: “Withevil things God cannot be tried nor does hehimself try anyone.” Out of fairness and con-sideration, God warned Adam: “From everytree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction.But as for the tree of the knowledge of goodand bad you must not eat from it, for in theday you eat from it you will positively die.”(Genesis 2:16, 17) The first couple were givena choice between endless life and death.Would it not have been hypocritical for Godto warn them against a specific sin while

DidGodKnowTHAT ADAM AND EVEWOULD SIN?


already knowing the bad outcome? As “a lov-er of righteousness and justice,” Jehovahwould not have offered a choice that in reali-ty did not exist.

Jehovah is also abundant in goodness.(Psalm 31:19) Describing God’s goodness, Je-sus said: “Who is the man among you whomhis son asks for bread—he will not hand him

a stone, will he? Or, perhaps, he will ask for afish—hewill not hand hima serpent, will he?Therefore, if you, although being wicked,know how to give good gifts to your children,how much more sowill your Father who is inthe heavens give good things to those askinghim?” (Matthew 7:9-11) God gives “goodthings” to his creatures. The way humanswere created and the Paradise home preparedfor them testify to God’s goodness. Wouldsuch a good Sovereign be so cruel as to pro-vide a beautiful home that he knew would betaken away? No. Our righteous and goodMaker is not to blame for man’s rebellion.

“Wise Alone”The Scriptures also show that Jehovah is

“wise alone.” (Romans 16:27) God’s heaven-ly angels witnessed many manifestations ofthis boundless wisdom. They began “shout-ing in applause” when Jehovah broughtforth his earthly creations. (Job 38:4-7) Nodoubt these intelligent spirit creatures fol-lowed events in the gardenof Edenwith greatinterest.Would it, then,make sense for awiseGod, after creating an awe-inspiring universeand an array of marvelous earthly works, tobring forth under the eyes of his angelic sonstwo unique creatures who he knew were

bound to fail? Clearly, to plan such a calamitywould not stand to reason.

Still, someone may object, ‘But how couldan all-wise God not have known?’ Granted, afacet of Jehovah’s great wisdom is his capa-bility to know “from the beginning the fina-le.” (Isaiah 46:9, 10) However, he does nothave to use this capability, just as he does notalways have to use his immense power to thefull. Jehovah wisely uses his ability of fore-knowledge selectively. He uses it when itmakes sense to do so and fits the circum-stances.

The ability to refrain from using fore-knowledge can be illustrated with a feature ofmodern technology. Someone watching aprerecorded sports match has the option towatch the finalminutes first in order to knowthe outcome. But he does not have to startthat way. Who could criticize him if he choseto watch the entire match from the begin-ning? Similarly, the Creator evidently chosenot to seehow things would turn out. Rather,he chose to wait and, as events unfolded,see how his earthly children would conductthemselves.

As mentioned earlier, Jehovah in his wis-dom did not create the first humans as au-tomatons programmed for a fixed course. In-stead, he lovingly endowed them with freewill. By choosing the right course, theycould manifest their love, gratitude, and obe-dience, thereby bringing added delight tothemselves and to Jehovah as their heavenlyFather.—Proverbs 27:11; Isaiah 48:18.

The Scriptures show that on many occa-sions God did not make use of his ability offoreknowledge. For example, when faithfulAbraham went to the point of attempting tosacrifice his son, Jehovah could say: “Now Ido know that you are God-fearing in that youhave not withheld your son, your only one,from me.” (Genesis 22:12) On the otherhand, there were also occasions when the

Jehovah did not create the firsthumans as automatons programmedfor a fixed course


bad conduct of certain individuals causedGod to “feel hurt.” Would he have felt suchpain if he had long known what they woulddo?—Psalm 78:40, 41; 1 Kings 11:9, 10.

Thus, it is only reasonable to conclude thatthe all-wise God did not exercise his ability offoreknowledge to know in advance that ourfirst parents would sin. He was not so foolishas to embark on a bizarre venture, using hisability to know the outcome in advance andthen staging a mere rerun of what he alreadyknew.

“God Is Love”God’s adversary, Satan, initiated the rebel-

lion in Eden that resulted in negative conse-quences, including sin and death. Satan thuswas “a manslayer.” He also proved to be “aliar and the father of the lie.” (John 8:44)Driven by bad motives himself, he strives toattribute bad motives to our loving Creator. Itsuits himwell to shift the blame for man’s sinto Jehovah.

The quality of love is the strongest reasonwhy Jehovah chose not to know in advancethat Adam and Eve would sin. Love is God’smain attribute. “God is love,” says 1 John 4:8.Love is positive, not negative. It looks for thegood in others. Yes, motivated by love, Jeho-vah God wanted the best for the first humanpair.

Even though God’s earthly children hadthe option of making an unwise choice, ourloving God was not inclined to be pessimisticor to be suspicious of his perfect creatures.He had amply provided for them and hadequipped them well. It was only appropriatethat God should expect, not rebellion, butloving obedience in return. He knew thatAdam and Eve had the ability to act loyally,as was later proved even by imperfect men,such as Abraham, Job, Daniel, and manyoth-ers.

