You ought to know positively the appearance of your flock

by leaving_quietly 13 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  leaving_quietly

  This famous line from Proverbs 27:23 (in the old NWT) is used for elders and the organization to justify field service reports. But, what is this verse talking about? Is it about overseers in the congregation? No. In context, there is a good reason for what is stated in this verse. Let us see:

  In the RNWT, looking at verses 23-27:

  23You should know well the appearance of your flock. Take good care of your sheep,
  24 For wealth does not last forever, Nor a crown for all generations.
  25 The green grass disappears, new grass appears, And the vegetation of the mountains is gathered in.
  26 The young rams provide your clothing, And the male goats provide the price of a field.
  27 And there will be enough goat’s milk to feed you, To feed your household, and to sustain your servant girls.

  Now, why know well the appearance of your flock? Verse 24 answers. It's all about making a living. Caring for your own livestock can help bring in a decent living. If your flock gets sick and dies, there goes your income.

  Context is king.
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  blondie

  The elders hardly remember the names of the people assigned to their (book study) service group let alone the names of their children. The elders were always calling us to get the phone numbers of jws at the hall...and then they would call us 3 weeks later for the same info. They never had their address either or knew the name of their non-jw husband. I can see why things went down so bad during Katrina and people feel through the cracks.

  I had been married 10 years and the WT conductor still called me by my maiden name.
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  smiddy

  many years ago a teenage neice of mine was counselled for smoking , she was not baptised , but had restrictions put on her .

  A long , long , time had passed and my SIL questioned why her daughter was still on restrictions , the answer was , she fell through the cracks , they had forgotten about her .

  This was in a regional community with 70 /80 publishers and the mother of this child was trying to rear 3 children in a divided household .

  The elders obviously didnt know the appearance of their flock.

  Thankfully the mother and 2 of her children have left this cult.

  smiddy
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  Apognophos

  I'm honestly not familiar with elders using this scripture as backup, but it's pretty funny if they're taking a literal scripture about sheep-herding as a metaphor for being an elder. Can you imagine how confused the writer would be if he saw people today interpreting it that way? Most of the Bible writers would feel that way, in fact. "What? The talking snake was... Satan? Who's that? No, that was just a talking snake! What's wrong with you people?"
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  leaving_quietly

  This scripture was used at many an elders' meeting and schools. WTBTS uses it to show how elders, like shepherds, should be alert to problems among the sheep. There ARE references in WTBTS publications which show the correct view of this verse in its context, I have found. But, other references connect it with how elders are to take care of the sheep. In schools, it was used when talking about how important the field service reports are and that those are one way elders can "know positively the appearance of the flock".
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  stuckinarut2

  Yep, it is a "go-to" scripture for the elders!

  Very interesting however when read in CONTEXT!
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  4thgen

  Interesting....23You should know well the appearance of your flock. Take good care of your sheep,
  24 For wealth does not last forever,

  I guess the elders got to know that appearance of the flocks $$$$ when they requested monthly donations!
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  daringhart13

  As a former elder I can tell you I had this argument many, many times.

  People are put on restrictions or disciplined........and they never hear from the elders again. There is not teaching or nurturing......they have to go remind the elders that they would like off their restrictions.

  I can't emphasize enough what a complete joke the 'elder arrangement' is among Jehovah's Witnesses.
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  Calebs Airplane

  This why some of the flock listen to us apostates and formulate exit strategies...

  
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  bafh

  well, it does make sense they would use this verse as the "wealth" of the organization is a result of the condition of the "sheep" - they should know the appearance of their flock since they are the ones making all the "donations" *cough, cough* - if this was a real business, the donations would have run out long ago since their "customer" service sucks the big one.

  BAFH