INTERESTING FACTS : Charles Finney - Pastor, Revivalist, Theologian

 

"[T]he time has come that Christians must vote for honest men and take consistent ground in politics or the Lord will curse them. . . . Christians have been exceedingly guilty in this matter. But the time has come when they must act differently. . . . Christians seem to act as if they thought God did not see what they do in politics. But I tell you He does see it - and He will bless or curse this nation according to the course they [Christians] take [in politics]."[1]

 

Daily Reading : Amos 7 - 10, Obadiah, Jonah

 

TEXT : Jon 1:1  Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Jon 1:2  Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. Jon 1:3  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.

 

THEME : MERCY, REPENTANCE

 

Jonah

 

Book Introduction - Jonah

 

The historical character of the man Jonah is vouched for by Jesus Christ Mat_12:39-41 as also that his preservation in the great fish was a "sign" or type of the Lord's own entombment and resurrection. Both are miraculous and both are equally credible. 2Ki_14:25 records the fulfilment of a prophecy by Jonah. The man himself was a bigoted Jew, unwilling to testify to a Gentile city, and angry that God had spared it. Typically he foreshadows the nation of Israel out of its own land; a trouble to the Gentiles, yet witnessing to them; cast out by them, but miraculously preserved; in their future deepest distress calling upon Jehovah-Saviour, and finding deliverance, and then becoming missionaries to the Gentiles. Zec_8:7-23.

 

He typifies Christ as the Sent One, raised from the dead, and carrying salvation to the Gentiles. The chapter divisions indicate the analysis of Jonah.  [CI Scofield[2]]

TRUTH FOR TODAY : "THE MERCY OF GOD IS BEYOND HUMAN COMPREHENSION!"

 

The book of Jonah is amazing in several ways.

 

First, it is the call of a [Jewish] prophet to offer mercy to the Assyrian people, the same nation God will use to conquer Israel [that is, the ten northern tribes]. Eventually, God will judge the Assyrians after this time of repentance. Further, in the course of time both the Assyrians and the ten [lost] tribes of Israel will disappear from the earth.

 

Second, men of all sorts - theologians, Bible students, pastors, and even the average Christian will spend much time on the precise nature of the "great fish," when the chief thought is that God had the fish "prepared" to swallow Jonah, displaying His Providence. In addition, in the King James Bible, Jesus stated it was a "whale." [Mat_12:40 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.]

 

Yet, theologians - as stated, insist the great fish was not a whale mentioned in Matthew 12:40, missing the salient fact of the narrative. Whether whale, or not, the story of Jonah on this point conveys a miraculous event. Thus, if a whale cannot ingest a man - for any number of [good] reasons, it would only serve to emphasize and accentuate the miraculous nature of God's provision. [The British News - "The Telegraph" reported an Australian diver swallowed by a great white shark in 2007.][4]

 

Third, the story of Jonah like the record of Noah, is a favorite of children [people will decorate nurseries, playgrounds, etc., with pictures of these events - even more so of Noah] though the narrative represents warnings of extreme judgment. In Noah's case, it relates the story of worldwide judgment.

 

Mostly, from the spiritual point of view, the story of Jonah is amazing in God's offer of mercy to the Ninevites [the capital city of Assyria]. Here, an entire city - one of the world's largest at the time, repents in sackcloth and ashes! Just as astonishing is Jonah's reluctance to preach this offer of mercy to them. Then again, Jonah's desire to disobey the LORD is understandable since the Assyrians were Israel's enemies, and treated them exceptionally cruel.

 

The mercy of God is beyond human comprehension. When you learn the exact nature of sin and its effects, you must rest and rejoice in God's great mercy. Christ offers you mercy as Jonah did the Ninevites. Though undeserved, God's grace and mercy in nonetheless given to you. Saved by grace, you are no longer required to pay for your sins - any of them, yourself. Christ has paid the penalty for all of them by His death on the cross.

 

Receive and rejoice in the mercy of God today. His mercy is beyond your comprehension, yet within your reach. Take it today, and rest in Christ. God has not appointed you to His wrath, but rather to obtain His mercy and grace!

 

1Th 5:9  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 1Th 5:10  Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.