Jonah 3:4 (New International Version)
4 On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned."
How often are we willing to pass and execute judgment on people who are not like us. Jonah certainly was. He pitched a tent east of Nineveh, sat down and waited. He was prepared to wait as long as forty days to see God execute judgment. Biblical judgment comes in three forms: Super natural disaster, Pestilence and Famine, War. Jonah must have known this, yet he was willing to hang around within viewing distance, possibly in harm’s way, of Nineveh to see God’s judgment. That’s remarkable. Can you hate that much? Unfortunately, I think the answer is yes for most of us. The Bible is about two distinctly different things: The Absolute Majesty and Wonder of God and the utter depravity of mankind. Jonah paints a picture for us.. of ourselves.
This segment of lessons focuses on Community. The root word here is ‘common’, as in what do we all have in common? The Church has to accomplish two tasks: 1. Not be absorbed by the community and 2. Impact the community for Christ. We are in the world, but not of the world.
My last point: Who wrote this book? Jonah did. Free confession is good for the soul. Jonah may not have remained as hateful and angry through the remainder of his life as he was during this brief episode in Nineveh. Transparency brings healing and signals that one has received healing. The fact that Jonah could be this transparent about this period in his life indicates that he eventually dealt with the extreme emotions he exhibited. That’s good news for you and I. If Jonah could ‘get over himself’, so can you and I.
1 John 1:9 (New International Version)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Blessings..
wb
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