Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jonah 1-4 and Micah 1-2.

God called Jonah to go to Nineveh and prophesy that it would soon be destroyed.  However, Jonah did not want to preach this message to the people of Nineveh because he wanted them to be destroyed and was afraid that they would listen to his prophecy and repent.  So, in order to avoid inadvertently delivering God’s message to the Ninevites, Jonah decided he would go in the opposite direction.  However, when God brought misfortune upon Jonah, Jonah surrendered and agreed to deliver God’s message.  When the Ninevites repented, Jonah was angry that God chose to withhold the destruction He had Jonah prophesy.  Finally, Jonah gets angry because a vine which had grown up to give him shade died.  God uses the death of this vine to point out to Jonah that he was more concerned with his own comfort than the lives of thousands of people.  Ultimately, the Book of Jonah has two vitally important messages for us:

1. There is no place to which we can run to escape God’s plans for us
2. We should value others more than we value our comfort

I was not sure I was going to write about Micah, but after reading it I had some thoughts I wanted to write down.   Micah prophesies that God’s judgement is about to pour out against Israel, the Northern Kingdom, and against Judah, the Southern Kingdom.  The sins of the people of both kingdoms will result in terrible destruction for them.  Micah tells us that the sins of these nations spread out from their capitals.  Samaria and Jerusalem were to blame for the people of Israel and of Judah sinning in ways which led to invasion and desolation.  As we read on into chapter two we realize that Micah’s prophecy against Samaria and Jerusalem is not specific to those geographic locations.  Instead, Micah tells us that the leaders of the people were responsible for their sins.  Micah’s message here is twofold.  First, the rich and powerful will suffer the same desolation from their sins that the common people will experience.  Second, if we allow our leaders to lead us into sin, we will suffer the consequences.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jonah 1-4 and Micah 1-2.

I had a couple of different thoughts about the Book of Jonah today.  As I started to try to put those thoughts into words a question occurred to me: why does God seem to hound certain people until they, like Jonah, stop running from His will and consent to fulfill it?  And I think Jonah illustrates at least part of the answer to that question.  Jonah ran from God’s will, but when the judgement God brought down upon him threatened to fall upon those around him, Jonah offered himself up as a sacrifice to turn God’s wrath aside from them.  And that seems to offer up the difference between Jonah and those whom God allows to run away from Him.  God sent destruction in the form of a storm upon the ship Jonah was on until He got Jonah’s attention.  Then, when the people around him, had done everything in their power to escape the storm, only then did they allow Jonah to “take the fall”.  Perhaps, if Jonah had continued to deny God, God would have allowed everyone on board to go on their way, even Jonah.  We do not know, but I have seen people who have turned from God suffer many things until a time comes when God seems to give up on them and allows them to live in peace.  On the other hand, I have seen people who have turned from God suffer one thing after another year after year, until finally they give up and acknowledge God.  One other point, Jonah denied God because he was afraid that the people of Nineveh would turn from their sin and God would forgive them: he wanted them to suffer.  However, Jonah was unwilling for the people on the ship with him to suffer for his sins.  That also plays a roll in why God went so far to bring Jonah back to Him.

I want to contrast the way the people of Nineveh responded to Jonah’s prophecy of destruction to the way the people of Israel responded to Micah’s prophecy (or, at least the way that their response is recorded in today’s passages).  When Jonah prophesied to the people of Nineveh that God would destroy the city in 40 days because of their wickedness, they repented of their evil and began to fast and pray.  On the other hand, Micah tells us that when he told the people of Israel that God was going to destroy Samaria and Jerusalem, they told him to shut up.  When a prophet of God speaks to us, let us respond like the people of Nineveh did here, not the way the people of Israel did.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jonah 1-4 and Micah 1-2.

