Prophecy – Jonah 1-4
The account of Jonah is one of the most familiar in the entire Bible. We all know the story of the errant prophet who was swallowed by a big fish and the lessons and warnings that accompany it. Or so I thought…
A sister told me recently that she had just read the book of Jonah properly for the first time. And then she asked… “Why did Jonah ran away when God told him to go to Nineveh?” As I was trying to explain to her, I came to the realization that sometimes we do ‘assume’ we know certain familiar Bible stories so well that we no longer think about the fundamental questions or ponder about the basic lessons that God wants us to know.
So as we read today’s passage, let’s take our time to consider….
More than 27 centuaries ago, the prophet Jonah ran away from God. He was not the last to do so, of course. Christians still run away from service that God expects of them.
We excuse our flight in various ways… we claim that we haven’t had the “call” – but God has a general call for workers to go to the fields (Luke 10:2).
We claim that we are too busy with work and other responsibilities, but people always seem to make time for the things they value most.
Some beg off becasue they feel they are not talented enough. But God has bestowed on each one of us some kind of talent or spiritual gift.
Finally, some of us use family obligations or expectations as an excuse. Jesus, however, said the believer must choose between Christ and family (Luke 9:61-62; 14:26).
So, although our “flights” may be less obvious than that of Jonah, they are no less real.
Read today’s passage to see whether you, too, might be running away from God.
Bible Passage: Jonah 1-4
Pride and Prejudice
“I have sinned”.
“I am sorry”.
“I was wrong”.
These are often the most difficult words for a person to say. Usually pride prevents one from saying them. It takes courage to tell the injured party, “I have sinned”.
Marriages have been torn apart because of pride, as husband or wife (or both) refused to admit to being guilty of certain actions or attitudes. Relationships between parents and children have remained fractured for years because of the stubborn refusal of one party, or the other to say, “I was wrong”.
It is emotionally moving to read the accounts when such relationships have been restored to what they should be in the sight of God. Sadly, it often takes a tragedy, an illness or a death before the people involved realize how immaturedly they have acted.
In Church, sometimes struggles between personalities arises because of pride – divisions are created because no one will admit to being wrong.
A second “p word” that has caused immeasurable suffering is prejudice.
This, too, has reared its ugly head among the people of God. Prejudice kept the Jewish Christians from taking any initiative to expand their outreach to the Gentiles. When Peter presented the gospel for the first time to the Gentiles, he was compelled to make some revolutionary admissions on that occasion: “God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean… I now realize how true it is that God does not show favouritism” (Acts 20:28, 34).
Jonah as a prophet with serious problems with both pride and prejudice. The attitudes that he exhibited should cause all of us to take a hard look at our own lives and attitudes.
Is there any of Jonah in us?
A Contrast In Faith
Reading Jonah 1:15-16 causes me to stop and reflect even more about my current life and attitude.
Have you ever felt embarrassment or shame by watching a non-Chirstian exhibit more faith than you or other Chirstians? Or a Christian from another church showing you what it means to be a true Christian?
Jonah woke up to find himself surrounded by Gentile sailors who were crying out to their gods during a violent storm. The captain even rebuked the wayward prophet for sleeping, rather than praying (Jonah 1:5-6).
Jonah’s crisis of faith (Jonah 1:3) contrasted sharply with the mariners’ misdirected but sincere faith. Unlike Jonah, they had little experience of the true God; nevertheless, they displayed more apparent spiritual sensitivity. They also showed more compassion toward Jonah than Jonah seemed to feel for the people of Nineveh.
Jonah’s experience is a humbling lesson in the fact that people we don’t identify with can seem to have more going for them spiritually than we do. When that happens, the only reasonable response we can make is the one that Jonah made – confession (Jonah 1:9) and repentance (Jonah 2:1, 9).
God wants us to lead others to Him; it is to our shame if others have to draw us back to Him.
Till today, I am reminded of an incident where a Christian from another church taught me what it means to give God my best time and utmost priority.
It was my first year in University and we were preparing for the final exams. And as usual – I was making my late burst towards the exams finishing line and was trying to catch up with all the undone tutorials and lecture notes that have been unread.
So you can imagine that I was planning to spend every free moment of each day to cram in as much as I can.
But I would always find this friend reading his Bible each day, and making his prayers each afternoon as we studied together. He then shared that he found that if he gave God time – God would bless him with even more time. And he has never ever lost out just because he gave God his best time.
I was ashamed when I heard this and I resolved to do the same. And this is a lesson that I have learned and still try to keep till today.
Cause it is true. And it took a Gentile Christian to show me God’s ways….
God’s Word, God’s Heart?
