JW subtitle extractor

Most governments on earth today
have a constitution
—that is, the system, or body,
of fundamental rules and principles
of a nation, state, or political body.
Often the constitution, though,
focuses on individual rights.
Well, if someone asked you,
“What is the constitution of God’s Kingdom?”
how would you respond?
Likely, we would say,
“love of God and love of neighbor”
if we boiled it all down.
Well, one of those is highlighted
in today’s scripture text.
Let’s read it—James 2:8.
Notice how it’s expressed there:
“If, now, you carry out the royal law
“[or, according to the footnote,
“kingly” law]
“according to the scripture,
‘You must love your neighbor as yourself,’
you are doing quite well.”
“You must love your neighbor as yourself.”
How many governments include
the word “love” in their constitution?
Not many, if any.
Yet, James describes love for neighbor
as the “kingly law.”
Jehovah and Jesus as Kings
certainly have the right to enact laws
that govern human relationships.
And love for neighbor
really makes perfect sense.
Why?
Because it contributes to peace and unity
among subjects of a specific government.
We would expect nothing less
of God’s Kingdom with Christ as King.
And, frankly, if people showed
more love for fellow citizens,
there would be less of a need
to focus on individual rights
—no need to worry as much about self
if everyone else is looking out
for our best interests.
Well, how is such neighborly love—
How is it demonstrated in action?
Let’s look at one example
in the life of David.
It’s found in 2 Samuel chapter 17.
And here King David was on the run
and with him thousands of his loyal servants.
David was fleeing from his son Absalom,
who was seeking to kill him
and seize the throne.
David went north.
He crossed the Jordan River
and arrived at Mahanaim,
which likely was a fortified city
that occupied a strategic position.
Were the inhabitants of Mahanaim prepared
to host thousands of individuals
who were fleeing from Absalom,
thousands of exhausted travelers?
Well, who would care for these visitors?
Who would provide for their needs?
Who would show neighborly love to them?
We find the answer in verse 27.
Second Samuel 17:27 says:
“As soon as David came to Mahanaim,
“Shobi the son of Nahash
from Rabbah of the Ammonites,
“Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar,
“and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim
“brought beds, basins, clay pots, wheat,
“barley, flour, roasted grain, broad beans,
“lentils, parched grain, honey,
butter, sheep, and cheese.
“They brought all of this out
for David and the people with him to eat,
“for they said:
‘The people are hungry and tired
and thirsty in the wilderness.’”
They recognized the need, and they filled it.
What a gift!
What an expression of neighborly love!
Yet, where were
Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai from?
Rabbah, Lo-debar, Rogelim.
They all converged on Mahanaim.
Yet, each of those locations
was over 20 miles away.
In order for them to travel
and show this hospitality,
to show this neighborly love,
they had to travel over rough terrain
in order to get there.
Well, what did they bring?
Very practical supplies:
beds, basins, pots, all sorts of food items,
grains, meat, and cheese.
How this gift must have refreshed David
and all the people with him!
But how were these items transported?
They didn’t have trains;
they didn’t have tractor trailers.
They might have had wagons
or the backs of donkeys.
And remember, too,
that it was a time of civil war.
Absalom had spies throughout all Israel.
Such a caravan of supplies
would not have gone unnoticed.
So it required courage
on the part of Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai
to show such love.
They could have concluded
that it was just too far,
but they didn’t.
They exerted themselves
to show neighborly love
to David and those with him.
They went out of their way.
Why?
Were they seeking to curry favor with David?
No, that’s not likely.
We recall that Barzillai
later refused an invitation from David
to serve in his royal court.
Most certainly, these faithful men
were moved by Jehovah’s holy spirit
and by true, sincere interest
in David and his people.
And maybe they thought about the example
that David himself set.
What type of person
had David shown himself to be to this point?
Was he tightfisted and stingy,
or was he generous and loving?
Well, we know the answer.
Machir too definitely knew
of David’s kind consideration
of Mephibosheth.
How do we know that?
Well, Mephibosheth lived
in Machir’s house at Lo-debar
prior to David’s call for Mephibosheth
to receive food at his house,
at his table, in Jerusalem.
Let’s consider another example
of David’s neighborly love.
And this is when David had
the ark of the covenant brought to Jerusalem.
It’s found in 2 Samuel chapter 6,
if you just turn over a few pages
to 2 Samuel 6:18, 19.
It says:
“When David finished offering up
“the burnt offerings
and the communion sacrifices,
“he blessed the people
in the name of Jehovah of armies.
“Further, he distributed to all the people,
“to the whole multitude of Israel,
to each man and woman,
“a ring-shaped loaf of bread,
“a date cake, and a raisin cake,
and then all the people left,
each to his own house.”
“To all the people,
to the whole multitude of Israel”
—how many raisin cakes and loaves of bread
were distributed on that occasion?
David impartially gave a modest gift of food
to all the Israelites.
Insight on the Scriptures
under “Cake” says:
“It is possible that at least some
of the raisin cakes prepared in ancient times
were made from raisins and flour,”
possibly the predecessor
to today’s cinnamon raisin bread.
In any event, rich and poor—everyone—
received this gift of food.
Who was present on this occasion?
Might Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai
have been present on that occasion
among the crowd?
Did this loving and generous act of David
make an impression on their minds,
perhaps motivating them
to act on a later occasion?
We don’t know for sure.
But what we do know for sure
is that Jehovah was looking on
and appreciated David’s expression
of neighborly love.
So let’s bring it down to our day.
I invite you to turn to 1 John chapter 3
—1 John chapter 3—
and let’s look at verses 17 and 18.
There the apostle under inspiration says:
“But whoever has the material possessions
of this world
“and sees his brother in need
“and yet refuses to show him compassion,
“in what way
does the love of God remain in him?
“Little children,
“we should love,
not in word or with the tongue,
but in deed and truth.”
And that’s what we see
among Jehovah’s people today,
“the love of God.”
The apostle John adds another layer
to our expressions of neighborly love.
He elevates it to our love for God,
an expression of God’s love
through us to our brothers and sisters.
Yes, if we love “not in word” but “in deed,”
Jehovah will also care for us
just as he did for David.
In fact,
King David likely wrote the 41st Psalm
when he was being chased by Absalom
during Absalom’s rebellion.
Verse 1 provides the assurance:
“Happy is anyone who shows consideration
to the lowly one;
Jehovah will rescue him
in the day of calamity.”
What a beautiful promise from our God!
Well, how does Kingdom rule influence
Jehovah’s organization,
Jehovah’s people today,
in demonstrating neighborly love?
As was touched on in our comments,
during the last 15 months,
there have been numerous disasters
around the earth.
In that 15-month period,
starting in January of 2023,
the organization used
over 11 million U.S. dollars
for disaster relief.
In one example,
over 500,000 U.S. dollars were sent
to provide relief supplies
to 13,500 of our brothers
in one country
where there was an extreme drought.
Each person received
a four-month supply of food:
55 pounds of maize,
6.6 pounds of beans,
2.2 pounds of dried fish,
and two liters of cooking oil.
“Love your neighbor as yourself”
—Jehovah’s people everywhere
are imitating our loving God.
So, what have we learned?
We live up to the constitution
of God’s Kingdom
by showing brotherly love
to our brothers and sisters.
At times, we may need to go
out of our way to help others,
and we can trust
that Jehovah will never abandon us
in our day of calamity
and will strengthen us
to keep showing neighborly love.

Gage Fleegle: Keep Showing Neighborly Love (Jas. 2:8)