“With God all things are possible,” said Je-sus. (Matthew 19:26) That is a comfortingthought. Jehovah’s love, along with his otherdominant attributes of justice, wisdom, andpower, guarantees that in due time he canand will remove all the effects of sin anddeath.—Revelation 21:3-5.

Clearly, Jehovah did not know beforehandthat the first couple would sin. While he waspained by the disobedience of man and theensuing suffering, God knew that this tem-porary situation would not prevent the ful-fillment of his eternal purpose for the earthand humans upon it. Why not find out moreabout that purpose and how you may benefitfrom its glorious fulfillment?�

� For more information about God’s purpose for theearth, see chapter 3 of the book What Does the Bible Real-ly Teach? published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

God knew that Adam and Eve hadthe ability to act loyally

LEARN FROM GOD’S WORD

Why Learn From God?This article raises questions you may have wondered about and showswhere you can read the answers in your Bible. Jehovah’s Witnesseswould be pleased to discuss these answers with you.

1. Why learn from God?God has good news of something better for man-

kind. He tells us about it in the pages of the Bible.The Bible is like a letter to us from our loving Fatherin heaven.—Read Jeremiah 29:11.

2. What is the good news?Mankind needs good government. No human rul-

er has ever relieved mankind of violence, injustice,disease, or death. But there is good news. God willgive mankind a good government that will bring free-dom from all causes of suffering.—Read Daniel 2:44.

3. Why is it vital to learn from God?Soon God will clear the earth of people who cause

suffering. Meanwhile, he is teaching millions ofmeek people to enjoy a better way of life, based onlove. From God’s Word, people are learning how tocope with life’s problems, how to find real happi-ness, and how to please God.—Read Zephaniah 2:3.

For more information, see chapter 2 of this book,published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

WHAT DOESTHE BIBLE

Really TEACH?

4. Who is the Author of the Bible?The Bible is made up of 66 small books. Some 40

men wrote them. The first five were written by Mosesabout 3,500 years ago. The last was written by theapostle John over 1,900 years ago. But the Bible writ-ers wrote God’s thoughts and not their own. So Godis the Author of the Bible.—Read 2 Timothy 3:16;2 Peter 1:21.

We know that the Bible is from God because it ac-curately foretells the future in detail. No man can dothat. (Isaiah 46:9, 10) Also, the Bible bears the un-mistakable stamp of God’s loving personality. It hasthe power to change people’s lives for the better.These facts convince millions that the Bible is God’sWord.—Read Joshua 23:14; 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

5. How can you understand the Bible?Jesus became famous as a teacher of God’s Word.

Although most people he spoke to were familiarwith the Bible, they needed assistance to under-stand it. To help them, Jesus referred to one Bibletext after another and explained “the meaning ofthe Scriptures.” This feature, “Learn From God’sWord,” will use the same method to help you.—ReadLuke 24:27, 45.

Few things are as fascinating as learning from Godabout the purpose of life. But some people may notbe pleased that you are reading the Bible. Do not bediscouraged. Your hope of enjoying everlasting lifedepends on your getting to know God.—Read Mat-thew 5:10-12; John 17:3.

17

“I FELT so unworthy,” says a man who hadstrayed from his godly upbringing. When he

began to take steps to turn his life around, hefeared that God would never forgive him. Butthis repentant sinner found hope in the Bible ac-count about Manasseh, recorded at 2 Chronicles33:1-17. If you have ever felt unworthy becauseof past sins, you too may find comfort in Manas-seh’s example.

Manasseh was raised in a godly home. His fa-ther, Hezekiah, was one of the most outstandingkings of Judah. Manasseh was born about threeyears after his father’s life had been miraculouslyextended by God. (2 Kings 20:1-11) No doubtHezekiah viewed this son as a gift resulting fromGod’s mercy and tried to instill in him a love forpure worship. But the children of godly parentsdo not always follow in their parents’ footsteps.Such was the case with Manasseh.

Manasseh was not more than 12 when he losthis father. Sadly, Manasseh “proceeded to dowhat was bad in Jehovah’s eyes.” (Verses 1, 2)Was the young king influenced by counselorswho had no regard for true worship? The Bibledoes not say. What it does tell us is that Ma-

nasseh descended to grossidolatry and cruelty. He setup altars to false gods, of-fered his own sons in sac-rifice, practiced spiritism,and put a graven imagein Jehovah’s temple in Je-rusalem. Stubborn Manas-seh refused to heed repeat-ed warnings from Jehovah,the God whose miracle hadenabled his birth.—Vers-es 3-10.

Finally, Jehovah allowed Manasseh to be tak-en in fetters to Babylon. There, in exile, Manas-seh had a chance to reflect on his course. Did henow see that his impotent, lifeless idols hadfailed to protect him? Did he think back to thethings his godly father had taught him as achild? Whatever the case, Manasseh had achange of heart. The record says: “He softenedthe face of Jehovah his God and kept humblinghimself greatly . . . And he kept praying toHim.”� (Verses 12,13) But could a man who hadcommitted such gross sins really be forgiven byGod?

Jehovah was touched by Manasseh’s sincererepentance. God heard his pleas for mercy“and restored him to Jerusalem to his king-ship.” (Verse 13) In proof of his repentance,Manasseh then did what he could to recti-fy his wrongs, clearing out idolatry from hisrealm and urging his people “to serve Jehovah.”—Verses 15-17.

