Jonah

Once again, we'll cover the entire book...

1:3 - There are some initial questions that jump out in your head, that the text does not answer here - why did Jonah do it? Why did he refuse to listen to God? Why did he run away? Well, we get our answer a few chapters later in 4:2, where we see Jonah lamenting the fact that God is merciful...LAMENTING!!! He in whining in chapter 4, and explains that he ran away because he knew God was going to be merciful with the people of Nineveh and he didn't want them to receive mercy. The Ninevites were the enemies of God's people and he wanted to see them destroyed for their sins. Jonah is a follower of God, but he is not doing a good job reflecting the nature of God into the world...how about you?

1:3b - We read here that Jonah thinks he can run away from the presence of God and we find it laughable, but he was just functioning under the influence of a common ancient worldview. Many people believed that gods were constrained to certain areas of land...each populated region believed that specific gods lived in their areas and would constantly go to war with other gods. When one people group conquered another, they believed - falsely - that their gods had defeated the other gods. Though we see in Jonah's prayer that he knows God created the heavens and the earth, his attempt to run away with God shows us that he was struggling with breaking free from the pagan cultural influences around him. Jonah soon finds out that God has no boundaries. When you think about your own life, what kind of cultural influences keep you from truly living out a Christ-like faith?

1:12-13 - This is very interesting to me...while Jonah failed to show mercy to the people of Nineveh - these sailors refused to throw a man overboard who was endangering their lives. The pagan sailors show more mercy than the prophet of God. In this story, who is acting more in line with the nature of God?

1:16 - Again we see the contrast between the sailors and Jonah...they see one sign from God and immediately respond with heartfelt worship. Jonah on the other hand, is told directly by God to go and speak to the people of Nineveh and he responds with rebellious refusal. The men who know nothing about God or how to worship interact with Him out of authentic love and the prophet who has worshipped God his entire life interacts with selfishness. Let this be a lesson for all who call themselves believers - humble worship is infintely more important than religious ritual.

3:5 - Yet again, Jonah is made to look bad by pagan men and women who are about to be destroyed by God because they are so corrupt. When the people of Nineveh are faced with the truth of their vile actions they immediately repent and throw themselves on the mercy of God. They are more open to the Word of God and willing to be changed by it than Jonah is. Maybe churches should spend less time pouring endless amounts of teaching and resources into the lives of the saved and do everything they can to share truth with those who do not know God.

3:7-8 - I really like these Ninevites...did you see the way they respond to Jonah's words with community repentance? How cool is that? There is no finger pointing. No blame-game. No excuses for their actions. They all take responsibility for the corrupt culture they have created...the entire community throws itself on the mercy of God. This is a really healthy picture of communal accountability. We can learn alot from these people. Instead of trying to blame everyone else for how bad the world is, we need to accept the part we have played in the corruption of our culture, repent and take steps to bring change.

3:9 - I love their attitudes here. Jonah did not come into town and say, "Hey, if you guys get your act together, God will relent on the destruction coming your way." He basically walks into town and says, "In forty days, you are all dead (I'm guessing he said it out of morbid glee)!" The people who see how wrong they have been, repent and change their lives, not knowing whether God will relent on the punishment or not...that is true repentance. They are not just trying to get out of punishment...they see the error of their ways and feel truly sorry for the way that they have lived. This is beautiful!!!

4:4ff - How many times do I waste my anger on meaningless things in life? How often have I gotten more upset about a broken household item or a football game, than about the injustice and oppression that exists in the world? How often have I gotten terribly upset when some has barely slighted me and failed to register any emotion for starving people? What can you do...what can I do...to use emotions within me to respond appropriately in righteous anger to the things that God cares about...to let that anger fuel a creative force within me to actually do something to bring positive change?