Usually when I read the book of Jonah I focus on Jonah and God’s message to us through Jonah, but today something else caught my eye.  Let’s look at this, God called Jonah to go to Nineveh and prophesy against it, sdo something and he didn’t want to do it. So, he went the opposite direction, because Jonah knew that if he went anywhere near Nineveh God would use him to accomplish His purposes.  There are some things in there that deserve a little attention, but I am not going to go there today.  What I want to focus on is what happened on the ship, and not the part we normally look at.  So, after the sailors threw Jonah overboard and the storm abated, they worshiped God and vowed to serve Him going forward.  Think about that, Jonah did not intentionally witness to those men.  He was not there because God sent him there.  Jonah was there running away from God, and God was STILL able to use him to reveal Himself to those who did not know Him.  Think about it: God can, and will, use us to make the world a better place, even when we are resisting Him.

In many ways the Book of Jonah is an excellent precursor to the opening of Micah.  When Jonah preached in Nineveh that God was about to bring judgement on that city, the people of that city repented of their sins in sackcloth.  They mourned their sinfulness and turned to God. When Micah prophesied about the judgement coming against Samaria and Jerusalem, the people of those cities told him not to say such things.  Then he says something I think we should take to heart: those who do what is right find his words comforting.  Think about that.  In the middle of his fire and brimstone message about the doom and disaster which are looming over the nation, Micah tells us that those who do right are comforted by his words, why?  Because his words mean that those who abuse others, who oppress the poor, who perform various wicked acts, will suffer for the suffering they have caused.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

So, leading up to our anniversary, I wished my wife happy anniversary for 20 days culminating on our anniversary yesterday.  I was tempted to continue for 20 more days, but decided not to do so.  However, since I am writing these a few days in advance, I am going to thank my wife on here every day until I am writing on the day after our anniversary

Thank you for marrying me. Darling!

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jonah 1-4 and Micah 1-2.

First Jonah 1-4

Often times when I read the story of Jonah I want to break it down into parts.  In fact, many times when I have heard sermons based on Jonah they are only on one part.  There is nothing wrong with that, but the Book of Jonah is short and we should, from time to time, look at it as a whole .  When God gave Jonah a message for Nineveh Jonah did not want to deliver it because he did not want the people of Nineveh to repent and be saved from God’s judgement.  Later he felt more grief over the death of a plant which had provided him shade than he felt over the possible suffering and death of the people of Nineveh.  The message of the Book of Jonah is that we should desire that sinful people turn from their sins and be saved, even if they have caused us, or others we care about, to suffer.  We should not desire that those who sin suffer for their sins.  We should desire that they cease to sin, and thus avoid that suffering.  As followers of Christ, we gain more when sinners repent than when they are punished.

Then Micah 1-2

I take Micah’s prophecy as being directed at those whose livelihood is dependent on the government.  Reading Micah’s condemnation of Samaria and Jerusalem I am reminded that the five richest counties in the United States are those surrounding Washington, DC.  I do not think this means that this passage is only of relevance to those who live in those counties.  Rather, it is a warning to those who make their living from managing the levers of power.  Micah’s message is not that it is wrong to make one’s living from managing the levers of power, after all, someone must do so.  No, Micah is condemning those who use their access to the levers of power to defraud and oppress others.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jonah 1-4 and Micah 1-2

The Book of Jonah tells the story of a man who worships God, but who struggles to accept God’s will for the world.  When God called Jonah to prophecy to Nineveh, he went the other way because he feared that the people of Nineveh would repent of their sin and be spared.  Jonah desired that the wicked people of Nineveh be punished to the point that he did not want them to cease their wickedness.  Let us learn that God does not desire anyone to suffer punishment.  Rather He desires that they turn from their sin, their self-destructive behavior, and be saved.  We should desire the same.  We often desire to see the wicked suffer for the suffering they have caused others, but we should prefer that they start doing good and stop causing others to suffer.

Now I will make a few comments on Micah 1-2.   Micah condemns those who live in luxury obtained at the expense of others’ suffering.  He condemns those who cheat, defraud, and use government power to take what they want from others.   Rather than listen to the prophets who warn them to change their ways, they try to silence them.   They are only willing to listen to those who tell them that they should do what pleases them and enjoy themselves.