The Church Called Jonah

  The Second Rebellion Jonah 4:5 : “Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade, and waited to see what would happen to the city.” “Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city…” No sooner than Jonah has this second conversation with God and is asked by God, “Is it right for you to be angry?” does he hit the road again. We’ve heard the axiom, "It’s either my way or the highway.” This seems like the policy of Jonah in this particular story – when things don’t go his way, he hits the highway literally. He leaves Nineveh – the city he preaches against - the city that whole-heartedly repented of their sin. He leaves this city and finds a place to sit down.  Jonah was a man just like us, with rebellion imbibed in his bones. The last time he ran was when the Lord first commissioned Him to go and preach against Nineveh. Here we see him running once again. Just as running needs a break, so also running...

  # 26 – The Prophet’s Lamenting Jonah 4:1-4 – “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. 2 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. 3 Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!” 4 Then the LORD said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry….”  Jonah preached, and the King and the people repented. When they repented, God relented from sending on them the punishment He had planned. When God relented, Jonah lamented. The first reaction by Jonah to God relenting was that of exceeding displeasure and anger. Those are perhaps two of the least expected emotions from a man of God in response to God relenting on pouring out his wra...

  The Divine Relenting Jonah 3:10 – “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.” “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way…” In Jonah 1:2, God had told Jonah that the wickedness of the people of Nineveh had come up before the Lord. This means that the Lord was aware of their wickedness and hence sent Jonah with the message of warning of impending judgment. Here we see a similar, yet different thing that the Lord was aware of – He saw their works, that they turned from their evil way.  Many of us have grown up with a warped or lopsided understanding of God – that He is constantly watching us to see where and when we do wrong so he can punish or chastise us for the wrong-doing. We grew up with an impression of God as being stern and angry, who was not capable of love at all. That’s so far from the truth though.  God is loving, holy...

                                           # 24 -  The City-wide Repenting Jonah 3:5 – “ So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6  Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered  himself  with sackcloth and sat in ashes.  7  And he caused  it  to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his  [ b ] nobles, saying, let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water.  8  But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.  9  Who can tell  if  God will turn and relent, and...

  # 23 – The Obedient Prophet   Jonah 3:3-4 - 3  So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the  Lord . Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent.  4  And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” We just read how the Lord spoke with Jonah the second time and gave him the same message to go and preach against Nineveh. Let’s look at Jonah’s reaction to the second Commission by the Lord, especially after the terrible ordeals, he experienced both on the surface of the sea with the tempest and in the heart of the sea in the belly of the great fish. “So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord….” When the read of the Lord speaking with Jonah the first time, the sentence that followed the Lord’s instruction began with the word, “But,” and continued to read, “Jonah arose to ...

  # 22 – The Second Commission   Jonah 3:1 – “Now the word of the  Lord  came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.”   “Now the word of the  Lord  came to Jonah the second time…” When we read the above words of the Lord to Jonah in Jonah 1:2 , “ Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” We are also reminded of Jonah’s reaction to the Lord’s commission to him in verse 3 , “ But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the  Lord . He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the  Lord .” We’ve looked at all that happened as a result of Jonah’s rebellion that eventually led to his repentance. Now we see the Lord being gracious and commissio...

  # 21 - The Divine Deliverance Jonah 2:10 - So the  Lord  spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry  land. “So the Lord spoke to the fish” The words, “So the Lord spoke to the fish” might seem fairytale-like or present-day cartoon movie-like where people speak with and have relationships with animals, birds, or fish, but this is neither a fairytale nor is it a cartoon movie. It is God who created the universe and every living being in it (including the fish), commanding His creation to do something on behalf of the crown of His creation – mankind It’s only humans that can have a relationship with God, as it was only humans who were created in the image of God - in His likeness, to reflect His character/nature. Animals, birds, reptiles, and fish were not created in God’s image, and therefore cannot have a relationship with God. Also, it’s only humans who possess a soul that lives on for eternity. And it’s this fact about humans that not only sets us a...