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Malachi 1:4-5, Various

A God For All People

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 13, 2023

God’s love for His people throughout the Old Testament has been displayed often as he has favored them over the pagan nations all around them. Malachi points out the difference between His chosen people and their sworn enemies. He points out the Edomites specifically. They were the descendants of Esau and represented those that would rather have red stew than God’s blessing. I’m convinced that God will not bless those with hard hearts. Instead, they will face the consequences of rejecting the “true” truth of the one and only God, who is not only God of the Israelites but God of the whole world. Malachi 1:4-5 says, “If Edom says, ‘We are shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins,’ the Lord of hosts says, ‘They may build, but I will tear down,’ and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’ Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, ‘Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!’”

 God deals kindly with His people but harshly with his enemies. This is even seen as early as the days of Abraham when He promises to bless all those nations that bless Abraham’s descendants and to curse those who curse Israel. One must not miss the sharp contrast between Jacob, whom God chose, and Esau, his twin brother, who did not value his rightful inheritance. They were presented as two men with very different personalities. Esau was the hunter and man of the field who didn’t have time for things like blessings and inheritances. According to the book of Jubilees, Jacob was a man of letters who could read and write. Esau did not have time for such things. Abraham, their grandfather, loved Jacob more than Esau as well and gave Rebekah instructions on how to trick Isaak into giving Jacob the blessing rather than Esau. But, as long as Esau remained aloof from Jacob and did not harm him, God blessed him in the land. Jubilees records Abraham’s blessings on Ishmael, Esau, and his other children by his wife, Keturah. But when the descendants of Esau turned against Jacob’s descendants, we see God turn against Esau. The descendants of Esau are the Edomites; the Prophet, Obadiah, addresses the Edomites specifically and says that they will ultimately be eliminated. Historically Herod the Great was the last recorded “Idumean” or Edomite. The nation is not more.

God is referred to twenty times in Malachi as “The Lord of hosts,” a majestic name of military leadership, but more than that. It’s often translated as “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” It means that the Lord is the one who commands all the forces of the universe. Joy awaits His orders. Peace is ready in His hands. Success is stored in His warehouse and given at His discretion. Although the nations that cursed Israel are also cursed by God, individuals of every nation can enter into the joyful blessings of serving the one true God. Isaiah 56:6-7 says, “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, …these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Paul leans on this truth as well when he preaches to the Gentiles in Rome. He argues in Romans chapter three that God is not the God of the Jews only but also the God of the Gentiles as well. God will justify and bless each person according to their faith. Instead of being cursed by God, they are now forgiven and blessed by God. In Romans 4:7-8, Paul speaks not of God’s curse upon sinners but blessings upon them through faith in Jesus. He writes, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.” He says it in another way also “Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

 

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Zechariah 1:7-8

The Man on the Red Horse

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 12, 2023

The children of Israel did not repent when called to by Zechariah. They continued their evil ways. God’s patience was wearing thin, and the time for God’s judgment was at hand. God sends Zechariah as He does with many of the OT Prophets, a series of visions predicting the judgment of God. Phillips compares these visions with the visions of Charles Dicken’s familiar Christmas Carol. He writes, “Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future. These visions leave Scrooge a changed man; no longer the champion of humbug, he becomes a paragon of charity and joy. The book of Zechariah tells us about a night even Dickens never dreamed of, in which the prophet received not three but eight visions, and not fantasy ghost visits but actual revelations from the God of heaven. One after another, they came, all in one restless night, and the record of these visitations makes up the first six chapters of this book. Like Scrooge, that night of visions changed Zechariah forever. He became a prophet and a messenger of good news to the people.”[1] Zechariah points out the exact time and date of his first vision of God’s coming Judgment. In Zechariah 1:7-8, he says, “On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, ‘I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red sorrel, and white horses.’” The three images of the vision are important, a man riding a red horse, myrtle trees in the glen, and three more horses.

