Good morning! Continuing our study from Friday and Sunday on Jonah and then to Gideon. We are on this same post today as yesterday
Let us continue on our study from yesterday as just so much in these verses. We are at Judges 6 I think towards the bottom of the comments.
Healing and Discipleship 
Jonah 1 KJV “Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?
9 And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.
10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him. Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.
14 Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.
15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.
17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”
It’s interesting that the men on the boat tried so hard to get to shore so Jonah would be saved. In a culture where everyone was believing in god of some sort even if it wasn’t Jehovah there seem to be an understanding that if you displeased a god there were dire consequences! KC
Good morning on this rainy day. But we have sonshine in our hearts.🥰
Yes I love that the men tried to save Jonah, even when he told then to throw him over board. I wonder if Jonah was throwing himself on the mercy of God and was he truly caring about the men in the boat. Maybe the very thing he was mad at God about was the thing that he was counting on to save him. Interesting thought.
Wendy
Very interesting to think about…. Perhaps he even preferred to die than to give the people of Nineveh a chance to repent. I have heard people say “I would rather die than…” A hardened judgemental heart is such a deadly thing.
What really stands out to me in these last couple of weeks is that God made Himself perfectly clear and each of these men had plainly heard what He said, and yet they still attempted to reject His calling. I am praying to hear Him clearly so that I can know His voice distinctly from all others and as plainly as these men did. I realize increasingly that the cost of such a prayer is truly that once it is answers, we are absolutely bound to obey or potentially face consequences as severe as Jonah does here when he ran away.
Good morning Everyone!Kc
Good morning Everyone!KC This is true . Once God has opened up knowledge to us we are now responsible to walk in it so I too am seeking Him constantly for my ears to hear Him so clearly that when He is asking me to do something specific there be no reluctance in me. KC
The response of these men the first time Jonah describes God to them is remarkable. So much easier for people who believe in gods to comprehend the idea of GOD then those who are raised in an environment of skepticism. Humanism (man as God) seems to grip people on another level. Equally stunning was their repentance and turning to God when they witnessed this one miracle.
Yes that is true. They believed in gods and they were taught I think to fear them and that the gods were to be appeased so they would not have wrath fall down on them. I wonder if they felt the difference in the God’s response to them when they threw Jonah over. It would have been interesting to know if they then turned and worshipped the one true God after that, and gave up the other gods.
Wendy
Yes! I feel the frustration of our culture so entrenched in humanism. I have often pondered the reality that because God found me at a fairly young age and I’ve never doubted His existence … it’s hard for me to really understand why people trust so much in their own abilities to save themselves . I often long for heaven and home but I know and believe we have a calling on our lives just like these men so I’m here and want to function in His Grace on this side. KC
I am marvelling today at seeds… We have these tiny little seeds.. perhaps basil and Claytonia are the itty bittiest we have. It is astonishing to see life burst out of these little black balls and to complare the side of the plants they make (thinking basil in full season) and it is truly remarkable that all that life is constained in that tiny seed. Same with a human embryo. So so small and yet every bit of potential exists in that little seed. How much untapped potential do we each have and how much do we limit our potential simply by our inability to truly imagine the magnitude of what God can do in and through our lives.
John 12:24 King James Bible “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”
Perhaps this was actually the moment when God not only saved Nineveh, but Jonah too. Perhaps a type and shadow of the water baptism, death of self and resurrection to life in Christ?
Good thought… I wonder if when He asked to be thrown out of the boat if that was the moment of his total surrender? KC
Next part of Jonah Jonah 2 King James Version (KJV)
2 Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly,
2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.
7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.
