SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/17/2025 9:55 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 "A Forbearing Answer”
Bible Reading and Meditation Reference: Jonah 4:4
Message of the verse: “And Yahweh said, “Do you have good reason to be angry?”
Now as I begin this second SD on Jonah 4:4 I think it best if I think for a moment on the question that God is asking to Jonah, “Do you have good reason to be angry?” It is a good question to ask myself, and for that matter for all believers to ask themselves. I just have to say that the answer to that question on very many occasions is NO! I have mentioned that in the letter Paul wrote to the Ephesians he states “Be angry and sin not!” He then goes on to write “Do not let the sun go down on your anger.” Let me say that I think that the point in those verses is that if you are angry it should be a just anger, and before you go to bed make sure that anger is taken care of. So the answer to the question that God asks Jonah is that: no he did not have a good reason to be angry, in fact the opposite should be true, that is that He should be praising the Lord for the salvation of the thousands of souls from the city of Nineveh.
I will now begin to quote from John MacArthur’s commentary as he continues to write from this section: “While continuing to show grace, the Lord posed a question that was designed to expose the fullness of Jonah’s warped perspective. God asked, “Do you have good reason to be angry?” As evidenced by his prayer, Jonah had a distorted understanding of reality, including God’s saving purposes (4:2), life and death (4:3), and the nature of evil (4:1). The Lord asked Jonah if he had a legitimate reason to be angry, one that could be genuinely considered good. Though there are valid reasons to have righteous anger, especially at that which offends God (cf. John 2:13-17; Eph. 4:26), Jonah’s anger was evil on its face and even more so because it was directed at God.” Now I will quote those verses that were just referenced too in the order they were referenced to. “13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, "Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade." 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me.’”
“26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.”
MacArthur goes on to write “Jonah’s temper flared not in response to Nineveh’s sin, but in response to the city’s repentance and God’s mercy. Jonah’s fury was directed toward God Himself. The prophet did not have any good reason to be upset, revealing that he had distorted the very meaning of what was good. In viewing life and death as well as good and evil through such a warped lens, Jonah’s understanding of Yahweh was severely distorted. The Lord’s question unveiled the twisted person Jonah had become because of His prejudice.”
I think that that last sentence that I just quoted is the reason for many of the things that are going on in our country and also around the world, and it is getting worse every day. My thoughts are that because we are getting very close to the time when God is going to take His Church to heaven in the rapture, and after that the seven year tribulation period will begin is that the shadows of those final seven years on earth as we know it are beginning to happen rapidly at this time. Think of how the internet has been used to fuel the anger of many people who all they have to do is write how angry they are about something and people all around the world can read it, be influenced by it, and join the anger that was written about. Now in my case I am trying to use the internet to spread the Word of God all around the world, and for that I am thankful for the internet, and for the Holy Spirit of God who seems to be using the things that I write to send it around the world. My hope in writing my Spiritual Diaries is that those who do not know the way and the truth is that the Spirit of God will open their eyes to the truth and bring about salvation to them. I prayer and hope is that believers who read these Spiritual Diaries will grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord as they read these Spiritual Diaries. My hope is also that the Holy Spirit of God will continue to spread these Spiritual Diaries around the world through the internet. I have one more hope, and I pray each day that if it is the Lord’s will that the Holy Spirit of God will bring about the very last effectual call, a call that will be the very last in the church age, a call that will cause the rapture of the church to happen will come from one of these Spiritual Diaries that I write and post each and every day.
Well it looks like we will have to continue this very important subject on tomorrow’s SD, Lord willing.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: Be angry and sin not!
My Steps of Faith for Today: To only be angry like the Lord Jesus Christ was angry while on planet earth.
11/18/2025 10:50 AM
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