The man riding the “red horse” is a mystery until we consider the rest of the visions. The rider appears to be “The angel of the Lord.” He is the Commander-in-Chief of the Lord’s army of angels to bring mercy and restoration to all of Israel. Feinberg discusses the rider and agrees with this conclusion. He says, “Jerome says, ‘The Jews suppose the man on the red horse to be the Angel Michael, who was to avenge the iniquities and sins against Israel.’ Students of the passage can be arranged on one of two principal sides: those who maintain that he is an ordinary angel as the other riders and those who hold him to be the Angel of Jehovah. We take our stand with the latter, finding clear proof and confirmation in verse 11. There the man among the myrtles is definitely stated to be the Angel of Jehovah. The other riders report to Him their findings in a manner that reveals His authority over them and His separate position from them.”[2] Shepherd agrees and says, “The Angel of the Lord appeared in Zechariah’s fourth vision, rebuking Satan and declaring Jerusalem and the nation as the cleansed and restored people and the priesthood of God. With this declaration comes the promise of the coming Messiah and His kingdom.”[3]

If red represents war, it’s the spiritual warfare during which Jesus wins the ultimate battle with Satan. Red is the color of blood. Knap says, “The Man on the red horse is the Mediator of the New Testament in His blood and at the same time as Lord of the angels. We are under His protection. He sends out His angels as quick messengers to serve our salvation. The cluster of myrtle trees, ignored by the world, is the focal point of heavenly powers—the angels of God surround us, even if we do not see them, and above all, there is the Man in our midst for our consolation!”[4] This war began before time began when Satan fell. It continued in the Garden of Eden, and it can be traced through the entire history of mankind, but it finds its conclusion at the cross of Christ, where the Messiah Himself shed his blood to pay the penalty for our sins.

[1] Phillips, Richard D. 2007. Zechariah. Edited by Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Iain M. Duguid. Reformed Expository Commentary. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.

[2] Feinberg, Charles Lee. 1940. “Exegetical Studies in Zechariah.” Bibliotheca Sacra 97: 436.

[3] Shepherd, Richard L. 2004. Life Principles for Following Christ. Following God Series. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.

[4] Knap, J. J. 1997. The Loins Girded. Translated by Martien C. Vanderspek. Ontario, Canada.

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Haggai 1:7-11

Who Serves Who?

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 11, 2023

Haggai calls for the people of Israel to “consider” their lives. He wants them to think about things to “reason together” over what they see and hear in the world around them but, most importantly, what they have experienced in their lives themselves. Haggai points out that the situations the people of Israel face should cause them to forsake their idolatries and return to worship the true God. Once again, like in the days past, Israel had focused their energies on their own interests and neglected true worship. It’s only when God is put first in our lives that we can truly enjoy the many blessings we have. Haggai 1:7-11 points this out clearly, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, and it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? Declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore, the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”

Those who ventured out of their homes in Babylon to return to Israel expected God’s blessing in their efforts. The New American Commentary explains this well. It says, “They had expected much in return for their hard labor and sustained efforts, but their anticipations had not come to fruition. Instead, the return for their work had been poor agricultural conditions resulting in failed crops, spiraling inflation accompanied by miserably low incomes, and a standard of living that plunged many of them into despair and depression. No doubt some of them were led to ask, as people of faith have often asked with regard to disappointing circumstances, ‘Why has the Lord not prevented all of this?’ Many of the returnees would have found it difficult to understand the absence of prosperity in the land and the incredibly difficult times that the residents of the country were experiencing. After all, the return to the land had been undertaken in the belief that the Lord was finally bringing to an end the disciplinary hardships of the exile and was at long last renewing his magnanimous blessing upon a restored covenantal people. But those optimistic expectations were not being realized in any tangible sort of way. Instead of prosperity, there was economic depression; instead of abundance, there was deprivation; instead of joy, there was frustration over present difficulties and anxiety with regard to the future. A heavy cloud of discouragement cast its darkening shadows over the people.”[1]

It wasn’t that God had simply failed to bless their efforts. According to Haggai, it was God who caused their hardships. Why did God curse all their efforts? It appears that the people had seen God as being there to serve them. He was supposed to make them prosperous. He was supposed to shower His blessings on them. God existed for their benefit. The people decided to leave the Temple in ruins and focus on their own lives instead of their corporate mission of restoring the worship of the one true God. We often fall into that mindset. D. A. Carson wrote, “It is important to say that again and again and again and again in this generation because this generation does not really want a God to whom we are reconciled. It wants, instead, a God who is a powerful genie to serve us. Religion becomes like the bottle of the genie; you rub it the right way, and out he pops and gives you a blessing. Thus, you have a nice, domesticated God.  He serves me. Oh, I have to pay homage to him, sing, go to church now and then, but at the end of the day, I hold to spirituality, to fulfillment and freedom, and all those good things. Then, in addition, this God serves me.”  According to Carson, having a God that serves you rather than a God that you serve is “How you know the spirit of truth and the spirit of the antichrist.”[2]

[1] Taylor, Richard A., and E. Ray Clendenen. 2004. Haggai, Malachi. Vol. 21A. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[2] Carson, D. A. 2016. “1 John—Part 4.” In D. A. Carson Sermon Library, 1 Jn 4:1–5:4a. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife.