10 And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
vs 2… forshadowing of Jesus going down to hell to redeem His people. 3 days and 3 nights in the whale. God needed to transform Jonah’s motivations. His transformation of course was fairly limited.. motivated enough to obey God, but not to change his mindsets (let go of the bitterness and judgements he harboured against the Ninevites). Whereas Jesus came into the fullness/total fulfillment of His ministry in part via his visit to hell. So many types and shadows of man doing it poorly and then Jesus doing it perfectly with stunning results
vs9 AMAZING!!! right after Jonah is able to perceive his need to praise and thank God, seeing that this is a requirement on his part to satisfy all he has vowed… the fish spits him out on dry ground. Thanksgiving and praise… offering a sacrifice of these two things in the midst of seeming impossible adversity is just so so so powerful. those who walked through the loss/early translations of our 3 miscarried children know that this was the greatest blessing through those times for me. Praise and Thanksgiving blanketted especially the last 2 and joy and unshakeable peace came almost instantly. The same thing when my mother passed from cancer 4 years ago.
Love that God really can command any of His creatures to do anything… I am thinking mosquitoes and ticks…
The whale vomiting him out reminds me of God speaking in Revelation of spewing the ‘lukewarm ‘ out of his mouth? Do you think Jonah finally obeyed but still lukewarm in his Spirit? Perhaps obedience is not totally what God is looking for but more so that what we do in obedience is with our whole heart and being.KC
It is a bit of a question mark as to all of this ended for Jonah himself.
Makes me think of Paul saying that he wanted prayer so that he would finish the race well and not himself be disqualified after preaching the message to others for years. Humbling thought.
Yes it certainly is a humbling thought. Whew!!!!
WR.
I know, Rob and I were pondering that this morning.
Wendy
Vs7 amplified When my soul was fainting within me, I remembered the Lord, And my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple. My prayer is that I don’t have to have my soul faint within me before I remember you Lord.
Wendy
This clearly speaks to me how my reluctance to obey Him can directly put others as individuals or nations in jeopardy. Years ago I felt God calling us as individuals and as a fellowship to pray for Love and support the USA regardless of whatever negative opinions I may have about the way they think or do things.In order to do this it required submitting to a process of letting God kill ‘my opinions ‘…..
Amen! So easy for the enemy to steer us into judgemental thinking that can block/abort the prayers God wants us to pray
Numbers 16:45-50 King James Version (KJV)
45 Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
46 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun.
47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
50 And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.
Maybe in the crying out of God’s people during this time of the plague, we can have it stayed. It is awesome how when Moses commanded Aaron did what he asked without question, and the plague was stayed.
Wendy
Amen! Yes… I believe this is true. There are some events that must happen for Jesus to come back. But He actually did delay certain outcomes until the righteous ones passed over… Please help me recall.. was that Josiah… or Solomon… I know that David was given the vision of the temple but unable to build it because of the blood on his hands. So God’s plan was delayed for his son to build it. Potentially for generations if God’s people walk in submission and righteousness.. thoughts?
It was Solomon that built the temple, if that is what you are asking.
WR
1 Kings 11 GW “9 So the Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 God had given him commands about this. He told him not to follow other gods. But Solomon did not obey God’s command. 11 The Lord told Solomon, “Because this is your attitude and you have no respect for my promises or my laws that I commanded you to keep, I will certainly tear the kingdom away from you. I will give it to one of your servants. 12 But I will not do it in your lifetime because of your father David. I will tear it away from the hands of your son. 13 However, I will not tear the whole kingdom away from you. I will give your son one tribe for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I chose.” yes WR, that one and this one.. because of the covenant he made with David, God spared Solomon’s living through the rending of his kingdom… quite something. Also makes me think of the fact that God would have spared Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of 10 righteous ones
And maybe even less than 10 if Lot had kept on going. Who knows.
Weny
This reminds me of Adam and Eve. He spared them really by allowing them to live and not starting over right then. Had they not gone on to have children, the redemption God promised them through their offspring would not have happened and they would have been beyond redemptions reach.. So he certainly did it for just 2
47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
I Love how Aaron ran in their midst, he really stood in the gap between the living and dead.
Rob
Yes! KC
Really no fear… to run in the midst of people falling over dead of a plague takes some pretty serious OOtsma.
