PT-1 “Themes”

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/28/2025 9:14 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                       Focus: PT-1 “Themes”

            Today we begin, from the intro to Jonah what John MacArthur calls “Themes” and there are seven different titles that we will be looking at beginning with “YAHWEH,” but before that we will look at a short introduction to this section.  With seven topics you can imagine that this section will take a few days to get through, so enjoy and learn from it as I plan to do.

            “Several theological themes drive the story of Jonah and its main purpose.  These include the Person of Yahweh and the divine perfections of God’s sovereignty, omnipresence, grace, and judgment of sinners.  The book also highlights the need for sinners to repent and the Lord’s willingness to forgive the penitent, whether Jew or Gentile.

YAHWEH

            “The covenant name of God, Yahweh, appears twenty-one times in this concise book.  The account of Jonah’s ministry amplifies the character of Yahweh, declaring that He is the only true God who created heaven and earth (Johan 1:9), who is omnipresent (1:3, 10; 2:2, 7), who reigns over all creation (1:4, 15, 17; 2:3, 10; 4:6-7), who sits in judgment over mankind (1:2, 14; 2:3, 8; 3:2, 4, 5-10; 4:1, 11), and who alone is able to offer salvation (2:9; 3:9-10; 4:11).  God’s personal name Yahweh, moreover, emphasizes His loyalty and love, particularly with Israel whom He chose to be His people (Ex. 3:14-16),  In the past, God revealed Himself as ‘Yahweh, Yahweh God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth’ (34:6).  Jonah affirmed this in saying, ‘I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning evil’ (Jonah 4:2).

            “The book of Jonah emphasizes that Yahweh extends His covenant love not only to Israel but also to the Gentiles.  Yahweh who showed mercy and salvation to Jonah the Israelite (Jonah 2:9) is the same One who extended mercy and salvation to the pagan sailors (1:14) and the Ninevites (3:1, 3, 10).  While the name Yahweh does not appear in the portion that describes Nineveh’s repentance (cf. 3:5-10), underscoring the Lord’s unique relationship with Israel, God still demonstrates that He is the Savior of both Jew and Gentile by granting repentance to the Ninevites.  Their salvation serves as a preview of heaven, where the redeemed include those ‘from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues’ joyfully proclaiming that salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb’ (Rev. 7:9-10; cf. Jonah 2:9).

SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

            “Throughout the narrative, Yahweh is presented as the Creator and Ruler of the universe.  He is in full control of every aspect of life.  Jonah proclaimed this truth, saying, ‘I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land’ (Jonah 1:9).  The Lord demonstrated His sovereignty when He sent the storm precisely against Jonah’s ship (1:4), and then subsequently calmed the sea after Jonah was thrown overboard (1:15-16).  When Jonah was in the water, he confessed that God’s sovereign hand was behind this event, declaring, ‘For You had cast me into the deep’ (2:3).  He reiterated the Lord’s supremacy while sinking beneath the waves, acknowledging that the sea belonged to God:  All Your breakers and waves passed over me’ (2:3).  God appointed a fish to swallow Jonah to deliver him from drowning (1:17) and He commanded the fish to vomit Jonah up on dry land so that he could complete his mission (2:10).  In the same way, God appointed the plant to grow and provide shelter for Jonah (4:6), and God appointed the worm to devour the plant (4:7).  It was also God who whipped up the scorching wind of the Sirocco specifically where Jonah was sitting outside Nineveh (4:8).  Even though Jonah initially resisted God’s commission (1:3), he ultimately submitted because he could not withstand the Lord’s sovereign hand (3:3).  As with all history, God’s sovereign will and power directed and drove the events of Jonah’s ministry.”

 Spiritual Meaning for My Life today:  I would suppose that of all of God’s attributes that His Sovereignty is the one that helps me to live a life that is pleasing to Him.  Some believers have a small view of God, thinking that the things that happen are not really controlled by Him.  That is not the case for God is in control of all things.  An example is what is happening in Israel where seven nations have attacked Israel over the last, almost two years, and Israel is defeating them, (with a little help from their friend Donald Trump), which God certainly was in control of that too.  Just to let you know the bombs that the US dropped on Iran were developed for that specific purpose when the USA realized what Iran was going to do under that mountain.  Yes God is in control of all things, and for that I am glad.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Knowing that God is sovereign I can trust Him fully with what is going on with my wife and also with me this year.  Even though I am not liking what is going on with us I know God is in control as Roman’s 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

8/28/2025 9:55 AM