READ: Jonah 3, 4; Proverbs 16; Revelation 6
SCRIPTURE: Jonah 4: 1 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and
he became angry.
2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at
home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing 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.
3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
OBSERVATION: Many Christians have a misconception that the God
of the Old Testament was an angry God who punishes people and that the God of
the New Testament is loving and merciful to save all humanity. But the Bible
never gives such a conflicting understanding of God. God’s nature and characteristics
are eternal and unchanging. There are ample evidence and verses in the bible to
help us understand God’s love for humanity. The book of Jonah is undoubtedly
one of them. The story of Jonah is a familiar story for most Christians.
However, the last two chapters do not get our attention like the first two
chapters; we give more importance to vividly explaining Jonah and the big fish
than how God dealt with the disgruntled prophet Jonah. Here we see an unhappy
and angry prophet who was disappointed with God because God relented and showed
mercy to the people of Nineveh who humbled themselves and sought God.
Upon seeing God’s
mercy, Jonah tried to justify why he fled to Tarshish, located in the opposite direction
of Nineveh. Of course, twice God commanded Jonah to preach against Nineveh, the
capital city of the Assyrians who were the enemies of Israel. It seems Jonah
already knew that God would show mercy to the people of Nineveh. He knew that
he is “a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love.”
Jonah might have thought that God’s love was exclusive to the Israelites. In
Jonah’s time (2 Kings 14:23-27), we should know that the Israelites were living
under king Jeroboam II who “did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” In those days, the
Assyrians oppressed Israelites. But God saved the Israelites by remembering his
promise. Jonah thought God did wrong by
showing mercy to a gentile nation. So he argued with God and said, “it is
better for me to die than to live" in despair. But God was patient with
him.
Jonah was quick to
anger, but God was/is “slow to anger and abounding in love.” God did not punish
Jonah for asking questions. Instead, the God who “provided a huge fish to
swallow Jonah” when he fled away (Jonah 1:17), “provided a leafy plant,” “a worm,”
and “a scorching east wind” when Jonah was sitting and waiting to see the doom
of Nineveh to help him understand God’s compassion. God was concerned about the
people and “also many animals” in the city. He was concerned about Jonah as
well. We see that the book of Jonah unusually ends with a question. When we
have questions about God, he does not get angry. He answers us, for he is
concerned about us too. We can be confident that our God is “slow to anger and
abounding in love”; he never changes.
APPLICATION: God wants all people to repent to him. Lord Jesus
commanded to preach the Gospel to all the nations. I should communicate his message
to others; I must obey God and do his will. I should remember that God is the
creator of all beings and God for all. I should set aside my biased views and
thoughts about others and be an ambassador of God who says, does, and expects what
he desires. Do I get angry when God forgives or blesses others? Instead of
judging others from my viewpoint, I should see them from God’s view and show
love and compassion when they seek God. I should always seek God’s will, not my
will. I should be like God—-slow to anger and abounding in love.
PRAYER: Father God, thank you for your compassion and love
for all people. Lord, thank you for your care for the innocent people and animals.
Jesus, help me be your disciple of love. Holy Spirit, strengthen me to show God’s
love to all people. Amen.
- Arputharaj Samuel
+91 9538328573
Day – 349
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