Really striking how in this one act of obedience (carried out with haste and total obedience) a plague that had the power to kill all was stayed. There are times when we have prayed for someone for hours and days and weeks and they have still died. And yet Aaron’s actions (in complete compliance with God’s specific plan for this situation) stayed things. We absolutely need to learn to hear the Lord clearly. What a difference it makes.
Little detour Isaiah 8 ESV “5 The Lord spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, 7 therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, 8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”
9 Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered;
give ear, all you far countries;
strap on your armor and be shattered;
strap on your armor and be shattered.
10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
speak a word, but it will not stand,
for God is with us.
11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”
16 Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples. 17 I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. 19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21 They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. 22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.
13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
This is something,I feel is absolutely necessary in this day. If don’t, we will never experience His power.
Rob
The amplified describes it perfectly.
13
“It is the Lord of hosts whom you are to regard as holy and awesome.
He shall be your [source of] fear,
He shall be your [source of] dread [not man].
14
“Then He shall be a sanctuary [a sacred, indestructible shelter for those who fear and trust Him];
But to both the houses of Israel [both the northern and southern kingdoms—Israel and Judah, He will be] a stone on which to stumble and a rock on which to trip,
A trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Lord, thank-you.
Rob
Amp 16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law and the teaching among my (Isaiah’s) disciples. 17 And I will wait for the Lord who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will look eagerly for Him. 18 Listen carefully, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are [e]for signs and wonders [that will occur] in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
A remnant that God will use.
Rob
Wow! If God’s people do not represent Him well, instead of being ministers of reconciliation and restoration, we actually become a HUGE stumbling block to the nations who now are limited to a warped and off picture of God in and through us. Being an ambassador for Christ is a massive responsibility with potentially eternal consequences. This motivates me to be far more diligent and dedicated in seeking HIm in and through me and to really know His heart.
vs 16-22 really leaped off the page to me. There are so many conspiracies and takes on what is happening in the world right now… this passage kind of cuts through it all and says “who cares what “they” say and what our senses our telling us” THE thing for God’s people to do is to seek HIM. I was convicted to the core as it is so so easy to get sucked into watching the media or alternative media and be motivated and even guided by the counsel/perspectives they present to the point where hearing and obeying God can become almost impossible. The last part of this passage in particular says that those who look to man’s answers as their source will have a dismal end indeed. So important to guard our gates and diligently seek God whenever the darkness seems to be encroaching in this world.
Amen Amen! KC
Yes I agree. WR
Judges 6 WEB”11 Yahweh’s angel came and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. 12 Yahweh’s angel appeared to him, and said to him, “Yahweh is with you, you mighty man of valor!”
13 Gideon said to him, “Oh, my lord, if Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, ‘Didn’t Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?’ But now Yahweh has cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.”
14 Yahweh looked at him, and said, “Go in this your might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Haven’t I sent you?”
15 He said to him, “O Lord, how shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
16 Yahweh said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”
17 He said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who talk with me. 18 Please don’t go away until I come to you, and bring out my present, and lay it before you.”
He said, “I will wait until you come back.”
19 Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes of an ephah of meal. He put the meat in a basket and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it.
I have to smile thinking about how God called Gideon “ oh mighty man of valour”! You can almost imagine Gideon looking around and saying “Who me??? Your talking to ME ??” For he certainly think of himself the way God saw him… back to our identity in Christ. It’s so important to believe what He says about us !KC
I love that Gideon’s heart is revealed by his desire to worship God and set up an offering for him. I will come back to Gideon tomorrow as I think it’s a great one to explore.
Can you imagine this conversation? God “So I am appointing you to save the nation”…. Us “UUUUUUHHHHHHHmmmmmmmm” Mind racing with every argument under the sun why we are just not able to do something that big and important…. God “Seriously, I know what I am doing… you’re it” meaning, with me backing you, you really truly can do ALL things in Christ who strengthens me… do you believe me or do you believe your own assessment of the situation. I need to meditate on this so that when God does call, I am ready to answer “Yes, let it be as you have said Lord”… LOVE LOVE LOVE Mary’s response to when the angel came to tell her she would birth the Messiah. Tells me many of us just have to get over ourselves and get to the place of trusting God. LOL.. Far easier to believe that God is gonna work through that “super brother or sister christian over there”.. Another thing entirely to know our own thoughts and failures and still believe God can do something astonishing through our lives
Yes I have always loved Mary’s response, especially in the light of what this could have meant for her during that time. She could have been set out of the community and possibly even stoned to death for supposedly committing adultery and yet she responded with “Be it done unto me according to your word”. That just slays me. She was just a young girl, nobody special. Yes I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her response too Lisa.
