Durruck
Pirate!
This is more than just some story about a big fish. There are two major themes that come from this book. One of them starts with verse 1:3
But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
Based on some basic geography, Jonah was supposed to go preach to Assyria in a city northeast of Jerusalem. But he couldn't stand the idea that God might be willing to forgive Israel's enemies. He couldn't stand the thought that he would have to go share the promises of God's grace and mercy with those people. So he hopped a boat heading west.
He ran away.
How many times do we feel God calling us to a task, and we try to run away? We may not hop a cruise-liner on the first ship headed out of town. But we may make excuses, pawn it off on other people, decide to find another church (because clearly this one is making me think crazy....) or any other mechanism to avoid doing what God wants?
God gets what He wants in the end. It's not about getting what we want, it's about serving God. That's what the book of Judges is about, too. Generally, when we serve God, good things happen.
How have you been running? Isn't it time to stop and get back on the right track?
But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
Based on some basic geography, Jonah was supposed to go preach to Assyria in a city northeast of Jerusalem. But he couldn't stand the idea that God might be willing to forgive Israel's enemies. He couldn't stand the thought that he would have to go share the promises of God's grace and mercy with those people. So he hopped a boat heading west.
He ran away.
How many times do we feel God calling us to a task, and we try to run away? We may not hop a cruise-liner on the first ship headed out of town. But we may make excuses, pawn it off on other people, decide to find another church (because clearly this one is making me think crazy....) or any other mechanism to avoid doing what God wants?
God gets what He wants in the end. It's not about getting what we want, it's about serving God. That's what the book of Judges is about, too. Generally, when we serve God, good things happen.
How have you been running? Isn't it time to stop and get back on the right track?
