ONE NEW HUMANITY

Ephesians 2:14-18

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Rainbow in My Hand by Gwen Meharg

God never intended for a great barrier of hostility to exist between the Jews and the other nations.  God only intended for the Jews to be set apart and used for God's glory with the result being that other peoples and nations would see the difference between the Living God and the false gods they were worshiping.  He wanted the other nations to see that He was a God of grace and mercy and love, that He created them and would therefore care and provide for them, and that He NEVER demanded the sacrifice of their children to appease His anger.  But, instead of the nations always seeing that through the Jews relationship with the Living God, the Jews shut them out and soon it developed into an "us" against "them" mentality.  But, to be fair, if I was part of a nation that God used to wipe out entire people groups, I might gain that mentality myself.  It would be easy to get confused in such a situation.  What's important to remember here is that God didn't wage war on people groups to prove the superiority of the Israelites, He did it to prove His own superiority as the God of gods, the Living God over all the other gods in a world where many, many false gods were being heavily worshiped and to whom children were being sacrificed. (Romans 1:20-25 and Jeremiah 7:31-32 and Leviticus 20:2, Deuteronomy 9:4-5)

Painting of Nineveh capital of Ashur ca 700 BC

The book of Jonah is such a great example of God's great mercy and grace to the other nations. When God sent Jonah to warn the Ninevites that judgment and wrath were coming to them, Jonah ran away.  He would have sooner drowned in the sea than give the Ninevites opportunity to turn to God.  The Ninevites were part of "them" -- they were Gentiles and enemies of Israel.  Jonah did finally give them God's message, albeit very begrudgingly, the Ninevites repented and turned to God for mercy.  Guess what God did?  He extended mercy to them and told Jonah,

"And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?" (Jonah 4:11, NIV)

Any move towards God and God reaches out His long arm of mercy and grace, rescues those that were lost and far away and brings them near where they find peace.

God had commanded the Jews to care for the the foreigner and alien.  Any foreigner or alien who became one of their servants or who sought refuge with the Israelites was to be included as one of the Israelites:

"When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 19:33-34, NIV

They were to be allowed to glean from their harvest fields and the Jews were commanded to leave what was dropped and to leave the corners of their fields alone so the poor and hungry, no matter who they were, could eat.

"When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 19:9-10

There is no place in God's economy or law for "us" and "them."

Paul points out that in Christ, through His sacrifice, there is no dividing line.  The Jews no longer have to follow all of the rules and regulations that kept them separate from the other nations.  The Jews are no longer the only ones through whom God speaks and shows Himself mighty.  We see all of that now as one body of believers, one church through which Jesus Christ is worshiped as King and Savior and through whom we all have access to the Living God -- Jew and Gentile alike.  He brought peace to all the nations -- whether we live into it or not.  Christ and no one else has solved the problem of our relationship with God and with each other.

Remember, Paul's objective in the letter to the Ephesians is to take them higher and help them rise above the day to day sins that beset each of us, to root them deeper into the truth of God's word and to widen their scope of understanding about who God is and His purpose for humankind.  He's telling them and us, "Enough with the walls and barriers you put up between you and them.  In Christ, those walls and barriers DO NOT exist.  Out of the two worlds, Jew and Gentile, Christ has made a new creation.  One that is at peace.  One that strives to love each other.  One that no longer emphasizes the differences, but embraces the unity of Christ's sacrifice for all."  We are one in Christ.

In unity,
Kerry

A NEW DAY -- A NEW MERCY

"I knew You were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!" (Jonah 4:2b, The Message)

My husband and I went through something several years ago that caused us to wish for some retribution on an offending party. Unlike Jonah with the Ninevites, we didn't really want God to strike them dead, but we did desire for God to bring some wrath upon them in our defense. (I don't know what sort of wrath I was hoping for -- I would never be able to pick. Maybe just something that looks like a spanking.) We even sat back and watched and waited for things to fall apart a little for this group of people. Thus far, we haven't seen any significant punishment come down. We've seen only mercy. Jonah is a lesson for me in God's rich and unfathomable mercy. He is merciful to the Ninevites and He is merciful to Jonah. I understand Jonah better than I like to admit.

