Monthly Archive for November, 2001

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Jonah 1:10

Published on November 20, 2001 in Jonah. 0 Comments
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Jonah 1:10 “Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, ‘Why have you done this?’ For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.”
 
Then the men were exceedingly afraid,
Apparently the sailors grasped the seriousness of Jonah’s rebellion against God more than Jonah did.
and said to him, “Why have you done this?”
What a “why” this is!  Sailors who know not God rebuke a prophet for his rebellion: “What an astonishment this is!  What spiritual stupidity!”  It does not make sense to rebel against a God who made the sea and the dry land. 
For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them
Jonah owned up to his rebellion against the LORD.  The sailors caught the full implication of Jonah’s rebellion against God. 
PRINCIPLE:  Non-Christians have more sense at times than carnal Christians. 
APPLICATION:  At times, non-Christians have more sense than Christians.  It is always a great rebuke for non-Christians to show Christians how to live.  Non-Christians with common sense can have more sense at times than the carnal Christian with the entire Word of God at his disposal.  God’s principle is that Christians should have a higher system of life than non-Christians should: 
1 Pt. 4:17 “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?18 Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls   to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”
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Jonah 1:9

Published on November 19, 2001 in Jonah. 0 Comments
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Jonah 1:9 “So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
 
So he said to them,
Jonah replied to the sailors’ questions about whom he is and what he stands for with a clear-cut confession. 
‘I am a Hebrew;
Jonah answered the sailors’ question of his race by, “I am a Hebrew” (racial name). 
and I fear the Lord,
Jonah claimed to “fear the LORD.”  I imagine the sailors saying, “You do?!!”  The sailors were facing a strange person who claimed to be a prophet but rejected the message of the prophet. 
the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land’
Jonah said that he feared the God who made the raging sea that caused the sailors’ predicament.  He also feared the God who made the “dry land” (where the sailors hoped to land!)  Jonah was saying that it was the God who created the sea that was giving them so much trouble: “My God caused this storm.”  Jonah leveled with the sailors. 
PRINCIPLE:  It is futile to hazard our hope on some empty expectation. 
APPLICATION:  We can get ourselves into quite a jam in carnality.  We bring great trouble on ourselves by stepping out of fellowship with God.  Carnality will make us miserable, cantankerous and unfruitful. 
We can hazard our future on some false hope only to find that that hope is a desperate situation.  It falls on an empty expectation. 
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Jonah 1:8

Published on November 18, 2001 in Jonah. 0 Comments
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Jonah 1:8 “Then they said to him, ‘Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?’”
 
Then they said to him, ‘Please tell us!
The sailors interrogated Jonah with five rapid-fire questions.  They discovered that they had a runaway prophet on board.  Jonah was not only a prophet but he was a disobedient prophet.  He was a preacher but he did not like the message.  He was a missionary but he did not like the field. 
For whose cause is this trouble upon us?
The mariners knew that the whole situation was Jonah’s fault. 
What is your occupation?
“What do you do for a living Jonah?” “Well, right now I am out of work!  I am a prophet but I haven’t prophesied lately!  As a matter of fact, I am a rebellious prophet.”  The cat was out of the bag.  How embarrassing and devastating for Jonah! 
And where do you come from?
“What is your home town, Jonah?  Do you live in Joppa or in Jerusalem?” 
What is your country?
“What is your nationality, Jonah?” 
And of what people are you?
“What is your race, Jonah?”   
PRINCIPLE:  Honesty is the best policy in dealing in our personal sin and rebellion. 
 
APPLICATION:  Sometimes we do not confess until we are caught.  David did not deal with his sin until Nathan the prophet came to confront David’s sin.  If we get caught red-handed then we confess; otherwise, we do not deal with the problem. 
2 Sa 12: 1 “Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 “The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 ‘But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 ‘And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.’ 5 So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! 6 “And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.’ 7 Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man!’”
Sometimes our behavior belies our beliefs.
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Jonah 1:7

Published on November 17, 2001 in Jonah. 0 Comments
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Jonah 1:7 “And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.’ So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.”
 
