Introduction to the Book of Jonah, known as “The Biggest Fish Story of All time.” Yet the “Fish” of this story is man. Matthew 4:18-20 “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him.”
Jonah, was an Israelite prophet to the Northern Kingdom. He was sent by God to Nineveh, a wicked and foreign city to tell the people they must repent. Therefore his message to the people was to cover “What thus says the LORD.” “Yet if Nineveh fails to repent in 40 days” the city shall be over thrown.” Then 3:4 tells of God’s compassion and mercy for all to be saved and none lost.
An assignment that discourse Jonah Chapter 1:1-3 “Now the Word of the LORD came to Jonah to arise and go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it because their wickedness “Is come up before Me.” Instead of arising to go to Nineveh Jonah decided to flee from God’s presence. We spoke earlier one can RUN BUT CAN’T HIDE cause God’s presence is everywhere at all times.
Inescapable from God’s Presence Psalm 139:7-12 “Where shall I go from Your Spirit? or where shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, You are there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall Your hand lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light (God’s Spirit) about me. Yes, the darkness hides not from You; but the night shines as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to You.”
Jonah went on the RUN BUT CAN’T HIDE. He boarded the ship to Tarshish with the intent to get out of God’s presence. No escape for Jonah Verse 4 “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. Read verses 5-16.
Verse 17 “Now unknown to Jonah, the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up him up. Therefore he was thrown overboard, as well as, landed in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. Note Jonah is the “Fish” caught by the fisherman (the “Big Fish”). Read the Introduction again. Matthew 4:18-20 Jonah, the soul winner had gone a strayed. A personal question for self. Any Jonah’s who have strayed away that needs-needed to be caught and redirected back to your God given assignment?
Now similar to the three days and three nights of Jesus in the grave. Then His resurrection as Savior of the world. Jonah’s similar resurrection from the “Big fish” belly after spending three days and three nights to be used by God to save Nineveh from destruction. A present assurance from God that He has a devised plan to help you and me in times weakness and disobedience when we stray away from His assignments. Also a “Right now power tool” to call on the LORD’S Holy Spirit to help us in times of weakness and disobedience.
Chapter 2 While in the belly of the “Big fish” Jonah prayed to the LORD his God and said, I cried by reason of mine affliction to the LORD, and He heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and the LORD heard my voice.” Notice Jonah said, “The belly of hell and he cried” Sounds like a lament prayer “I need you now LORD,” an unimaginable horrific experience.
Jonah realized it was God who cast him into the deep midst of the seas, the floods, the winds and high waves passed over him. Read more about Jonah’s death like experiences in verses 3-8. Verses 9-10 “But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that, that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. The LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. Many times y’all it takes experiences of affliction to remind us of God’s power, might And He will have His way.
Our take-aways from Jonah’s horrific experiences are: you and I pray-cried-out to the LORD when faced with affliction and trauma situations. We can describe the trauma event (s) to the LORD. It expresses our intense hurt, pain and need for God’s divine intervention, present help, healing and more. Ask for forgiveness for any and all wrongdoing. A repentance and thanksgiving heart through it all. Now ready to fulfill God’s given assignment.
Think about it. In many ways like Jonah. We hate on people because they are different from us. Thanks LORD for not being through with us yet and make our path clear and assignments defined to do all that you have assigned us to do!
The second time Chapter 3 “And the Word of the LORD came to Jonah saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and in other words preach to Nineveh what I already told you to say. Jonah was obedient. He entered into the city “Cried and said, Yet forty days Nineveh shall be overthrown.
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. For the Word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything: let them not feed, nor drink water: OMG even the beasts and flocks fasted and covered with sackcloth.
But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; God repented of the evil, that he said would do to them. The city was saved from God’s wrath.
Ingredients of Nineveh’s Repentance and Revival: (1) Faith, the people believed; (2) Fasting; (3) Mourning over sin; (4) Humility; (5) Unity; (6) Prayer; (7) Turning from sin; (8) A vision of God’s grace; and (9) Fear of the LORD-His Holiness and Judgment (Faith Bible Institute).
Jonah had a love problem Chapter 4: He whined, cried and was angry because of God’s mercy on Nineveh. He wanted Nineveh destroyed. Read chapter 4. God used a plant to help Jonah see himself. Yet God told Jonah he loved the dead plant more than the people of Nineveh due to his prejudices. He seems to have only wanted Israel to benefit from God’s love and mercy. Let us not have a heart of prejudice and hate like Jonah, but the heart of God filled with love, compassion, grace and mercy.
All believers are missionaries or evangelist with the responsibility of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, Yeshua. Whether in foreign lands, right around the corner at the grocery store, to family, others and on social media. If we are like Jonah we must overcome prejudice, hate and envy of others since they are different from you and I. Then move beyond our comfort zone in telling others about Jesus. No problem while inside the church and on social media platforms. But what do you and me say when face-to-face opportunities occur? We can ask, can I share something about Jesus to you? And/or say Jesus loves you. We can share a small testimony, ask if can pray with them, tell of God’s love and mercy for them. We not only model Christ by what we say. Our actions speaks louder than our words. Remember we can RUN BUT CAN’T HIDE As always love, joy, hope, peace, comfort and blessings! Feel free to comment and share. Neatbooks4u
