Tag: great fish
A whale of an indigestion problem!
Scripture reading for September 18th: Jonah 1-4
Have you ever consciously tried to avoid obedience to God? Jonah was a prophet who was given orders by God to preach to the city of Nineveh. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, the super-power of Jonah’s time and its inhabitants were known for their cruelty. They routinely killed, tortured and mutilated those they conquered! It is said that they impaled people on stakes and piled up heads in great pillars to spread fear and boast of their power.
Our prayers move the hand of God but so does wickedness and cruelty towards the poor and oppressed! (Jonah 1:2) God’s heart is for righteousness but He has promised retribution for sin. His wrath is ongoing towards sin on earth. (Romans 1:18) It will be revealed eternally in the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14-15) But God does not judge or pour out wrath without first giving warning and an opportunity to escape. He takes no pleasure in the death of anyone! (Ezekiel 33:11)
Jonah was sent on a mission of mercy, but instead boarded a ship going in the opposite direction. During the course of the journey, God sent a great wind to buffet the ship. The sailors cast lots to find out the one causing the trouble and the lot fell to Jonah! Jonah told the men he was running from the Lord. He also told them to throw him overboard and the sea would calm down. They obeyed!
As Jonah sank into the sea, God appointed a great fish to swallow him up! For three days and three nights he wrestled with his own heart and finally decided to pray! The result was a beautiful prayer of repentance from the belly of the whale! (Jonah 2:2-9) The Lord spoke to the fish and Jonah was vomited up on the shore of Nineveh! The ironic part of all of this is that the Ninevites worshiped Dagon, the fish god! When Jonah came out of the fish, they thought that their ‘god’ had sent him! As he preached repentance, all of them turned to the Lord in humility!
From Jonah, we learn that God is sovereign and that creation obeys His commands! How much more should we, who are made in His image, obey Him! If you are called by God to follow Him, why not avoid causing indigestion?