And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.’
The ancient mariners wanted to get to the root of the problem so they used an ancient system of superstition – the casting of lots.  They played the lottery way back then!  The sailors viewed the crisis as a religious problem.  God overruled this pagan superstition by answering the request of the sailors. 
The casting of lots seems to be sanctioned by God at times in Scripture and at other times condemned by God (Le. 16:7-10; Josh. 18:6-10; 1 Sa. 14:36-42; Ne. 10:34; Es. 3:7; Pr. 16:33; Ac 1:26).  However, there is a big difference between God’s system of casting lots and pagan superstition.  The only context where God sanctioned the casting of lots was in the pursuit of His will. 
Pr 16: 33 “The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the Lord.”
So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
The sailors found the culprit by divination – it was the recalcitrant prophet, Jonah.  First, they threw the cargo overboard but that did not help.  Then they resorted to prayer but that did not get them anywhere either.  Finally, they cast lots to determine the object of divine displeasure and they discovered the perpetrator of God’s displeasure. 
PRINCIPLE:  The casting of lots is not a New Testament methodology for determining God’s will. 
APPLICATION:  There is only one situation in the New Testament where people of God used the casting of lots to determine God’s will.  That is the choosing of Matthias in place of Judas.  It is not all that clear as to whether this was in the will of God, for God told them to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, but Peter jumped the gun.
Ac 1: 26 “And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”
Matthias is never again mentioned in the Bible.  God did raise up the apostle Paul years later. 
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Jonah 1:6

Published on November 16, 2001 in Jonah. 0 Comments
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Jonah 1:6 “So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
 
So the captain came to him,
Imagine what a godless character this captain must have been.  The irony of a man like this captain challenging Jonah to pray is amazing. 
and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper?
The captain characterizes Jonah as a “sleeper.”  The captain has to prod Jonah to prayer by calling him lazy. 
Arise, call on your God;
The captain is desperate.  He wants everyone on board to call on his particular god of the pantheon to save the ship.  Jonah does not want to deal with God.  He wants to flee from the presence of the Lord.  He is not on speaking terms with the Lord. 
perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish
Jonah’s prayer would not have made any difference.  He cannot pray against the will of God. 
PRINCIPLE:  God uses unusual agencies to get our attention.
APPLICATION:  As God used a godless captain to get Jonah’s attention, so God uses non-Christians or secular situations to get our interest.  God has many agencies at His availability.  He can call on a circumstance, a reversal, or an accident to get our attention.  Sometimes He sends divine discipline so that we will come back to fellowship with Him. 
He 12: 3 “For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6     For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”
7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
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Jonah 1:5c

Published on November 15, 2001 in Jonah. 0 Comments
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Jonah 1:5 “Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.”
 
But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep
Jonah was “fast asleep” in the bowels of the ship.  This stands in striking contrast to the fear of the Phoenician sailors taking action to save their lives.  The sailors were praying but Jonah was asleep!  The journey to Joppa was long and fatiguing.  Jonah was complacent about his rebellion and about the effects of his sin (i.e., the ship breaking up).  He slept through God’s judgment.  He was in a state of callousness. 
PRINCIPLE:  Sin causes spiritual stupor. 
APPLICATION:  Many of us sleep while God’s judgment is on our lives.  Spiritual deterioration is imperceptible.  Sometimes this course is hard to detect.  Jonah did not become a coward prophet overnight.  It was a gradual process. 
Lu 9: 32 “But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.”
Mt 26: 40 “Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, ‘What? Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 ‘Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’…. 44 So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 ‘Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.’”
The covenant was to watch and pray, but Jesus’ disciples fell asleep.
Sin is a narcotic.  It will put us to sleep spiritually.  Slowly creeping sin is a spiritual anesthetic that blunts our spiritual sensitivities.  It represses conviction of sin and a dynamic fellowship with God.  A spiritual Christian does not excuse his sin but faces it and acknowledges it.  This is the first step on the road back to fellowship. 
Eph 5: 14 “Therefore He says:
‘Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.’”
Ro 13: 11 “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
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Jonah 1:5b