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Zephaniah 1:7-9, Various

Choose Life!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 10, 2023

God is waiting for the wicked to repent. He is patient and doesn’t want anyone to perish. But those suffering at the hands of the wicked, godless leaders have no recourse for justice. They are at the mercy of pagan leaders who have no regard for God and God’s laws. The Psalmist, Psalm 46:10-11, tells those suffering in such a state to trust God.  He sings, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” This is what Zephaniah tells his listeners also. To quietly rest in faith that God will indeed bring justice to the wicked. Zephaniah 1:7-9 says, “Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests. And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice— I will punish the officials and the king’s sons and all who array themselves in foreign attire. On that day, I will punish everyone who leaps over the threshold and those who fill their master’s house with violence and fraud.” Barber says, “In executing judgment upon the earth, God would be manifested in His sovereign majesty. He would demonstrate that He alone has the right to administer justice on the earth. For this reason, noise and clamor are to give way to silence. Before Him, every mouth is to be shut, and those who will have so far offended His Majesty with seeming impunity must then endure His enmity.”[1]

“The Day of the Lord” seems to be a technical phrase that refers to the coming day when all wrongs will be put right, when God will settle all disputes, and when God will judge the wicked and vindicate the righteous. It’s used with great urgency. Jesus said that day would come as a “Thief in the night.” It will not be expected, but it is imminent. Bridger observes, “Today, in the twenty-first century, those who speak most urgently about coming disasters and ‘time running out’ for our planet tend to be the scientists and environmentalists who warn us about the dangers of global warming and the failure of most of us to do anything about it.”[2] But the call of Zephaniah and all the prophets focused on the urgency of sinners to get right with God. John the Baptist, as well as Jesus Himself, came preaching the importance of repentance for salvation.

Speaking of “foreign attire” by Zephaniah and the offering of sacrifices points directly to the fact that the leaders of the Nation have deserted the Biblical principles and standards laid down for the Nation, which would result in prosperity and a happy, wholesome life for each individual and the nation as a whole.  They have exchanged the ways of life for the ways of death. 2 Kings 10:22 speaks of the special clothing for Baal worshippers. It says, “Bring out the vestments for all the worshipers of Baal. So, he brought out the vestments for them.” They then went into the house of Baal to offer sacrifices. The religion of Baal was sexual promiscuity. The sacrifices to Baal were children. I can’t help but think the “sacrifices” that God has prepared will be the nation’s leaders who have traded that which is important to God for that which is worthless. Pleasure, power, and possessions will never bring meaning and purpose to one’s life. Those that pursue the three P’s at the expense of the innocent will face God’s judgment on the day of the Lord. Zephaniah is calling for the nation to repent of its sin and embrace once again the life-affirming message of the Scriptures.

 [1] Barber, Cyril J. 1985. Habakkuk and Zephaniah. Everyman’s Bible Commentary. Chicago, IL: Moody Press.

[2] Bridger, Gordon. 2010. The Message of Obadiah, Nahum and Zephaniah: The Kindness and Severity of God. Edited by Alec Motyer and Derek Tidball. The Bible Speaks Today. Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press.