Let's begin by reading Jonah 4.

Earlier in the story we saw how merciful God was with Jonah by saving his life and how Jonah repented and agreed to do God's will. But again, Jonah becomes angry with God -- so angry that he would rather die than live, again. Some lessons are very difficult to learn. Wouldn't you agree? The real reason for Jonah fleeing to Tarshish is revealed. He prays, "O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? THAT is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I KNEW that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity." (Emphasis mine.) Imagine yourself doing something you knew God wanted you to do knowing that you weren't going to like doing it. Then, after doing it, you say to yourself, "This was just as awful as I expected it to be!" You might take some comfort in knowing that you were obedient, but no comfort in the task itself. Can you imagine a situation like that? Have you been in a situation like that? That's how I felt regarding the situation I mentioned above. We were obedient in following through with what God had asked of us and it turned out to be just as difficult and uncomfortable as we expected it would be. I wonder if days or weeks later Jonah thought about what he said to God. Recognizing the irony in his words.

Questions for reflection:

Why would Jonah rather die than see God's mercy come to the Ninevites?

God had defended Israel against her enemies so many times. God had just delivered Israel from the rule of Damascus, and Israel was a little cocky. The Israelites always expected God to give them victory over their enemies (without any thought towards their own sinful state it would seem). Israel was quickly approaching a time when God would tolerate their promiscuity and unmerciful ways no longer and was beginning to prophecy to them through Amos and Hosea about their pending exile. The Israelites had become very narrow in their worldview and in their view of God's love. They weren't considering that God might just love and desire the best for all of His creation, enemy of Israel or not. So, for Jonah to accept God's love and mercy toward the Ninevites was counter-thinking -- Jonah's brain would need to make a complete 180 degree turn to consider God's love toward Nineveh. Tough spot for Jonah -- tough spot for Israel.

Questions for reflection:

What is the most difficult thing that God has ever askef of you?

Why did Jonah construct a shelter and sit down to watch what would happen to the city?

Think of a time when God constructed a shelter for you.

Has there ever been a time when you were disappointed in God's answer to you personally for a difficult situation?

Is it ever right to be angry with God?

Here's what's so real about Jonah for me: after giving Nineveh God's message he goes out and plants himself outside the city still holding out that God is going to bring some judgment upon this undeserving nation. He plops himself down in a pouting stupor to watch and wait. At this point he doesn't really know for sure that God is going to be merciful with them. Only time proved this out. He's fairly convinced that the Ninevites' reformed actions are not heartfelt and that their appeasement of his God by fasting and wearing sackcloth was just that, appeasement. He's thinking that their reformed ways cannot last and God will see and bring the retribution that will finally relieve Israel of this military threat once and for all. Keep in mind that God only recently saved Jonah's life, undeserving as he was. So he waits. He constructs a makeshift shelter to protect him from the wind and heat, and what does God do? He mercifully builds Jonah a better one by growing a large vine up to give him adequate shade. Now, God also brings a treacherous east wind and a worm that destroys the vine, but lest you think that God's mercy only went so far with Jonah, think again.

