Daily text, Saturday, December 24. 2016

[Queen Esther]

Unless Jehovah guards the city, it is in vain that the guard stays awake.—Ps. 127:1.

http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/dt/r1/lp-e/2016/12/24

Shortly before the nation of Israel entered the Promised Land, tens of thousands of men committed “sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab.” As a result, 24,000 perished at Jehovah’s hand. Imagine—the Israelites were so close to the realization of their long-awaited inheritance, yet they lost out on wonderful blessings because of succumbing to temptation. (Num. 25:1-5, 9) That disastrous example was recorded “for a warning to us upon whom the ends of the systems of things have come.” (1 Cor. 10:6-11) Now in the final part of “the last days,” God’s servants are on the threshold of a righteous new world. (2 Tim. 3:1; 2 Pet. 3:13) Sadly, though, some of Jehovah’s worshippers have let down their guard. They have been ensnared by immorality and have reaped the bitter consequences of immoral conduct. Such ones run the risk of losing out on eternal blessings. w15 1/15 4:1, 2