Sharing a thought with you today as I've been studying the assignment for our Bible class at church. I'm not very familiar with the minor prophets, so I signed up for that class, and this week we were to read through the book of Jonah. Among other aspects of the book, we were to read with a view toward the gospel--how is the gospel seen in the book of Jonah?The book is not really about Jonah. It's about God, about how He extended His universal grace toward all of mankind--even the most wicked of the wicked, the Assyrians who lived in Nineveh and had been barbaric toward the nation of Israel. Jonah was to go and warn them of God's judgement. A scary mission, to be sure, but God was calling them to repentance, and wanted Jonah to be His messenger.
Jonah was extremely bitter toward the Ninevites, a bitterness rooted deep, deep in his soul, to the point of preferring death over the possibility of their repentance. He wanted them punished for all the wickedness they had done to his own people. He didn't want any possibility of good coming to them.
In His abundant loving kindness, though, God was relentless in pursing Jonah as well as the inhabitants of Nineveh. He was merciful towards both--the wicked and the righteous. Remember, Jonah was a prophet of God.
Forgiveness was offered to both. It's interesting to me that the wicked Assyrians were the ones who repented. The book closes with Jonah still a bitter, angry man. The gospel has the power to save us from our sin, but we are called to release the sin in our lives, turn from it toward God, and accept His forgiveness. That frees us to return to relationship with Him. The Ninevites accepted. Jonah held onto his bitterness and hatred.
Bitterness can dig deep into the soul and drive the events of our lives. It propels us away from God. It takes us where we do not want to go, and soon we wonder how we ever got into the churning, convulsive belly of a fish in the great deep that engulfs us.
So my take away from this week's study--Put bitterness, rage, anger and malice far away from my thoughts. Instead, be kind and tenderhearted. Forgive. Why? Because God in Christ forgave me and saved me from my sin so I can be forever with Him (Ephesians 4:31-32).
And for that I am eternally grateful.
Painting ~ An Elegant Lady Reading Under A Tree, Karl Raupp 1837-1918
