SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/23/2015
9:54 PM
My Worship Time Focus: Repentance
PT-4
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Jonah 2:8-9
Message of the
verses: I need to write a couple of
things before we begin this SD. First
off, since we finished the study in the book of Revelation and are awaiting the
material I need to begin our study in the Gospel of John I will put the answers
to the Bible questions on this SD until I begin the study in John. Next remember we are looking at sub-points
under the main point of “Repentance” as we look at the prayer that Jonah prays
while in the stomach of the great fish.
He Yielded to God’s Will (Johan 2:8-9): “8 “Those who regard vain idols Forsake their
faithfulness, 9 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving.
That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the LORD.’”
As we look at the title to this sub-point we can see a
change of 180 degrees from the first chapter when Jonah was running from God
and from His will for him. Jonah seems
to be admitting that there were some idols in his life from what we read from
verse eight, and these idols robbed him of the blessings of the Lord. Dr. Wiersbe points out “An idol is anything
that takes away from God the affection and obedience that rightfully belongs
only to Him. One such idol was Jonah’s
intense patriotism.” We remember this
idol that Jonah had that was found in chapter one as he did not want to go to
the rival country of Israel and preach to them because of his love for Israel,
but more because of his dislike and even hatred for Assyria. Dr. Wiersbe continues “We shall learn from
chapter 4 that Jonah was also protecting his own reputation (4:2), for if God
spared Nineveh, then Jonah would be branded a false prophet whose words of
warning weren’t fulfilled. For somebody
who was famous for his prophecies (2 Kings 14:25), this would be devastating.”
Now we need to know that these verses from chapter two
close the prayer that Jonah is praying to the Lord as verse ten is not a part
of his prayer, and we will look at that in our next SD.
Now we mentioned that Johan’s prayer had parts of a great
number of Psalms in it and as we look at verse nine we can see similar words
found in Psalm 66:13-14: “13 I shall
come into Your house with burnt offerings; I shall pay You my vows, 14 Which my
lips uttered And my mouth spoke when I was in distress.” Jonah was promising God that he would worship
Him in His temple with burnt offerings and with gifts. Perhaps another vow that he made to the Lord
was to go to Nineveh and declare to them the message of the Lord.
The last phrase of his prayer is something that is very
important “Salvation is from the LORD.”
What is this verse saying to us?
It is saying that we cannot save ourselves, we have to have a Savior in
order to be saved from our sins, and Jesus Christ is the One true Savior who
has suffered and died for us on the cross to pay four our sins, to take our
place on the cross so that we can then be with Him in heaven. This statement is not only the central theme
of this book, but also the central them of the entire Word of God.
Dr. Wiersbe concludes by writing “How wise of Jonah to
memorize the Word of God; because being able to quote the Scriptures,
especially the Book of Psalms, gave him light in the darkness and hope in his
seemingly hopeless situation.”
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Caleb” (Numbers 13:30).
Today’s Bible
question: “Two and one-half tribes of
Israel built an altar by what river?”
Answer in our next SD.
11/23/2015 10:18 PM
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