I just started reading Jonah last week but can't seem to get past the first chapter. It was an interesting dilemma as I'm normally able to read thru chapters quite quickly. Finally yesterday as I was sitting at the park while the boys played & Juliet slept I finally figured out why I needed to stop & "marinate" in this chapter. God had a couple of things to show me.
This being my first time reading Jonah but knowing the childhood story - it took me by surprise how fast the book starts off. Within the first 3 verses we are introduced to Jonah, the job God gives to Jonah, and Jonah's reaction. Jonah was a prophet of Israel who God instructed to leave Israel to preach a warning of judgment. Nineveh was the capital of the ancient Assyrian Empire - known for its cruelty & violence. Jonah's reaction to that task was to run as far as possible from Nineveh. This made me think of why Jonah, or why anyone who has a relationship with God would want to run away from Him or any calling he calls us to.
I marinated on this for awhile and this is what I came up with.
*Fear of worldly consequences when God's will has us doing something outside of our comfort zone.
*We have plans of our own that trump over God's plans for us, especially when we are living off the fruits of our past obedience to God.
*Our prejudice against corrupt & evil people blind our hearts from wanting to see them gain favor with God - it’s an evil part of us that want to see our enemies or those who pose a threat to us-perish without the ability to repent.
I was also caught by surprise at how fast Jonah would be to run away at this task he obviously didn't want to do. It showed to me how small & short sided his relationship was with God. It seems like God was trying to nurture & grow Jonah's faith in HIM. Sometimes those areas seem like growing pains at the time of exercising your faith but it always pays off - it always does because God is always faithful. The only way to test & approve this is to try it out yourself - & I know from my past & my history with God is that this proves true.
This first chapter also talks about how our rebellion can also get other, unsuspecting people, caught up in the storm (literally speaking at this point) of the consequences from our actions. When Jonah runs away, he tries to run to Tarshish - which is literally the furthest place from Nineveh. To get to Tarshish he had to pay for ship fare on a boat. While on the boat God creates a huge storm that almost destroys the whole ship. When all the occupants on the boat get together to try & figure out why this is happening, they draw lots (a game that people relied on the try & make decisions) and Jonah drew the lot that showed this was happening because of him. Finally he admits what he was doing and after the mariners unsuccessfully continue to try & travel with Jonah - they throw him in the ocean and the storm IMMEDIATELY ceases. As soon as the storm ceases all the people on the boat are converted. It shows to me how God truly does use every situation to repair & restore other's relationships with HIM. "Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly & offered a sacrifice to the LORD & took vows"(v16)
Soon after Jonah is repelled into the ocean, he gets eaten by a fish - not a whale like the visuals you normally see - but "Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah."(v17)
To me the picture of a "great fish" seems kind of ridiculous at face value - especially why God would create such a thing JUST for Jonah. Then I started thinking about what purpose this fish would prove to help Jonah. Last night at Home Fellowship we were talking about how it would be nice, especially when you first become a Christian - to have a safe place - a cocoon where you can grow in your faith without having to be always tested & tried in the "real world". I think that the fish was created to help be a cocoon of sorts where Jonah is forces to stop, reflect, repent, and pray about these choices he's been making. This fish keeps him for 3 days & nights.
I started to think about where in my walk so I need to be in that cocoon. To stop, meditate & pray - where I can learn to trust God more, hear his voice - to quiet the noisy background & the distractions of this world.
In my daily routine - I need to reflect & submit to Him more.
In my goals & plans - I need to pray over these things to ensure that my motives & intentions are pure & aligned with God's plans for me.
When I feel empty & drained - I need to stop & lose my "self" in HIM instead of other distractions that do nothing to satisfy my soul.
Its amazing how much God wanted to show me in just this one chapter - I'm excited to see what other messages & visions God has for me in this book. It was well worth it to really stop & prayerfully, relationally read thru this chapter. I'm thankful & hopeful that HE has helped me to grow even more because of my obedience & willingness to just stop & spend some extra time with HIM today. I pray that anyone who reads this would be encouraged to do the same thing.
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