Tag: Jonah 1-4
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?
Belly of the Whale!
Scripture reading for September 17th: Jonah 1-4
Have you ever consciously tried to avoid obedience to God? Jonah was a prophet of the Lord who was given orders by God to go and preach to the city of Nineveh. Now Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, the super-power of Jonah’s time. It is said that they impaled people on stakes and piled up heads in great pillars to spread fear and boast of their power.
God is moved by wickedness and cruelty towards the poor and oppressed! (Jonah 1:2) He has promised retribution for these sins. 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 to a wicked people. He chose not to obey and boarded a ship going in the opposite direction! During the course of the journey, God sent a great wind to buffet the ship. The wind obeyed the Lord when Jonah wouldn’t! 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 told them to throw him overboard and the sea would calm down. They obeyed and the sea was calm!
As Jonah sank down into the sea, God appointed a great fish to swallow him! Jonah found himself in the belly of this great fish, wrapped in seaweed and darkness! For three days and three nights he wrestled with his own heart and finally offered a beautiful prayer of repentance from this 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 was 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 responded! God can take our rebellion and make it work for His purposes!
Jesus used the sign of Jonah to tell people that he would be buried for three days before His resurrection! (Matthew 12:38-41) We learn that God is sovereign and that creation obeys His commands! How much more should we obey Him! If you are running from God, why not avoid an experience like Jonah’s?
Many cattle as well!
Scripture reading for September 18th: Jonah 1-4
I spent the early years of my life farming and raising cattle. I milked cows in my youth and got very personal with them. Our family enjoyed their milk, cream and butter as well as beef. My cows would come when I called them. Later, I had a herd of nearly a hundred beef cows and could lead them around from field to field with my tractor and feed wagon. I enjoyed cows and loved raising them.
You might be wondering what this discussion has to do with the Bible and the prophet Jonah. Jonah was a prophet of God who was sent to a land that was full of people who were ignorant of God. This land also had a lot of cattle in it. God cared for the people and gave Jonah a message of coming judgment in hopes of turning these people to repentance. God also noted that he cared for their cattle as well! What a compassionate God we are dealing with! I can love a God like that!
God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. This is the modern day city of Mosul, Iraq. The Assyrians were known as wicked people who were extremely brutal. Jonah thought that they should be judged but he did not want any part of the job God had asked him to do. He fled on a ship to Tarshish. His disobedience brought a violent storm and the sailors feared for their lives. They cast lots and found Jonah the responsible party for the storm for Jonah told them he was running from the Lord. (Jonah 1:10) They finally threw Jonah overboard and he was swallowed by a great fish sent by the Lord! (Jonah 1:17) The sea became calm immediately and the seamen were touched by God!
From the belly of the fish, Jonah came to his senses and agreed to go. God had the fish deposit him on Nineveh’s shore and he began to preach. “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned”. (Jonah 3:4) The Ninevites believed God and repented! Even the beasts were clothed with sackcloth! God had compassion and relented!
Jonah became angry! He wanted these wicked people destroyed! But God had compassion on the city and even it’s cattle! (Jonah 4:10-11) What a lesson in God’s compassion and the power of repentance!
The belly of the whale!
Scripture reading for September 18th: Jonah 1-4
Have you ever consciously tried to avoid obedience to God? Have you run from a calling or mission that you know God has directed you to? Jonah was a prophet of the Lord who was given orders by God to go and preach to the city of Nineveh. Now Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, the super-power of Jonah’s time; its inhabitants were known for their wickedness and 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 and He has promised retribution for sin. His wrath is ongoing towards sin and is being revealed daily in the 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 to a wicked people. He chose not to obey and, to escape God’s command, boarded a ship going in the opposite direction. During the course of the journey, God sent a great wind to buffet the ship. The wind obeyed the Lord when Jonah wouldn’t! The sailors cast lots to find out the one causing the trouble and the lot fell to Jonah! The “lot” obeyed and Jonah was exposed! 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 and the sea was calm!
Next, as Jonah sank down into the sea, God appointed a great fish to swallow him up! The fish obeyed and Jonah found himself in the belly of this great fish, wrapped in seaweed and darkness! I can only imagine the smell and cramped quarters! What a feeling of helplessness must have gripped Jonah! For three days and three nights he wrestled with his own heart and finally decided to pray and give himself to obey the Lord! What a beautiful prayer of repentance from this 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 and humbled themselves! God even takes our rebellion and makes it work for His purposes!
There are many lessons in this short book! Jesus used the sign of Jonah to tell people that he would be buried for three days before His resurrection! (Matthew 12:38-41) 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 the belly of the whale?