Title: The God Who Called Jonah to Shout
Content 1. Words that begin
In any field, no one would dispute the authority of experts and the need to recognize their expert opinions and solutions. However, it cannot be overlooked that, in reality, mistakes, errors, and enormous harm in the field of expertise are committed by the very same experts. The religious world is no exception to this. In Matthew 23:15, our Lord said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you travel between sea and land to get one church member, and when they are born you make them twice as many children of hell than you are. A sigh comes out.
2. God's Command to Jonah
God said to Jonah the son of Amittai, a descendant of Zebulun, “Arise, go to Nineveh, and cry out against it, and its wickedness has come up before me.”
Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, one of the oldest cities in the world, and one of the largest. It had a wall about 30.48 m high, and between the wall and the wall three horse-drawn chariots could run side by side. Also, because it was located on the eastern hill of the Tigris River, it was suitable for living and had a very large population.
In the eyes of human beings, it was a city that was perfectly livable and developed in every way, but in God's eyes, it was nothing more than a city full of viciousness, rotting and rotting due to the sins and injustices of its inhabitants. No, it was a city full of evil and overflowing, reaching the heavens, and thus reaching a point where God had no choice but to judge.
People who look at the human appearance are intoxicated with the beauty, splendor, and grandeur of the outside and seek the convenience of life in the flesh, but please believe that God, who looks at the heart of man, values the inside of everything. Therefore, we who believe must first develop the inner side by embracing the mind of Christ, and we must promote the outer development as a natural expression of that inner side. The final destination of external development ignoring the inner world is bound to be ruin.
Everyone, as Matthew 6:33 says, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, so that you can enjoy the grace and blessings of God who adds everything you need.
3. Jonah's Rebellion
Jonah, hearing God's command, decided to flee to Tarshish, the other side of Nineveh, to avoid God's presence instead of obeying. So I took a boat from Joppa along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea to Tarshish, the closest port to Jerusalem.
The reasons Jonah disobeyed God who had told him to go to Nineveh and cry are as follows.
First, it is theological. The Jews believed that only their own people with the Mosaic Law were God's chosen people, and all other peoples would be destroyed. Even some later rabbis taught that God created the Gentiles to be used as fuel for hell. Another rabbi taught that God made the Gentiles human like themselves so that the Jews would not be offended at the time when the Messianic reign would come true and the Jews would make all the Gentiles slaves. .
For Jonah, who was living a life of faith based on such false theology, it was impossible for him to go to Nineveh, where Gentiles live, and preach the word of God. Even giving him the slightest chance of repentance was absurd. However, God wants all people, not just Jews, to repent and believe before God to be saved.
The second is national resentment. Assyria, with Nineveh as its capital, has been an enemy nation that has invaded the Jewish kingdom for many years and used to commit all kinds of atrocities. For Jonah, going to such a country and preaching the word of God, as well as bringing up the holy name of God, was very distasteful. However, God does not destroy Assyria, the enemy nation of His chosen people Israel, in an instant as Jonah thought, but rather wants to be saved by repenting of their sins and believing in them.
Third, it is about identity. Even if they go into an enemy country and praise them or shout that they will prosper, they may die as spies. However, God is telling us to go and cry.
Everyone, no matter what damage or hardship you encounter, please obey God's Word to save all people. Furthermore, I ask you to risk your life and obey the command of God, who gives you eternal life. In fact, this is the way to receive blessings for me and everyone, and it is the way to eternal life.
4. God works through nature
God caused a great storm on the sea where Jonah's ship was sailing on the run, and it was to the point of being wrecked. The storm was so severe that God, who created and rules Mother Nature, was terrified. All the crew members were afraid and each called out to their own gods and threw the things on the boat into the sea. However, far from showing any sign of a solution, the situation only worsened. All the gods that humans believed in and worshiped were eventually revealed to be futile, and the wealth they worked so hard to accumulate became useless at the decisive moment.
In the midst of this, the captain woke Jonah from a deep sleep in the bottom of the boat and told him to pray to the God he believed in too. It's an emergency, so I'm looking for any god, my god or yours.
Helpless, they cast lots to find out who caused the calamity, and Jonah, who suffered as a result, described in detail what had happened. Because of this, all the people who worshiped all kinds of idols knew the power of Jonah, the God who made the sea and the dry land, and became very afraid. We must keep in mind that God wants to save even one more person by knowing Him in any way, and we must try our best to be the instrument of God's mission in any way.
5. Jonah risking his life to take responsibility
As the sea grew harsher, the crowds said to Jonah, “What must we do with you, that the sea may be calm for us?” I asked. Then Jonah answered, “I am the cause of disaster; lift me up and throw me into the sea.” It is a very conscientious answer, and a truly moving answer. In today's world of irresponsible people, Jonah risking his life to take responsibility is worthy of imitation. However, Jonah should still repent and obey God's Word, but he has made a mistake of following his conscience. Rather than lay down your life in the name of taking responsibility, you must risk your life and obey the Word of God.
The crowd tried to overcome the crisis without throwing Jonah into the sea, but the sea was getting worse and worse, so they prayed to God and threw Jonah into the sea. Then the sea became calm. When the crowd saw this, they feared Jehovah God greatly, and made offerings and vows, and a remarkable change took place.
Meanwhile, Jonah stayed in the belly of the great fish that God had prepared for three days and three nights.
6. Conclusion
God’s thoughts and human thoughts are different, and God’s ways are different from humans’ ways. The Lord said to us, “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” You said. We earnestly pray that all of us will deny ourselves and live a missionary life by following the Holy Spirit who masters even the deep things of God.
(Poongseong Methodist Church. Book: Complete New Testament Commentary Series/ Interpretation of difficult scriptures/ Prayer of Prosperity/ Baking before the birth of Jesus (English, Korean)/ Sermonbook 17. 426-3051)