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A Whale Of A Tale - Jonah
A Whale Of A Tale - Jonah
It is rather amazing to me that often minor points in a sermon (book, article, show, etc.) are the things that are remember and the over-arching thought or performance is forgotten. How many minor point or asides in sermons get remembered while the lesson itself is lost. So with the great fish and Jonah. [Side note: How many times has it been pointed out that God prepared a great fish – so this was NOT just a hungry whale looking for lunch! ]
God is GOD OVERALL. All souls are mine (Ezek. 18:4). Notice God’s judgments here upon the ‘great’ city of Nineveh (Assyrian capital). Though they were not under (amenable to) the law of Moses, God judged them concerning what we would call universal moral principles. Notice the difference in the basis of God’s judgment when He gets to condemning Israel and Judah.
There is a judgment of God to be faced. While here it is a specific temporal judgment, yet “it is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). We all must stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2Cor. 5:10).
Nations come and go, but all are under the rule of God. He can cause them to arise or to fall. The greatest of nations is like a drop of water in a bucket in God’s plans and purposes. All the great nations of history came and went. Our nation is not exempt. We must learn to not put our trust in earthly rulers … but faithful serve God who is king over all the earth (Dan. 4:17).
God’s providence should be an inducement to repentance. “They did not return…” (Amos 4:8,9,10,11; Jer. 3:7, 10). Even to Assyria – the message was repent or perish (Jonah 3:5,8)! Thus the great lesson in the last chapter. How many of us are more like Jonah in this regard than we care to admit! We don’t want them to repent and find mercy, we want them to face the wrath of God? God on the other hand … “is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Such is also true of God’s blessings: “
Enjoy the great fish, but remember the lessons about God. Are you listening?
Hugh DeLong
