Studies in the Scriptures, Volume 7: The Finished MysteryRussell, C. T. (Charles Taze)
Religion
Studies in the Scriptures, Volume 7: The Finished Mystery
Russell, C. T. (Charles Taze)
Bible -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.; Jehovah's witnesses -- Controversial literature
7:6. Of the tribe of Aser [were sealed] twelve thousand.—Aser’s name
signifies _Happy_. “And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call
me blessed: and she called his name Asher.” (Gen. 30:13.) Apparently the
fourth highest place of honor goes to the happy Christians. Wherever else
the long‐faced saints go they do not get into the Asher tribe. “Rejoice in
the Lord alway: and again I say rejoice. _Finally_, my brethren, rejoice
in the Lord.”—Phil. 4:4; 3:1; 2 Chron. 20:22.
Of the tribe of Nephtalim [were sealed] twelve thousand.—Naphtali’s name
signifies _Great wrestlings_, and suggests that the fifth highest place
will go to those who have especially sought the face of the Father in
prayer. By his birth Naphtali was allied to Dan, the class that goes into
the Second Death. (Gen. 35:25; 49:17.) The suggestion is not strained,
then, that here is a class that has overcome largely because they have so
much appreciated, and have used to such good purpose, the privilege of
seeking the Father’s face in prayer.—Luke 11:5‐13; James 1:5; 3:17.
Of the tribe of Manasses [were sealed] twelve thousand.—Manasseh’s name
signifies _Forgetting_, “For God hath made me forget all my toil and all
my father’s House.” (Gen. 41:51.) The sixth honor apparently refers to a
class having naturally very strong human attachments, for the dear ones of
their earthly families, and yet love the Lord still more. Great is the
love, great the faithfulness of those that hear and heed the Divine
proposal: “Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear;
forget also thine own people, and thy father’s House.”—Psa. 45:10.
7:7. Of the tribe of Simeon [were sealed] twelve thousand.—Simeon
signifies _Hearing_. “Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated, He
hath therefore given me this son also.” (Gen. 29:33.) This suggests that
the seventh place of honor is reserved for those who have been hated in
their home circles because of faithfulness to the Word of the Lord. The
Lord saw that the beauties of their characters would only shine forth to
the best advantage if they were made ready in just such environment. How
sweet, how beautiful, is the patient heart developed under such
conditions!—Rom. 5:3; Col. 1:11, 12; 1 Pet. 1:7; 4:12; 5:10; Rom. 8:17; 2
Tim. 2:12; James 1:12.
Of the tribe of Levi [were sealed] twelve thousand.—Levi’s name signifies
_A joining_. “This time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have
borne him three sons.” The next honor is apparently reserved for those who
have literally sacrificed all their possessions in this world in order
that they might be more closely joined to the Lord and His service. Levi
had no inheritance in the land, as a tribe, and as an individual the only
event recorded in the life of the patriarch is one of destruction of the
unfaithful.—Gen. 34:25‐29.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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