THE NARROW-MINDED PROPHET
Opening Prayer
As I come to read your Word today, Father, I don’t want to simply read. I ask that you use it to penetrate my heart with life-changing truth.
Read JONAH 1:1–16
Jonah Flees From the Lord
1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.
4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”
7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”
9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)
11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”
12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”
13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What is your usual response when things are difficult—to dig in or flee?I ran away from home once. I had done something wrong and expected to be in trouble, so I ran into the fields behind our house and hid among the trees. Happily, my mother came and found me. I said that I was sorry and that was the end of the matter.
Jonah ran away to Tarshish, not because he had done something bad, but because he suspected God wanted to do something good. Nineveh was a violent city, the capital of a barbaric superpower called Assyria. Perhaps at first, he was pleased that God wanted to confront these wicked foreigners with their crimes and give them their just deserts. But then (according to his own words in 4:2) a troubling thought seized him. What if Nineveh responded to his preaching and repented? God would be obliged to forgive them, and Jonah couldn’t stomach the thought of that.
Grace is good when we are the recipients, but can seem troublesome when others are beneficiaries, especially those who don’t deserve it. Our inbuilt prejudices and warped sense of fair play can make us narrow-minded, cutting us off from the heart of God which, as the hymnwriter says, ‘is most wonderfully kind’ (Frederick William Faber, 1814–1863).
Apply
Have you ever been tempted to turn your back on God? What happened? How does the mercy of God give us hope at such times?
Closing prayer
Lord God, thank you that when I am tempted to turn from your will, you remain faithful; you love and care for me. Help me to be more faithful, more loving, caring more for those things that concern you.
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