Published on November 14, 2001 in Jonah. 0 Comments
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Jonah 1:5 “Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.”
 
and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load.
The sailors sought to lighten the ship by tossing cargo overboard.  The ship owner would take a dim view of them sailing into port with no cargo on board!  But what good was their cargo if they were going to lose their lives?  What did they care about the ship’s owner at that point? 
Values differ in death.  Gold, money, and luxury mean little to you if you are about to lose your life.  The mariners did what they could.  They lightened the load of the ship but the load was still there – Jonah.  There is nothing so heavy as sin.
Ps 38: 4 “For my iniquities have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.”
Mt 11: 28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
PRINCIPLE:  Values differ in death.
APPLICATION:  Our estimates and evaluations about life change dramatically in our dying hour or in a time of desperation.  It is at that time, albeit too late to make a life-long difference, that we often take note of the things of greatest value.  In one of Paul’s great prayers, he prays that we might have the discernment to put priority on the things of greatest value. 
Ph 1: 9 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
The word “approve” means test for approval.  The word “excellent” indicates a sense of value, of what is important, of what is vital.  We need to have the discernment to separate what is important from what is not important.  We should be able to test for approval the things that are the most valuable in life. 
None of us operates in life without some scale of values.  The question is not whether we have a scale of values; the question is more which scale of values we choose.  Do we choose God’s highest values or some arbitrary set of temporal values?
Where there is no scale of values, utter confusion follows.  If we want to live a flustered life, then we live life without an adequate set of ultimate values.  In this situation nothing is of value, nothing of importance.  To live life with everything of equal importance is to live life at a trivial level.  Lesser things are as important as greater things.
If we chose as our ultimate value to make and save as much money as possible, then we have chosen a lesser value in God’s economy.  If we chose to put God’s glory first no matter how much money we make, then we live by God’s scale of values.  It is a matter of what comes first.  If our main objective is to make money, then we are number one in our values and God is number two.  We need to decide what is important.
Do we have God’s scale of values?  What is the highest item on our scale of values?  What is first or most important to us?  A good way to measure these questions is to consider our use of time.  Answering these things will reveal what is important in our lives.  Then we will have a sense of what is vital.
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Jonah 1:5

Published on November 13, 2001 in Jonah. 0 Comments
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Jonah 1:5 “Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.”
 
Now we turn to the anguish of the Phoenician sailors.  The violent storm of judgment on Jonah was about to break up the ship. 
Then the mariners were afraid;
The mariners feared for their lives.  This was no ordinary storm.  Others were in jeopardy because of Jonah’s sin.  You would think that his conscience would bother him.  No, that was seared.
and every man cried out to his god,
The Phoenician sailors worshiped a number of gods.  These crusty sailors went to their gods in prayer; that is how desperate they were!
PRINCIPLE:  Sin is social as well as individual; our personal sin affects others.
APPLICATION:  Our sin can bring trouble on others.  No man sins alone for it always hurts others directly or indirectly.  Children pay a price for the sins of their parents.  The populace bears ill for the failures of their politicians.  God made us communal beings linked interdependently with each other.  Our personal acts have social results. 
The alcoholic may say, “My alcoholism is my personal business.”  His alcoholism affects his family, his work associates and many others.  He cannot be an alcoholic in isolation. 
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Jonah 1:4

Published on November 12, 2001 in Jonah. 0 Comments
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Jonah 1:4 “But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.”
 
