Title Jonah's Faith (Jon 01:1-13)
There are two special events revealed in the book of Jonah. One is that Jonah, as a prophet, disobeyed God's command and did not go to Nineveh, but fled to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. It is a fact that they were saved through repentance even though they were the people of Nineveh.
First of all, if we look at the prophet Jonah, Jonah was a man with too many sins that was unacceptable before God.
1. It was Jonah who had too many wrongdoings.
The name Jonah means dove. Also, the name of Jonah's father, Amittai, has a true meaning. Therefore, Jonah received a glorious mission as a noble prophet with a blessed name from a good family. However, Jonah rebelled before God, disobeyed, and fled from the presence of the Lord (Jonah 1:3).
A man who had to go to Nineveh and cry out to the people of that wicked city to repent was sailing from Joppa, forgetting his mission, and leaving for Tarshish. At that time, Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was a city located in the north, and Tarshish was located in the southwest, in the opposite direction.
However, Jonah went down to the bottom of the boat without any remorse or falsehood, and fell asleep peacefully and deeply. Because of this, God was angry with God, and God finally made a great storm, and even the people on the boat suffered damage.
Therefore, Jonah's fault is not alone or two.
Even though he had a beautiful name like a dove, he lived according to his lusts like a crow, disobeying God and disappointing God. He is a person who forgot the mission of the prophet and left his mission by going astray. He said, "Obedience is better than sacrifice" (1 Samuel 15:20), but he committed the greatest sin before God, disobedience. He foolishly made the mistake of unbelief in trying to get away from Jehovah. Even though he was living this wrong life, he was sleeping peacefully in the bottom of the boat without any remorse or realization of the wrong way of living. It was an unforgivable sin for the fact that he made all those who were on board groan because of his own sin.
So far, Jonah hasn't done a single thing well. Forgetting one's mission, disobedience, betrayal, rebellion, and an unrepentant conscience are all just a life lived in the wrong way. We humans are good at nine things, and even if we do one thing wrong, we bury him and condemn him.
But God is different from humans. God is a God who has compassion on sinners who do nine things, and does not forsake them because of one good deed.
Even though Jonah did everything wrong, he was not abandoned because of one good deed, and we can see that many works have happened through Jonah.
2. One good thing is Jonah.
The book of Jonah has four chapters: Chapter 1, Jonah hears God's word, Chapter 2, God hears Jonah's prayer, Chapter 3, the city of Nineveh, hears Jonah's cry, and Chapter 4, the fruitage of God's providence. This appears. Yo, who lived wrong before God I was rejected because of that sin, met a storm, and was thrown into the belly of the fish. So I groaned in the belly of the meat for 3 days and 3 nights. One thing Jonah did well was to repent before God in the belly of the meat.
Dear brothers and sisters, the life of repenting of the wrong life is the best life of a human being. One good thing Jonah did was pray for repentance. Yo I called on the Lord in my troubles. Because they believed that Jehovah is a God of love who hears the prayers of sinners who cry out in distress. Jonah prayed, believing that the fact that he was thrown into the depths of the sea and moaning in a boat was thrown to God for his sin. In other words, he confessed his sins and repented. Even though Jonah was cast out of the sight of the Lord, he looked back to the temple of the Lord and prayed. It was Jonah who could not hear his face, but he believed in God who forgives sins and repented. Jonah knew that the punishment he deserved in the midst of it, and he prayed a prayer of thanks, and in groaning, he made a vow and prayed. And believing that salvation is only in the Lord, he cried out to Jehovah God alone, prayed, and repented. One thing Jonah did well was thorough repentance. It was a desperate repentance. It was repentance, vowing to make a new life.
Jonah had the sailors waking him up and casting lots. When the lot fell upon him, Jonah confessed his sin openly and repented, saying to the sailors that I know that it was my fault that I met this storm. Then he told me to pick me up and throw me into the sea, and I repented responsibly for the calamity that came as a price for my sins.
True repentance is not just a word of mouth. Because of me, that person is wrong, because of me, the country is wrong, because of me, the family is wrong, and because of me, the church is having difficulties. Repentance is true repentance.
Jonah was greatly blessed for this one good deed, and a great work happened in Nineveh.
In Jonah 3:1 we read that the word of the Lord finally came to Jonah a second time. It is God who gives a second chance to those who repent so that they can repent and live a new life.
Because of one good deed, Jonah was not abandoned. Even in the midst of wrath, God does not forget His mercy. Those who repent are not forsaken.
King David also committed the unforgivable sins of adultery and murder, but when he repented as if his bones melted, he was not abandoned and could be used again. Humans do not perish because of their sins, but because they do not repent of their sins.
Those who look to the Lord and repent are never forsaken. People who had suffered from storms have also found stability. The storm comes from sin. When we disobey God's will, storms occur.
When Achan sinned, all the people of Israel met with a terrible storm and suffered a devastating defeat in the city of Ai.
If there is a person in the family who disobeys God's will, a storm will come to that family. If the father makes a mistake, storms will come to the family. If the mother makes a mistake, storms will come to her family as well. If one leader in a group makes a mistake, the whole is in trouble. Therefore, we must always take responsibility and live according to God's will and thoroughly repent of our sins.
The people of Nineveh were saved. When Jonah repented and was used again and went to the city of Nineveh to cry out, the city of Nineveh began with the king, and all the people repented and were saved from destruction. It is noteworthy that the entire city of Nineveh was saved because of Jonah's good deeds.
We all know that in the Netherlands, where the sea level is higher than the land, and in the Netherlands, where they build castles, a boy was saved by taking off his clothes and sacrificingly plugging the wall through which water leaked.
Just as many people in the city of Nineveh were saved because of Jonah's one good deed, so we each repent, and the deeds of each of us affect others and the whole nation so that amazing works can take place. Take the time to repent. Let's welcome the new year through.