If you feel unworthy of God’s forgiveness be-cause of past sins, take heart from Manasseh’sexample. This account is part of God’s inspiredWord. (Romans 15:4) Clearly, Jehovah wants usto know that he is “ready to forgive.” (Psalm86:5) It is not the sin but the heart condition ofthe sinner that matters to him. A sinner whoprays with a contrite heart, abandons his wrongcourse, and makes determined efforts to dowhat is right may ‘soften the face of Jehovah,’even as Manasseh did.—Isaiah 1:18; 55:6, 7.

� Young’s Literal Translation here reads: “He . . . ap-peased the face of Jehovah his God.”

DRAW CLOSE TO GOD

“He Softened the Face of Jehovah”

��

SUGGESTED BIBLE READING FOR JANUARY:˛ 2 Chronicles 29–Ezra 10

��

ˇ Between October and April, rain fallsin Israel and at times gushes down tor-rent valleys. In the summer, however,most of these “rivers” dry up, and theremay be no rain for months. How didpeople in Bible times maintain a steadysupply of water?

They resolved this problem by cut-ting channels into hillsides and di-recting winter rains into undergroundcavities, or cisterns. Rooftops were suf-ficiently sloped to direct rainwater intothese cisterns. Many families had theirown cistern, from which they coulddraw water to quench their thirst.—2 Kings 18:31; Jeremiah 6:7.

The Israelites also took advantage ofnatural springs. In the highlands, win-

ter rain seeps into the ground until itreaches impermeable layers of rock,along which it runs until it reappears insprings. That villages were often builtnear a spring (Hebrew, en) is sug-gested by such place-names as En-shemesh, En-rogel, and En-gedi. (Josh-ua 15:7, 62) At Jerusalem, a conduit wasquarried through solid rock to bringspringwater into the city.—2 Kings20:20.

Where there were no natural springs,a well (Hebrew, be�er�), such as the oneat Beer-sheba, was sunk to tap under-ground water. (Genesis 26:32, 33) Au-thor Andre Chouraqui notes that “thetechnical solutions [the Israelites] foundcommand admiration even today.”

DID YOU KNOW?

Since Israel has a long dry season, what strategies did itsinhabitants in ancient times adopt to ensure their watersupply?

CISTERN, HORVOTMEZADA, ISRAEL

˘ Masada National Park, IsraelNature and Parks Authority

ˇ Abram and his wife lived in the pros-perous Chaldean city of Ur. But atGod’s direction, they left that city andbegan dwelling in tents. (Genesis 11:31; 13:12) Consider what a sacrifice thischange may have involved for them.

Ur, in modern-day Iraq, was excavat-ed by Leonard Woolley between 1922and 1934. Among the buildings hefound were some 73 houses built ofbrick. The rooms of many of these hous-es were arranged around a paved cen-tral courtyard. The courtyard slopedgently toward its center, where a draineliminated waste water. In the largerhouses, guest rooms had their own lav-

atories. Other rooms on the groundfloor included kitchens with fireplacesand slaves’ sleeping quarters. The fam-ily lived on the upper level, which wasaccessed by a staircase. The stairs led toa wooden balcony that ran around thecourtyard and permitted access to thedoors of the upper rooms.

“A house . . . , with its paved courtand neatly whitewashed walls, its ownsystem of drainage, . . . of a dozenrooms or more, implies a standard oflife of a really high order,” wrote Wool-ley. “And these are the houses . . . of themiddle class, shopkeepers, petty mer-chants, scribes, and so on.”

What kind of house might Abram (Abraham)have lived in?

DRAWING OF AHOUSE FROM THE

TIME OF ABRAHAM˘ Drawing: A. S. Whitburn


DOYOU feel loved? Or are you sometimes left with the im-pression that nobody cares about you? In this fast-paced,

self-centered world, it may seem easy to believe that you aretoo small tomatter, too insignificant tobenoticed. True to theBible’s description of our times, many today are so absorbedin themselves that there is a widespread lack of concern forothers.—2 Timothy 3:1, 2.

Regardless of age, culture, language, or race, all humanshave a deep-rooted need to love and be loved. According tosome reports, our nervous system is specially designed tosense love and tenderness. Jehovah God, the one who createdus, understands better than anyone else our need to be lovedand appreciated. How would you feel if he assured you thatyou are precious to him? It would certainly be the most trea-sured recognition you could attain. Can we really be sure thatJehovah is interested in imperfect humans? Is he concernedabout us as individuals? If so, what makes a person desirableto him?

Jehovah Does CareSome 3,000 years ago, a God-fearing psalmist was filled

with awewhenhe beheld the grandeurof the starry night sky.There was no doubt in his mind about the infinitely superiormajesty of the One who had created the countless stars. Pon-dering Jehovah’s greatness and contemplating man’s little-ness, the psalmist expressed his amazement about Jehovah’sloving concern: “When I see your heavens, the works of yourfingers, the moon and the stars that you have prepared, whatis mortal man that you keep him in mind, and the son ofearthling man that you take care of him?” (Psalm 8:3, 4) Itwould be easy to conclude that the Supreme One is too far offor too preoccupied to take note of imperfect humans. Yet, thepsalmist knew that in spite of our comparative insignificanceand transience, man does count with God.

