Present day Jonah

Yesterday during chapel, the speaker preacher from Jonah. He was giving us present day application. As I read through Jonah, God truly did show me how to apply it today, but maybe not in the same way.

For those of you who aren't too familiar with the story of Jonah, I'll recap. If you really don't know the final details, go read the story of Jonah out the Bible. If you need a refresher, I'll give you a summary (any italics is a direct quote out of Jonah). Jonah, a prophet, gets Word from God. “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me” (Jonah 1:2). Jonah, not wanting to go to Ninevah, decides to go to Tarshish, in the opposite direction. While on board the boat, God causes a storm to happen. All the sailors are trying to figure out whose fault it is, and Jonah comes forth. When they throw him over, the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17). During this time in the stomach of the great fish (not whale), Jonah realizes that truth about salvation. He prays to God, “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord” (Jonah 2:8,9) God believes Jonah learns his lesson and the fish vomits him onto dry land. Once again, the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you" (Jonah 3:1,2). This time Jonah is smart and does exactly that. He spends 3 days in Ninevah preaching against the city. The city repents from their sin. God is satisfied, and spares Ninevah, but not Jonah is not. He wanted to see a show of brimestone and fire. The title of the 4th chapter is a accurate portrayal: Jonah is angry and God's compassion. Jonah expression his displeasement with God. He prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee 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. Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:2,3). The story with debating between Jonah and God, but the story ends the same way the 4th chapter begins, with Jonah mad at God.It is a really sad ending. The main character, despite doing a wonderful thing, is upset. Veggie Tales's Jonah states it well, "Jonah was a prophet, who never really got it....he did not get the point."

There might be some things you might need to understand when you look at the story of Jonah. Jonah was a prophet during the time that Israel was under Assyrian captivity. The people of Israel were not happy that the Assyrians invaded the land. Israel hated them with a passion. They probably hated them so much for many reasons. The Assyrians settled in Israel's land. The male assyrian soldiers forced the Israelite women to marry them and have their children. Other sources say that the Assyrians were so cruel, they would cut off the lips of their captors. All of these, and probably much more, might just be the wickedness God was talking about. Ninevah was the capital of Assyria. So Jonah was pretty much told to go to the capital city of his captors, and preach against them. Big step up.

Question: If Ninevah was around today, where would it be on today's politcal map?Answer: IraqFact: Iraq (the country the U.S. invade) and Iran (always rumors that's the next country) are the remnants of the Assyrian empire.

History does repeat itself. Sure enough, Iraq is capable for a lot wickedness. Genocide, terrorism, sexism, violence, and all under the name of a false god. I think if we listened closely to God, he would be telling us the same thing. "Go to the Iraq city of Baghdad (or Fallujah) and preach against it, because it's wickedness has come up before Me." And just like Jonah, we go the opposite way. We rather be enjoying ourselves preaching at a place that also has resorts, like the Carribean or Polynesian Islands, where we can enjoy ourselves on break instead of a desert area. What do we do? We send our soliders over there to blow their heads off. That seems more of an easier solution to us. It's like we think, "Eeww, terrorist. I'm not talking to them about the gospel. They can just die and go to hell for all I care." Maybe we need to be swallowed by a big fish for 3 days and 3 nights for us to realize what Jonah needed to realize. Salvation is for everyone, including the Iraqis. Why do you think these people are committing such attrocities? It is because they are lost in their sin, and need the Lord Jesus to save them from their sin. God warns us that he will not take pity on us based on the way we leave earth. How can a Christian shoot at a man that he knows is lost in his sin, thus damning him to hell? I pray that if someone hears the call to bring the Word of God to Iraq, and will go, not considering the war there. But I hope the American people will end up just like Jonah ended up. When we hear that God has spared the people of Iraq, are we going to be peeved like Jonah? Are we going to cry out to the Lord, "What?! You saved them?! After all the wicked sins they committed, and you're going to let them into heaven? I have to now go to church and love him?! How dare you hold back your wrath and show loving mercy, God! I rather die than have to accept an Iraqi terrorist!!" That is not the way! Remember the parable of the workers. God offers everyone salvation, no matter what they did or when they receive. If we want the war to end, let's go to Iraq with a stronger weapon, stronger than any gun or tank. That is, the Word of God. What if someone dies in the process of delievering the gospel? I call them a martyr. If we give so much praise to soldiers who are dying because they are causing other people to die, shouldn't we uplift even more the person who died trying to give the unsaved eternal life? The Lord tells us to send workers into the field for harvest, and I pray for those to be called to harvest the Christian in Iraq. We just may be the only sign from God they get, "the sign of Jonah."