Thought for the Week - 23rd July 2023

Dear Friends, 

In my Life with Lucas daily Bible notes we are beginning a study on the Old Testament book of Jonah, described as a story that is a profound illustration of God’s mercy and grace. If you grew up in Sunday School then you will know that it is a tale about man and big fish and that Jonah receives a message from the Lord to go to Nineveh (modern day Mosul in Iraq) and preach against the city because its wickedness had come before the Lord. Instead of heading east to Nineveh, Jonah travels by boat in the opposite direction disobeying God’s call and heading to Tarshish in the southern part of Spain which was seen as being ‘the ends of the earth’. But God had other ideas and caused a storm to engulf the boat and to cut a short story even shorter Jonah was thrown overboard and swallowed up by a large fish in which he spent three days and nights contemplating his situation. Having prayed to the Lord and declared, ‘What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord’ (Jonah 2:9), the fish ‘vomits Jonah onto dry land’ and he goes on to fulfil his mission. But that isn’t where the story ends because Jonah becomes angry at God’s compassion for the Ninevites, angry at God’s destroying a vine that had sheltered him from the scorching sun, and angry enough to die, in other words he was not a happy chappy. In that sense it is a very down-to-earth tale and one in which God’s mercy and compassion are highlighted showing the extent of God’s grace and that the message of salvation is for all people. It is the only occasion in the Old Testament where we find a Jew preaching repentance to Gentiles, and particularly to a city like Nineveh which was found in Assyria, one of Israel’s most dreaded enemies. It is a reminder that the gospel message that we have to share today is for all who will repent and believe, finding new life in Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace,

Neil

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