Daily Blast - Minor Prophets: Day 14
Scripture
“Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?”
Reflection
One of the first bible stories we all remember from Sunday school is the story of Jonah and the whale (although it’s described as a “great fish”). So the question is: how and why do we find Jonah in the belly of a whale?
Well, as Joe told us yesterday, Jonah was told by God to go and prophesy to (“preach against”) the city of Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrians, Israel’s sworn enemy. But instead of obeying, Jonah runs away, gets on a boat, and sails in the opposite direction. Jonah even hides below deck, out of sight, and goes to sleep. But a violent storm threatens the boat. The sailors are frightened because they think they will all be drowned, so they pray to every god they can think of. Then they draw lots to find out who the culprit is that has caused this dreadful calamity. The blame is pointed at Jonah. Jonah tells them it’s his fault because he has run away from the God of Israel, who has created everything. So Jonah tells them to toss him overboard and the sailors cry out to God for mercy. Reluctantly, they do as Jonah told them and he sinks into the ocean depths, only to be swallowed by the fish. So, Jonah does not drown. Instead, he prays in the belly of the fish and thanks to God for saving him. He makes vows that he will now obey God and do as he was told originally. Jonah is then vomited onto dry land and heads off to Nineveh.
When you examine the story, you realise that the characters don’t respond in the way you might expect. God’s prophet disobeys God and runs away because he can’t bear the thought that God might forgive his enemies. The pagan sailors, who worship other gods and were superstitious, pray earnestly to God to forgive them for throwing Jonah overboard. The sea then becomes calm.
So there is a bigger picture here, pointing to the fact that God desires to forgive His enemies and to offer mercy. Remember how Jesus forgave “tax collectors and sinners” and this upset the Pharisees and religious people, because “those people” didn’t deserve it. Remember we were once God’s enemies because of our disobedience and He chose to offer us mercy by sending Jesus to die for us. The gospels refer to the fact that Jesus was in the tomb for three days, just like Jonah was three days in the belly of the fish.
Challenge
Follow on from yesterday and pray for those people who you find difficult to love, maybe even dislike. Ask God to help us to love them as He does, so that we can demonstrate God’s mercy, even to our enemies.