This Sunday we will look at the book of Jonah to see what it has to teach us about loving our city.
Find us at thebridgechurch.hk.
Find us at thebridgechurch.hk.
(Jonah 3)
This Sunday we will look at the book of Jonah to see what it has to teach us about loving our city.
Find us at thebridgechurch.hk.
God is gracious, compassionate and slow to anger. He gave the people of Nineveh a second chance, and Jonah was angry that God used him to do it. So God grew a tree that made Jonah happy. When a worm destroyed the tree, Jonah was angry. God described His great love for the people He created and told Jonah he had no right to be angry that his little tree died. The book ends there.
Jonah seethes in anger and does not (or perhaps cannot) understand what God was telling him. Have you ever been angry with God?
Loss, heartache, injustice or a request that didn’t turn out like we hoped can lead us to be angry with God. In these situations, it's easy to become confused and wonder if He heard us or just said "No" to our prayer. And like Jonah, what we are certain of is the anger we feel toward God.
In chapter 3, Jonah finally reaches Nineveh, but there is something obstinate in his obedience. His sermon is 8 words (5 in Hebrew). Nevertheless, it transforms an entire city – from the king to the cattle. Hard hearts are softened and transformed. Jonah’s sermon is far from eloquent. There are no illustrations, no anecdotes, or jokes. Yet there is something altogether ‘other’ about Jonah’s message, something that motivates his hearers to repent and seek mercy from God. Despite Jonah’s lack of enthusiasm, God is able to use Jonah and his message to save the city of Nineveh.
We left Jonah in the belly of the great fish, and had reason to think that this was the end for poor old Jonah. If the waters of the sea did not destroy him, certainly being swallowed by a leviathan would. But the great fish was God’s means of saving and changing Jonah. One way or another God was going to teach Jonah humility.
In the mysterious safety of the fish, Jonah reminds us that God is working to transform us into the likeness of His Son, whether the darkness is self-inflicted or thrown upon us like a violent sea.