DECEMBER 14
To see where Jonah fits with the other
prophets and the history of the OT, look at the chart at the end of this
document, “Kings of Judah and Israel and the Preexilic Prophets.”
Jonah
1-4
In reading Jonah, I really don't have
much to say about the story itself. It's pretty straightforward. My thoughts
have more to do with what the book of Jonah was meant to say to his people and
to us.
Think about this. After the long and
decisive years of ministry of Elijah and Elisha, the northern kingdom
experienced its best years. Jeroboam II reigned for 41 years, and Assyria, the
rising star, was eaten up with internal problems. This meant that everyone had
peace and prosperity. So, what happened to the threats of God's coming judgment
to northern Israel, this very idolatrous and rebellious nation? If I had been
planning it, judgment would have fallen immediately after Elisha died. Israel
had been given enough patience, in my opinion. Even so, I wouldn't have given
them prosperity. I definitely wouldn't have given them another 70 years before
the hammer fell. What was God thinking? What a testimony to His patience and
mercy.
At the beginning of Jeroboam's reign
God sent three prophets to Israel who all appeared at the same time. Hosea
prophesied on and off for about 20 years. At the same time God sent Amos who
only preached for a short time, right before the great earthquake. Notably, God
said there would come a drought of His Word in the land, and for 50 years,
before the end of Israel, there was no prophet. The people would have had to go
south to Judah for the Word of God. That was probably the plan.
And then there was Jonah. Jonah is
mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25, telling Jeroboam that God would restore part of the
old borders of Israel. In the book of Jonah, Jonah's preaching wasn't even to
Israel. Since we have the book of Jonah, we know that Israel heard the story of
what happened to Nineveh, but that wouldn't have disturbed or convicted them.
It would have just confirmed for Israel that God didn't really mean business.
So, what is the point of this story?
I think the point of Jonah is what
Jesus mentioned several times during His ministry. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation
and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold,
something greater than Jonah is here. (Matt. 12:41) Jonah became a sign of
the resurrection and of God's judgment and sovereign working. The men of
Nineveh, by their repentance and response to the Word, became a sign of
judgment against the unbelief of Israel.
The story of Jonah and Nineveh would
have made people laugh, but behind the story was a serious testimony and
judgment against Israel. God sent a little known, unwilling prophet to speak to
this ungodly Gentile city. Assyria had experienced deep problems. Historians
say there was an outbreak of the black plague that ravaged the city. They were
now recovering and then Jonah arrives, and these people saw the hand of God and
repented. Gentiles, the uncircumcised, repented. Yet even Israel with all its
privilege and heritage did not heed God's Word. They could make jokes like,
"How many Ninevites does it take to put sackcloth on a cow?" But an
important, massive judgment against Israel had just been delivered. Ironically,
the Assyrians would recover and lead Israel into exile. I think God scripted
the events of Jonah to sound funny to the unbelieving, but in the end, they
were not laughing.
One more thing to think about regarding
Jonah is that he wrote this book. That means that after his "fit" at
the end of the book he saw his patriotic childishness, repented, laughed at
himself and understood what God was doing. The fact that he wrote this shows he
understood God's grace and God's righteous judgment against Israel. The fact
that this book was added to the Old Testament books in the temple in Jerusalem
means that godly people in Judah/Jerusalem immediately knew that this book was
a word from God and the Word of God.
Jonah 1
Vs. 1-3 Jonah knew God had said Assyria
would punish Israel. Amos (3:9) had predicted this. Jonah tried to avert God's
plan, like trying to change the future in some sci-fi movie. Tarshish was in
Spain, hundreds of miles in the other direction.
Vs. 4-16 Notice that the unbelievers
were more God-fearing than Jonah. Obviously this was said in purposeful irony, to
show that sometimes the lost are more perceptive of God than the saved. Just
for another example of something like this, find the place in 1 Samuel 6:1-6
where the Philistines had captured the ark of the covenant, and look at what
they said and did. They weren't "saved" and believing by any stretch
of the imagination, but they showed more sense than God's own people. Religious
activity doesn't mean that a person is saved.
V. 17 This would have added a lot of
humor to the story of Jonah. Talk about having the ultimate bad day. He
couldn't even get out of this assignment by drowning. Yet consider that this
event was also designed so that years later, Jesus Himself could refer to it.
Jesus only ever referred to four prophets by name, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah and
Jonah. Jesus said, “An evil and
adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except
the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the
great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart
of the earth. (Matt. 12:39-40) Jesus' own words make the overall message of
Jonah important.
Jonah 2
Vs. 1-9 This wasn't a prayer for God to
save him; it was Jonah's thanks for being saved.