If God's mercy came to an end with any of us, we would die. It is because of His mercy that we live and breathe. "And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. . . For in Him we live and move andhave our being . . ." (Acts 17:25 & 28a, NIV) It is because of His mercy that He takes the time to teach us invaluable lessons like the one He teaches Jonah. Verse 6 tells us that Jonah was "very happy about the vine." Who wouldn't be. This is the only time through this whole story that we see this emotion. He might be thinking that because God relieved his suffering from the heat that He was was also going to comfort him and ease all his pain at this moment. He might be thinking that because God is merciful to him yet again (just like He's always been to Israel) that He will indeed see God overturn Nineveh. He's more than a little wrapped up in his own feelings and views. Maybe Jonah's view of God is that He is like one of those parents who can't stand to see their children be unhappy even for a moment about anything. You know the kind I'm talking about. The one's that ease their child's pain in every discomfort and get them out of every difficult circumstance. God is not that kind of a parent. And, we should be thankful. God always has a plan for our maturation. He's always working at helping us to see a bigger picture, a bigger love -- His perspective. Indeed, it is because of His mercy that He takes the time to teach us about His heart.

A new day dawned for Jonah. God's mercy was going to show up in Jonah's life all over again. We know that Jonah spent the night outside the city because verse 7 says that at dawn the next day God provided a worm which ate the vine. After the vine withered and died, God brought a scorching east wind causing Jonah to nearly faint from the heat. What does Jonah say? "It would be better for me to die than to live." (Shocking!) The east wind reveals the condition of Jonahs' heart attitude. He would rather die than live. He would rather die than live with God's mercy and compassion on his enemies. He would rather die than live with the fact that God loves the people of Nineveh. He loves God's mercy and compassion for himself. But then don't we all! The worm reveals Jonah's misplaced compassion for a plant over people. Jonah recognizes compassion, one of the theme's of this story, as something God possesses -- but he does not share this trait with Him. Instead, Jonah says (and at this point I can almost hear him myself), "I KNEW You would do this! I KNEW You would be merciful to these people! THAT is why I didn't want to go!" He basically wishes that God wasn't so good. Try as we might to be different, we all have our moments when we wish God to be exceedingly good to us but not so good to the undeserving people in our lives. Jonah did God's will but not with the right attitude. God asks him, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?" Jonah says with assuredness, "I do. I am angry enough to die." The Ninevites cared nothing for Israel and Israel cared nothing for Nineveh. The evil that marked the Ninevites, now marks Jonah. Now Jonah himself needs to face God's punishment. Maybe, just maybe, Jonah deserved punishment more than the Ninevites because of God's ever-present grace and mercy in the lives and history of the Israelites. Instead, God shows Jonah the same compassion He'd shown Jonah's enemies.

I love the end of this story. After God reveals the condition of Jonah's heart, He reveals His own heart. His heart is for people and all of His creation. "But the Lord said, 'You have been concerned about his vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" End of story.

God loves all of His creation and so should we. There is no race of people better than the next -- no individual less sinful than another. We all share the same propensity toward sin. Israel was not blessed by God because they were a supreme race. They were blessed because of Abraham's obedience. Abraham was not a man without sin, either. He was just a man -- like Jonah. But, God made a promise to him and He was faithful to hold true to what He said, "Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him." (Genesis 18:18, NIV. Emphasis mine.) Israel was called "God's chosen people" because He chose them as a nation to do a specific job. One of Israel's jobs was to show other nations the grace and mercy of the one true living God!

I asked you earlier if it was ever right to be angry with God. What do you think about that? I know that God is always right and that He always has my best interest at heart, so . . . therefore, when I am angry with God it is safe to assume that I am in the wrong, not Him. But, I'm human and sinful, just like Jonah. My perspective is not always God's perspective. Many times my own worldview is very narrow. I get wrapped up in my own feelings. Sometimes I try to appease Him by just going through the motions of my faith -- trying to earn His love and mercy, just like the Ninevites. Yes, I do get angry with God sometimes. I don't always like His answer for me. But, you know what? God has really BIG shoulders. He can take my anger without feeling threatened or hurt. He is unmoveable in His purpose and love for me!

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:23, NIV)

Cake everyone!

Mercy Speaks Louder Than Words

"When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion . . ." (Jonah 3:10a)
Read Jonah 3:5-10.

"Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned." Jonah spoke 8 graceless words to the people of Nineveh. What would you think if some foreigner came into your city and spoke those words in the city's downtown area? If you're anything like me, I would be hard pressed to think the person speaking to be anything but a nut. But, before you develop an answer to that question you need to put yourself in the shoes of a Ninevite. Because when they heard Jonah's less than compassionate, completely unremarkable message, "The Ninevites believed God." (vs. 5) Let's bring the Bible to life by looking at this place and time for a moment.

Regarding the place, Nineveh was a fierce city. It might be like you or me going to Iran or Burma and telling them that the God of universe was going to overthrow them. I can't imagine it setting well with the powers that be. Nineveh was notorious for their torture techniques. You might say they had it down to a fine art. This was a place that was feared by everyone. Regarding the time, prophets were common and accepted in the ancient world, and Ninevah would have had its own prophets running around. Because there were so many prophets, believing the right prophet was tricky business. Also commonplace was the use of omens. Omens were observations made in the natural world that were believed to be related to what the gods were doing in the spiritual world. One of the most common ways to observe omens was by examining the entrails of animals that had been sacrificed. (Gross! I know!) They had other ways of observing omens, this was just one of them. To a modern day Christian that sounds a little scary, something that's associated with the dark underworld. But, again, remove yourself from this present time. Back then using omens to predict the future was similar to the sailors aboard the ship casting lots to make a decision. Neither one represents time spent praying to God for an answer; nonetheless, we find that God used both to accomplish His will. All of that to say, that if the omens were unfavorable (meaning something bad was on the horizon) for a few days or weeks prior to Jonah's message then the people would have readily accepted the truth of his message. The omens would have supported what Jonah was telling them. If sacrifices were offered and the entrails verified an impending doom then Jonah's word would be taken very seriously. This was how Jonah, an Israelite, could bring a message to Ninevah, one of Israel's most feared enemies, without facing Nineveh's wrath and torture. Nineveh was more afraid of Jonah's message and his God than Jonah was of them. God had them ready.

Questions for reflection:

Think about a time when God used natural things to work in supernatural ways in your life. (Take a few moments to write it out because that helps you remember it as an important moment of grace in your walk with God.)

Prophets are not typically known for their own acts of mercy. Although not always as cold as Jonah was when delivering his message, they do tend to be rather harsh and unyielding about how others live their lives. Would it have been easy for you to add a measure of mercy and grace into that message? Would you have tried to soften the blow somehow?

Jonah's message could be accepted in spite of the fact that he was a foreigner. In a polytheistic society such as Nineveh, there could literally be hundred of gods, any of whom could impact their lives. If the Ninevites' omens supported Jonah's message, then they would have no reason to disbelieve it. In fact, that he was a foreigner only gave weight to the message. Why would someone have traveled such a great distance if not impelled by a god? Besides, it's not like Jonah's message threatened their beliefs. Hearing from prophets was common and accepted and sacrificial systems were practiced allowing for easy access to entrails and other body parts. It was a different time, a different place. The one constant in our history is the nature of mankind. In that sense we can always find commonality with the characters of the Bible.

Apparently, when this message reached the King's ears, even he believed. He rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. He officially declared a fast and commanded his people to call upon God, to give up their evil ways and their violence. Since the Ninevites did not know Jonah's God personally, they reacted to the message as best they could in an effort to appease this most powerful God. They acted the way an Israelite would act (after all it was Israel's God). They wore sackcloth and fasted. Even the animals wore sackcloth and fasted. (That must have been a funny sight!) The Ninevites undoubtedly heard many of the stories of the miracles that God had performed on Israel's behalf. Still, in their minds, because of how they were brought up and taught, and, although Israel's God was to be feared, Yahweh was still just one of many gods to be feared. There is no indication that the Ninevites turned from their false gods to worship the One true living God. In fact, the introduction of another "god" did not preclude the worship of the gods with which they were already familiar. By inquiring about the God of the Israelites, they could easily learn that He was a God of justice and so they acted accordingly. They cleaned up their act and, for a time, responded with some reforms. It's no different for you and me. When someone is introduced to Jesus Christ, it's unlikely that he or she would give up all of their current vices and bad habits (other "gods") because of it. It usually takes time for changes like these to occur. I struggle to live up to my own convictions every day. I am always missing the mark. The Ninevites recognized God's power and responded and God extended His mercy to them -- the very thing He wanted to do. You can be assured that the other gods they worshiped were not merciful -- not like the God of Israel! "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you." (Psalm 89:14, NIV) Maybe this was the only message necessary for now. Maybe this was enough. We don't know how many Ninevites gave serious attention to God's mercy that day -- whose lives were not just changed for that day, but forever.

