“words for thee, but not for me” (JP circa 2021)- Jonah Intro

via TJC

“The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.” Jonah‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Thanks for pressing into this Bible Adventure. as TJC journeys through every book of the Bible. We are now almost midway. This week we focus on rebellion and a prophecy that does not come true.

Jonah rebels twice; 1) told to warn Nineveh - Jonah runs away and God eventually has a big fish swallow him, 2) after warning Nineveh, Jonah is then embarrassed that God did not kill the 120,000 citizens.

This is the opposite of many other books of the Bible; here nearly everyone obeys God except for Jonah the prophet. And God forgives the worst of sinners when they are obedient and repent.

I have often heard a phrase “do as I say, not as I do” meaning to follow a person's advice, even if opposite of their actions. Many times it’s a person thinking they are above the rule, or knowing they are a hypocrite say it anyway, or a frustrated parent.

Truth is most of us are guilty here- we know what is right to do, we tell others what is right to do, and then do we do it? Should we start with God’s commands and let’s see how far we get - any other gods (work, addictions, self righteous), any images or devices (can I see your phone unlocked please), why do we curse referencing anything holy, and we can stop this review with the sabbath before we get to the lesser commands.

I know Sabbath as a day of rest is good for me; physically, financially, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I will tell others how good it is- but let’s not talk about my own track record - I have legitimate reasons why it’s for thee, but not me this past and upcoming weekend.

The people of Israel still read the book of Jonah every year during Yom Kippur (day of atonement) so they remember to be like the people of Nineveh expressing sorrow for

sins and to not be like Jonah.

Daily Battle Order:

Ask your spouse or an adult child where you say one thing - but do another. Seriously ask them and by all means stop them at one, as that is sufficient. What does doing the opposite (repenting) look like with that one item? We don’t need to spend time in the belly of a fish to get this straight !