For the past month in the adult Sunday School, we have been doing an inductive study of Jonah. It has been fascinating to study this book and see the truths that the Holy Spirit reveals! The discussion with my family and with the adults in Sunday School has also been very encouraging and enlightening. Here are some of the key things God has taught me through this study:
Jonah 1:
Who is God? A God of compassion - He desires the salvation of the Ninevites and is willing to have mercy on them. A sovereign God - Jonah cannot escape from Him. The Almighty God - the wind and the waves and the fish obey Him.
We shouldn't be afraid of God doing heavy things in our life, because that is when He shows His provision.
Jonah 2:
Who is God? Savior; involved in people's lives; He listens, hears, and answers.
Jonah 3:
God did not give everything to Jonah at once. He told him to do the next thing - go to Nineveh. He did not go ahead and give Jonah the message He wanted him to proclaim there. Jonah had to step out in faith and go to Nineveh, trusting God to reveal the message to him when the time was right.
This has many different applications in all areas of life - when God is leading us, we need to step out in faith and trust God to provide for us. One very specific application that was laid on my heart, though, is a reminder that we shouldn't be afraid of witnessing to people. The Holy Spirit will give us the words to say when the time is right.
Jonah 4:
Who is God? "...a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who repents from sending calamity." He is patient and caring. He cares about the Ninevites even though they are exceedingly evil and have committed atrocious deeds. He cares about Jonah even though he has been rebellious, disobedient, and has a heart that is opposite to God's - he wants the Ninevites to be destroyed and has no compassion for them. In spite of all this, God doesn't leave Jonah to go off and sit and sulk by himself. Jonah still can't escape from God, who is right there, gently and patiently showing him the error of his thinking.
Twice God asks Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry?" When do we ever have the right to be angry at God or what He is doing?
Like the worm that God provided to destroy the gourd which God had also provided for Jonah's shade, God often has to send worms into our lives to make us uncomfortable. It's hard to grow when everything is going great.
Jonah was so melodramatic - he kept saying he wanted to die, and it was better to die than to live, just because the Ninevites were getting saved and God destroyed the gourd. How often do we make a big deal out of small things or things that shouldn't make us angry? Also, what are ways we sulk against God? Not reading the Bible, not praying, not going to church, etc....
How much are we concerned about our own comfort, and how much are we concerned about people around the world who are in need or who aren't saved?
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