Questions for reflection:

Have you ever responded to God in a purely outward way (like the Ninevites putting on sackcloth and fasting because they thought this was what God required)? Did it remain purely outward, or did a change of heart eventually follow?

What do you think the ramifications were for Jonah upon returning to Israel and announcing that God did not bring judgment upon their enemies, but mercy?

The final chapter brings me to the following conclusion about Jonah: Jonah is a big baby. At least that's how he acts. Seriously, what a pouter! We'll discuss Jonah's behavior in my final installment on the Book of Jonah.

An Attitude Adjustment for Jonah

"From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God." Jonah 2:1

Have you ever had to have an attitude adjustment? It's not a pleasant experience. It usually means that God is going to take me through a difficult situation to help me see things with a little different (hopefully better) perspective. It's usually happens when I think I'm impervious to a certain sin or behavior or attitude. Like the time I thought I could just open my mouth and spout God's word like some sort of fix-all for someone else's painful situation. The problem wasn't with God's word or the application of it in their particular situation. The problem was with my arrogance and my lack of love and sensitivity to the other person's heart and problem. I was told so by the other party and it shot me down. But, I learned to be more of a listener and my attitude was adjusted accordingly.

Start today by reading all of Jonah 2 and also Jonah 3:1-4.

Jonah's time spent in the belly of a fish became the start of a major attitude adjustment. Jonah recognizes his time inside the fish as God's merciful deliverance from death and repents. When you read the 2 chapter of Jonah you hear in his voice the cries of someone who just can't feel any lower and realizes the depths (literally) from whence he came. "From the depths of the grave I called . . . You hurled me into the deep . . . the deep surrounded me . . . To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever." Jonah knows that the sea could have and should have swallowed up his life and I'm sure that he expected to die. But now, Jonah sits in the belly of this big fish and contemplates what just happened. I'm not certain that Jonah even thinks that there is hope beyond the belly of the fish, though I think he suspects that there might be life beyond his present situation because he plans to make good on the vow he's made to the Lord (whatever that may be). Jonah knows one thing at this point: he is alive. He offers a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord and makes a vow to Him. The Lord, in His mercy, commands the big fish to vomit Jonah out (nice image) and, conveniently, Jonah lands on dry ground.

Questions for reflection:

Have you ever been so thankful to God for His rescue from a difficult or frightening situation that you made promises or vows to Him in response? Think about what those promises or vows were? Did you follow through with them?

You can imagine that Jonah might lay there on the beach for a bit before getting up and moving on with life. If it was me, I might have laid there and re-capped what just happened, how I got in the situation I was just in. I might be trying to wrap my head around the fact that I just spent 3 days of my life inside of a fish. I would most certainly be considering my impending task ahead (the whole reason for my current situation). There was a lot that just happened in his life. Think about it. We've all heard this story so much that we easily take it for granted. But let's you and I recap. Jonah was just given a monumental task to do for the Lord. (A task he wasn't happy about and that made him angry.) He made the monumental decision to run away from God. (Never a good idea.) He was thrown overboard and given monumental mercy from God by being rescued from death. (There's that exquisite Grace again!) He was swallowed by a monumental fish! (Big, big Grace!) He sat inside the fish for 3 days of which I am sure was monumental torture. (I don't know if you've really thought about what that was like, but please do.) All of the events leading up to this moment lying on the beach are monumental.