Now we come to the cost of Jonah’s defiance (1:4-2:10).  First, God sends a “great wind” (1:4-16) to retrieve Jonah from his rebellion. 
But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea,
In verse three we had the phrase “But Jonah.”  Now we have “But the Lord.”  The first has to do with Jonah’s reaction to the will of God and the second has to do with God’s reaction to a believer out of fellowship.  Jonah took his measures and now Jehovah takes His.  God always lets man have his way to a certain point.  Man proposes but God ultimately disposes. 
Jehovah tried to send Jonah but now he sends out a “great wind on the sea.”  Literally, the idea of “sent out” is caused to be hurled.  He hurled this great wind after Jonah.  The wind and the fish obeyed Jehovah but Jonah did not.  God graciously did not allow His servant to go about his way without dealing with him.  He would not allow Jonah to remain in his rebellion. 
God tried to send Jonah but now He sends something after Jonah: He sends a wind, a storm and a fish.  Elements of nature obey God but His people do not obey Him. 
Ps 135: 7 “He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain;
He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”
 
Ps 148: 8 “Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word…”
and there was a mighty tempest on the sea,
God has begun to act.  God does not relinquish His sovereignty over nature or His creatures.  He is in the business of moving nature itself (Mt 8:23-27; Ac 27:14-20). 
so that the ship was about to be broken up
The “mighty tempest” was so violent that it almost caused the ship to break up.  God, not the prophet Jonah, is the principal person in the book of Jonah.  God always accomplishes His purposes in His timing.  God interrupted Jonah’s itinerary in deference to His own. 
PRINCIPLE:  God loves His children too much not to discipline them and restore them to fellowship. 
APPLICATION:  God’s discipline is an act of His grace.  God never loses sight of those He loves.  He kept His eye on Jonah the whole time. 
There may be a “but” in our lives, but God has a “but” as well.  God’s “but” overruled Jonah’s “but.”  Man proposes but God will ultimately dispose. 
God has two ways of dealing with us: 1) by blessing our compliance or 2) by regulating our rebellion.  It is a lot easier on our hide to do God’s will willingly.  God has His way of getting our attention.  Some of us learn only by the hard way.  God will cause some storm to come into our lives if we step out of His will for very long.  God always deals with a person’s hard heart.  God loves us too much not to discipline us and restore us to fellowship. 
He 12: 3 “For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6     For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.’
7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
We can trust God even when we cannot trace Him. 
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Jonah 1:3d

Published on November 11, 2001 in Jonah. 0 Comments
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Jonah 1:3 "But Jonah arose 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 from the presence of the Lord.”
 
from the presence of the Lord
This is the second time we have the phrase “presence of the LORD.” The word “presence” is literally face.   There was no place Jonah could go to get away from the face of the Lord.  “Face” is a metaphor for the personal presence of the Lord.  If he ran from the presence of the LORD, where was he going to go?  He could not outrun an omnipresent God.  He could not escape the long arm of the Lord. 
PRINCIPLE:  No one can escape the long arm of God. 
APPLICATION:  Our first parents tried running from the presence of the Lord.  Many of us have no appetite or stomach for the will of God.  This was true of our first parents and their first child. 
Ge 3: 8 “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”
Ge 4: 16 “Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.”
Je 23: 24 “’Can anyone hide himself in secret places,
So I shall not see him?’ says the Lord;
‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the Lord.”
Moses rationalized this way: “I don’t have the right training; I’m not man for the job; I don’t have the right background; I am not eloquent or fluent.  We rationalize our rebellion just like Moses.  Moses said in effect, “Who am I?  I am nobody.  I don’t have talent or gifts.  Why use me?” 
Ex 3: 10 “Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.’ 11 So the Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? 12 ‘Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.’ 13 But he said, ‘O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.’ 14 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said: ‘Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 ‘Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. 16 ‘So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. 17 ‘And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.’”
When a person tries to run from God, he always finds a rationale for rationalizing his sin.  He will find a ship ready to depart.  The devil will make available circumstances so that he can disobey God.  Escapism is a form of sublimation.  There is always an answer “over there” but not here. 
We will never succeed in running a footrace with the Lord.  God has many agencies such as a fish, a storm, and a wind to send harrowing experiences our way.  Jonah bore the scars of his harrowing experience to his grave.  If we do the will of God, it will save us a lot of headaches. 
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