Jonah 1-2
Bible Passage: Jonah 1-2
Once again, we’re reading the book on our favourite Nineveh-hating, fish belly dwelling, plant-loving prophet. This is a book that has been covered by sharings, sermons and texts several times over. And yet, like all other books, we can never get sick of reading or finding new things to learn and spiritually nurture ourselves.
For the sharing today, I’ll just be bringing up three things that come to mind when reading these two chapters again. That’s three things from two chapters in one sharing.
We May Run, But We Can’t Hide
It was one thing that Jonah ran away from the instructions of God by literally running away in the opposite direction, but it was quite something that Jonah would think that he could hide himself. I would think he was trying to since he was at the lowest parts of the ship, a place where probably very few people would go to enjoy a weekend cruise. It’s like taking a flight from Singapore to Houston and thinking, “Boy, if only I could go down to the luggage compartment and sit down next to the ugliest luggage I can find”.
Of course, in the end, God “found” him (as if He needed to even look for him) and then there was no more escaping for Jonah.
In a sermon I heard not too long ago, one point brought up was that many of us tend to make up excuses or try to siam in an attempt to avoid doing church work. But the truth, if it is God’s will, the work would still come to us again. And who can withstand the will of God? Therefore, if we are called to do the work and if we love God, we should accept it with a willing heart and serve and give our utmost best to the Lord.
And if we ever feel that we might not be able to do a good job because of our own abilities, we must remember what God told Moses when he doubted his own credibility.
So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you…”
– Exodus 3: 12a
If we keep trying to evade everything that comes our way, what if eventually these things stop coming? Would we feel blessed and relieved, or would we feel worried and wary that God might have “given up” on us?
Role Models
In a previous sharing of Jonah a couple years back, we see that Jonah woke up to many other sea farers crying out to their gods when their ship was in danger of sinking. But contrary to their reactions, Jonah appeared nonchalant and never really tried to communicate to God in any form while on board. What a contrast between a prophet of God and a bunch of folks who did not know of the true God!
For us, do we know of anyone who we consider as much more religious and pious than us? Has anyone ever commented that we seem to be less of a Christian or religious when compared to other peers? Would we feel ashamed and embarrassed if that really happened? As children of the true God and believers of the true church, we should be setting examples to others, not just in general conduct and behaviour, but also in terms of our spiritual lives.
A couple years back, I was actually contemplating about whether I should go for a department outing cum farewell dinner on a Friday night. But then I heard another colleague, who was a Seventh Day Adventist, said to another colleague that she could not go as she had to keep the Sabbath. And at that point, shame hit me like a truck going at 110 km/h. Evidently, I did not consider God enough in my decision-making…
As the children of God, should we not be “real” salt of the earth?
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavour, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men…
– Matthew 5: 13
In Darkness We Pray
Imagine being in a pitch-dark cave. And you’re in a deep crevice in that dark cave, and you’re in a closed up box in that crevice, and you’re blindfolded, and your eyes are shut. I think that would be pretty much the amount of darkness that Jonah was in when he was in the fish’s belly. Not only that, but he was probably wet and smelly, and being in a fish in the ocean, most likely feeling at the lowest point of his life, figuratively and literally. Just reading his words can tell us how low he was feeling.
And in that dark situation, he began to realize his mistakes and called out to God in repentance. Ultimately, God heard him, and the fish majestically vomited him out. Who wouldn’t dream in envy of being regurgitated from out of a fish?
When was the last time we felt like we were at an extremely low point in our lives? When did we last feel like we were in darkness and helplessness? During such times, we would tend to feel lost and we just don’t know what to do. But in these times, we would also do like what Jonah did, and that would be to call out to God. It might not necessarily be a call of repentance, but it could just be a simple plea for help, help that only our Lord can give.
When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple…
– Jonah 2: 7
And just like in Jonah’s case, even though we may be in a very pathetic state and in a very, very low point in our lives, God can still hear us. No matter where we are, God can still listen in on us and answer us.
The Lord has heard my supplication; The Lord will receive my prayer…
– Psalm 6: 9
Indeed, there are many such things that we can learn in the four short chapters of Jonah. And today, we’ve only scratched the surface on what we may have learnt before and what some of us have not. We know that there is no escaping from the will of God. We know that we have to remain spiritual and remember God in everything we do. We know that God can always hear our prayers and that only He can be relied upon in our deepest and darkest hours.
We must always pray for the wisdom from the Holy Spirit to guide us, so that we may become better Christians.
May God continue to bless us all in our spiritual nurture and growth…