Jonah must go to Nineveh. I suspect that that was the vow that Jonah made to God -- to follow through with what God had asked him to do. Although, let's not make the mistake of thinking that Jonah is any happier about doing it. He did indeed get an attitude adjustment -- enough of an adjustment to decide to be obedient. Not enough of one to be happy about what his obedience required. But, that's ok. We're not always happy with what God asks us to do. Some things are difficult. To say that we do all things with exquisite joy is not realistic. Jonah must go to Nineveh.

When he reaches the great city, he delivers God's message of impending judgment. Now, Jonah wasn't a missionary. He was a prophet. It's a different gift. (It was a different skill set -- just as important :).) A missionary would bring a message of salvation to everyone who would listen convincing them of God's love and grace. A prophet brings a specific message to a particular audience. You can tell by Jonah's message that he was not happy about being there. He says (half-heartedly, I'm sure), "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned." (3:4, NIV) Count them -- 8 words. He did the bare minimum. He used the fewest amount of words possible. No call to repentance. No instruction about what God might want from them. No conviction of their sins. No convincing the Ninevites of the love of God. His message was short and terse. I'm thinking he knew the message would bring fear, but he also suspected that God was going to be merciful with them. God just doesn't play by our rules, does He? Jonah is conflicted and troubled and he probably just wants to get out of there.

Questions for reflection:

If you were to deliver that message to Nineveh, would it have been easy or difficult for you to add a measure of mercy and grace into that message? Do you think you would have tried to soften the blow by directing them towards repentance?

Next time:

How did the Ninevites come to believe Jonah's message?

If the Ninevites were so cruel to Israel, how did Jonah get away with giving his message without facing their cruelty?

We'll talk about these questions in my next and last installment of my thoughts and teachings on the Book of Jonah. Let me know what you think!

Cake,
Kerry

MAN OVERBOARD!

"He answered, 'I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.'" (Jonah 1:9)
Refresh your memory by reading Jonah 1. We will focus this time on Jonah 1:4-17.

The Book of Jonah has a few other characters besides Jonah himself. The sailors, for instance, who unknowingly put their lives at stake by taking Jonah aboard their ship. These innocent bystanders lost most of their goods in an effort to keep their ship from sinking. A violent storm ensued and the sailors were introduced to Jonah's God that night. Imagine being one of those sailors the moment you realized that you had to throw a man (Jonah) overboard in order to save your own life and the lives of your shipmates.

These heathen sailors would have had their own patron deities (personal or family gods), but they also would have implored whatever cosmic deities (universal gods) were popular in the day. They could usually identify divine activity as such, but it was another matter altogether identifying which god was acting and why. Don't get me wrong! I am in no way implying that there were actually other gods to identify. The only other "god" (little "g") that can be identified is our enemy, Satan. Each of the sailors would have called out to his own personal patron deity in hopes that the patron deity could influence the actions of the cosmic deity at work -- the cosmic deity causing the storm about to take their lives. The more deities that were contacted the better their chances of getting help from one of them. So, the captain decides to ask Jonah to call upon his god. (I say "god" little "g" because at this point the captain has no understanding of who Jonah's God is.) The captain goes below deck to speak to Jonah, and, lo and behold, Jonah is sleeping. It's not that Jonah doesn't realize that they are now sailing in the midst of a life-threatening storm. It's just that Jonah doesn't want to go to Nineveh. That is Jonah's state of mind. Death to himself and the ship's crew is better than going to Nineveh and allowing God the opportunity to be merciful with Israel's enemy. As if Jonah could stop God somehow from showing mercy. "For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.'" (Romans 9:15, NIV) We cannot stop God! The thought of dying in this storm is so much better in Jonah's mind that he is able to sleep. Have you ever made the comment, "I would sooner die than ________________ (insert your worst nightmare here)!" That place right there. That's where Jonah was at.

