God loves you
April 19, 2010 (Monday)
Many people are able to identify Jonah as the guy in the Bible that was swallowed by a whale. For the average person on the street, that’s about the limit of his/her knowledge of the man. But there’s a lot more to his story than his experience with the big fish. For Biblical scholars and ichthyologists, this first paragraph is riddled with unacceptable terminology, but read on. The reason the story is in the Bible is not to show that a man can go through such an ordeal and come out alive. It has a different purpose.
The purpose of the book of Jonah being in the Bible is to show that God loves all people, regardless of who they are.
Jonah was called by his God to go to Ninevah and warn the people there that their sins were going to bring severe judgment. Jonah did not like those people. They were his enemies. So he decided to run away in the opposite direction, taking a ship from Joppa to Tarshish. On the way, a great storm hit and the boat was about to sink when Jonah told the crew that his disobedience to God was the cause of the storm and suggested they throw him overboard, which they did. As soon as Jonah was in the water, the storm abated.
God had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah and in the belly of the fish he prayed and asked God for a second chance. God gave it to him, and the fish spat him out on dry ground. Jonah then went to Ninevah and gave them God’s message.
When they heard the message, they repented and the city was saved. When Jonah expressed his displeasure that God would save his enemies, God reminded him that these people were worth saving. That’s still God’s attitude toward all people today. They are worth saving. You are worth saving. God loves you. He wants to save you. You can be saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ this very day, if you believe in Him.