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Habakkuk 1:4, Various

Vengeance is the Lord’s

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 9, 2023

Habakkuk is caught up in the problem of Evil in the world and cries out to God. “Why do you allow such evil to exist?” He speaks about the evil he sees around him and how no one steps up to help those suffering. To further that problem, he continues to confront God with this issue. In Habakkuk 1:4, we see the pain associated with the issue and get a view into what is happening that is about to bring God’s judgment on Israel and Judah. He says, “So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.” The law, designed to give justice to all people, has no force in the land anymore. Justice is not being administered. The wicked get away with all their sins, and the righteous face perverted justice. As one commentary reads, “The result of the abandonment of God’s mishpat (justice) in Judean society is chaos: the law is numbed, justice does not go out, the wicked surround the righteous, and justice is perverted. No wonder the prophet complained about such a sorry state of affairs. With the breakdown of the social order, the nation lacked the elemental necessities for existence. When law is paralyzed and justice perverted, the righteous become the pawns of the wicked.”[1]

It sounds a lot like our present day in some respects. In the last few years, there has been a focus on “defunding” the police in many liberal controlled cities in the U.S. Prosecutors have let recidivists off with little or no consequences for violent crime. The justice system focuses on the rights of the criminal instead of the rights of the victims, many of whom have been beaten, battered, abused, robbed, raped, and assaulted. The Nation is in a national debate about the cause of such problems, but most see it as the left-wing liberal movement away from law enforcement. The Heritage Foundation reports, “Beginning in 2015 with the election of Kim Foxx, first of the George Soros–promoted rogue prosecutors, as Cook County (Chicago) State’s Attorney, cities with rogue prosecutors have imposed policies that all—each and every one of them—inure to the benefit of criminals. Such policies have contributed to the lawlessness across so-called blue cities and the steep rise in crime rates across America. To suggest now that Republican elected officials who have followed different policies have contributed to crime increases is at best laughable.”[2]

In the book of Psalms, there is a whole category of passages described as “Imprecatory.” That means an innocent victim cries out to God for justice when he cannot find any on earth. He pleads for God to act. David wrote many of these psalms while he was on the run from Saul. Psalm 17 begins with David’s prayer. He says, “Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit! From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right!” David refused to take vengeance on his enemies and committed them to God’s righteous judgment. Waltner comments on this passage, “This prayer shows how readily the cry of the innocent moves toward imprecation. The cry for vengeance is born of suffering. To suffer unjustly seems not only unfair, but also an affront to God’s justice. Persons who are cornered may cry out in rage. They appeal to the God of justice to act justly.”[3] God will always act justly, and righteousness will always work itself out according to God’s will in the end. This is where Habakkuk is going with his confrontation of the wicked. He does not call for vengeance but for faith in God to bring justice to those who cannot get it for themselves. I don’t suppose anyone suffered more unjustly than Jesus himself. He teaches us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. So Paul follows Habakkuk and Jesus when he tells us in Romans 12:19, “ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

[1] Barker, Kenneth L. 1999. Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. Vol. 20. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[2] https://www.heritage.org/crime-and-justice/report/the-blue-city-murder-problem

[3] Waltner, James H. 2006. Psalms. Believers Church Bible Commentary. Scottdale, PA; Waterloo, ON: Herald Press.

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Nahum 1:6-7, Various

The Lord is Good!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 8, 2023

Nahum warns the residents of Nineveh, as well as us that God’s judgment is coming upon the whole earth. The mountains will tremble, the earth will quake, the seas will dry up, and every resident on earth will experience his wrath. God’s wrath will be all-consuming. But wait! Is there no escape? Nahum doesn’t leave his readers or us without hope. Nahum 1:6-7 says, “Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.  The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” God’s judgment is an irresistible force against with nothing can stand. The assumed answer to Nahum’s two questions is, of course, “no one can stand” and “no one can endure his anger.” There is no such thing as an immovable object when confronted with the irresistible force of God’s judgment. There is no way to escape it. I remember as a kid, I used to listen to the old song “Sinner Man.” It says, “Oh, sinner man, where are you going to run to on that day?” The seas will be boiling, the mountains will be crumbling, and the stars will be falling.” There is nowhere to run or hide. That’s what the song says in Psalm 139:7-12 “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there, your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.”