The sailors cast lots to determine who would be first to disclose information about themselves. The assumption was that someone had done something terrible to make one of the gods angry enough to bring such a storm. The assumption was, in essence, true. One of the passengers did do something to make the God of the universe angry. The lot fell on Jonah. This is one of the most fascinating things that I've come to realize about God. He uses whatever tools we have, whatever our understanding at the time to accomplish His intent. He is not threatened by these so-called "other gods." God does not compete. He is not an ego-maniac. He is God. His purpose and intent will be accomplished and at the moment it is, all eyes will be on Him. He never loses control of a situation. In this case, He uses the tradition of casting lots. That was the sailors way of making difficult decisions. It was a custom practiced by most cultures of the day, including Israel. The sailors are naturally curious about who Jonah is and where he comes from and what exactly he did to make his God so angry. Jonah answers the sailors in such a way that explains his God as the Creator of heaven and earth -- just the sort of "god" who could bring such a storm! All eyes are on Jonah now and they blame him for their destruction. Jonah's flight from God has put them all in jeopardy and Jonah knows it.

How the sailors deal with Jonah and his God's anger is typical during this time in history. The people of the day believed that the actions of the gods were neither honorable nor reliable. In fact, it was believed that their actions were somewhat whimsical and always arbitrary. They worshiped gods that were childish in behavior -- gods that could not be trusted. Make no mistake! This is NOT the character of the God of Israel -- the One true living God! They believed that each god could be appeased in a different way, so they approached Jonah for an idea of how they might appease his God. Jonah's advice to the sailors was simple and to the point: "Pick me up and throw me into the sea." (vs. 12, NIV) Well, the sailors weren't enthusiastic about murder, so they made a last ditch attempt to row back to shore. The attempt failed because the sea grew even wilder than it was before. God was demanding Jonah's obedience.

Reluctantly, the sailors throw Jonah into the sea. In an act of desperation (and because, to them, a god is a god), the sailors cry out to the Lord Jehovah for mercy. "O Lord, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O Lord, have done as you pleased." (vs. 14, NIV) As soon as the sailors throw Jonah overboard the sea grew calm. At this, the sailors feared the God of Israel, sacrificed to Him and made vows to Him. There is no indication as to what they sacrificed or what the vows entailed. One thing is certain, they recognized Jonah's God as the God in control of the present situation and the One to be worshiped at the moment. The sailors probably made a vow to remember this divine event each year on its anniversary. This does not mean that they gave up worshiping their other gods. It only means that they included Jonah's God among those they already worshiped. But, hey, it's a start. They've now been introduced to the One, true God.

Jonah was cast into the sea and swallowed up by a big fish. Jonah more than likely assumed he would die as soon as he was thrown into the sea. Most certainly, he did not expect to live the next few days of his life in the belly of a big fish. (Mercy: not getting the punishment we deserve.) Jonah's overt disobedience to God deserved the punishment of death. This big fish was more willing to do the bidding of its Creator than was Jonah. I love the various translations of the last verse in chapter 1. The NIV states it this way: "The Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah . . . ," as if the fish was an act of rescue on God's part. (I love that! That's so like the God I know to provide a rescue.) The ESV states it, "And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah." This one kind of gives me the picture of God's creatures lining up waiting for their assignment from God -- maybe even eager to be asked. Jonah was appointed a task and the fish was appointed a task. Hmmm. What Jonah and the great fish had in common in regards to their tasks was that neither task was pleasing to either one. Jonah did not want to go to Ninevah because the Ninevites had certainly left a bad taste in his mouth. The great fish couldn't have liked the idea of swallowing up a whole man, clothes and all, when what he really enjoyed swallowing was shrimp. (I'm assuming here that the great fish was, in fact, a whale.) Aah! I love the Word. It's an ocean of fun!