Wendy
“But Gideon said to him, “Please my lord, if the LORD is with us, then why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wondrous works which our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.” The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this strength of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?””
Judges 6:13-14 AMP
https://www.bible.com/1588/jdg.6.13-14.amp
I love the fact that Gideon as some of the other prophets argues with the angel of God. Yeah so if He is with us, where are all the wondrous works? Then in vs 14 the Lord just ignores that and moves on to His purpose with Gideon. Saying “have I not sent you?” Basically saying it will all work out because I have sent you.
Wendy
Very interesting passage. God commanded the angels to mark those who grieved the abominations happening in the land. Perhaps it was the very fact that Gideon was aware of how it ought to be and longed to see it that way that marked him as one who could “go in this strength of yours”. The ability to perceive that the world is not as it ought to be is likely a pre-requisite for being willing to follow God in order to change it’s course.
Ezekiel 9:4 KJV “And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.” Those who are complacent with and passive about and accepting of lack the fire in their belly to act and fight with boldness for what the Word describes as God’s will. It is so encouraging that God counts it a positive thing when we perceive injustice and evil and hate it and long for His plans and purposes instead.
We are just starting to read one of Randy Alcorn’s books on heaven. Paul said “to live is Christ but to die is gain”. Retraining our perception to the Kingdom is I think a central theme to the abiding Christian life.
Yes! More and more I’m perceiving that our life on earth and what we go through in His dealings with us is just a blink in all of eternity that awaits us and really has nothing to do with me,me,me but its all about Him,Him,HIM! KC
Amen. WR
Yes! Lots of evidence that Yeshua would have died for me even if I was the only one needing salvation……He leaves the 99 to go after the 1! Why do we so doubt our value at times?KC
I love that God ignores me most of the time with my Why questions yet keeps laying His purpose before me and clarifying it through His Word!KC
Hahaha yes me too.
Wendy
Jonah KJV 3 And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.
4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:
8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
LOL.. we will have to wrap up Jonah tomorrow too.. So so rich these passages…. So so encouraging. Fire being lit in my heart
Yes, well I am still stuck back in Isaiah. LOL There is so much in all of these passages, I can’t move through them quite as fast, but will try and keep up. LOL. Love you all and have a blessed day.❤️🙌
I Love how we see this King repent so wholeheartedly. Do you think that Jonah in his knowledge of this people or maybe the King in particular had a sense that this King wasn’t hard hearted and might lead the people to repent? …when he himself was of the opinion they all deserved to die?Was that behind his reluctance the nagging feeling that he would prophecy doom and they would repent and knowing God was so responsive to repentance and relent from destroying them…he would end up looking like a false prophet?KC
Interesting how the false prophets long for the attention and the following… and here a true prophet literally runs the other way to try to avoid being in the midst of the story. Human fallen nature is something else.
I love that the King was commanding all his people repent and he himself did as well, but did it not even knowing if it would turn God’s anger away from them.
Wendy
Absolutely. God has been speaking to me often this year about the need to listen and obey and entrust the outcome to Him. What I do (my submission) is the only thing that impacts my life and my eternal rewards/consequences… how others perceive/receive/respond is between them and God. The need to convince/persuade anyone has fallen away dramatically as a result. And my joy now comes from having done all that I heard to do… not the seeming outcome. Reminds be of the verse to “walk by faith and not by sight”. So much of what shifts happens “underground” or in the “heavenlies” beyond the realm of our 5 senses. We can be so easily mislead if we rely on our visual or sense input to confirm things have shifted or are being accomplished.