Another psalmist expressed this assurance: “Jehovah isfinding pleasure in those fearing him, in those waiting for hisloving-kindness.” (Psalm 147:11) The thought expressed in

Does GodReally CareAboutYou?


both of these psalms is touching. Jehovah, elevated as he is, isnot simply aware of humans. Rather, he ‘takes care of them’and ‘finds pleasure in them.’

This fact is further emphasized by a Bible prophecy that de-scribes developments taking place in our time. Through theprophet Haggai, Jehovah indicated that the preaching of thegood news of God’s Kingdom would be carried out world-wide. With what result? Notice one of the effects: “The desir-able things of all the nations must come in; and I will fill thishouse with glory.”—Haggai 2:7.

What are these “desirable things” that are collected out ofall the nations? These can hardly be material riches. (Haggai2:8) What really makes Jehovah’s heart rejoice is not silverand gold. He delights in people who, despite their imperfec-tions, worship him out of love. (Proverbs 27:11) They are “thedesirable things” that bring him glory, and he treasurestheir heart devotion and zealous service. Are you amongthem?

The thought that imperfect human creatures can appeardesirable to the Grand Creator of the universe may seem un-believable. In reality, though, this truth should motivate us toaccept the warm invitation to draw close to him.—Isaiah 55:6;James 4:8.

“You Are Someone Very Desirable”In his advanced age, the prophet Daniel had a striking en-

counter early one evening. While Daniel was praying, a distin-guished visitor arrived suddenly. His name was Gabriel. Dan-iel had met him before and recognized him as Jehovah’sangel. Gabriel explained the reason for his sudden appear-ance: “O Daniel, now I have come forth to make you have in-sight with understanding . . . because you are someone verydesirable.”—Daniel 9:21-23.

On another occasion, one of Jehovah’s angels addressedDaniel, saying: “O Daniel, you very desirable man.” Then, tostrengthen Daniel, the angel said: “Do not be afraid, O verydesirable man. May you have peace.” (Daniel 10:11, 19) Threetimes Daniel is thus described as “very desirable.” This expres-sion can also mean “greatly beloved,” “highly esteemed,”even “a favorite.”

Surely, Daniel already felt close to his God and no doubtperceived that Jehovah approved of his devoted service. Butthat expression of God’s great affection as conveyed throughhis angelic messengers must have been most reassuring. Not

God expressedhis affectionfor Daniel bysending theangel Gabriel tostrengthen him


surprisingly, Daniel responded: “You havestrengthened me.”—Daniel 10:19.

The heartwarming account of Jehovah’stender feelings for his faithful prophet is re-corded in God’s Word for our benefit. (Ro-mans 15:4) Reflecting on Daniel’s exampleallows us to understand what makes a persondesirable to our loving heavenly Father.

Study God’s Word RegularlyDaniel was a diligent student of the Scrip-

tures. We know this because he himselfwrote: “I . . . discerned by the books the num-ber of the years . . . for fulfilling the devasta-tions of Jerusalem.” (Daniel 9:2) The booksavailable to him at the time likely includedthe inspired writings of Moses, David, Solo-mon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and otherprophets.We can imagineDaniel surroundedby numerous scrolls, thoroughly immersedin reading and comparing the prophetic pro-nouncements that had a bearing on the resto-ration of true worship in Jerusalem. Un-disturbed, possibly in his roof chamber, heno doubt meditated deeply on the mean-ing of such passages. His purposeful studystrengthened his faith and drew him close toJehovah.

Studying God’s Word also molded Daniel’spersonality and affectedhis whole life course.Scriptural instruction during his tender yearsno doubt made him determined as a youth toobserve the dietary regulations of God’s Lawthat were applicable at the time. (Daniel 1:8)Later, he fearlessly declared God’s messageto Babylon’s rulers. (Proverbs 29:25; Dan-iel 4:19-25; 5:22-28) His diligence, honesty,and trustworthiness were well-known. (Dan-iel 6:4) Above all, rather than compromisingin order to save his own life, Daniel fullytrusted in Jehovah. (Proverbs 3:5, 6; Daniel 6:23) No wonder he was “very desirable” inGod’s sight!

In some respects, Bible study is easier for ustoday than it was for Daniel. Bulky scrolls

have givenway to convenient books. We nowhave the complete Bible, including the writ-ten record of how some of Daniel’s prophe-cies were fulfilled. And we have at our dispos-al an abundance of Bible study aids andresearch tools.� Do you make good use ofsuch tools? Do you schedule regular times forBible reading and meditation? Then the ef-fect of your doing sowill be the same as it wasin Daniel’s case. You will be able to build sol-id faith and deepenyour relationship with Je-hovah. God’s Word will be a sure guide foryour life, giving you the assurance of his lov-ing care.

Persevere in PrayerDaniel was a man of prayer. He made ap-

propriate requests of God. As a young man,he faced the threat of execution if unableto interpret Babylonian King Nebuchadnez-zar’s dream. Without hesitation, Daniel im-plored Jehovah to grant him support andprotection. (Daniel 2:17, 18) Years later, inhumble realization of his human imperfec-tion, the faithful prophet confessed his sintogether with the sin of his people andbegged Jehovah for forgiveness. (Daniel 9:3-6, 20) When he lacked understanding re-garding the things that were given him by in-spiration, Daniel asked for God’s help. Inone instance, the angel who subsequentlyvisited Daniel to give him further insightconfirmed: “Your words have been heard.”—Daniel 10:12.

