Monday, August 13 2012
Jonah 4
Verse of the Day: V2 “And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.”
1. God’s Grace (V1-5)
V1 “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.”
Prophet Jonah was very angry with the gracious God as he never thought that God would extend His grace and mercy to the wicked people of Nineveh who were unworthy of His love and forgiveness. Though Jonah preached to them to repent of their sins, yet he presumed that they would never repent, and that the Lord would eventually destroy them.
V2 “And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.”
2. God’s Gourd (V6-10)
V6 “And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.”
Though Jonah griped and groaned, yet the gracious and merciful God still prepared a gourd to shield him from the hot sun! Subsequently God prepared a worm to destroy the gourd to teach Jonah that it was God who extended His grace to him and the people of Nineveh. Indeed, no one has the right to question God’s grace, and be angry with Him.
V7 “But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.”
3. God’s Glory (V11)
V11 “And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?”
Finally Jonah realised that he was a wretch, and that it was God’s grace and glory that saved him as well as the people of Nineveh who repented their sins and walked uprightly.
“For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Psalms 84:11.
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, thank You for Your amazing grace that saves a wretch like me.
