Thursday
August 6, 2009
TRUST AND OBEY
The LORD spoke his word to Jonah, son of Amittai. He said, "Leave at once for
the important city, Nineveh. Announce to the people that I can no longer
overlook
the wicked things they have done."
Jonah immediately tried to run away from the LORD by going to Tarshish. He went
to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid for the trip and went
on board. He wanted to go to Tarshish to get away from the LORD.
Jonah 1:1-3
Jonah must have enjoyed great popularity, especially as life in Israel had been
bleak before Jeroboam's vigorous rule. No doubt the prophet felt a great
deal of personal satisfaction as well, as he watched his fellow countrymen
begin to prosper in accord with the word of the Lord which he had been
privileged
to deliver.
God's command that Jonah go to preach against Nineveh, however, was something
else again! Assyria had been, and still was, a threat to Israel's very
existence!
Jonah wanted no part of a ministry to that particular bunch of foreigners! All
Jonah wanted to do was to keep on preaching his positive message of prosperity
in his homeland.
Jonah's patriotic motivation, which is further explained in chapter 4, was so
great that he determined to flee God's presence. It is at this point that
Jonah's story begins. There is no indication that God explained the purpose of
Jonah's mission to him, but chapter 4 indicates Jonah suspected. There Jonah
said, "I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, patient, and
always ready to forgive and to reconsider your threats of destruction." (4:2).
Jonah suspected that if he went to Nineveh the city might repent of "its
wickedness," and God would withhold the threatened destruction.
Jonah's explanation helps us understand the exact nature of the prophet's
flight. He did not run from God because he failed to understand the Lord's
purposes,
but because he did understand them! Jonah simply didn't like those purposes.
God doesn't ask us to agree with what He plans. All He asks is that we
acknowledge
that He knows best - and trust and obey.
When the city was not destroyed, Jonah was upset and angry. Like many of us,
Jonah thought God should behave as he wanted Him to. More was involved in
Jonah's
case, but isn't such a reaction all too typical?
We have it all figured out, and are sure that God should solve one problem this
way, and another that. When He doesn't do it our way, we sulk or become
angry. What we should do in such a case is thank God that He didn't do it our
way! Our notion of how things should be is limited by our lack of knowledge
- and often by our lack of caring. God not only knows what is best, He loves
always. Thanking God even when His decisions do not reflect our first choice
is a sign of spiritual maturity - and common sense.
Every once in a while I run across the notion that unless a Christian is really
in close fellowship with the Lord, God can't use him or her to bless others.
Actually, that's not true, as the story of Jonah illustrates. Jonah was just
about as far out of fellowship as a believer can get - running away from God
- when that terrific storm hit his ship and frightened all aboard. And then
look what happened. Jonah admitted he was responsible for the storm, got the
sailors to throw him overboard, the storm stopped - and the sailors, convinced
by all this of the power of Jonah's God, "greatly feared the Lord, and they
offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to Him." God used a disobedient
Jonah to introduce Himself to a shipload of pagan sailors! And the pagan
sailors believed.
Father, I thank You so much for this incredible book.I look forward to - the
rest of the story!
O. Addison Gethers
e-mail address
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rs
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