Posts
Wow! I loved the
way my commentary wrapped up this
book! It noted how, had the book ended
with chapter 3, Jonah would have been considered the best prophet ever. But God wanted us to see Jonah’s heart.
“It isn’t enough for God’s servants simply to do their Maker’s will; they must do the will of God from the heart.”
Jonah knew what
kind of God He served. He knew that if the people repented, God
would have mercy on them. He’d likely be
branded a traitor by his friends in Jerusalem for intervening and saving Israel’s enemies. “Jonah had good theology, but it stayed in
his head and never got to his heart.”
Something I’d never thought about before: My commentary compares Jonah to the Prodigal
Son in chapter 1 and now in chapter 4, it compares him to the Prodigal Son’s
elder brother – “critical, selfish, sullen, angry, and unhappy with what was
going on!”
Instead of going into the repentant city to enjoy what God
was doing and teaching them more about Him, like the Prodigal Son’s brother, he
remained outside the feast!
“God graciously caused a vine to grow and shade Jonah from
the hot sun, which made Jonah very happy,
but the next morning, when God prepared a worm to kill the vine, Jonah was unhappy
… God was reminding Jonah of what it was like to be lost: helpless, hopeless,
miserable. Jonah was experiencing a
taste of hell as he sat and watched the city … The Ninevites, the vine, the
worm, and the wind have all obeyed God,
but Jonah still refuses to obey, and he
has the most to gain.” He was a
double-minded man, it said.
“Jonah still had a problem with the will of God … Jonah did the will of God, but not from his heart … Jonah brought a whole city to
faith in the Lord and yet he didn’t love the people he was preaching to!”
Father, help me to love those You place in my path enough to
help lead them to You. Remove any
unrighteous anger You find in me that feeds my ego and poisons my heart with selfishness. I want a heart like Yours!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
No comments:
Post a Comment