Hebrews 11 vs1 comes to mind and
2 Cor 4:16-18 Amplified
16 Therefore we do not become discouraged [spiritless, disappointed, or afraid]. Though our outer self is [progressively] wasting away, yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary, light distress [this passing trouble] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory [a fullness] beyond all measure [surpassing all comparisons, a transcendent splendor and an endless blessedness]! 18 So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable.
Rob
Amen!
Yes amazing! Kind of like The three guys about to be thrown in the furnace…they just didn’t know if God was going to come through and save them but they set their hearts to do the right thing by their God and not bow down to another, This King didn’t know but repented anyway..even if there was no benefit to him or the people… real repentance! KC
Blessings.. Perhaps lets just come back to this post exactly tomorrow.. so much here.. love and hugs in Christ.
❤️ KC
Jonah 4 King James Version (KJV)
4 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
2 And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
3 Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
4 Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?
5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.
6 And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
10 Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which
up in a night, and perished in a night:
11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
Amp 9 Then God said to Jonah, “Do you have a good reason to be angry about [the loss of] the plant?” And he said, “I have a [very] good reason to be angry, angry enough to die!”
The whole story about Jonah has perplexed me for a long time. I get some of the jewels in the book of Jonah, the 3 days in the fish, the reaction of the ships crew, the reaction of the king and people of Nineveh. But Jonah and and his relationship with God perplexes me. Clearly he is reluctant and does not want to do God’s bidding, but when in the fish, finally responds with a right heart, but what is really going on here.
Rob
This story reminds me of how I came to know the Lord. I was hurting and in pain and really on death’s door awaiting my first surgery. I caught a glimpse of God that stirred up questions which I sought answers for while i was suffering. but as soon as a certain measure of “comfortable” and “normal” resumed…. my quest for God pretty much stopped and I went right back to my “old life” forgetting my need for Him. I remember when someone in our groupshared a story about a certain woman who was healed of cancer quite radically by God. And yet, after 8 years time, their lives barely changed and their seemed to be no real fruit for having such a life altering and power filled experience. Without being rooted in the Word, I think even those with the most dramatic encounters, do often turn back to a “carnal” flesh driven life style. Perhaps Jonah is an example of one who had gifts of God without being rooted in a true and abiding relationship with God?
I really don’t get why Jonah was so angry, other than it made him look like a fool and he thought the people would turn on him. But would they not see that because of Jonah’s warning and them repenting and listening to what he said, that he had actually saved them and they would be thankful to him for that warning. Anyway it is not explained and even God seems perplexed by it. I think it is a good warning to us though, that we must have the heart to see people repent and rejoice when they do and not be happy when judgement is executed except on the principalities and powers.
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places.”
Ephesians 6:12 AMP
https://www.bible.com/1588/eph.6.12.amp
Paul is pretty clear who our struggle is with.
Wendy
Jonah clearly feared God to some extent. He is a bit of a reluctant protagonist in all of this. In so many Bible stories, we are not told about the emotions or thoughts of the people involved. And yet here, we clearly see that Jonah’s will was at odds with God. Seemingly, Jonah was still very much subject to himself and had not totally submitted to God, hence he required extra-ordinary intervention to move him to obey. God cared so much about the people of Nineveh, especially the children (those who didn’t know their left hand from their right) that He was willing to poke Jonah into compliance to some extent. There really is no hint of Jonah’s attitude really shifting away from self-righteousness or self-centredness. When the plant that was shading him died, he was instantly miserable. Honestly, his whole response reminds me of Isaiah 8 that I posted above. Because he was not thankful, because his heart was hard against other people (therefore hard against God’s whose image they were made in), instead of being in jubilation and rejoicing, he was living in a position of distress and darkness. Powerful illutration that even in the midst of God’s miraculous provision, it is totally possible to miserable and miss the whole point and miss the peace and joy available to one who walks through it in a position of humility and praise.