Faithful Daniel, though, did more thanoffer petitions to God. Daniel 6:10 states:“Even three times in a day he was . . . prayingand offering praise before his God, as he hadbeen regularly doing.” Daniel found manyreasons to thank and praise Jehovah. And hedid so regularly. Yes, prayer was an integral

� Jehovah’s Witnesses publish a number of researchand study aids that can help to make Bible reading andstudy more beneficial. If you are interested in obtainingsuch aids, feel free to ask any of Jehovah’s Witnesses.


part of his worship, so much so that he could not give it upeven at the risk of his life. Certainly, this steadfastness en-deared him to Jehovah.

What a wonderful gift the privilege of prayer is! Never let aday go by without talking toyourheavenly Father. Rememberto thank and praise him for all the goodness he shows. Freelyexpress your anxieties and concerns. Reflect on how your re-quests or supplications have been answered, and express yourgratitude. Take time to linger in prayer. When we thus openour heart to Jehovah in prayer, we experience his love ina very personal way. What an incentive to “persevere inprayer”!—Romans 12:12.

Glorify Jehovah’s NameNo friendship can thrive if one par-

ty is self-centered. The same is true inour relationship with Jehovah. Daniel wasaware of this fact. Consider howgreatly hewas concerned about glorifying Jehovah’sname.

When God answered his prayer by re-vealing to him Nebuchadnezzar’s dreamand its interpretation, Daniel said: “LetthenameofGodbecomeblessed from time indefinite even totime indefinite, for wisdom and mightiness—for they belongto him.” Later, when making known to Nebuchadnezzar thedream and its meaning, Daniel repeatedly gave credit to Jeho-vah, emphasizing that only He is the “Revealer of secrets.”Similarly, when pleading for forgiveness and deliverance,Daniel prayed: “O my God, . . . your own name has beencalled upon your city and upon your people.”—Daniel 2:20,28; 9:19.

We have many opportunities to imitate Daniel in this re-gard. When praying, we may express our concern that God’s“namebe sanctified.” (Matthew6:9,10)Never wouldwewantour conduct to bring reproach on Jehovah’s holy name. In-stead, may we always glorify Jehovah by sharing with otherswhat we learn about the good news of his Kingdom.

Granted, in the world around us, love and concern for oth-ers are wanting. We can, however, find great comfort inknowing that Jehovah really does care about his worshippersas individuals. As the psalmist says: “Jehovah is taking plea-sure in his people. He beautifies the meek ones with salva-tion.”—Psalm 149:4.

Daniel’sdiligence instudy andprayerrefined hispersonalityand endearedhim to God


That was just part of a string of tragedies.High Priest Eli had two wicked sons, Hophniand Phinehas, who had marched out of Shi-loh with the sacred ark of the covenant. Usu-ally housed in the holy compartment of thetabernacle—a tentlike temple—this preciouschest was a symbol of God’s presence. Thepeople then took the Ark into battle, foolishlythinking that it would act like a charm andgive them victory. But the Philistines cap-tured the Ark, killing Hophni and Phinehas.—1 Samuel 4:3-11.

The tabernacle in Shiloh had been hon-ored with the presence of the Ark for centu-ries. Now it was gone. Upon hearing thisnews, 98-year-old Eli fell backward from hischair and died. His daughter-in-law, widowedthat very day, died in childbirth. Before expir-ing, she said: “Glory has gone away from Isra-el into exile.” Indeed, Shiloh would never bethe same.—1 Samuel 4:12-22.

How would Samuel cope with these pro-found disappointments? Would his faithstand up to the challenge of helping a peoplewho had lost Jehovah’s protection and favor?All of us today may, at times, face hard-ships and disappointments that challengeour faith, so let us see what we can learn fromSamuel.

He “Effected Righteousness”The Bible record turns away from Samuel

at this point and follows the sacred Ark,showing us how the Philistines suffered fortaking it and were forced to return it. Whenwe come upon Samuel again, some 20 yearshave passed. (1 Samuel 7:2) How was he oc-cupied during those years? We need notguess.

We learn that before this period began,“the word of Samuel continued to come to allIsrael.” (1 Samuel 4:1) The record reveals thatafter the period was over, Samuel made a cus-tom of visiting three cities in Israel, making acircuit each year, handling disputes and re-solving questions. Then he would return tohis hometown of Ramah. (1 Samuel 7:15-17)Clearly, Samuel always kept busy, and duringthat 20-year interval, he had much to do.

The immorality and corruption of Eli’ssons had eroded people’s faith. Many, itseems, turned to idolatry as a result. After twodecades of hard work, though, Samuel deliv-ered this message to the people: “If it is withall your heart you are returning to Jeho-vah, put away the foreign gods from yourmidst and also the Ashtoreth images, and di-rect your heart unswervingly to Jehovah and

IMITATE THEIR FAITH

He Endured DespiteDisappointmentsSAMUEL could feel the grief in Shiloh. It almost seemed that thetown was awash in tears. From how many houses did the cries of

women and children emanate, the sounds of mourning over the news about fathers,husbands, sons, and brothers who would not be coming home? We know only thatIsrael had lost some 30,000 soldiers in a terrible defeat at the hands of the Philistinesnot long after the loss of 4,000 in another battle.—1 Samuel 4:1, 2, 10.

serve himalone, andhewill deliver you fromthe hand of the Philistines.”—1 Samuel 7:3.

