Following God's Will 09.24.08

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today we are studying the book of Jonah, please read Chapters 1-4 in your Bible or Click Here to read them online. You can also cut & paste this link to your browser: biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jonah%201-4&version=9

Today we will learn about Jonah trying to run from God's Will; Jonah and the whale; God's second commission; The nation of Nineveh repenting, and Jonah's displeaser. Today's message focuses on the importance of realizing that the price of backsliding and obtaining the lusts of the world is way too costly for the temporary satisfaction received. Doing the Will of God is far more rewarding than anythign the world has to offer.

The book of Jonah is the 32nd book of the Old Testament and contains 4 chapters. The author of the book was written by Jonah to the nation of Ninevah and the purpose of the book was to warn them of the consequences they faced by being disobedient to God and to show all nations that salvation was not just for Israel. What we learn from the book is that salvation is not restricted to race, culture, or any religion. No one is saved unless they call upon the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ.

God commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell them of the judgement they were facing, "Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me." (Jonah 1:1-2). Jonah believed Ninevah to be a threat to Israel and deserved not to be warned of their potential destruction so he fled the country thinking that he could run from God and avoid His command. "But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD." (1:3).

I imagine Jonah could not believe that the mercy and love of God would extend even to Israel's enemies. He probably even felt fortunate that he found a ship going to Tarshish, however he was not expecting the consequences he soon faced while on the ship. "But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.....So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging." (1:4-5,15).

God prepared a giant fish (whale) to swallow up Jonah and for three days he sat in the belly of the whale, thinking about what he had done, he prayed and repented to God and was immediately expelled out of the whale. "Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice........But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land." (2:1-2,9-10).

Jonah saw the entire city of Ninevah repent of it's sins and be saved. "So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.......And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not." (3:5,10). Jonah became one of the greatest evangelist of his day, God could have just chosen another prophet to do His Will, but He knew his potential way down deep in his soul. He might have put him in a tough situation in order to get Jonah himself to believe and do His Will, but He knew he would follow through. Jesus on three occasions spoke of this historic event as factual, (Matthew 12:40-41; 16:4; Luke 11:29-32).

In this book God showed His love toward both the prophet and the nation, He could have let them both be destroyed, but His mercy and love toward all show that all who repent are spared from destruction. Many are called still today to follow God's Will and just as Jonah ran so do we, but sooner or later God will catch us and lead us back, this is coming from a one time backslider herself. "Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God." (I Peter 4:1-2).

In today's reading Jesus Christ is revealed through Jonah's experience in the whale's body, (Jonah 1:7-2:10). Jesus used this historical even as an illustration to tell of His death, burial, and resurrection when the Pharisees demanded that He give them some sign that He is who He said He is. "But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:39-40).

Today's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
No need in our lives is ever overlooked, overwhelming, or overly difficult for You to meet. You use the good, the bad, and the complex matters that we sort through daily to test our faith and grow our endurance. These challenges that are continually before us compel us to look to the Scriptures for spiritual understanding and sustaining power. I will trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation, in the midst of the wait. My heart seeks after You, my Lord and my God, for You have cared for me all the days of my life and You will continue to do so, for You promise to never leave me nor forsake me. In Jesus' name....Amen.

Have a great and wonderful day!
God Bless You,
Christina

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P.S. Sorry for the delay in the posts, I had server problems for a couple of days.