Yes such a contrast to Job who seemed to have so much more suffering and cursed the day he was born and wished to die. …but more understandable than Jonahs intense emotions ,opinions ,or whatever was causing him to feel he would rather be dead that see Nineveh spared?? Perplexing indeed!KC
vs 8 reminds me of the passage in James (1 or 2) that talks about how the double minded man is unstable in all of his ways and should expect nothing from God. I love that God extended mercy to Jonah and even in this state of hardness of heart, God is trying as much to work out salvation for Jonah as the people of Nineveh.
Oh ! How GOOD is our God! KC
Also interesting that being in the belly of a fish didn’t make him wish to be dead but witnessing the redemption of Nineveh and the heat of the desert did. He clearly had the means to go back into the town. Clearly it had not sunk in that the devastation was lifted. Jonah totally had a place to go to escape the misery he was in and yet he was more focussed on being self-righteous than even his own physical comfort. How many places do we have in our lives where self-righteousness is holding us in a miserable place even thought restoration and reprieve are only an apology or a swallowing of pride away?
Next passage about Gideon Judges 6 WEB ” 20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.”
He did so. 21 Then Yahweh’s angel stretched out the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire went up out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. Then Yahweh’s angel departed out of his sight.
22 Gideon saw that he was Yahweh’s angel; and Gideon said, “Alas, Lord Yahweh! Because I have seen Yahweh’s angel face to face!”
23 Yahweh said to him, “Peace be to you! Don’t be afraid. You shall not die.”
24 Then Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh, and called it “Yahweh is Peace.” To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
25 That same night, Yahweh said to him, “Take your father’s bull, even the second bull seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is by it. 26 Then build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold, in an orderly way, and take the second bull, and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.”
27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Yahweh had spoken to him. Because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city, he could not do it by day, but he did it by night.
28 When the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bull was offered on the altar that was built. 29 They said to one another, “Who has done this thing?”
When they inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.”
I am realizing in the last month, that one of the “fears” that has tried to establish itself is the fear of missing God’s instructions. I LOVE that God absolutely spelled things out for Gideon. Told him exactly what to do. Our God will do the same for us if we sincerely seek Him and ask HIm for the same.
Yes I relate to that fear as well.so based on this I continue to ask and trust that He will give me very clear and detailed instructions…KC
vs 27 is also interesting. The Shepherding movement in the 70s introduced this idea that one needs to be under the cover of a shepherd and that if one is not, then one is uncovered and will experience negative consequences. Even to the point where people were told submission to their pastor would be covered even if the pastor led them in error. Scripture speaks otherwise here. Gideon certainly “feared” his father and suspected that these actions would go against his father’s will. And yet, he still did as God told him but secretly. Of course, he was found out.
This also reminds me of the parable of the talents. First Gideon was obedient in the small matters, and then God entrusted him with a bigger task and then an even bigger one.. Just like David with the lion and the bear before facing Goliath.
Hmm ..”because he feared his fathers household and the men of the city. He needed to make the choice of obeying despite what the reactions of his own family might be.” This speaks to me the importance of not being sympathetically bonded to your own family ..especially now as it may be required in the days ahead that to be obeying God and serving Ah I’m only will put us at odds with our own loved ones.KC
Well we’ve been there before haven’t we Karen!
Wendy
Yes ,we certainly have..
Amen!
…serving HIM only ratherKC
Love you all. Going for a walk in this beautiful sunshine. It will be a nice time to mull over the bible study today. Blessings on your day.❤️
Wendy
Enjoy ! So many confirming things spoken today! ❤️
Blessings all… tomorrow we will do 9:30 to 11:30 via zoom/conference call. I will try to get everyone set up and ready today so tomorrow goes smoothly. Prayers appreciated . We will be using our scripture packages on identity.
Thanks Lisa! Blessing your technology know how and looking forward to our online study. The only thing I’ve noticed is a bit troubling with. zoom meetings is the potential for talking over one another and missing what’s being said ..so the putting up your hand feature might be useful although w hav never tried that yet in our family connect ups!… but it ‘feels ‘ llike my family LOL as we always talk over one another!! KC