The engulfing waters threatened me,I have the tendency to take this very literally for Jonah. After he was tossed into the water over the side of the ship, the waves would have been overwhelming in the middle of the Mediterranean. Then as he began to sink, before he lost consciousness, the deep surrounded him and the seaweed was wrapped around his head. It is a miracle that he survived.
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
(NIV)
The story of Jonah is a truly amazing story that we tend to forget or leave for the children's classes. Kids love the story. That a man was swallowed by a whale (or big fish) then spit back up in the direction that he was supposed to go... It almost sounds like a fairy tale.
But the story of Jonah is a real story. It was a real man that was thrown into a real sea. He really shouldn't have made it, but God had a distinct purpose for him. God did something extraordinary with Jonah: He changed his heart. While Jonah was in this predicament, he turned to God, when he had been running from God.
For me, Jonah is the ultimate luke warm christian......a true Laodecian.
ReplyDeleteA surface polisher.
He likes God ,but not too close....only when he's in a pinch.
When God requires something of him
he invents terrific methods of ducking, weaving, dodging & avoiding it.
Regrettably, I know this pattern of behaviour in myself.
JONO
I am with you. I am just glad that when God allows us to get in a pinch because of our own choices, that He will still listen to our calls for help.
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