Additional Reasons to Be Thankful

THE people of ancient Israel had more reasons than others for expressing thankfulness to the Creator. Why can we say this?

Well, like all other humans, the Israelites had reason to be thankful for all the beautiful and wonderful things created by God. But they had added reason for gratitude because the Almighty had chosen them to be his special people and took particular care of them. (Amos 3:1, 2) Consider some of their outstanding reasons for thankfulness.

Two Escapes From Death

How grateful all Israelite parents must have been on the night of Nisan 14, 1513 B.C.E.! On that momentous night, the angel of God brought death to “every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man to beast.” But he passed over Israelite houses where the blood of Passover animals had been splashed on the doorposts and lintels. The stillness was broken as “there began arising a great outcry among the Egyptians, because there was not a house where there was not one dead.” Yet, every Israelite household still had its precious firstborn alive and well.​—Exodus 12:12, 21-24, 30.

Not long thereafter, thankfulness must have welled up in the hearts of the Israelites as they witnessed Jehovah’s miraculous intervention when they seemed trapped on the shores of the Red Sea, with the army of Egypt’s Pharaoh in hot pursuit. First, they saw the pillar of cloud that was leading them move to the rear of them, effectively slowing down the pursuers. Then the Israelites saw Moses stretch his hand out over the sea, and they looked on with amazement as God caused a powerful east wind to blow all night, splitting the waters and converting the sea basin into dry ground. The Israelites needed little urging to hurry through this divinely provided escape corridor.

Now, though, a new cause for alarm! The Egyptians poured into the seabed, confident of overtaking the Israelites. But look! When all the Egyptians were in the water-walled passage, wheels began coming off their chariots, and soon there was pandemonium. Then, with all the Israelites safely on the other shore, Jehovah again told Moses to stretch out his hand, “and the sea began to come back to its normal condition at the approaching of morning.” The result? Not even one of proud Pharaoh’s prized military force escaped drowning, nor did the proud ruler himself. (Exodus 14:19-28; Psalm 136:15) Can you imagine how thankful to Jehovah the delivered Israelites were?

God’s Spectacular Fighting Methods

Though thankful for their deliverance from Egypt and their unforgettable passage through the Red Sea, the Israelites were to face many grueling experiences before they reached the Promised Land. But each experience during their 40-year trek in the wilderness should have been an additional reason for special thankfulness to Jehovah.

Finally, the Israelites crossed the Jordan River and were in the land God had given them. They soon witnessed an example of Jehovah’s spectacular fighting methods on their behalf. How so? Why, by the amazing capture and destruction of the first Canaanite city they encountered​—Jericho! (Joshua, chapter 6) How unusual the God-directed strategy of marching around Jericho while carrying the ark of the covenant! For six consecutive days, they marched around the wall once each day. On the seventh day, they marched around the wall seven times. When the priests blew their horns, the Israelites rent the air with “a great war cry,” and “the wall began to fall down flat”! (Jos 6 Verse 20) Only Rahab’s house and the portion of the wall beneath it remained standing. The wall of this seemingly impregnable city had fallen without the need for Joshua and his army to shoot one arrow! Surely, that experience at Jericho was an outstanding additional reason for thankfulness to God.

On another occasion, there was a further outstanding display of Jehovah’s spectacular fighting methods. When the people of Gibeon made peace with the Israelites, five Amorite kings declared war on the Gibeonites. Joshua came to their aid, and the miraculous hand of Jehovah was shown repeatedly in the ensuing battle. God threw the Amorites into confusion, and “while they were fleeing from before Israel and were on the descent of Beth-horon, Jehovah hurled great stones from the heavens upon them as far as Azekah, so that they died.” More met death from those hailstones than were killed by the Israelites with the sword.​—Joshua 10:1-11.

“Before the eyes of Israel,” Joshua then spoke to Jehovah and said: “Sun, be motionless over Gibeon, and, moon, over the low plain of Aijalon.” The result? “Accordingly,” says the account, “the sun kept motionless, and the moon did stand still, until the nation could take vengeance on its enemies.”​—Joshua 10:12, 13.

What astonishing events! And what further outstanding reasons for thankfulness on the part of Jehovah’s people!

Thankfulness Short-Lived

After each manifestation of Jehovah’s intervention, the Israelites were filled with thankfulness. Likely, each Israelite said in his heart that he would never forget the things he had seen. Yet, such thankfulness was unbelievably short-lived. Time and again, the Israelites displayed a thankless attitude. Thus, God “repeatedly gave them into the hand of the nations, that those hating them might rule over them.”​—Psalm 106:41.

Yet, Jehovah showed his magnanimous spirit of forgiveness when the Israelites came into dire straits, repented of their wrong and thankless course, and called to him for help. “He would see the distress of theirs when he heard their entreating cry. And he would remember concerning them his covenant, and he would feel regret according to the abundance of his grand loving-kindness.” (Psalm 106:44, 45) Time after time, their forgiving God released them from oppressors and took them back into his favor.

Despite God’s long-suffering and his repeated sending of prophets to adjust their thinking, the Israelites proved incorrigible. At last, Jehovah’s patience ran out, and he allowed the nation of Judah to be conquered by the Babylonians in 607 B.C.E. Those not killed by the forces of King Nebuchadnezzar were taken captive to Babylon.

What a disastrous end for recurring unthankfulness and disloyalty to God! And this happened in spite of the abundance of reasons to be thankful.

How may Christians today avoid making the same mistake of failing to show thankfulness for all that Jehovah God has done for them, over and above his acts of goodness toward mankind in general? This we leave for consideration in the following article.