V. 10 This would have made the hearers
laugh themselves out of their sandals. Depending on where Jonah was vomited
out, he probably still had a 500-mile walk.
Jonah 3
Vs. 1-5 Nineveh was a huge city and it
grew to have suburbs with several markets and community centers. Jonah would
have stopped in each of these. Imagine how long it would take you going through
Chicago or New York and their suburbs, if you had to stop at every shopping
area and preach. This should be understood as saying that Jonah began preaching
when he hit the first marketplace and it took him three days to do Nineveh.
Some people think that Jonah's
appearance might have added to his message: bleached by the whale's digestive
fluids, clothes covered with vomit, etc. But after a long journey, Jonah would
have been tubbed and scrubbed, maybe just a little dusty. The response of the
people was because of God's work, not Jonah's appearance or preaching. Nineveh
was already having problems. Having Jonah show up was like the cherry on the
top. Look at Peter's sermon in Acts 2. It was God who worked, not the preacher.
God had already gone ahead of Jonah. Jonah didn't realize it, but he was really
only following God. That's what we're doing too, following Jesus in the
harvest. He opens the doors, not us.
Note that there was nothing in Jonah's
message that was tailored to speaking and relating to Ninevites. Jonah did no
research on how to understand and relate to these people. The message was very
simple and it worked. Today we get so paralyzed in thinking about relating to
"boomers," "gen-x," "post-modern," or the next
special group, that we say nothing or blame ourselves for the lack of response.
Here are three things Jesus said that work in every culture and in every
generation to direct and aid us in our witness.
Matthew 4:17 From that
time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand."
Luke 24:47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be
proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
John 18:37 Pilate said
to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am
a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear
witness to the truth. Everyone
who is of the truth listens to (hears) my
voice."
Jonah didn't need to convince anyone. He
just said what the Lord told him to say. That "strategy" still works.
Vs. 6-9 Sackcloth on the animals? King
Jeroboam must have laughed when he heard this part of the story. I wonder if he
was convicted by this, or if he laughed so hard that his wine backed up and
started coming out of his nose.
V. 10 The God of all the earth doesn't
desire that any should perish. God had done so much through Elijah and Elisha,
so many signs and wonders and yet Israel didn't respond. Here, some ignorant,
uncircumcised people were repenting and receiving God's mercy. Go figure.
Jonah 4
Vs. 1-4 This is the reason that Jonah
ran. He knew that God was going to use the Assyrians to destroy Israel, and he
thought he could change the future by running. I think Jonah "McFly"
had watched too many sci-fi "change the future" flicks.
Jonah is a good example of someone who
knows the nature of God in his head, and is totally unlike God in his behavior.
This should be convicting to us.
Vs. 5-11 This was another humorous move
by the Lord. He got Jonah to attach himself emotionally to this plant. I wonder
if Jonah named it "Wilson?" While Jonah sank into his moodiness, God
explained that all men on this planet are His concern. That last line about the
cattle might also have gotten a laugh.
On hearing this story, those who were
serious and open to the Lord would have been appalled and begun packing their
bags. They would have seen the subtle, yet deep, judgment against them. They
would have gathered their families and headed south to Judah, to introduce
their kids to Yahweh. Others would have laughed at those dumb
"Ninnys" and told this story to their kids.
For us as disciples, this story tells
us that God is patient, but that judgment will come. It tells us that we reach
out, but it is God who prepares the hearers. Our job is just to go and follow
Christ into the harvest. He will do His part, but we need to obey and to
follow.
Revelation
5
As we read these chapters in
Revelation, remember that God is showing John very specific things that He
personally wants us to know. There is symbolism that might be hard to
understand, but still, these are very literal events in heaven. The events we'll
read of today are fairly easy to understand.
How would you title the event in
chapter 4? What was its purpose? It was giving honor to the Father, but I don't
think it is something that happens every day or week or month. I think it was a
special one-time event that led up to chapter 5. Likewise, what we are reading
today is a "once-in-all-of-eternity" event that we have been invited
to see in advance. Through faith, this ought to rock our world. It should
strengthen and set our hearts on fire. Being human we are wet wood, I know; but
that's why it is written, so that we have the luxury and privilege of reading
and re-reading what is happening here. This event will lead to chapter 6, which
launches the Tribulation, that is, the seven-year "day of the Lord."
Vs. 1-2 The Father holds the scroll. Apparently, on one end of the
scroll there were wax seals at
different places, kind of like paper clips, so that the scroll could only be
rolled open to a certain place. The angel crying out like this is making an
official, judicial challenge to all of created reality. The scroll is the
judgment of God on mankind. Who would be worthy
to open that scroll? God could have judged, but how much better if there were a
human who had defeated sin and Satan, and who could now re-claim human rule and
authority as the second Adam. "Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it
is He."
