Tucked quietly into the back of the Old Testament and somewhere in the collective memory of every church kid is the little four chapter book of Jonah. As a continued effort to increase biblical literacy in my own congregation we just finished reading through it together. Most contemporary discussions of this story gets lost in a debate of whether or not a great fish could swallow whole and preserve a man alive for 3 days. But the message contained in Jonahs story speaks powerfully to anyone willing to listen. I particularly like the part of the story that takes place AFTER the incident with the fish. It sheds light on why the prophet tried to avoid Gods assignment for him to preach to the people of Ninevah. It turns out the reason Jonah ran away from Gods Call and ended up having an up close and personal encounter with marine life was because He was offended at Gods annoying habit of being merciful. After the Ninevites repented at Jonahs preaching the Bible says that: ... it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the LORD, and said, Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You [are] a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for [it is] better for me to die than to live! Jonah 4:1-3. Turns out that the one thing more powerful for Jonah than his love for God was his hatred for the Ninevites. In fact hed rather die than live in a world where God forgives these particularly wicked people. So here is the question I want you to think about; what does that say about God? Think about it for a minute. Why would God call someone who hates an entire ethnicity to be His vehicle to demonstrate mercy on the very people he despises? Why not call someone who had a burden for the people of Ninevah? Why did He not locate a prophet who was less judgmental, more merciful, and actually WILLING to obey God? Turns out God is wanting to do more than spare a city-state of 120,000 people. He wanted to use the experience to teach one very angry and fiery prophet a lesson. Because before the book ends we discover that our judgey hero needs mercy too. There are actually 2 animals God uses in the Book of Noah. A big fish and a tiny worm. You can read about it in Jonah 4:5-11. Lets just say that God uses it give Jonah some serious perspective. Who are the people you really cant stand? Who are the folks that youll secretly be glad when they get theirs? Dont be quick to dismiss this question. What about the politicians and celebrities you despise and verbally berate every time their names come up? Who are the people who so irritate you that you just wish they would go away forever? Is it possible that God is calling you show them mercy? What if God is actually wanting to use YOU to pray for them? To help them? Are you willing to really do it? Just remember that God is willing to do some pretty audacious things to get us to be merciful. And there are more than one fish in the sea....:). Share if you like, and post your comments here.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 04:49:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015