“PT-1 Introduction to Jonah”

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/22/2025 8:52 AM

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  “PT-1 Introduction to Jonah”

            In today’s SD and in the following SD’s for a while we will look at what John MacArthur wrote in his new book which is entitled “Johan & Nahum” the rather long introduction.

            “The dominant theme of the book of Jonah is God’s compassion for the lost, both Jew and Gentile.  As Jonah himself exclaimed, ‘I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning evil’ (Johan 4:2).  That the Lord saved not only a Gentile people but specifically the Ninevites, the archenemies of Israel (cf. 2 Kgs. 15:19-25; 16:7-18; 17:3-6, 23-27; 18-19; Jonah 1:1-2), demonstrated the height and depth of divine grace.  About fifty years before the northern kingdom would be exiled by the Assyrians; the Lord showed the Israelites that even their adversaries were not beyond the reach of His mercy.  Through Jonah’s example, God prepared His people to be sown among the nations, like Jonah briefly was, so that they might point the Gentiles to Him (cf. Zech. 10:9).

            “From the outset of the story, God manifested His heart for the lost.  Instead of executing immediate judgment on the Ninevites for their wickedness, the Lord graciously sent them a warning of their pending destruction if they did not repent (Jonah 1:2; 3:5-9).  Yet, God showed compassion not only to Nineveh but also to His wayward prophet Jonah, sending a storm to discipline him (1:4) and a fish to deliver him from the sea (1:17; 2:10).  Additionally, Yahweh spared the pagan sailors whom Johan had hired to take him to Tarshish.  Though they deserved death, being steeped in idolatry and self-dependence (1:5), God preserved their lives and drew them to Himself (1:16).  The Lord continued to demonstrate His mercy by giving Jonah a second opportunity to obey (3:1-2).  When the prophet finally arrived in Nineveh, as he had originally been commissioned, the Lord put His saving grace on full display.  The result was the largest revival in recorded history, as the entire city of Nineveh repented of their evil ways, turned to God and received His mercy and forgiveness.

            “While God delighted in being gracious to Gentiles, His prophet disdained such magnanimity, calling it evil (4:1) and claiming that death would be better than watching God extend His goodness to Israel’s enemies (4:3).  But the Lord gave Jonah still more grace, teaching him through a leafy plant that divine grace is inherently good and that life without it would be unbearable.  If Jonah was right to care about a withering weed in the wilderness, how much more should God care about an entire city of souls whom He had created!  Because Yahweh is Lord over the whole earth and every nation on it, He is therefore the God of both Jew and Gentile.

            “The story of Jonah is so powerful that it reverberates throughout history.  While in Jonah’s generation Nineveh experienced God’s goodness, the city would later face His wrath.  In a sequel to the story, more than a hundred years later, Nahum prophesied that this city would be destroyed.  Nahum reminded Nineveh that though God is gracious, He is also righteous and just.  Because that generation of Ninevites returned to their evil ways and because a ‘city of bloodshed, completely full of deception and pillage’ (Nah. 3:1), they became the object of God’s judgment.”  After our study of Jonah, we will then, Lord willing, study the book of Nahum and see more about that book when we begin to look at the introduction to it.

Spiritual Meaning for my Life Today:  It has been over 25 years since I retired from my job working as a supervisor at the Cleveland Casting Plant, which Ford Motor Company owned and operated.  I still have many memories of working there for 35 years, and one of them has to do with a man named Chester who had an interesting background.  He was from France, and went on a vacation to Poland when he was young and got caught up in WWII and had to stay there under harsh conditions.  He was a hard working man who worked for me for a while before he retired, and I began to witness to him about accepting the Lord Jesus Christ into his heart.  He told me that he was too wicked of a man to be saved.  I don’t know the whole story about why he thought that way, but I do know that he was not too wicked to be saved even though he thought so.  The apostle Paul said that he was the chief of sinners and not only did God save him, but made him the greatest missionary to the Gentiles who ever lived.  Yes God’s grace is sufficient to save any lost sinner; all you have to do is ask Him to save you.

 My Steps of Faith for Today:  I desire to trust the Lord for the issues that are going on with my wife’s cancer and total recovery and also for the issue that I have been having with my IBS, which is giving me great trouble.

8/23/2025 9:52 AM