But there is a refuge for those who seek God. When the world falls apart because of bad judgment or bad luck, like the Prodigal son, it’s time to go home. The Bible has its own songs. The Psalmist sang in Psalm 27:5, “For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble.” It often takes a calamity in life to turn our attention and focus on God. We soon learn that money, power, possessions, and pleasures of this world are of no help in serious times of trouble. The only true option is to go home. “You can count on God in thick or thin (Psalm 46:1). He is no fair-weather friend. He is a friend at all times. His power is present when you are your weakest. He will not fail you when you pass through the dark valleys of life. God delights to help you in the darkest times. This gives Him greater glory.”[1]

That God is with us wherever we go can be a truth that greatly comforts us, or it can be a truth that fills us with fear.  When things go well, we often stray, like the nations of Judah and Israel. When things get tough, we have only one place to turn. God is never tired of forgiving our wayward spirits and is always ready to receive us lovingly in His arms when we turn to Him. He never gets tired of blessing us. The Bible teaches us that Jesus died for us while we were in our sins. When asked how many times we should forgive, Jesus explained that seven times wasn’t enough. Seventy times 7 times was his response which was a figure of speech, meaning always. God is, as one writer put it, “Good and gracious, not willing to destroy or to take vengeance, a God before whom the sinner may tremble; a God in whom the chief of sinners may find forgiveness.” God is “Longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Such is his goodness now. He is rich in mercy. His patience is beyond all conception or measure. And in his longsuffering, there is salvation—salvation to the uttermost. He pities, yearns, pleads, beseeches, spares, prolongs the day of grace, presents pardon, salvation, and life to the ungodliest, free. Yes, freely to the last! Let this long-suffering goodness draw us, melt us, awaken confidence, and win us to love.”[2]

[1] Butler, John G. 2014. Sermon Starters. Vol. 4. Clinton, IA: LBC Publications.

[2] Bonar, Horatius. 1873. Light and Truth: Or, Bible Thoughts and Themes, Old Testament. London: J. Nisbet & Co.

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Micah 1:5, Various

The Rebellion of Mankind!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 7, 2023

The Old Testament is full of prophecies regarding the coming of the Messiah to save the world. He will forgive and heal. But the Old Testament is also full of prophecies of a second coming. The second coming will be different from the first coming of the Messiah. Jesus came and was rejected totally by the people, as predicted in the prophets. Therefore, a second coming is essential. Micah tells of the judgment of God coming upon the earth. The birth pangs as preludes to his arrival will be the tearing down of mountains and the flooding of the plains. His judgment comes upon nature as a prelude to His judgment upon all those who have sinned against Him. Why does God come with judgment instead of peace? Micah 1:5 tells us why. It says, “All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?”

The Lexham English Bible says that the word translated as “transgression” in this passage should read “rebellion.” It says, “All this is for the rebellion of Jacob, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the rebellion of Jacob? Is it not Samaria?” Redmond says, “There are few things more destructive in life than rebellion. We can all identify with this statement because we’ve all been rebellious. Rebellion appears in our lives like an uninvited guest, but it soon takes up residence in our hearts. For me, it began to appear in my early teenage years—perhaps it was the same for you. One day I was happy to do whatever my parents told me; the next, I began to question every decision they made. What caused this shift in my thinking? Rebellion. Simply put, rebellion is defiance against authority. It begins with rebellion against our parents, teachers, and coaches. Left unchecked, it grows to be rebellion against employers, law enforcement, and government. Ultimately, though, rebellion is always against God because God institutes all forms of authority. I spent three years as a police officer in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before God directed my steps into local church ministry. I saw firsthand the damaging effects of rebellion. I located children who ran away from home to escape their parents’ authority, and I arrested citizens who refused to submit to the laws of the city of Chattanooga and the state of Tennessee. In every case, rebellion was the root cause. No one was going to tell these folks what to do. Sadly, rebellion is a constant enemy for everyone. This was certainly true for the nations of Israel and Judah when Micah began his prophetic ministry. In fact, Micah will spend the first three chapters of his book demonstrating how rebellion had corrupted God’s people.”[1]