“The hand of the Philistines” had grownheavy on the people. With Israel’s army ef-fectively smashed, the Philistines felt free tooppress God’s people with impunity. ButSamuel assured the people that things wouldchange if only they returned to Jehovah.Were they willing? To Samuel’s delight, theyput away their idols and “began serving Jeho-vah alone.” Samuel convened an assembly atMizpah, a town in the mountainous countrynorth of Jerusalem. The people gathered,fasted, and repented for their many sins ofidolatry.—1 Samuel 7:4-6.

However, the Philistines learned of thisgreat gathering and saw an opportunity.They sent their army to Mizpah to crushthose worshippers of Jehovah. The Israelitesheard news of the approaching danger. Terri-fied, they asked Samuel to pray for them. Hedid so, offering a sacrifice as well.During thatsacred ceremony, the Philistine army cameup against Mizpah. Jehovah then answeredSamuel’s prayer. In effect, Jehovah let out aroar of indignation. He “caused it to thunderwith a loud noise on that day against the Phi-listines.”—1 Samuel 7:7-10.

Now, should we imagine that those Philis-tines were like little children who scurry in

fear to hide behind their mommies whenthey hear a thunderclap? No, these weretough, battle-hardened soldiers. This thun-der, then, must have been unlike anythingthey knew. Was it the sheer volume of this“loud noise”? Did it come out of a clear bluesky, or did it echo bafflingly from the hill-sides? At any rate, it shook those Philistinesto the core. In utter confusion, they changedquickly from bullies to targets. The men ofIsrael poured forth from Mizpah, defeatedthem, and chased them for miles, downsouthwest of Jerusalem.—1 Samuel 7:11.

That battle was a turning point. The Philis-tines kept retreating during the rest of Samu-el’s days as judge. City after city returned tothe control of God’s people.—1 Samuel 7:13,14.

Many centuries later, the apostle Paul list-ed Samuel among the faithful judges andprophets who “effected righteousness.” (He-brews 11:32, 33) Samuel did indeed help tobring about what was good and right inGod’s eyes. He remained effective because hewaited patiently on Jehovah, faithfully keep-ing at his work in spite of disappointments.He also showed an appreciative spirit. Afterthe victory at Mizpah, Samuel had a monu-ment erected to commemorate the way thatJehovah had helped his people.—1 Samuel7:12.

Do you want to ‘effect righteousness’yourself? If so, you do well to learn

from Samuel’s patience and hishumble, appreciative spirit. Who

of us does not need those quali-ties? It was good for Samuelto acquire and display suchtraits when relatively young,

How could Samuel help hispeople cope with terribleloss and disappointment?

for he faced deeper disappointments in hislater years.

“Your Own Sons Have Not Walkedin Your Ways”

The next time we see Samuel, he “hadgrown old.” Samuel had two adult sons bythis time, Joel and Abijah, and he entrustedthem with the responsibility of helping himin the work of judging. Sadly, though, histrust was misplaced. Honest and righteousthough Samuel was, his sons used their po-sitions for selfish ends, perverting justiceand taking bribes.—1 Samuel 8:1-3.

One day, the older men of Israel ap-proached the elderly prophet to complain.“Your own sons have not walked in yourways,” they said. (1 Samuel 8:4, 5)Was Samu-el aware of the problem? The account doesnot say.Unlike Eli, however, Samuelwas sure-ly not a reprehensible father. Jehovah had re-buked and punished Eli for failing to correcthis sons’ wickedness, for honoring his sonsmore than God. (1 Samuel 2:27-29) Jehovahnever found such fault with Samuel.

The account does not reveal Samuel’s ago-nizing shame, anxiety, or disappointmentonce he learned of his sons’ wicked conduct.Many parents, however, can imagine his feel-ings only too well. In today’s dark times, re-bellion against parental authority and disci-pline is pandemic. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Parentswho are dealing with that kind of pain mayfind a measure of comfort and guidance inSamuel’s example. He did not let his sons’faithless ways alter his own course one bit.Remember, even after words and disciplinefail to reach hardened hearts, parental exam-ple remains a powerful teacher. And par-ents always have the opportunity to maketheir own Father, Jehovah God, proud—asdid Samuel.

“Do Appoint for Us a King”Samuel’s sons could not have imagined

how far the effects of their greed and selfish-ness would reach. The older men of Israelwent on to say to Samuel: “Now do appointfor us a king to judge us like all the nations.”Did that demand feel like a rejection to Sam-

How did Samuel cope with thedisappointment of having sons who

went bad?


uel? After all, he had been judging those peo-ple on Jehovah’s behalf for decades. Nowthey wanted, not some mere prophet likeSamuel, but a king to be their judge. The na-tions round about had kings, and the Israel-ites wanted one too! How did Samuel react?“The thing was bad” in his eyes, we read.—1 Samuel 8:5, 6.

