Lessons from Jonah 9
In my Previous Post in this series we looked at how God again spoke to Jonah after the fish vommitted him and how Jonah gave Nineveh the message God instructed him to deliver.
The people paid attention to the message and although Jonah didn't recommend they ask God for mercy, they took initiative and sought the mercy of God.
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Being always merciful, God saw their sincerity and decided they wouldnt get the judgement they deserved.
So, this is where we pick up the story today. Pay close attention because today's post will help you greatly.
Jonah 4:1-4 (Living Bible)
1 This change of plans made Jonah very angry.
2 He complained to the Lord about it: “This is exactly what I thought you’d do, Lord, when I was there in my own country and you first told me to come here. That’s why I ran away to Tarshish. For I knew you were a gracious God, merciful, slow to get angry, and full of kindness; I knew how easily you could cancel your plans for destroying these people.
3 “Please kill me, Lord; I’d rather be dead than alive when nothing that I told them happens.”
4 Then the Lord said, “Is it right to be angry about this?”
Take Home Lessons:
1. Never Forget You're a Product of Mercy
When Jonah realizes God was no longer going to destroy Nineveh and that the doom he (Jonah) prophesied was no longer going to alight on the city, he became pissed at God's forgiving nature.
He indirectly began to accuse God of not being firm enough as He ought to be.
But isn't it funny that this was the same Jonah who, after he screwed up and landed in the fish's belly, prayed to God for help out of the belly of the fish and was delivered?
Imagine that this same man now is angry that God is showing mercy to those who prayed to Him asking for forgiveness?
Jonah seemed to forget he was where he was and that he was who he was only by the grace of God. He forgot that he really wasn't better than those people in Nineveh.
Have you met people who think they deserve certain things from God but you don't?
Well, I'm so glad that God doesn't show favoritism.
Hear this truth: You're not better than anyone else and no one is better than you.
God is love and the same God over all is rich in mercy unto all who call upon Him.
Love is rich towards all who care enough to draw from its inestimable and inexhaustible reserve.
God is impartial.
2. You Need to Understand the Spirit of Prophecy
The purpose of the prophetic is not to show people you're a great prophet and that what you say never fails to happen.
No, a thousand times no. Jonah didn't get this straight.
The tendency to want to make people know that you're prophetically accurate, is pride.
The aim of the prophetic is to bring people into the loving arms of God; it's to point people to Jesus. Jesus is God's love statement.
If the prophetic messages you give accomplish this quietly without causing any disaster, you're still a great prophet.
In the mind of the Father, the prophetic is meant to stir the hearts of people and draw them to the love and saving knowledge of Jesus.
The prophetic should compel people to surrender to Jesus.
The prophetic is not about you; it's about Jesus. This is why the Bible says that, "...the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Rev. 49:10)
That is, exalting Jesus is the ultimate essence, aim, intention and purpose of prophecy.
Jesus must be at the center of it all.