One Verse at a Time

This episode looks at Jonah 4:3, “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” Jonah is the anti-Moses. Moses puts his life on the line begging God for mercy upon sinners. Jonah puts his life on the line begging God to destroy sinners. May we follow Moses in this case, thus imitating the disposition of our God.

This episode looks at Jonah 4:2, “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” God reveals himself over and over again this way in the OT. We want to know this God.

This episode looks at Jonah 4:1, “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.” Jonah is completely out of step with how God would have him feel regarding these things. We pray for hearts that feel as God feels and eyes that see as God sees.

This episode looks at Jonah 3:10, “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.” God sees their change and relents from destroying them with the measure of destruction they have caused by their wickedness. We praise God for the joy of repentance, and we ask him to do that more and more in the lives of those around us.

This episode looks at Jonah 3:9, “Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” We have a better promise than the king of Nineveh. All those who have faith in Jesus WILL receive forgiveness for sins, for Jesus himself bore those sins on the cross. And at the same time, God remains just. Praise God!

This episode looks at Jonah 3:8, “but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.” Repentance should be in our head (“I was wrong”) and in our heart (“I feel sorrow for what I did”), but it must always culminate in action (“I will change”). May we be those who repent fully by the grace of God.

This episode looks at Jonah 3:7, “And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water.” When we repent, may it be with all we have and with our whole community. And when we see creation groaning over sin and for new creation, may we do so as well.

This episode looks at Jonah 3:6, “The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.” The highest representative of earthly power is humbled before the God of the universe. May we have this same humility, in the same spot as everyone else under God, and may we also confidently proclaim the message to whoever, whenever, wherever because we know the God we serve.

This episode looks at Jonah 3:5, “And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.” Just like Abraham, the people of Nineveh repent and trust in God. May we trust in God more and more each day, and may he give us a vision for an entire society-wide transformation of faith in him.

This episode looks at Jonah 3:4, “Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” Jonah doesn’t canvas the whole city, and he only proclaims a message of judgment. May God give us grace to proclaim both judgment and hope, and may we do it to all people everywhere.