Conclusion of "Let the Rivers Themselves Clap Their Hands"

Regarding this remarkable cycle, the Bible says:  "All the winter torrents are going forth to the sea, yet the sea itself is not full. To the place where they are returning as to go forth." (Ecclesiastes 1:7)  Only Jehovah, the God of infinite wisdom and loving care, could set such a cycle in  motion. And what does such ingenious design tell us about the kind of person God is?  He is a God of great wisdom and loving care. -Psalm 104:13-15, 24, 25; Proverbs 3:19, 20. 

Despite their size and number, rivers carry very little of the world's fresh water. Nevertheless, they are vital to life.  "Without access to and some degree of control over water, human life at its simplest and its most complex would be impossible," states the book Water.  "The record of man's response to that fact constitutes much of the history of civilization." 

For thousands of years, rivers have quenched the thirst of man and provided water for his gardens.  The fertile soil along many rivers is ideal for growing crops.  Note how this thought is expressed in a blessing on Jehovah's servants:  "How good-looking are your tents, O Jacob, your tabernacles, O Israel! Like torrent valleys they have extended a long way, like gardens by the river.  Like aloe plants that Jehovah has planted, like cedars by the waters." ( numbers 24:5, 6)  Rivers also help  to sustain such animals as the ducks and the jackal.  In fact, the more we study the rivers, the more we are compelled to give thanks to Jehovah. 

Next time: ELDERLY ONES -VALUABLE MEMBERS OF OUR CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD

From the Watchtower magazine, 2004