WHEN GOD PURSUES WITH MERCY

Scripture: Jonah 1
Context Of The Book:
•Canonical: Minor Prophet
•A prophet in the time of Jeroboam II- N Kingdom (780 BC; 2 Kgs 14:25)
•Contemporary to Amos, Hosea and Micah
•Assyrians were gaining territory and a threat to the N Kingdom (the kings recorded the grisly details of their conquests)
Going The Opposite Way
•God speaks but Jonah decides on obedience to Gods instruction
•Jonah cannot come to terms with God’s instruction (Nahum 3:1-7)
•Jonah doubted the goodness, wisdom and justice of God
(…if you cannot rationalize a good reason for a command of God there is’nt one at all! Gen 3)
The Storm
•Jonah’s fleeing is without much hassle
•God causes a stir in the Oceans
•This was not the usual winds the sailors had seen…it was leading to eminent death
•Sin has a consequence…here disobedience raises a storm
A Boat Of Contrasts
•The pagans are more alert to what should be done while Jonah is oblivious
•‘Sleep of Sorrow’…anger, guilt, anxiety and grief
•Reveal your identity Jonah!
•Jonah’s knowledge of the reason the storm does not bring him a desire of obedience
A Life Cast Out To Keep Lives In
•Jonah was too stubborn and self-absorbed to even ‘cry out’ for mercy
•But the very pagans he detested to go to he shows pity upon them
•For Jonah the lives in Nineveh were not worth saving but for the sailors they could not just let Jonah die!
•At the bottom of the ocean was a BIG FISH of MERCY!
GOD’s PURSUIT IS EVER ON
•The believer and the church are emissaries of the Gospel of Jesus Christ- A Life Cast Out To Keep Lives In
•How do we determine for ourselves the what should be the goodness, justice and wisdom of God?
Take Away: Decipher the Mercy received and determine the path to obedience in Christ