Note how Jehovah responded when Samu-el took the matter to him inprayer: “Listen tothe voice of the people as respects all thatthey say to you; for it is not you whom theyhave rejected, but it is I whom they have re-jected from being king over them.” Howcomforting for Samuel, yet how awful an in-sult those people had flung at Almighty God!Jehovah told his prophet to warn the Israel-ites of the high price they would pay for hav-ing a human king. When Samuel complied,they insisted: “No, but a king is what willcome to be over us.” Ever obedient to hisGod, Samuel went and anointed the kingwhom Jehovah chose.—1 Samuel 8:7-19.

How, though, did Samuel obey? In a re-sentful, perfunctory way? Did he allow dis-appointment to poison his heart, lettingbitterness take root? Many a man might re-spond that way in such a situation, but notSamuel. He anointed Saul and acknowledgedthat the man was Jehovah’s own choice. Hekissed Saul, a sign of welcome and submis-sion to the new king. And he said to the peo-ple: “Have you seen the one whom Jehovahhas chosen, that there is none like himamong all the people?”—1 Samuel 10:1, 24.

Samuel focused, not on faults, but on thegood in the man Jehovah had chosen. As tohimself, he focused on his own record of in-tegrity to God rather than on the approvalof fickle people. (1 Samuel 12:1-4) He alsoworked faithfully at his own assignment,counseling God’s people about the spiritualdangers they faced and encouraging them

to remain faithful to Jehovah. His counselreached their hearts, and the people beggedSamuel to pray in their behalf. He gave themthis beautiful reply: “It is unthinkable, on mypart, to sin against Jehovah by ceasing to prayin your behalf; and I must instruct you in thegood and right way.”—1 Samuel 12:21-24.

Have you ever felt disappointed whensomeone else was chosen for a certain posi-tion or privilege? Samuel’s example is a pow-erful reminder that we must never let jealou-sy or bitterness take root in our heart. Godhas plenty of rewarding, fulfilling work foreach of his faithful servants.

“For How Long Will You BeMourning for Saul?”

Samuel was right to see good in Saul; thiswas a remarkable man. Tall and impressive inappearance, he was courageous and resource-ful yet initially modest and unassuming.(1 Samuel 10:22, 23, 27) In addition to suchgifts, he had a precious one—free will, theability to choose his life course and make hisown decisions. (Deuteronomy 30:19) Did heuse that gift well?

Sadly, when a man basks in the warm glowof newly acquired power, modesty is oftenthe first quality to melt away. Before long,Saul began to turn arrogant. He chose to dis-obey Jehovah’s orders that Samuel trans-mitted to him. Once, Saul grew impatientand offered up a sacrifice that only Samuelcould rightfully offer. Samuel had to givehim strong correction and foretold that thekingship would not remain in Saul’s family.Instead of being chastened by the discipline,Saul went on to commit worse acts of dis-obedience.—1 Samuel 13:8, 9, 13,14.

Through Samuel, Jehovah told Saul towage war against the Amalekites. Jeho-vah’s instructions included an order to exe-cute their wicked king, Agag. However, Saul


spared Agag as well as the best of the spoilthat was to be destroyed. When Samuel cameto correct him, Saul revealed how much hehad changed. Instead of modestly acceptingcorrection, he rationalized, excused himself,justified his actions, sidestepped the issue,and tried to shift the blame to the people.When Saul tried to deflect the discipline byclaiming that some of the spoil was intendedfor a sacrifice to Jehovah, Samuel uttered thefamous words: “Look! To obey is better thana sacrifice.” Courageously, Samuel rebukedthe man and revealed Jehovah’s decision:The kingship would be ripped away fromSaul and given to another—a better man.—1 Samuel 15:1-33.

Samuel was deeply upset over Saul’s fail-ings. He spent the night crying out to Jeho-vah about the matter. He even went intomourning for the man. Samuel had seen somuch potential in Saul, so much good, andnow his hopes were shattered. The man heonce knew had changed—he had lost his bestqualities and turned against Jehovah. Samu-el refused to see Saul ever again. In time,though, Jehovah offered Samuel this gentlereproof: “For how long will you be mourningfor Saul, while I, on the other hand, have re-jected him from ruling as king over Israel?Fill your horn with oil and go. I shall sendyou to Jesse the Bethlehemite, because I haveprovided among his sons a king for myself.”—1 Samuel 15:34, 35; 16:1.

Jehovah’s purpose does not depend on thewavering loyalties of imperfect humans. Ifone man turns unfaithful, Jehovah will findanother to carry out His will. So aged Samuellet go of his grief over Saul. At Jehovah’s di-rection, Samuel went to the home of Jessein Bethlehem, where he met a number ofimpressive-looking sons. Yet, from the first,Jehovah reminded Samuel: “Do not look athis appearance and at the height of his stat-

ure . . . For not the way man sees is the wayGod sees, because mere man sees what ap-pears to the eyes; but as for Jehovah, he seeswhat the heart is.” (1 Samuel 16:7) Finally,Samuel met the youngest son, and here wasJehovah’s choice—David!