Questions for reflection:

If you were one of the sailors that night would you have been able to and willing to throw someone overboard if it meant saving your life and the lives of your shipmates?

Have you ever felt like God's ways seemed whimsical or arbitrary? What truths does the Bible give us about this?

How would you share with those sailors about your God? What would you share that might convince them that He is the Creator of heaven and earth?

Have you ever shared your God with someone who served a different god?

You Can Run . . .

The book of Jonah has always been a favorite of mine. It seems so outlandish and mysterious. A man swallowed by a whale? Alive for three days inside its stomach . . . in the depths of the ocean? Seriously? That can be a little tough to swallow (pardon the pun). I believe it nonetheless. And here's why: God can do anything and the Bible is full of outlandish stories and that's part of what makes God so amazing and great.

Over the next several posts, I'm going to take you through the Book of Jonah. We'll look at the man, the unbelievable truth, some innocent bystanders, and a nation under judgment. We'll discover just how much we have in common with Jonah and with the Ninevites. More importantly, we'll get another beautiful picture of God's amazing grace (my current favorite subject).

Let's start by reading Jonah 1.
Make a list of all the characters in this chapter.

Here we go!

Long ago in a land far away near the city of Joppa there lived a man named Jonah. Jonah tried to run and hide from God. He was a person not unlike you and me. He knew God but didn't always understand His ways. (Sound familiar?) God gave Jonah a very important job to do. He told Jonah to go to Ninevah and tell them to repent or suffer judgment. Jonah was less than enthusiastic so instead he paid considerable fare for passage on a ship to Tarshish. It's important to understand Jonah's state of mind regarding God's request. For Jonah to go to Ninevah and tell them to repent or face God's judgment would be like sending a Jew, Jonah in particular, into Nazi Germany with the same message. You can understand why the Jew might think it more acceptable for Nazi Germany to simply face God's judgment and be destroyed. It would be difficult, even today, to find a Jewish person who possessed any compassion for Hitler and his armies. This was what God's request felt like to Jonah. Jonah knew God, however, and suspected that God was going to show mercy and have compassion on this enemy of Jonah. Jonah was severely conflicted.

Ninevah had a long history of cruelty to the Israelites. It was the flourishing city of the Assyrian Empire (probably located in present day Iraq). The people were wealthy, modern and full of pride. The Ninevites worshiped many gods all demanding sacrifice for appeasement. They were infamous for their sacrifice of children. The Assyrian armies were constantly waging war with the Israelites and making treaties with and allies of neighboring countries against Israel. Cruelty was their specialty. It was well known amongst Israelites that to be captured by an Assyrian soldier meant a long, torturous death. The Ninevites knew nothing of mercy or compassion.

Now, Tarshish, on the other hand, was a quiet little place kown for its trade exports. It was neither lavish nor wealthy, and certainly not infamous (possibly located in what is now southern Spain). Joppa (located just south of modern Tel Aviv) was a harbor town for merchant ships of various sizes transporting grain, wine and oil. A ship like the one Jonah boarded would have had a crew of no more than a dozen sailors.

Jonah was a man who desired to see justice served on his enemies. Wouldn't we all? He probably was not without mercy and compassion, he just had his limits that's all. Like most of us, he had a difficult time understanding God's ways. He tried to refuse God, but, well . . . we all know how well that works. He tried to hide from God even though deep down he knew he could not hide. "He could run, but he could not hide," as the saying goes. Jonah got angry at God like all of us do from time to time.

I'll continue this next week in a new post. Before then consider the following questions:

1) Why did Jonah flee to Tarshish?

2) Has God ever asked you t do something you did not understand or just did not want to do? What did you do? Did you follow through or did you flee?

3) Do you feel mercy and compassion easily for those you consider enemies? Or is it difficult for you?

4) Are there people in your life for whom you have a hard time feeling compassion? Why or why not?

5) Do you ever try to hide from God? Why or why not?