Jonah’s prayer incorporates many phrases and figures of speech from the Psalms. This shows that Jonah was a man who knew God’s Word, and knew it by heart, because there was no Bible and no candle in the fish’s belly.
Take a look at Psalm 18:6; Psalm 42:7 and Psalm 31:22.
However, when I look at his actions and his attitude, I feel that that there is a big disconnect between what he says and how he feels.
Many a times, I am also like that.
I know all the right Bible verses. I know all the Bible lessons. I even know the right words to say.
But… my heart may not be right.
I know the Words of God by heart – but I don’t have the heart of God.
God’s heart was a one of compassion and love. He was willing for the people at Nineveh to repent.
While Jonah knew God’s Words – he lacked the heart of compassion for his enemies. In fact, he favoured the plant more than even the innocent babies of Nineveh!
Is that the state of my heart today?
May God be merciful on me so that I am not just a Christian by Word but am a Christian by heart.
Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart.
3 Comments
The Minute One
The sharing by biblereadingcompanion about how a Christian from another church taught him to be a better Christian bring to rememberance a similar, “shameful” personal experience…
I was in my Honours year in Uni and about to take my final exams. Due to some misunderstanding and miscommunication, I actually made the terrible mistake of getting the time for examination wrong…it was supposed to be in the morning, but I remembered it as in the afternoon. That morning, as I was still revising at home, someone from the Uni called. Shock and horror filled my heart when I realized my mistake, I dashed to the Uni, but I was already more than half an hour late (no student will be allowed into the exam hall more than half an hour into the exams). With me was another Christian classmate, who too made the same mistake. The chief invigilator told us, “Go see a doctor and get a medical certificate, otherwise you will get a “F” for this paper.” Upon hearing this, I panicked and decided that I must go to the doctor immediately. I told my classmate, “Quick, let’s go see a doctor quickly and get a MC”. To which she calmly replied, “No I won’t go and see a doctor. I am not sick. If I go, I will have to tell a lie. I do not want to go.” Her reply hit me SMACK right in the face, and I felt so thoroughly ashamed of myself. Here I am, a TJC member, who is supposed to know the truth of God, yet when faced with such a small trial I was unable to stand firm and rely in the LORD.
From then on, this incident served as a constant reminder to me. May we all shine forth the light of God before all men, both Christians and non-Christians and bring glory to the name of God!
InHisTime
Thank you biblereadingcompanion for bringing up a really good point about prejudice.
Have we been bias against a certain brother or sister in church?
Did unfortunate events that occurred in the past cause us to have an impartial and unfair point of view?
Or worse, have we subconsciously distance ourselves away from him or her because everyone else does that too?
Certain things have been happening which cause me to be conflicted and troubled.
If we don’t shelf our pride and cast our prejudices aside, one day we would have to answer to our
own actions.
On that day, the Lord will question us on what we did or did not do.
I am guilty of being prejudiced against a category of people in church and i feel so ashamed and disgusted with myself as i am typing this.
I am reminded of biblereadingcompanion’s comment in yesterday’s blog about “martyr’s complex-thinking how great I was in my ’sacrifice’ of service”
This pride in me leads to prejudice, which could cause me to stumble in doing church work.
What a scary thought!
Perhaps we might think that we do not have such discrimatory thoughts within us, but let us re-
evaluate ourselves again.
Remember that Satan is adept in sowing discord among brethren.
PS
Jonah was in the belly of the big fish for 3 days. As Lord Jesus was buried for 3 days.
May be Jonah 2:1-9 is a combined prayers of Jonah and Lord Jesus?
Or may be part of Jonah’s prayer is a prophercy of Lord Jesus’ prayer?:
2:1 Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish’s belly.
2:2 and he said:”I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, And He answered me,”
(Jesus):”Out of the belly of Sheol I cried and You heard my voice.”
2:3 Jonah:”For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me; all Your billows and Your waves passed over me.”
2:4 Then I(Jesus) said,’I have been casted out of Your sight (bec I become sin); Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.”
2:5 Jonah:”The waters surround me, even to my soul; the deep closed around me; weeds wrapped around my head.”
2:6 (Jesus):”I went down to the moorings of the mountains; the earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.”
(You will not forsake the soul of Your saint in hell)
2:7 Jonah (and Jesus):”When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; And my prayers went up to You, into Your holy temple.”
2:8 Jonah:”Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own Mercy.”
2:9 Jonah;”But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving;”
(Jesus):”I will pay what I have vowed (I come to do the will of my Father).”
(Jesus):”Salvation is of the LORD.”
Matthew 12: 39-41:
But He answered and said to them,”An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah,”
“For as Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth.”
Lord Jesus made reference to Jonah. It may warrant us to read Jonah carefully again.