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Ring of Truth provides 366 daily ‘proofs’ that the Bible is consistent throughout from Genesis to Revelation, and relevant for our lives today!
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Jonah 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.”
Which way are you heading?
Beware – ‘circumstantial’ confirmation is not foolproof evidence that you are in the will of God.
God told Jonah to go to Nineveh. That was east of where he was. Jonah decided to go west. ‘God couldn’t want me to go to that wicked city. They are all evil and deserve to die. I’m not going to warn them – they will get their just desserts. I’m going off west to Spain. Oh look, there’s a boat going there. I knew I was right. Oh great, I’ve even got the right money for the trip. Wow, there’s one place left – must be just for me. Now I know I’m doing the right thing.’ Wrong!
Bathsheba was beautiful. She was on her own. Uriah was at war. David was ‘at home’. He had nothing better to do. Come on round. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! (see 2 Samuel 11)
Beware circumstantial ‘evidence’. It is usually neutral. Jonah knew better. He was just plain callous and disobedient.
Did you notice? While everyone else was terrified and doing all they could to stay afloat, our friend Jonah was fast asleep in his ‘couldn’t-care-less’ cabin. He thought he would be O.K. He was unknown. He wasn’t bothering anyone else. But he was found out. So will we be. He had to admit to being a follower of the true Creator God.
I wonder why he wanted to be thrown overboard. Was it to be ‘aided suicide’? Over he went but that was only the beginning. Did he touch the water or was it straight down the throat? Whichever it was, it was really cosy for the next 3 days, wasn’t it?
Jonah may be a story people love to try and turn into a fable or myth. But listen – it is very significant. Jesus referred to it as fact. That is good enough for me. Jesus said that just “as Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth” (the grave) (Matthew 12:40). Both are true. And both ‘came out’ on the third day.
Listen. Disobedience is disobedience, regardless of the excitement. God expects us to warn the lost, and obey His last command – ‘Go (and preach) and make disciples’ (Matthew 28:19). Be obedient and own up to being one of His followers.
How are you doing with that or are you trying to go ‘west’?
You can’t hide.
(And watch out, you could end up in a watery grave or worse.)
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