Bible League: Living His Word But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.Jonah had a prophetic gift from God and a specific calling. He was to use his gift to proclaim to the people of Nineveh a warning of impending doom if they continued in their wicked ways. The Assyrians of Nineveh were enemies of the northern Kingdom of Israel, however, and Jonah did not want the enemies of his people to have the opportunity to repent and be spared (Jonah 4:2). Hence, Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord. He boarded a ship bound for Tarshish, which was about as far from Nineveh as one could go in those days. Most everyone knows the rest of the story. The ship encountered a fierce storm sent from the Lord, Jonah was identified by lot as being the cause of the storm, the men of the ship threw him overboard to end the storm and it worked. Jonah was swallowed by a huge fish provided by the Lord and from the belly of the fish cried out to the Lord. The Lord heard his cry and the fish vomited Jonah onto dry land, he received his calling a second time and this time carried it out, and Nineveh repented and was spared. When we read the story of Jonah we are reminded of what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans: "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29). Just because Jonah didn't want to use his gift in the service of what God called him to do doesn't mean that the gift and the call were no longer operative. It doesn't mean that Jonah could let himself off the hook. And God had mercy on him and gave him a second chance to fulfill his gift and his call. Among other things, the story of Jonah is a cautionary story. It should cause us to reflect upon our own lives. Have we neglected any gifts and any calls God has given us? Are there any storms and huge fish in our lives that may have been sent by a merciful God trying to turn us around, trying to give us a second chance? Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingGenesis 49, 50 Genesis 49 -- Jacob's Blessing to His Sons; Jacob's Death NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Genesis 50 -- Burial of Jacob; Death of Joseph NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Matthew 15:1-20 Matthew 15 -- Clean and Unclean; Jesus Heals the Canaanite Woman's Daughter, Feeds Four Thousand NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion But be sure to fear the LORD and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you.Insight Samuel reminded the people to take time to consider what great things God had done for them. Taking time for reflection allows us to focus our attention upon God's goodness and strengthens our faith. Sometimes we are so progress- and future-oriented that we fail to take time to recall all that God has already done. Challenge Remember what God has done for you so that you may continue your life accompanied with gratitude. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Judges 15:18 He was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst?Samson was thirsty and ready to die. The difficulty was totally different from any which the hero had met before. Merely to get thirst assuaged is nothing like so great a matter as to be delivered from a thousand Philistines! but when the thirst was upon him, Samson felt that little present difficulty more weighty than the great past difficulty out of which he had so specially been delivered. It is very usual for God's people, when they have enjoyed a great deliverance, to find a little trouble too much for them. Samson slays a thousand Philistines, and piles them up in heaps, and then faints for a little water! Jacob wrestles with God at Peniel, and overcomes Omnipotence itself, and then goes "halting on his thigh!" Strange that there must be a shrinking of the sinew whenever we win the day. As if the Lord must teach us our littleness, our nothingness, in order to keep us within bounds. Samson boasted right loudly when he said, "I have slain a thousand men." His boastful throat soon grew hoarse with thirst, and he betook himself to prayer. God has many ways of humbling his people. Dear child of God, if after great mercy you are laid very low, your case is not an unusual one. When David had mounted the throne of Israel, he said, "I am this day weak, though anointed king." You must expect to feel weakest when you are enjoying your greatest triumph. If God has wrought for you great deliverances in the past, your present difficulty is only like Samson's thirst, and the Lord will not let you faint, nor suffer the daughter of the uncircumcised to triumph over you. The road of sorrow is the road to heaven, but there are wells of refreshing water all along the route. So, tried brother, cheer your heart with Samson's words, and rest assured that God will deliver you ere long. Daily Light on the Daily Path Malachi 3:15 'So now we call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up but they also test God and escape.'"Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, "I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite. Proverbs 16:19 It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud. Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Proverbs 6:16,17 There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: • Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, Proverbs 16:5 Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished. Psalm 139:23,24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; • And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way. Philippians 1:2,3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. • I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, Matthew 5:5 "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
Click for Video Devotionals     |