Watchtower Study Sunday 20-10-2013
The negative speech of others can influence us. (Read Deuteronomy 1:26-28.) The Israelites had just been delivered from slavery in Egypt. Jehovah had miraculously brought ten plagues on that oppressive nation and thereafter destroyed Pharaoh and his military force in the Red Sea. (Ex. 12:29-32, 51; 14:29-31; Ps. 136:15) God’s people were poised to enter the Promised Land. Yet, at that crucial moment, the Israelites started to complain about Jehovah. What caused this lack of faith? Their hearts melted because of the negative report of some who had been sent to spy out the land. (Num. 14:1-4) What resulted? A whole generation was not allowed to enter into that “good land.” (Deut. 1:34, 35) Could we at times allow the negative speech of others to weaken our faith and cause us to grumble about Jehovah’s dealings with us?
We do not know all the facts. Because of not having all the facts, the Israelites in Ezekiel’s day felt that Jehovah’s way was “not adjusted right.” (Ezek. 18:29) It was as if they had set themselves up as judges of God, putting their own standards of justice above Jehovah’s and judging him based on their own limited understanding of events. If we at times do not fully understand a Bible account or the way events develop in our own life, could we perhaps feel in our heart that the way of Jehovah is unfair, “not adjusted right”?—Job 35:2.
Do not allow negative speech to affect you. The Israelites in Moses’ day had ample reason to believe that Jehovah would successfully usher them into the Promised Land. (Ps. 78:43-53) But when faced with the negative report of the ten unfaithful spies, they did not “remember his hand.” (Ps. 78:42) If we meditate on Jehovah’s activities, remembering all the good things he has done for us, we will strengthen our relationship with him. As a result, we will not allow the negative ideas of others to drive a wedge between us and Jehovah. —Ps. 77:11, 12.