Vs. 3-5 I find it interesting that the
phrase, in heaven or on earth or under
the earth, is used. Paul uses this phrase also in Philippians 2:10. Also,
it is interesting that John is heartbroken, sobbing. Why do you think that was?
Is judgment something that we should desire? Or could it be that it is actually
more than judgment? Was it more like a fulfillment and finally fixing the long
tragic story of mankind?
Vs. 6-7 I find it interesting that
Jesus is among the elders,
standing right there with them. We've seen these seven spirits before and it seems to me that they have something to
do with the mission of the gospel. Taking that scroll is a world-changing
event. I really wonder what is happening on earth during these events.
Vs. 8-10 Notice that the taking of the
scroll is mentioned again. It was a decisive act that set off a one of a kind
expression of worship and praise. This is a big event.
V. 9 The new song was given at that time. The song seems to say three
things. First, Jesus was slain. Second, by His blood He ransomed people. This mix
of people is the church. Third, He made them a kingdom of priests. The redeemed
serve mankind before God, reaching out to those yet lost. That is being a
priest in the simplest, servant sense of the word. Another way of putting it
is being ambassadors for Christ.
The entire song is saying why He has
the right to open the seals. Not only did He sacrifice Himself, but His death
brought forgiveness and righteousness to those who accepted the offer. His
victory in producing these people is the proof that redemption was possible.
Redemption becomes the proof that God is righteous in judging those who refused
to be redeemed. The human condition is impossible, but God found a way around
the impossible in the sacrifice of His Son and the redemptive power of the Spirit
as evidenced by us, the church.
V. 10 We will reign with Him on earth. I
think this is where the parable of the pounds (Luke 19:13-26) comes in. During
the Millennial Kingdom we already know that the disciples will govern the
twelve tribes (Luke 22:30) and that David will govern Israel (Ez. 34:23-24).
Apparently those who have invested wisely, following Christ in the harvest
during this time of the church, will be given responsibilities in governing and
leading around the world during the Millennium. Jesus will make sure it is a
time and world of perfect justice and mercy.
Vs. 11-14 Our Lord, and what He did,
brings all history together for the angels, for mankind, for all of creation.
Taking that scroll in hand celebrates the commencement of the end of this
entire drama. This is like Jesus officially taking the throne, taking His
ruling seat as Son of Man. All of these things have been promised and were
sure, but now they become actual. Even though the removal of that first seal
will begin the Tribulation, what is beginning is the healing of everything and
every order that God created. And they all worship together.
Psalm
133
David wrote this song for the
worshipers coming to Jerusalem to appreciate the miracle of God's unity. There
was no one who could have known the wonder of unity better than David. We've
looked at his life and know of his long years of running from Saul. Having read
David's psalms, especially Psalm 119, we know that he suffered from all of the
lies spread against him, yet he kept himself in the Word, crying out
desperately to God. Then there were the seven years of civil war as David
reigned in Hebron as king of Judah. Finally, God brought peace, and David
immediately worked to bring Israel together in worship to the Lord.
Vs. 1-3 Although, as a pastor, I don't
fully identify with the oil poured on Aaron's head and running down his face
and on to his clothes as blessing. I still appreciate the miracle of unity.
Should the Lord put me in a situation where everyone is working in the harvest,
seeing people come to Christ and making disciples, who make disciples. who make
disciples, and we have this kind of God-given unity, then I'll go to Sam's, get
a 55-gallon barrel of olive oil and let the elders douse me regularly.
Proverbs 29:26-27
Looking at the verses in reverse order, it looks like God is
saying that there will always be conflict between the righteous and the
unrighteous. So on earth, we should understand that whenever justice wins the
day, it isn't because of men, but because of God.
Thinking about Psalm 133, it is probably also the case that
if there is peace among believers working together in the harvest, it isn't
because of our people skills, or "chemistry," or leadership skills.
It is because of the Lord and His desire to see disciples making disciples of
the lost.
If you’re reading along
and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these
comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in
growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see
the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples,
meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out
and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal
manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us
more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are
only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of
God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are
designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is
that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a
year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples,
disciples making disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a
complete description of this model of being and making disciples you can find
it in my book: Simply Disciples*Making Disciples.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
If you would like a more
descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the
Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is the
commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never
hurts.
I am not endorsing any
particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte
Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with
us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their
own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular
tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize
any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us,
as I understand it. Send comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like
documents containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download these to use on your computer or to
print.
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