Post by ResLight on Feb 15, 2014 11:53:21 GMT -5
Jehovah said, "Is it right for you to be angry?" -- Jonah 4:4, RLIV.
Jehovah had commanded Jonah to go to the people of Nineveh so as to preach them, because their wickedness had become great. (Jonah 1:1,2) Instead, Jonah tried to dodge what Jehovah wanted him to do by taking a boat to Tarshish. Why did he do this? It wasn't because Jonah was afraid of going to Nineveh, nor because he was afraid of the Ninevites, but as he stated to Jehovah, "I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm." (Jonah 4:2) In other words, Jonah, held a hatred toward the people of Nineveh, and since he wanted them destroyed, he did not want to give them the opportunity of repenting, for he knew that if they repented, Jehovah would not destroy them. Jehovah overruled Jonah's attempt to escape preaching to the Ninevites by sending a storm, which led to Jonah's being thrown overboard and swallowed by the whale; Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, and after he prayed to Jehovah, Jehovah delivered him from the whale, and then Jonah went to Nineveh. When the Ninevites repented, Jehovah withdrew his intent to destroy them, which deeply saddened Jonah, which led to the question that Jehovah put before Jonah as recorded in Jonah 4:4.
The following is an extract from The Herald's publication, "Abusing God's Mercy"
www.heraldmag.org/literature/chliv_8.htm
We often get upset if circumstances are not our liking. We may become like Jonah, and become angry, and even complain to God about such. It is good to remember Job in all of life's circumstances, so as to humbly accept and put our trust in God, come way may. Jesus set the example when he prayed to his Heavenly, Father, "not my will, but yours, be done." (Luke 22:42) Putting full trust in Him, we gain strength through His holy spirit to not let anger build up in us to as to bring us down spiritually.
Jehovah had commanded Jonah to go to the people of Nineveh so as to preach them, because their wickedness had become great. (Jonah 1:1,2) Instead, Jonah tried to dodge what Jehovah wanted him to do by taking a boat to Tarshish. Why did he do this? It wasn't because Jonah was afraid of going to Nineveh, nor because he was afraid of the Ninevites, but as he stated to Jehovah, "I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm." (Jonah 4:2) In other words, Jonah, held a hatred toward the people of Nineveh, and since he wanted them destroyed, he did not want to give them the opportunity of repenting, for he knew that if they repented, Jehovah would not destroy them. Jehovah overruled Jonah's attempt to escape preaching to the Ninevites by sending a storm, which led to Jonah's being thrown overboard and swallowed by the whale; Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, and after he prayed to Jehovah, Jehovah delivered him from the whale, and then Jonah went to Nineveh. When the Ninevites repented, Jehovah withdrew his intent to destroy them, which deeply saddened Jonah, which led to the question that Jehovah put before Jonah as recorded in Jonah 4:4.
The following is an extract from The Herald's publication, "Abusing God's Mercy"
www.heraldmag.org/literature/chliv_8.htm
Do we ever act like Jonah? Do we want God’s mercy for ourselves, but resent it when others, particularly those we don’t especially like, are recipients of the same mercy? In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."—Matt. 5:44
And again, the Apostle Paul states: "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."—Rom. 12:21, 22
The love spoken of here is more than passive love. Jesus does not merely say, "Love your enemies," but also "bless them." Paul speaks in the active voice: "overcome evil with good." This is exactly what Jonah was asked to do—to show love for his enemies by preaching to them the message of repentance. True, this message might bring them deliverance. True, this deliverance might not change their character or their attitude toward the one blessing them. No matter ... "bless them."
In a similar vain, we note the unusual words of Romans 12:20, "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head."
The thought here of "heaping coals of fire upon the head" is not one of shaming them, or doing them harm. The illustration is taken from the custom of a beggar seeking to borrow some food. Instead of merely giving him the food, "heaping coals of fire on his head" was an idiom for giving him the necessary means to cook the food as well—burning embers which would start a cook fire.
How well do we bless our enemies? Do we communicate with those with whom we are at disagreement? where some point of friction has put us at odds? Do we seek to show them the better way, as Jonah was commissioned to do for Nineveh? Or, on the other hand, do we shun them? go the opposite way when we are commissioned to give them a message from God?
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."—Matt. 5:44
And again, the Apostle Paul states: "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."—Rom. 12:21, 22
The love spoken of here is more than passive love. Jesus does not merely say, "Love your enemies," but also "bless them." Paul speaks in the active voice: "overcome evil with good." This is exactly what Jonah was asked to do—to show love for his enemies by preaching to them the message of repentance. True, this message might bring them deliverance. True, this deliverance might not change their character or their attitude toward the one blessing them. No matter ... "bless them."
In a similar vain, we note the unusual words of Romans 12:20, "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head."
The thought here of "heaping coals of fire upon the head" is not one of shaming them, or doing them harm. The illustration is taken from the custom of a beggar seeking to borrow some food. Instead of merely giving him the food, "heaping coals of fire on his head" was an idiom for giving him the necessary means to cook the food as well—burning embers which would start a cook fire.
How well do we bless our enemies? Do we communicate with those with whom we are at disagreement? where some point of friction has put us at odds? Do we seek to show them the better way, as Jonah was commissioned to do for Nineveh? Or, on the other hand, do we shun them? go the opposite way when we are commissioned to give them a message from God?
We often get upset if circumstances are not our liking. We may become like Jonah, and become angry, and even complain to God about such. It is good to remember Job in all of life's circumstances, so as to humbly accept and put our trust in God, come way may. Jesus set the example when he prayed to his Heavenly, Father, "not my will, but yours, be done." (Luke 22:42) Putting full trust in Him, we gain strength through His holy spirit to not let anger build up in us to as to bring us down spiritually.