In his final years, Samuel got to see evermore clearly the rightness of Jehovah’s deci-sion to replace Saul with David. Saul de-scended into murderous jealousy and apos-tasy. David, however, showed beautifulqualities—courage, integrity, faith, and loy-alty. As Samuel’s life drew to a close, hisfaith grew ever stronger. He saw that no dis-appointment is too great for Jehovah to heal,to resolve, or even to turn into a blessing.Finally, Samuel died, leaving behind the rec-ord of a remarkable life that spanned the bet-ter part of a century. All Israel mourned theloss of that faithful man—and nowonder! Tothis day, servants of Jehovah do well to ask,‘Will I imitate the faith of Samuel?’


HOWdid a manof East Asianorigin endupin the ancient Roman Empire 2,000

years ago? That was the question facing ar-chaeologists after they made a fascinatingdiscovery in southern Italy in 2009.

The site was an ancient Roman ceme-tery at Vagnari, 40 miles (60 km) west ofBari. Seventy-five human skeletons were un-covered. Tests on the bones indicated thatmost of the people were born nearby. Yet,the skeleton of one man surprised the re-searchers. Analysis of his mitochondrial DNAshowed that he had East Asian ancestry onhis mother’s side.� His remains dated to thefirst or second century C.E. According to a re-port on the find, “this appears to be the firsttime that a skeletonwith an East Asian ances-try has been discovered in the Roman Em-pire.” Sowhowas this man?

“At first glance it’s tempting to link this fel-low to the silk trade that flourished betweenChina and Rome,” says the same report.However, it is thought that such trade wascarried on by a series of intermediaries, ormiddlemen, with no one person actuallymaking the whole 5,000-mile (8,000-km)trek between China and Italy.

What can the place where the remainswere found tell us? In ancient times, Vagnariwas a rural imperial estate—land controlledby the emperor—where laborers smelted iron

� Mitochondrial DNA analysis is unable to provide anyinformation concerning paternal ancestry.

and produced clay tiles. Many of the workersthere were slaves, and it is likely that this Ori-ental was too. In fact, his burial was notthat of a wealthy man. His surviving goods,which were buried with him, amounted to asingle pot, and another body had been bur-ied on top of his.

Why is this find of interest? The spread ofthe Christian message in the first centu-ry C.E. depended on how far the ancientstraveled. The Bible reports that after Pente-cost 33 C.E., the good news was carried farand wide by foreign visitors to Jerusalem.(Acts 2:1-12, 37-41) At the very least, this skel-eton suggests that about that time some peo-ple were traveling from East Asia to the Medi-terranean region.�

� There is also evidence that Westerners were travelingto East Asia. See the article “How Far East Could Mission-aries Go?” in the January 1, 2009, issue of The Watch-tower.

AN EAST ASIANIN ANCIENT ITALY

SKELETON OF ANEAST ASIAN MANUNCOVERED IN ANANCIENT ROMANCEMETERY˘ Su concessione delMinistero per i Beni e leAttivita Culturali - DirezioneRegionale per i BeniCulturali e Paesaggisticidella Puglia -Soprintendenza per i BeniArcheologici della Puglia

ROME Vagnari

Mediterranean Sea EAST ASIA

PACI

FIC

OCEAN


– ANALYZE THE SCENE.—READ GENESIS 25:20-34.

What characteristics did Jacob and Esau display even while still in the womb? ��

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How do you picture the physical appearance of Jacob and of Esau as youngmen? ��

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What emotions do you sense in the conversation between Jacob and Esau inverses 30 to 33? ��

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DIG DEEPER.

Using research materials at your disposal, find out something about the rightsof the firstborn son. Why were these rights important? What was the signif-icance of selling these rights for a bowl of stew? ��

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— ANALYZE THE SCENE.—READ GENESIS 27:1-10, 30-38.

What emotion do you sense in Esau’s voice when he realized that his brotherhad received the blessing of firstborn? ��

FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Appreciate Sacred Things!Instructions: Do this exercise in quiet surroundings. As you read thescriptures, imagine that you are part of the event. Visualize the scene.Hear the voices. Feel the emotions of the characters. Let the accountcome to life.Main characters: Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and EsauSummary: Esau sells his birthright to his twin brother, Jacob.

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DIG DEEPER.

Was it wrong for Rebekah and Jacob to maneu-ver events so that Jacob received the blessing?Why, or why not? (Clue: See Genesis 25:23, 33.)��

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˜ APPLY WHAT YOU LEARNED. WRITE DOWNWHAT YOU LEARNED ABOUT . . .

The long-term consequences of instant gratifi-cation. ��

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FOR FURTHER APPLICATION.

What sacred things have been entrusted toyou? ��

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In what specific ways can you show that youvalue sacred things? ��

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™ WHAT ASPECT OF THIS ACCOUNT IS MOSTMEANINGFUL TO YOU, AND WHY?��

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IF YOUDON’T HAVEA BIBLE,

ASK JEHOVAH’S WITNESSESFOR ONE, OR

READ IT ONLINE ATwww.watchtower.org

°

Does it really matter whether there was a garden of Eden?SEE PAGES 9-11.

Did God know in advance that Adam and Eve would sin?SEE PAGES 13-15.

How can you know if your sins can be forgiven by God?SEE PAGE 18.

Is God concerned about you as an individual?SEE PAGES 20-23.

Would you welcome a visit?

www.watchtower.org wp11 01/01-E

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DID THE GARDEN OF EDEN EXIST REALY