SonShines, this chapter has my mind swimming. After freeing Jonah from his watery prison and placing him on dry land, the Lord again tells Jonah to go to Nineveh. I love that God didn't release him from the belly of the fish and leave him to find his own way to shore. It really says a lot about what Jonah's heart must have looked like from God's perspective. I get the feeling God knew just what He was doing...we all know that to be true in all things, but Jonah's story is really highlighting this truth for me. When you look at the wording of both commands to travel to Nineveh, you can't help but think that maybe Jonah wouldn't have ran away had God said the latter to begin with. Sometimes, it's just downright terrifying to know His plans! Being told to preach against the nemesis of your people, in a city that took three days to cross, had to seem daunting. In the second command, God simply tells Jonah to go to Nineveh and proclaim the message He gives. Whew. That might have spared the fish ride. At first. How much weight would you give to an enemy's declarations of doom? Not as much as you'd give to someone who'd been in the belly of a whale, that's how much. Jonah's testimony put him in a position of power. God's power. The storm, the rock bottom, the entanglement, the days of hopelessness, the confession, the repentance--they added weight and worth and value to the words Jonah spoke on behalf of the King of kings. Sure, we know the true worth was there all along, but sometimes the world can't see past the messenger to find the message. I want to go on and on about this chapter, but I want to leave some goodness for you all to share too! I'll catch you in the comments and we'll dig on the Divine! Here are a few things to ponder...
CommentsFri, 05 Feb 2010 5:04:09 pm This chapter is truly about the God of 2nd chances...Jonah's and the people of Nineveh's. This story makes me wonder how many times that I've been on the brink of disaster and because I repented, God changed His plans for me. I also wonder how many times I've said no to God and the Gospel did not go where it needed to go and others suffered disaster. Sat, 06 Feb 2010 6:09:28 pm My "who knows" prayers are for the salvation of my family, and with time running extremely short I sense urgency. Mon, 08 Feb 2010 7:49:04 am I know each of these "who knows" pretty well and I'm so grateful to pray over each with you! Nothing says, "I'm bringing you through this" like getting a chance to pray over someone else in the same boat! God is with us, ladies! Love to you both! Tue, 09 Feb 2010 8:20:58 am Again, one of the first things that I notice in this passage is that the journey to Nineveh took three days. There it is again....the significance in three. I can only imagine the amount of prayer Jonah took during this travel time. So now, he's going on 6 entire days in deep prayer. My brain can't even wrap around that. The closeness he must have felt to the Lord! And knowing in deep conformation that what he was going to do, the Lord was right there with him! Awesome! Leave a Reply |  
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