As parents, we tried hard to discipline our children appropriately. Rebellion was the primary issue deserving correction. Outright rebellion against the standards of the household, the standards of the school, or the standards of the state cannot be tolerated for long without chaos ensuing. Yet, even with the “transgressions” and “rebellion” of His children, God has made provision for us. Transgression and rebellion are just two synonyms for sin. All sin requires the shedding of blood for forgiveness. That’s what we learned in Genesis chapter 3 in the Garden of Eden, and that’s what the sacrificial system taught Israel. It’s the same today, except the blood that is shed for our sins is not the blood of sheep, bulls, and goats. It’s the blood of His one and only Son. Samaria, representing the northern ten tribes, and Jerusalem, representing the southern tribes, have both rebelled against God’s provision for sin. They have turned to pagan forms of religion and have rejected the one true God and His demonstrated love for us in the shedding of the blood of the sacrifices. There is nothing left but judgment.  Benson writes, “When Paul said that ‘the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ’ (Gal. 3:24), he included the ceremonial law. The shedding of blood by the offering of animal sacrifices for the redemption of sin was a symbol of the great Sacrifice (Lev. 1:2, 11, 15; 8:15) and a constant emphasis on the all-important truth that ‘without shedding of blood is no remission’ of sin (Heb. 9:11–14, 19–22). The office of the high priest was instituted so there would be a representative of the people to offer up sacrifices. As the great High Priest, our Lord offered Himself as the all-sufficient sacrifice for sin.”[2] Rebellion is the rejection of Jesus Christ.

[1] Redmond, Eric, William Curtis, and Ken Fentress. 2016. Exalting Jesus in Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference.

[2] Benson, Clarence Herbert. 2004. The One True God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Biblical Essentials Series. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

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Jonah 1:5, Various

I Depend on God!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 6, 2023

If Jonah actually thought he could run from God by boarding a ship bound for Tarsus, he was seriously disappointed. God “hurled” a great wind at sea and the ship. The Psalmist is right; you cannot run and hide from God. Nina Simone sang the song, “Sinnerman.” It makes me think of Jonah. “Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to? Sinnerman, where you gonna run to? Where you gonna run to? All on that day.” It goes on to say he runs to the rock to hide him. The rock cried out he’s not going to hide him. The second attempt to escape God is in the next verse of the song. “So, I run to the river. It was bleedin’; I run to the sea it was boiling….” I guess you could say, in Jonah’s case, that the sea was boiling. It was boiling so bad that Jonah 1:5 says, “Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them.”

 The “boiling” ocean caused the seaman to cry out to their gods. It was a diverse crew. They each had their own god. Roop says, “It is normal for ancient mariners to attribute the weather to direct divine action, whether that weather be calm or storm.” Most ancient religions see their gods as riding upon the clouds or sending rain and storm upon their devotees for a failure of some kind. Modern thought laughs in derision at the thought of God controlling the weather. That’s an ancient idea that the modern scientific world has outgrown. However, in Jonah’s case, they were right. God did cause the storm. The text says He “hurled” the storm at the ship. Roop goes on to say the seaman matched “God’s hurling with some of their own (1:5). They hurl cargo overboard to lighten the load, perhaps so the boat will ride atop the waves rather than be buried under them.”[1]

While the crew panicked over the divine storm they were facing, verse 5 continues to tell us what’s going on with Jonah, who is actually the reason for the storm. It says, “But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.” I remember storms in the North Atlantic while I was serving on the destroyer Waller in 1966. No one slept during that storm. I remember storms in the South China Sea while serving aboard the destroyer Rathburne in 1976. No one slept through that storm, either. This leads me to believe that Jonah’s nap was a divine one. God was going to do something important, and He caused a sleep to come upon the subject of the revelation. God put Adam into such sleep when he took one of his ribs to create Eve. God put Abraham to sleep to show him the vision of the sacrifices, demonstrating God’s guarantee that he would have a son. In Genesis 15, God shows Abraham that it doesn’t depend on him. God will see to it Himself. God is in control; one must rest in the hands of the one who sends the storms and trials of life. God is there even in the storms of life. This was another lesson from God to unbelieving people that He will see to it. I’ve heard so many sermons that suggest that God depends on me in one way or another. Cowles says, “God depends on you to diffuse invaluable light, and therefore facilitates your service by putting you prominently before all human eyes, like a city on a hill which no forest or high land can hide, or like a candle, never placed under a bushel measure.”[2] If the work of God, in God’s way, in God’s time, depends on me, the world should get ready for disappointment. God does not depend on me. I depend on God! That’s the truth that Jonah is about to learn. In the contest between God and the idols made of iron or wood, God confronted the idolaters and told them that they had to carry their handmade idols with them. God tells us, “you don’t carry me. I carry you.”

[1] Roop, Eugene F. 2002. Ruth, Jonah, Esther. Believers Church Bible Commentary. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press.

[2] Cowles, Henry. 1887. Matthew and Mark, with Notes, Critical, Explanatory, and Practical. New York: D. Appleton & Company.

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